Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1890-05-26
THE CHANNEL span
up THE UNION RAILROAD BRIDGE CARRIED
AWAY.
Toe Loss, Falling on the Contractors IN the
NeighbrhOOd Of SSOOOO-Ths High
Water the Cause.

At twenty minutes of four clock yester
dav afternoon the false work of the chan
mel span of the union railroad bridge, al
the upper end of the city, was carried away
by the rising river, and with it went down
about four hundred tons of the metal su
perstructure in course of erection.
The loss will be in the neighborhood OF
81. 900 or $4,000, and falls entirely upon
the contractors setting up the bridge
Messrs. Baird Bros, of Pittsburg, and upon
the Edgemoor Steel Works, of Whining
ton. Del. who built the superstructure,
and delivered it to Baird Bros. to be set up
The Wheeling Bridge and Terminal
Railway Company thus escape any la
bilitv because Of the accident, and while
the officials of the Company deeply sympa'
thiZe with those upon whom the loss Iails,
they are in no way financially involved ana
will only suffer by the serious delay Ill the
construction of the bridge.
No serious apprehensions We're lett ior
the safety of the structure until yesterday
morning. although Mr.. William Baird, OF
the contracting firm, hurried up TO TINS
city from Cincinnati Saturday, on
first hearing of the likelihood oil
Il food in the river. He arrived
here about six o'clock Saturday even
ing. and at once took all measures possible
for. the safety of the structure and the
workmen engaged upon it. As far as the
men were concerned, none were permitted
tO run any risk, and thus il comes that nc
casualties are TO be recorded, but the en-
deavors to save the big span were futile,
and last evening the space between piers
Nos. and 3 was as clear as before the WORK
on the false-work for the span was com
menced.
The great danger TO be apprehended TO
the bridge was from the accumulation OF
drift wood above the false-work, and as
soon rs Mr.. Baird arrived on the scene he,
ably seconded by Superintendent Daglan,
bent all his energies TO keeping the plllng
clear of floating rubbish and logs. n big
Gang of men were put TO work at this, and
with skiffs, ropes and hand-spikcS the work
was kept up all during Saturday night.
Yesterday morning the river was still ris-
ing. but the false work had been kept clear,
and there was "a reasonable hope that the
efforts being made would save the Struct-
ure About eleven o'clock in the morning,
however. the drift suddenly began TO run
heavier, and the stream of debris kept
increasing until IL was seen the men
in the false-WOrk We're unequal TO the
task before them. Then Mr.. Baird and
Superintendent Daglan began 10 clear the
bridge of all movables, getting loose pieces
of the superStructure back on the com
pleted spans, removed the portable hosting
engines in the same direction, uncoupled
the floor-system from the completed spans
on either side. and did whatever else
Ia. 70 az
in case fall became certain. The
efforts to get rid of the drift were not re-
Taxed. however, but despite every endeavor,
the ever increasing mass Of stuff brought
down by the current added to the weight
against the false work faster than fifty
men could remove it, and by three o'clock
there was an acre or more of logs, boards,
stumps. and all manner of things in the
way of drift piled against the timbers.
The water had by this time got up to the
level of the longitudinal stringers on top of
the piles, and this greatly increased the
pressure rs well as the difficulty Of getting
the drift out Of the way