The sun., 1900-12-23
AMERICAN WORK IN INDIA
HioHssr vSAbtrr ~ rBr Wossb u,Ur
NJ OfH UT'UtNUs
A. american 'omp,n' secured the f"r''aS
OvV somprii,ofs ttom Al Nations. and
ssmpiet-d the Gigantic Undertaking ~
Tine and wthou, the Z ne. ~ . wer.


over Competition. r,om Al Nations. snd
ssmpiet-d the Gigantic Undertaking. ~
Tine srd without the to" ~ . war.
U,nhisnra Pa. poc ~ tno'hHf T"lt
American ergI neerlpr ic1t Ia, hoen acopf ..
pllshed and the N,id ~ vi ch spans TIC
Gok,ok sorse ~ Indln viii stand Ne an an
during monument ~ tho r~ru'yv nnia steel
Compnny's skdl In bridge building II "
not no rrst great undertaking ~ the bridge
ard cpns'r4ctIuu Department ~ 'hia opm-
unr,. hit II ha, a't-ac' Il s''"ntlon through
ont a." world hy rs1,rn ~ tho diNloultlcs
IN the way of sIC""4.t II cpnpi't on ~ IN
work Thousands 81 miles Il stnrt from the
plant - tho company 1t Stoclton. ana with
innumerablc obst lcles 10 ho ov"tcoms be-
fore the construction Of the vlaiuct could
be even communicable required sublime
courage % invade the en-ny's country ana
an tch from English competitors the con-
tract for a viaiuCt Of thi, character on au
English railroad. Following closely upon
the heels Of tho Atbara bridge contract.
also won over British bridg" Idsrs by an
othsr Pennsylvania company. the foreign
bidders stood agnpe and II should not no m at
ter of surprise hat they are now considering
the removal OF their plants to this side Of the
Atlantic
The British Government having invited
proposals for the building OF a viaduoS
across the Goktelk gorge. q wild and pio-
turesque rift In tho Shan Hills Of Burmah.
about eighty miles east OF Mandalay. the
Pennsylv anis Stes Company secured the
contract at a figure approximately 300. 900.
The site OF the bridge Is about $50 miles In
land from Rangoon. the principal seaport
Of Burmah. J. V. W. Reynders. superin-
tendent of the bridge and construct de-
partment OF the company, prepared the pro-
liminary drawings aud estimates and q rep
preventative was sent 20 London To submits
the proposal and explain anything which
needed explanation. Chiefly for the reason
that the PENNSYLVANIA COMPANY agreed to
complete the work In such brief space Of
time was the contr act gwen TO the American
bidder. IL was thought by the foreign bid
ders th at the Pennsylv ana company would
surely fail, but cab!ezrGn just received
states that tho viaduot has been &C cepted
by the British Gov ernment j. c. Turk Of
New York. as resident ngincer and agent
Of the contractor. has had personal direction
OF the construction work In India. and having
attended to the fornalities incident to trans
ferring the viaduot 70 the Government he
is now on his way home with others OF the
American force. including Louis n. GrosA
the foreman.
ne WOnueT1ul Bteel udvellsf uBeQ IN tnO
construction work was tho original design
OF F. W. Cohen. the assistant superintendens
| OF tho bridge department OF the Steelton
works. where IL was made and shipped 10
tcrisls, This s colossa , crane had the unpreo -
dented overhang Of 1914 feet and weighed
10000 pounds II was built Of iron AID
ss wen eHoe sons 81 W this hase
machine tho towers of tho viaduct wero
aI vi Ia ahn1a n neY L
ing up from the ground hundreds OF feet
below the various parts necessary TO finish
the gorge was spanned without tho loss of
one man and with no serious occide The
viaduct IS 1850 feet long and $40 feet high
In the centre of the gorge. but the, central
tower rests upon wonderful natural bridge,
tho river flowing through natural tunnel
Twenty men Of tho construction force left
, the works OF the company at Steelton In tho
summer Of 1892 sailing from New York on
more followed on he Teuton last February.
The erection Of the viaduct was started on
Since the latter date the traveller had 70 be
removed. the tools shir1ed and some rivettinS
and painting, done There were employ ed
about 400 natives To obtain these II waS
necessary 10 send man an over indla ana
Bnrmah The nattyes ar are woTsed n gangs; gangs
were paid about "a cents day
Great trouble was encountered at the OUT
communication bet tween Mandalay and tho
site or the 81 erat ions, and also on the main
line TO Baneo9n. To make matters woree, the
railroads used TO TRANSPORT the materials was
a narrow-gauge line with grade OF one foot
| in twenty five. and the total train capacity
was forty tons less than the average capacity
OF one Of our American cars Under ths
circumstances the short time In which this
mighty Undertaking was completed Is mar.
Stcelton 70 Brooklyn and the cars necessary
to transport, 1t would make q train one and
iron and steel complete pneumatic plant.
four hoisting engines, seventy coils Of rope.
the steel traveller and other applisnces to
shipped in three vessels to RansOon. and
the total weight was about 5000 tons, ex:
elusive OF the erection outfit, which weighed
| $50 tons
Until recently the gorge which the bridge
spans was a wilderness and the company
portable houses. medical stores and other
necessary articles Tor the Americans. The
"s il Was clear and hpt and by noon m % il wa Was % al
most impossible TO work in the sun. During
the afternoon there would be "a steady down.
high altitude. II would be SO cold that heavy
blankets were necessary But the Americans
three others returned home.
lhe ,viaduct rs on what Is known as the
of the BuImah Railways. The towers, ore
built for double track, but only two lines
OF girders. for single track, have been placed
in position. These are on one side OF tho
tower and two or more lines VIII be required
when IL comes to double tracking This rail-
way, however. is under government control
and il IL also a highway from Mandalay 10
hunlon. which made II necessary 10 build
a solid floor with railing SO that pedestrians
could walk over the viaduCt The natural
bridge on which the central towers rest 10
only little wider than the base Of the high
est tower
A. now completed and turned over 70
the British Government the bridge is one OF
the highest. II not the highest, in use on any
railroad in tho world The highest point
on the Kirzua viaduct in this State 10 zoe
feet while the Gokteik viaduci is $50 feet;
tho kinzua struCtur" l. ?.oj2 feet long end
that over ihc Gok'Cik gorge 200 feet The
yiaduCt opens n dir' ct road from kangoon.
the seaport OF Burmah, TO China