The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1902-03-29
Slack-wire Walkers.

Not all the slack wire walkers are en-
gagged by the circuses Within a few
weeks the building of the new East river
bridge will have work for another 25 men
who can walk on slack wires, and there
will be abundance of work for them for
some little time. The men will be re-
quired to walk in gangs of 25, so that
any one who wants to see the largest
single aggregation of slack wire walkers
ever performing at one time should keep
an eye on the new bridge, says a Brooklyn
correspondence of the Chicago Journal.
PERHAPS it would be well to explain that
the 25 slack wire walkers who may be re-
quired by the builders of the East river
bridge are not expected to give thrilling
performance They will be expected to
work, and there will be painful lack of
spectacular features about the task They
will be needed to tread the wire, as
the operation of Strengthening and diser-
tangling the cable wires is called, but none
the less they will be legitimate performers
on the slack wire
Up at the top of the new big bridge
men are now busily at work stretching the
single wires which, later on will be bound
together toform the great cables which
are to support the big structure. Two
wires are stretched at time by machine
which is hauled back and forth across the
East river and each day the embryo cables
grow bigger and bigger. 1t may seem to
be vely simple matter to stretch wires
from one side of a river to the other, but,
as a matter of fact, it is one of the most
troublesome and intricate details of the
work.
Each one of the single wires is O. 165 of
an inch in diameter, and 291 of these
single wires are stretched across the river
before they are bound together to form one
of the 19 parts of which each of the great
cables is to be constructed. In other
words, 19 cables are made on each side of
the bridge and then each group of l9 is
bound together to form single length for
one of the big cables.
Every time one of the 19 strands is
completed the slack wire walkers are called
into service to arrange the wires. Every
thing possible is done to keep the wires at
the same temperature, but each one Of the
long strands is as sensitive as thermome-
ter to changes of temperature, and the con-
sequence is that the wires 'snarl up and
get twisted into the most astonishing COM
binations. Into this mass of wire the 25
slack wire walkers lower themselves, and,
holding on tight by hand cables that are
specially provided for them, they "tread
out the tangled wires by short sections
until the part they are working on lies
smooth. When this occurs the small ca
BILE is quickly bound around so as to pre-
vent it from twisting again, and then the
s'wire walkers pass along to the next sec
tioE.
The work of threading out the mass
of wires is very laborious, slow and primi-
tive, but the engineers say that it is still
the only way in which the work can be
done satisfactory
When each of the 19 cables has been
''trodden out and bound up safely each
must be lifted, one after the other, into
the saddles on the top of the towers. The
end of each individual wire has TO be fast
ened to pin before it is stretched, and
then all these 291 pins on the ends of the
wires have to be gathered together and
made fast to the anchorage on each side of
the river. When this has been done s.,
529 times, the resulting cables are fastened
19 times more, and then each biz cable is
ready to be wound . This is done by
gathering together the 19 thick wire Ca
bles and winding them around and around
with wire, in the same way that sailor
''seizes rope-or in the same way in
which thread is wound upon SPOOL
Not until each Of these l9-ply cables
have been bound around, tested, and ad-
iusted, will it be possible for the builders
to begin work upon the roadway of the
bridge. All the peculiarities of behavior
evidenced by the individual wires in each
of the 19 strands are accentuated when
the whole number is bound together.
When the sun shines on one side of the
big cable it expands, while the other side
being in the shade contracts slightly. The
result is that the cable usually tries very
hard to tie itself into knot, and it is the
task of the bridge builder to circumvent
these intentions by giving it room in which
to move If the bridge were not allowed
plenty of 'play'' it is probable that it
would pull itself down, say the engineers.
So far there have been very few bad
accidents on the bridge. This is due, it
is said, to the remarkable amount of good
weather which has been experienced. 1t
is on gusty, squally days, it seems, that
the most danger is incurred. Contrary to
popular belief men are very seldom blown
from these high structures, but they do
sometimes make miscalculations and then
they fall. In order to preserve their bal
ance when working at great height, with
no hand hold and little more than bare
room for their feet, the men are accus-
toned to lean forward or back, as the case
may be, and SO brace themselves against
the wind
IF there comes sudden and unexpected
lull the workman finds himself instantly
robbed of the support upon which ne had
been leaning, and unless he can recover
himself swiftly he falls to his death For
this reason the days when the wind blows
in occasional sharp puffs are dreaded by