The San Francisco call., 1896-04-02

heart and little doubt exists that time will
see the project an accomplished fact.
Speaking OF this matter yesterday Lyman
Bridges, q civil engineer of note in this
locality, said:
"a double track steel cantilever railway
bridge FOR standard and narrow gauge
tracks between the cities of San Francisco
and Oakland and Alameda is practicable
beyond question, and the benefits accruing
therefrom between these terminal cities in
time saved for passengers and freight can
hardly be oyerestimated.
The profile of the ground line of San
Francisco Bay from Folsom street, San
Francisco (south of all the ferries), to the
nearest point in Alameda south OF the
narrow-gauge pier and mole, is entirely
practicable. The bridge will have eleven
spans of 1000 feet, two spans of 700 feet,
ten spans of 500 feet and two draw or turn
bridges $50 feet each, with center pier of
50 feet in width. giving a clear space of 100
feet on either side of.the center pier and
mole two miles in length on the Alameda
side having a width OF 10 feet and 80 feet
in the clear on the grade line.
The mole willbe level with the top of the
road way OF the bridge. The length of the
the mole two miles IN length. The bridge
will be OF sufficient height to allow tug
boats 10 pass under arches between piers.
The piers for the bridge will be white metal,
iron or steel cylinders twenty feet in
diameter, eight feet long. with cast flanges
at either end. and bolted together after
each section is filled with concrete. Six
of these cylinders will be placed at each
pier and well braced and bonded together
at each section while in the caissons. At
the roadway at each pier str ong steel cross
beams will be bolted TO the cylinders, and
steel strlngers upon which ties, rails and
guard rails will be placed.
AT the center piers at the draw Or turn
bridges additional cylinders will be placed
for support and guards when the draws
are opened.
These. draw-bridges will have steam
engines on the top for opening and closing
rapidly, and..electric signals as well as flag
signals. 1t IS estimated that they can be
opened or closed in one minute.
AT New York the Kill Won Kull draw
bridge between Staten Island and New
Jersey is $50 feet span with 50-foot GEN.
ter pier, and the largest ships successfully
pass without complaint from anybody. In
Chicago over 90, 600 vessels annually pass
in and ont through dozen draw or swing
bridges, and CONNER is benefited thereby
because rail and sail are brought more
closely together. For traffic over the great
railway bridge between Omaha and Coun-
ell Bluffs they have,a vestibule train with
open ends of cars with four to ten cars in
q train; they drive teams or stock
into one end of the train. and when a car
IS full OF teams orstock close the doors and
at the destination at either side of the
Missouri River open and drive out upon
platform and incline safely and quickly
"At San Francisco an elevated road
twenty-four feet above and across East
street, will bring the railway north along
the three blocks between East and Steuart
streets to Market street, similar to that of
the Pennsylvania Central Railway in the
city of Philadelphia, at their city passen-
an elevated railway up Market street. Also
from Folsom and East streets an elevated
road will swing TO the south toward Harri-
son and Spear or Beale streets and con-
tinue TO the Third and Townsend street
station and China Basin and Illinois street,
thus connecting with all present lines of
railways and the present Belt Line Rail-
way in San Francisco.
This plan can be extended further by
securing three or four blocks west of Steu-
art and south of Market streets, if con-
centration of railways and fast freight and
fruit business could be induced to have o
grand central station near the foot of
Market street and principal ferries.
"At the Oakland and Alameda end the
lines from the south end of the mole at
the Junction with the narrow-gauge rail-
way can be built to a connection with
Railroad avenue and Prospect street for
Alameda, and for Oakland from the south
end Of the mole to and across Alice-street
railway bridge, which, with curve from