New-York tribune., 1899-07-14
DRYDOCK NO. 2 INJURED.
RAIN CAUSES ANOTHER ACCIDENT AT
THE NAVY YARD
REPAIRS STARTED AT oNcE-THE ENTIRE

REPAIRS STARTED AT oNcE-THE ENTIRE
STRUCTURE MAY BE REBUILT.
In the violent storm OF Wednesday night the
Navy Yard suffered considerably, although the
full extent Of the damage was not known untii
yesterday morning when marine reported 70
the chief civil engineer and the captain of the
yard that the western wall Of Drydock No. =.
commonly known as the Simpson dock. had
been undermined by the floods OF water which
had soaked the ground, and had given way
The break is near the bottom OF the wall. and
large number Of the big timbers forming the
supports Of the string pieces which run length
wise Of the dock were broken and forced from
their positions.
A large amount Of dirt and mud poured into
the dock. and the water which flowed in
through the break kept the pumps busy for
come time. Luckily there was no vessel in the
dock. the Detroit having been foated out on
Tuesday. after cleaning 1t was at first
thought that only a little damage had been
caused but careful examination showed that
the timbers which had been broken and carried
away had been so weakened and strained that
the whole side of the dock will have to be re-
built.
WORK BEGINS AT ONCE.
Chief Engineer Asserson at once started
gang Of men at work clearing away the broken
tinbers and removing the earth in the basin
and the remaining portions of the dock walls
were so secured that there is no danger Of a
further collapse. This accident will place the
work Of caring for vessels which may come to
the yard in Dock No. 3. which is much larger
than the one injured and has shown no sign
Of weakness since the work of repairing 1t was
finished by Naval Constructor Bowles. Dry
dock No l. the stone dock is large enough to
accommodate vessels of the Chicago class. but
the battle ships are too large for II.
II is possible that the work OF repair Will be
hurried, there is a large portion Of an ap-
propriation available. but 1t is intimated that
when the subject is considered by the bureau
chiefs II may be decided to carry out Captain
Assersons plan. and rebuild the dock entirely
1t has been in service about ten years. and was
built by the Simpsons under contract at a cost
OF about S6OOOOO and was damaged about two
years ago through the lifting OF the catsson by
an unusually high tide. The dock was flooded the
caisson wrecked the commandants launch
buried under the ruins and a lot OF damage
caused 10 other craft near the entrance TO the
dock. Since then large boom has been placed
across the entrance blocking admission 10 the
dock unless the caisson is removed in the regu-
lar way. The dock also weakened some
what by the disaster which befell the big dock
close to It, and while the latter was filled with
water. the former showed some leaks which
caused considerable anxiety.
NOT AN UNMIXED EVIL
Drydock No. is 800 feet long. 132 feet wide
on the coping 80 feet wide on the bottom, and
S6 feet wide at the top of the caisson. 1t is
capable OF accommodating vessels as large as
the cruiser Ncw-York. When 1t was built the
contractors experienced great difficulty owing
10 the prevalence of quicksands which inter-
fered with the solidity Of the foundations. To
this cause also attributed the difficulty with
Drydock No. 3. The present accident is re-
garded as not unmixed evil, for IT gives
fresh start to the project Of building another
big drydock at the yard. a site between the
entrances to docks Nos. l and 2. This dock
would reach into the yard toward the northern
end Of the machine shop. and would make the
dock system Of the yard the most complete OF
the Government plants.
Rear Admiral Philip sent a report OF the ac
cident together with report on the fire which
occurred on Wednesday night in the yard. to
the Department in Washington. The fire was
also caused by the storm, a large quantity OF
water having found access to a number OF bar
rels Of unslacked lime in a shed, causing II to
take fire and set fire to the shed. Little damage
was caused although two alarms were sent in
and the marines formed a bucket brigade
Owing to prompt action there was little work
for the city f1remen TO do. and the damage can
easily be repaired