The San Francisco call., 1895-07-20
The High Bank Along Ken
lucky Street Is to Be Partly
Cut Away.
GRAVITY WILL BE UTILIZED.
Process Of Taking Away the Earth
and Filling In the Adjacent
Lands.

its almost perpendicular side, will be re-
| moved and made to serve the purpose of
| filling in some property now very much
below grade.
| This hill is owned by Samuel Davis and
| the Refs estate, and an arrangement has
| just been entered into with the Potrero
| Land Improvement Company by which
| about Il. 900 cubic yards of earth will be
| transferred from the hill to the large block
| of low land bounded by Napa (Twentieth),
| Sierra, Minnesota and Indiana streets.
The expense of doing this, about $15, 900, is
to be equally borne.
| The grading down of this hill and OPEN
| ing up the streets which are to run through
| 1T will prove boon to the Potrero and re-
suit in placing in a marketable condition a
| large tract Of land in the most valuable
portion of the Potrero.
The work of grading and blasting on
| this hill is to be commenced on the west
| side, on Tennessee and Minnesota streets,
| thence working eastward toward Kentucky
| street and down Tennessee street to the
| old cut. This is in order to avoid any dam
ger from blasting and to prevent throwing
rocks toward Kentucky street, which is the
main artery for all the travel there.
| Work of laying the tracks and getting
|
| side of a week the actual grading opera
| tions will be commenced. The earth will
| be moved from the big hill lying just north
of where the filling is to be done.
To move such a tremendous amount of
earth it is necessary that the latest and
| most improved methods of grading be en-
ployed, in order to make the expense as
| laid on Minnesota street, beginning at the
base of the big hill, down toward Sierra
street until it strikes the block that is to
| be filled. A large drum will be located at
| the mouth of the cut where grading begins,
on which will be wound wire cable. At
| tached to either end of this cable will be
| train of cars, ten or twelve in mum Der, each
| having capacity of about cubic yard.
AS soon as train is loaded in the cut it
| will be pulled by horse to the mouth of
| the cut then attached to the cable and
started on its journey. The grade on the
street from this drum to where the filling
| is to be done is such that the weight of the
| loaded cars going down is sufficient to haul
| the empty train back to the mouth of the
pit, where it will be hauled by the horse
| up to the bank that is being moved, and
! thus the natural principle of gravity can
| be utilized to advantage.
When the loaded train reaches the fill,
| it will run out over a trestle, which will be
| built about twenty feet high, and when
will be applied, then the cars, balanced on
| pivot, win be loosened and the contents
| dumped to the ground below. When the
| dump reaches a sufficient height, the
| trestle will be moved few feet and dump
| ing operations will commence again.
The trestle itself is to be an ingenious
contrivance. It will consist of series of
strong cribs, made of timbers eight inches
| square and about six feet long laid cross
| wise until they reach the required height,
and bolted to the ground to insure safety.
These cribs will be built about forty teet
apart, and the same distance from the
edge of the bank where filling is COM
menced. From one crib to another will be
placed huge timbers, forty feet long, and
strong enough to bear the weight of the
loaded trains. Then crosswise from the
bank to these cribs will be laid two timbers
of the same size, and to these latter the
track will be spiked.
When it becomes necessary to move the
trestle few feet, instead of having to tear
down and rebuild the whole framework,
all that will be necessary will be to take a
crowbar and pinch or push the two top
timbers the distance that will be required.
Every time the dump reaches the level of
the track this operation will be repeated
until the whole width of 40 feet has been
filled the entire length of the block. Then
the framework will be unbolted and moved
trestle in this manner it is claimed that it
will not be necessary to have force of
men on the dump to keep it leveled, as the
trestle, being always above the top of the
dump, as much or as little earth as is re-
quired can be dumped into the fill.
A great deal of blasting will be required
to move this bank of almost solid rock 60
feet in height. But by commencing on tie
side of the hill farthest from the tide of
travel, and working in a cut, it is thought
there will be absolutely no danger from
flying rocks.
A force of probably thirty or forty men
will be employed, and it will require sew
eral months to complete the filling of the
block, which is about 20 feet below grade.
When it is finished there will be added to
the available business and residence por-
ton of the Potrero quite respectable piece
of land.
Quite lot of grading has been done
around the Potrero recently, particularly
in the vicinity of the new Potrero Gram
mar School, where the dirt was taken
from the banks on the north side of the
school and dumped into the low land on
the south side, along Sierra street. Then
| when the property, thus filled in, was
placed on the market, eight lots were sold
within week.
There seems to be pretty fair demand
for Potrero property lately, and THE CALL
Is given nuCn CTeulC ny TeSluGutS tutTe IOT
attracting attention to its advantages and
the prosperous manufacturing concerns
there. One of the best buys in real estate
just made is that of DR.. Emmet L. Wem
pie. He has purchased the corner lot on
the northeast corner of Kentucky and
Napa streets for $4,000. and intends put
ting up 900 brick building.
1t is expected that when DR.. Wempie's
building is completed the police station
will be moved into portion of it. There
is some talk in police circles of making the
Potrero and South San Francisco police
section or district of themselves and max
ing another district of the remainder of
the territory now covered by Lieutenant
Bennett. AS the district now is it extends
all the way to the county line.
A contract to pave with basalt blocks So
lano street. from Kentucky to Texas streets,
has been let to Warren & Malley. Two
blocks on the same street, from Texas to
Connecticut streets, are to be macadamized,
and Missouri street is to be macadamized
from Solano to Butte streets. Sierra street,
from Kentucky to Minnesota streets, will,
in all probability be improved next.
The Mexican man-Ot-war, the ZaragoZa,
will go on the ways at the Union Iron
Works IN day or two for painting and a
general cleaning. She has left great