The Oskaloosa herald., 1902-05-15
IOWACENTRAL WORK
Improvements Moving Along At
A Rapid Pace.

iHo past week WllueSSSu the III
auguration of the big improvement
that is being made in the River
Grade on the Iowa Central railroad
The steam shovel that cut the tor
from the Carbon Junction hill hay.
ing been fitted with a new crane and
apparatus, was moved to the north
end of the proposed cut and entered
upon its journey through the hill.
1t was placed upon the east side oil
the track and now for the past ten
days has been digging and scoopine
out about eighty cars of dirt per day.
The dirt thus moved is now being
taken to the fill on the north side OF
the Skunk river bridge and here used
in raising the grade to meet the new
steel briage that will be erected over
the stream some time during the
season.
1t is thought that the shovel will
be able to complete its labors by max
ing three trips through the hill, and
the work is now proceeding with that
end in view. At the present time the
progress of the work is frequently in
terrupted by the passage of the regu-
lar passenger and freight trains of
the road. This annoyance will soon
be a thing of the past. however, for
the trains will be sent around east
of the work on a track that is being
built east of the cut. When this is
accomplished about one hundred cars
of dirt will be moved daily and pos
sibly more. The entire season will be
required for the completing of the
work as now outlined at this point.
The volume of the work is hardly to
be appreciated or comprehended by
one not engaged in such work, and to
show its extent the HERALD man took
hts pencil and made the following de.
auctions and calculations: The work
that will be done during the summer
between the CITY of Oskaloosa and the
Skunk river requires the moving OF
between 10000 and 160, 1000 cubic
yards of dirt. A fat car as now used.
holds, on an ayerage,ten cubic yards
of the material. Counting one hun.
dred car loads of dirt moved daily We
have a thousand cubic yards handled.
At this rate the excavation will run
well into November, and possibly
December.
The depth of the average basement
in the city is about six feet. A
basement one hundred and twenty
feet by n hundred and twenty feet.
or a quarter of a block square will
yield 5000 yards of dirt, and a square
block 10000 yards. The dirt handled
on the Central grade this summer will
therefore, be equal to what would be
taken from the Easements of twelve
solid block of business buildings, or
what would be ~excavated for a solid
street of buildings between High and
First avenues, from the Iowa Cen.
trail passenger station east to Sixth
street. The total amount, also, might
be represented by a solid block of
earth a block square and seventy-five
feet high.
All of the dirt taken from the cuts
is being used to fill up the raise in the
river grade and the Quaker sag"
and there will be no extra material to
spare.
The loading and unloading of the
dirt trains is a very interesting piece
of work and attracts considerable
attention. Many people from the city
have been going to the location of the
shovel to watch it in operation. The
work train moves the cars slowly for
ward as the shovel dumps it's load up
on them. When the train is loaded a
wire cable is unwound from the drum
of the unloading apparatus and
stretched over the length of the train
by a stationary device rugged up at
the side of the track and holding the
cable end above the cars until the end
may be hooked into the pillow. Ar
rived at the place on the grade where
the dirt is desired a steam connection
is made with the rapid unloading APP
paratus and the locomotive boiler and
a pair of powerful engines turn a
great drum that winds UP the cable
that stretches over the length of the
train. The plow is thus drawn to.
ward the engine and throws the dirt
from the cars on either side. The
train having been unloaded, if it is
desired to spread the dirt unloaded,
the engineer touches an air apparatus
and a couple of metal wings are
spread. The train is then backed
over the territory just covered by the
shovel and the dirt that has been
heaped at the side of the rails is
kAN"N evenly oNCl TIC SluC VI llS
grade. The work having been COM
pleted, the engineer pulls another
lever and the metal wing shovels are
again drawn under the cars and out
of the way.
If the dirt is desired for the pur-
pose of raising the track it is left
at the track side and the ~surfacing
gangs proceed with it's disposition.
The work train that is now in the ser.
vice is in charge of Conductor John
c. Connolly. A second steam shovel
is at work at New Sharon. A deep
cut through the town itself requires
the moving of $4,000 yards of dirt.
but the fills made in the vicinity
of the town will take all of this and
possibly more.
The old grades were something like
one and a quarter per cent in several
places, and the greatest grade that is
permitted under the new order of
things is seven-tenths of n per
cent.
Scratch, scratch, scratch; unable to
attend to business during the day or