The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-08-20
NEW CAPE HATTERASLIGHT.
1T is TO BE SITUATED ON THE
OUTER DIAMOND SHOALS.
The Remarkable Engineering Feat That
is soon to he Undertaken. and How II IL
Proposed THAT II shall he Accomplished
xutsy, guecess.

-
many vessels had been wrecked. For long
time n lighthouse on the outer Diamond
shoals has been desired, but it is only Lately
that the experience and the plant have eX-
listed 10 warrant the undertaking OF such n
work. Uncle Sam recently ap-
5000, 900 Tor lighthouse at this
poiut. and authorized the Lighthouse Board
In solicit proposals. The undertaking was
an great. and the Governments specillca-
lions were so severe. however, that only
four res nonses were received. The contract
has inst been awarded 10 Anderson n Barr,
of Jersey City. Their bid was SicJ, 900. The
Engineering News publishes the general
plans of the proposed lighthouse.
Under the Government specialization the
is TO make all the surveys. Dor
ings. and sOundings himself. and mas a
range of about one square mile, WITHIN
which he can pick out his own site nj as
erection. The material is supposed 20 be
sand 10 "A great depth. There Is current as
high as four knots an hour after heavy
gales. Conditions were that the local plane
should be $50 feet above low water ttide
rising only eighteen inches). that riprap
blocks shall not weigh less than two long
tons each. that the first floor shall be at
least thirty feet above water, and that there
shall be eight floors. There must be stor-
age room for thirty tons of coal, six cords Of
wood. :. 900 gallons Of fresh water, three lille
boats. and about 800 cubic feet OF oil, with
stores for four men for year Inc iOurtn
and fifth floors are for bedrooms, the sixth
for a kitchen, the seventh for a sitting-ro0m,
the eighth for a service room below the light.
The floors are TO be so sealed by trap doors
that fire cannot pass them.
Anderson n Barr propose To sink the
foundation 100 feet below the bed OF the
shoal. as indicated on the plan furnished
by the Lighthouse Board, If the material IN
the way of the foundation is such that they
can remove it by dredging. If 1t isn't, they
will resort 10 the use Of compressed air IN
order 10 remove il, and will sink the calss0n
eighty feet below the low water line. unless
rock is encountered before that dephth Is
reached. In that case, they VIII quarry
away the rock sufficiently so as To give the
foundation a firm bed on the rock. Inc
foundation is to consist of an iron cassion
filed sOlidly with cement concrete. some
l., 900 tons will be used.
The firm describe their structure as fol-
lows:
"The foundation caissOn is TO be built of
casi-irOn plates, with n bottom section OF
wrought steel. The total height is l53.J
feet. The wrought steel bottom section Is
Of cylindrical shape, ~ feet in diameter.
and 80 feet high. On top Of this Is bOlted a
cast-irOn cOnical section ~ feet high. Of -
feet lower and ~ feet upper diameter. ON
top of this is placed the main body, which
is of cylindrical form. and Of 10 feet diane
ter. and which continues Of even shape To
the level of the base Of the tower
Through the whole body OF the caisson
~. HsffQ ftffli
steel cylinders of nine feet diameter, through
which the ground is eXcavated from under
the caiss0n. At nineteen feet from the bot
tom edge Of the caiss0n these cylinders
widen out into irregular cOnical shapes
which end at feet inches above the
bottom of the caissOn in the clrcumierentia
cylindrical shape, and in cross bulkheao
Of three feet height, which divides the area
on the bottom Of the caIssOn into four equa
sectors Of the circle. Thus TOR feet
inches height the bottom Of the caissOn con
sists Of single thickness Of cylindrical out
side plates and bulkheads consisting OF q
single thickness Of plate, which divide tb'
area Of the circle into four equal parts, eacl
Of which is provided centrally over IL VIII
an open vertical tube Of nine feet diameter
for the purpose of dredging its quarter com
partment. The bottom circle Of cylinder
plates six feet high is Of three-quarter incl
thickness.
1.-THE cross bulkhead plates are Of three
eighth thickness. These central straight
plates. as well as the outside circle plates
are provided with stihenlng brackets o
three-eighth thickness and fOur-inch angle
| irons. All the other plate OF the wrought
bottom section is OF One-half inch thickness
both the outside cylinder and the interior
cones and tube ends. fOur-inch angl.
| irons, running vertically the whole length o
the section. and four feet apart. are rlyetet
10 the interior Of the cylinder. and CORE
spending ones 10 the cOnical bottoms, ant
the dredging tubes are braced together by
fOur-inch angle iron, hracing in suct
form as to generally stiilen the structure
against both outside and inside strains
/ Similar angle irons brace those portions O
cones and dredging tubes together, Whlcl
face one another. The top Of the wrought
section is provided with a siX-inch angie
| iron on the inside of the cylinder. 10 which
| the cast iron cone is bOltcd. This cone. a.
well as the cylindrical portion Of forty five
feet diameter above the cone, consist, o
cast iron plates Of one and One-hali lnc-t
thickness, and Of such horizontal length a'
10 make the circumference OF twenty plate
| fiyc feet hlgh.
.The plates are provided with planeC
flanges forming six inch depth Of joint al
around them, strongly bolted together Will
one inch bolts and nuts, and LAID so thai
the vertical seams Of different layers break
Joints. Lugs are cast on the plates from
which fOur-inch angle iron braces run 10 the
nearest Of the tour central tubes. These lat
ter are of uniform diameter Of nine feet
made Of one-quarter inch plate in sections
| five feet high, like the outside plates, ant
provided on top and bottom with four incl
angle iron outside rims for joining them 10y
means Of One-inch bOls and nuts. In,
braces from the cast-irOn circumference
plates are attached to these rims; alsC
! braces by which the tubes are braced Il
one another. For convenience Of transpor
tatiOn and erection the cylinders are II
halves, Joined by finch angle irons and j
inch bolts on tHc vertical seams. These
i tubes extend up to feet above the hlgh
water line, and above that point the cir
conference plates are braced by turn
buckle bolts Of ,-inch diameter
"The whole interior of the caisson. in
Guiding the tubes, will be filled with cement
concrete, except that seven cylindrical
vaults will be built in the floor of the tower
ON the top surface Of the concrete "A cast
iron base i2l6 feet outside diameter and .
feet width, and Ia inches thickness, vii
be placed on which the tower Will be
erected.
''rhe tower is Of slightly bell-shaped form
40i- feet diameter at bottom and IL fee
diameter at top, below the main gallery
prescribed. Ii Is constructed of cast-irOI
plates varying in thickness from seven
eighths Of an inch for the bottom cours'
to GIG of an inch in the top course, pro
yided with ample flanges and bracket
for fastening the plates together, and 10
receiving the iron il0Or-beams. Th'
bottom course OF the tower IS provided
with "A well-bracketed ilange, which i
bolted to the base ring, and through which
also passes a number Of anchor bolts will
plates at their lower ends in the concrete
long enough to receive the effect of thu
weight of the brick lining Of the tower. Al
the floor beams are of wrought iron. ThOs,
forming the second and third floors are sup
ported by two columns and stringel
! beam. These floors are formed Of bricl
arches. The upper floors are formed of hol
low flsOr brick. New \ ork sun.
Park" Not Good Name.
IL is perhaps misfortune that all lands
set apart for public use should be desig
mated by the name of park" a word whicl
suggests 10 most people some attempt a
"a.