The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1893-08-29
i. BIG UsDERrAKISo.


80 =
are rapidly approaching completion.
In few months the old Bollman
bridge over the Potomac, which in its
time was one 81 the most famous
bridges in the country. will be aband-
oned and trains viii skim over the NV
~ con new double.track bridge ef
modern construction. after passing be-
meath Maryland Heights tlirougha tun-
incl carved out of the solid rock The
work, which was begun about a year
ago, when finished will make great
change in The appearance d the his
toric old place.
The Improvement was made ncces
sary BY The wearing out Of the old
I bridge, which was built 10 carry trains
composed ~ loaded ears Of ten tons
each with ihity-ton locomotives.
When Il was erected the most cnthus-
iastic railroad man never dreamed Of
locomotives weighing 1850 pounds,
ififty.ton Pullman coaches, Or Of freight
ears with 4 capacity u GO, 900 pounds,
and bridges were moi constructed 10
bear such strains Trains composed 81
sucll tremendous weights as these pass
over the old bridge every day, how.
eyer, hardly making il tremble. The
structure has been strengthened sever
I Al times il recent years by putting in
massive wooden trusses and by sup
/ ports beneath its floor. Under ordin-
airy circumstances these would hold for
years, but experience has shown that
the Potomac cannot be depended up
kon.
| Perhaps the greatest strain the
bridge ever underwent was in the
i food ID the spring Of 1880, when the
Potomac rose IS feet and wrecked the
1 Chesapeake and Ohio canal and al
most every thing else that was in its
/ way. The water rose five feet above
/ the bridge floor. but number Of big
consolidation engines were run out on
| it to hold il down and against the ex-
pectaiIons Of almost everybody the old
structure remained in place. Itwould
hardly stand another such strain,
which might come in any spring or
I winter, and prudence dictated the
1 building Of the new bridge. At the
same time it was decided to improve
1 the approach to the river from both
east and west This necessitated a
tunnel through Maryland Heights on
! the east side Of the old bridge and the
removal Of the tracks for about 200
| feet to the south on the west side.
Work was begun on the improve
ment according to plans made by Mr..
| W. s. Sisson, Of the engineering de-
Epartment Of the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad. The work started July 10
of last year, and has been carried on
| by Mr.. Sisson and his assistants,
Messrs. Phillip Aylett and Morris Nit
ten, under the supervision Of Chief
Engineer w. T. Manning and assist
ant Chief Engineer +. II. Irwin The
improvements began at Sandy Hook,
q mile east Of Harper's Ferry, by ele-
waiting the track from that point to the
| tunnel, at which the track is eight feet
above its old level. The drilling Of the
] tunnel was begun at both ends at the
same time. The tunnel will be $50
| feet long, % feet wide, and 241 feet
high. Over $1,000 cubic yards of
ROCK We're taken out Of the tunnel
and 10000 yards were blasted out in
/ making the approaches.
+ Work on the bridge piers was begun
early in August, and these are all now
i practically completed. There are
/ eight Of these piers and two abntments.
4 They are 30 feet~high above water and
stand on four foot foundations laid on
bed rock. In all there are about o.
1000 cubic yards Of masonry in the
4 piers aud abutments, all Of which are
\ of Gettysburg granite. laid in cement
1 The bridge when completed will be 43
feet above the bed Of the river, and
the railroad tracks will be Z feet higher
than the highest water ever knownin
/ the Potomac.
/ The bridge will be nearly 900 feet
long between abutments. There will
be three through spans Of l40feet each,
four order or deck spans Of S54 feet
each, one Of l002feet and one OF IS
i feet. The ironwori< Of the through
spans extends upward from the piers
and the deck spans are below the level
/ % the track
The improvements are estimated to
cost about 100000 and will be com,
/ pleted early in 1894 Jones and
Thorne, Of Baltimore. are the contrac-
tors for the masonry and grading.
James Mclean is contractor for the
ftrestle work, in which about 100000