New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-02-11
TUNNELS NEAR TEE CITY.
THE ONE UNDER THE PALISADES
NEARLY FINISHED.
PROGRESS OF THE WORK UNDER THE EAST
RIyER-rHE ABANDONED PROJECT UNDER

RIyER-rHE ABANDONED PROJECT UNDER
THE HUDsoN-rUNNELs OF THE WORLD.
Daylight broke through the tunnel Of the New
York Susquehanna and Western Railroad COM
pany, under Weehawken Heights. for the HIST
time last Wednesday. That does not mean now
ever that the tunnel Is completed, put merely tna'
the heading" upper part OF the tunhei mas
been "drifted" through from end to end prepar-
ing the way for excavating the oench' or io"er
part. The object OF this tunnel Is 10 ehaDie tre
company to reach the river front without running
its trains over the tracks OF other roads AT pres
ent the companys passenger trains run over 'he
Pennsylvania Railroad Companys tracks from
Marion to Jersey City, and It's coal ana Ireish'
trains over the DelaEare. Lackawanna ana west
ern Railroad Company's tracks from west Emu
Junction beyond Marion, TO Hoboken IN oruei
70 secure its own terminal on the HUDSON h'er'
the compaoy a few years ago, acquired sixty acrfs
of land In the village of Edgewater ABOUT '"o
miles north from Weehawken and opposite One
bundred-and-te nth-st. This land has frontage Oh
100 feet on the river. and affords ample room LOT
handling a large number of trains daily. linen the
tunnel was projected 10 connect the terminal with
the main line at Little Ferry Junction. ten iiiiies
from Jersey City and three miles almost que wes'
TOW, the terminal at Edgewater. The tunnel Is
6O72 feet long, q feet high to the crown "a '"'
arch and 2S feet wide. giving ample room Tor dou-
h,o tracks The estimated total cost OF the tuh-
mel including the three miles OF douoie "aoA -
Little Ferry Junction the sixty acres Vi i'
tuo niers which are being built ana the heces~'is
switches and sdings at the terminal Is sl''oVVV.
When the tunnel is completed only the iieis"' a''d
90, trains Will be run through 1t TO the river AT
first but ultimately ferry slips VIII De cohs'ruo .
and passenger trains will run through IT, a"u ~
Messengers will be transferred 10 TINS cry ny
hoots Ground was broken for the tunnel on August
! 1892 and since then about 500 men nave peeh
n,oved IN its construction. while about lao nave
haen engaged in building the piers. e'c' OH '"e
river front The tunnel the three-n'ie spu, ..
railroad and the terminal VIII DE cohPie'eu "o'
June !. TIVE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION
nh. fret step in the construction of the tunnel
20 s,nk three vertical shafts. at equi-distant
r,oints from the surface OF inc tansaues " .'s
cvada Of the tunnel These sha1ts are eaoii zen
feet long and twenty feet wioe, 'he s,ea $500
x.,rr los feet When the shafts hau peen ouiin
uanos of workmen in each began drllu"e'
or excavating in opposite directions 10 liiee. VI.
ganrs which drifting 'o"aiu ' ,,on
~. o,bsr shafts The heading, or upper s,''O
:. ~ ,unnel is eight feet high, and was ooieu
n,,rs,v through rock. In drifting steam u'. -
~. CT or eight holes converging 70 point sHe
d,,ad and charged with explosives 1heSe ~
orc from six to eight feet in Depth ana are , ,,o
with dynamite. giant powder ana o'iiei s na->I
when the blast occurs an immense "tuse'
.acs 81 rock is thrown outward into the pai' "a
..,,al already excavated. removed on d 'ei'po
- ,rorway constructed for the purpose, an"
hoisted ND TO the surface through lie ''
.,son elevators The blasting out OF inc ~
sbaned rock leaves a hole six or eleh' tee' r o.
49, IN the centre of the tunnel. SO 'ha' spa
a.,da1 for receiving the fragments OF rock ai
.r5 blasted from the sides which iS'oone IA .e
same way except that the holes are u' ,1N r
alle with the direction OF the lunHe' "N
almost exactly east and west .o, com
The upper part or heading. having Deeii eon
- 10 excavation of the bench. or lower part
h,ch ,s +hir,een feet high. is comparatively 80
as instead Of having 10 work iaterahs S'v Avn.
and blasting are done vertically, 1roi az 600 Coo,
ward Throughout the entire ieneti VI univ
,,rs Was found necessary for distance VI o''.s
about 800 feet, the rock oene
serve as a natural arch 49,.
r,. arch,ns "a Of brick and cement three w.
..,oL which means nine courses OF prlcK 'aiu o'
adee The distance necessary 10 DC 14' ,,h
narkably small especially when coihp"iuu ~ w.
that Of other tunnels under the fahsaueS. w.
vol of the West Shore Railrcad Company d. ~
,.,o, "a 4 200 feet long, and about ~ per CENT "a
q e arcbed while of that Of the Deia"aie
a,ua and Western Railroad Company al NO
horan which Is 1900 feet long. about 70 per cent "
arcbed. The portals of the new 'u'''iei wan
handsomely faced with cut red SANDSTONE
while the tunnels under the Palisades are Vi So
,u,,y thew become insignificant when compare
With many other much longer ones IN TINS COUNT
and Europe. which are at much slea'.. q,
The Hoosac Tunnel. in Western MASSACHUSETTS
four and three-quarters miles long, and us pri,-
,, ,rorI,ne shaft was 1O2S feet deep. Early IN
the work of Its construction the heavy ti'hoel
braces which were used to support the ear'n an
rock during the building of arches were ouin'''
causing the loss Of twenty lives and the oostruc'io"
of the tunnel for a considerable time. A"e '
Gothard Tunnel in Switzerland is over nine ana
half miles long. and the Mt Cents Tunnel IN i'ai!'
Is seven and one-quarter miles long
THE EAST RIVER TUNNEL
The construction Of the East River tunnel IS going
on RAPIDLY This tunnel projected by the East
River Gas Company. Of Long Island CITY ii's
company now supplies the gas used IN that cry
It has a gas plant at Ravenswood' L. H. OPP
poste Seventy hrst-st which It is rapidly eniarghg
with a view Of supplying gas not only 10 private
consumers in this city. but also 10 the gas com
panies by whom they have hitherto been supplied.
To facilitate this a cylindrical subaqueous tunnel
for its mains COMPOSED OF paes 81 abomt ga feet
of 1t has already been completed. Inc TUNER WIN
passing under Blackwelrs Island. near the middle
OF the island. 1t will be 800 rect long anu yer,
eighteen months ago by sinking working shafts az
both ends OF the line. The shaft in this city Is
deep Each is sixteen feet in diameter. and each
has powerful steam. elevator for hosting out
proposed tunnel reached. then began the
difficult and dangerous subaqueous tunneLns
fac ceue and 60 feet below its bed The Old style
of driving subaqueous tunnel involved the use OF
tremely unsatisfactory In driving a top heading,
steel roof-plates were put IN. these were reua =
inch thick. feet long and foot wide, ana rolIed
TO a curve. corresponding with the curvature OF
the tunnel. After the heading had been driven
about twenty feet mud SILL being a heavy, ye!-
low pine timber. twelve inches square, was in
Produced, and wooden braces resting on this sup
ported the roof and sides of the tunnel the braces
fadiating from the timber like spokes from the
hub OF wheel. The tunnel was then excavated
for about ten feet. the brick work introduced and
the operation repeated
Chief Engineer Walton l. Aimes who is con-
etructng the East River tunnel. and who was
engineer in charge OF the construction Of the Hud.
son River tunnel has invented new method OF
eubaqueous tunnelling, which he 10 now using In
boring the East River tunnel This consists of
cylindrical shield made OF steel plates. and Is OF
a little larger diameter than the tunnel. Its for
ward end is closed by massive iron plates. but has
four small iron doors which may be opened when
necessary. This shield. In which the men work, Is
pushed forward through the soft mud by means Of
twelve hydraulic jacks each OF which exerts
pressure OF 5000 pounds 10 the square inch or nifty
CONS each making COO tons for ALL This tremendous
$3.50 49, a. - il e