Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-10-18
y norToMLEss PlI
Railroad Uses $500 Cars Of BalIast to
Eli : Small Hole.

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Chicago. Oct. 1S-Over $500 cars OF
ballast and timbers have just been un-
loaded by the Monon railway into q
seemingly bottomless pit in Lake scoun-
,ty. Indiana, to support its sinking road
bed. Eight hundred feet Of the bed set
ted, and in q little over two months the
depression had reached an estimated
Eidepth OF 100 feet The. first train in ten
weeks to pass over the location OF the
I'D roadbed arrived in Chicago yester-
day.
One day early in August the track In
spectors discovered that the road had
settled few inches for a distance Of $40
feet. beginning a mile and a quarter
north OF Cedar Lake. A temporary spur
was built around the old track, but In
the meantime the original bed had set
Tied several feet. An investigation was
ordered, and large force of men hur-
ried to the place In charge of expert road
builders.
twas at first supposed that the trouble
was caused by the ordinary settling ire
tIuent in the low lands south OF chicago.
Several car loads Of ballast were poured
into the hole, but as 1t had little erect
more men were hurried forward, and
Superintendent George Il. Lowell and
Roadmaster A. G. Wright personally
supervised the work. 4
Heavy timpers, old railroad ties and
huge logs were piled into the cavity,
which averaged thirty feet wide. and at
once sank from sight When the men
reported in the morning they would find
that the sinking during the night had
made their previous days work count
for nothing. So perplexed were the Mos
non officials that they quietly notified
the superintendents and rcadmasters OF
other lines, but they were unable to
solve the problem officials of the Penn
sylyania and Erie railroads, whose lines
mass thru that par, of Lake county,,
were particularly interested in the phe-
numenon.
Some contended that the sinking was
caused by the peculiar nature of the SOIL
in that locality. Others said the natural
PAS fields of Indiana extended that 1ar
north. and the exhaustion of the supply
was causing the surface soil to fall. me
officials of the company inclined to the
opinion that the bog or peat IN that sec
ton was, the real reason for the trouple.
Day after day the company continued
to unload ballast into the cavity, ana
finally its efforts won. For the las.
month there has been no setting, ana
the work has been directed to building
an entirely new roadbed. The new track
is estimated to be at least l0p rect above
the one over which all the traiiic OF the
road went three months ago, the aepth
of the hole being placed at that ligure.
The new roadbed apparently IS perlec.iy
solid and no attempt was mace 10 run
trains over ii until it had been carefully
tested.
RECORD IN RAILROAD WORK.
Roadmaster Wright, WHO has spent
his life in railroad building and who had
erect charge of filing the remarkable
cavity. regards 1t as his best piece OF
work.
"It was a remarkable thing" said he.
8.,rhe trains passed along that part of the
line in the middle Of the day, and few
minutes, Inter 1t was discovered that the
roadbed was sinking We built a spur
end we have been filing in that hole al
most ever since. AT times 1t seemed that
We never would see;the emo OF our work.
1t is filed, however, ana u is one OF the
deepest roadbeds in the world. II mas re-
CURED more ballest and other filling ma
terial than any other like distince of
railroad building in our records"
For sprains, swellings and lameness
there is nothing so good as Chamber
latn's Pain Balm. Try it. For sale by
all druggists.
The pillow works of the Sattley COM
pany. at Springfield, where a lockout
was ordered Wednesday pending set
Element of a wage dispute. will resume
3x,,,s ~, tto.,ss NEopday.a