New-York tribune., 1901-12-23
SPINNING THE CABLES.
HOW THE CONSTRUCTION OF THOSE
FOR THE NEW EAST RIVER BRlD'E
is GOING FORWARD.

On swaving scaffolds hundreds OF feet above the
boats that ply up and down the East HlVeI' @ ,,e
euploves Of the Roebling Company SKIP apol m
r,orl,exs working or the giant cables that are
being spun across where the completed NC"
R1,er F3rdra will swing. The work was begun tlle
dav before Thanksgiving, and II u Is 10 " IN
ished by next Thanksgiving Day Il VIII
the utmost efforts of the pulloefs' :or
In the company of Mr.. Hildebrand chlel eng
,n charge a Tribune reporter climbed up TO wneie
+he ,,en were working. All went well until tne
ascent to the steel pillar began AFTER 'iia -.
visit was strenuous TO be calieu eiJoS -
When the two steel pillars had been oulIt luii'D
F ,;ra cables were stretched across over thelI ups
80 5or, n. the abutments each side. TO THESE
tbe scaffolds resembling long galleries. were a.
tached like clothes on a line Inc "lie i'4
strong enough TO hold up herd OF eIephah'N. '
nm there swinging and jerking about IN the IresH
breeze the average person. as ne gaZeS "iie"'n
o,,- 70 the distant housetops. gets impressed Win
the idea that those cables are not stout eHous"
10 hold his weight
Abo,,A the scaffoding are stretched number OF
1,,a+ snpear 10 be ordinary trolley wires. ihese
are the first threads of the big cables one D! one
those wires are being pulled across over -FOUR huee
wheels passing over the tops OF the Nv" pie
The biehts at each end are passed aToulu 5is,
castings called shoes. These SHOES are aHOi
7on feet deep in the solid masonry of the abumen'S
&C ;dea of what thickness and strength the DIE
cabIae will have may be gathered from the lact
thar each of those little wires now otns pulleu
across is guaranteed to sustain a weight oi oV'o
mounds Two hundred and eight OF them VIII 'e
reouired 10 make single strand and the Dig caoe
will consist of thirty-seven such strands lheIe e
IN he four of these cables, each 5V' Ieet ioIS'
From these will be suspended hundreds OF sIhaiiei
"a bIes 10 support the beams below upon Whlch te
bridge itself will rest Hundreds. OF cross S'aS
from the towers will also help TO sustain some Oh
the weight. .
To realize how rapid has been the adVahcenen'
in the science of suspension bridge building II ls
necessary only to remember that the nrst priuss
of that kind was constructed just one hunoreu
wears ago over small creek near GreehSoulS'
Pam IT was rude affair, hanging IN chalis, '"e
,ola structure little one hundred ieet ions'
GRADUALLY wire cables employed IN lhe coli-
+r,cton of the jority Of suspension hrogeS 'E 4
I,a,s aen stretched across already mace But ~ ~
xnerieoce of bridge builders has conNlnceu
.tat Hbera the cables have been spun III PoS!L -
e. hest results were obtained NOT ON! can a-
~ ,,Iia5 tauter but the strands can thus pe I9
evenly and firmly laid together giving llsil du
tional strength. . Intending +re nres-
80 work has probably had as rIlucl 49,
:; +r;e line of engineering as any otheT hEILe ii
rca-t 81 John Roebling who built the bI ~
Prdge and is the contractor for the IeN TJi,5a
4I corstrIcton of the Broo-yn Brldge MF: ~
brsoS XZas Mr Roeblings assistant Later ne to>
f,fl charge of the cable laying or the SoNii'e'0i
Cincinnati Bridge.