The Jersey City news., 1902-08-28
our GIANT
PIPE Line
Great Steel Conduit
From Boonton Now
Creeping Across
the Meadows.
A LAKE or OOzE
Massive Sections Hauled on
Trucks From Paterson
to Kingsland.
UNDER THE HACKENSACK
Rapid Progress Of the Work
Will Soon Bring East
Jersey Water to
High Service.

Passengers on the main line OF the
Delaware Lackawanna & Western Rall-
road, as they have sped along over the
wide stretch of meadow to the beginning
of the solid ground at Kingsland, have
had their attention attracted OF late by
a large force of men at work laying
down huge black pipes As the trains
fly by the passengers catch glimpses OF
the mems work, which arouse their Curl
osity and they wonder what that great
black snake. which runs almost parallel
with the tracks for long distance, and
which is evidently to go much further,
can possibly be. Some wiseacres have
declared that it is the beginning of the
monster trunk sewer which is to be laid
somewhere for the purpose of draining
the cities and towns which now poliutc
( the Passaic River, although, If ques-
toned on the subject they cannot explain
why the great trunk sewer should be
making such rapid progress away from
the valley which is it supposed to drain.
Thes pipes are not part of any trunk
sewer. but are part of the great aque-
t'is new supply of pure and wholesome
water which she is soon to receive from
the Rockaway shed. Interesting as is
the brief glimpse which is caught of these
operations from the train it is most enter
tanning to stand near by and watch the
men at work as they construct this huge
pipe line To the ordinary lay mind
= "a
struct and lay this line of heavy steel
pipes across the ooze and marsh which
extends from the Hackensack to the
solid ground at Kingsland, distance
of almost two miles. But when one sees
the manner in which it is done it appears
as easy and simple as laying bricks
HAULED FOURTEEN MILES,
The pipe comes in lengths of thirty
feet and is six feet in diameter, so that
an ordinary man could walk up right
from one end of the aqueduct to the
other without STOPPING or humping his
head. The steel sheets of which it is
made are made in Pennsylvania, and are
taken to Paterson, where at the East
Jersey Pipe Works, they are rolled and
riveted into the lengths of pipe. 1t is
fourteen miles from Paterson to Kings
land. and over this entire distance the
pipes are hauled on long trucks construct
ed expressly for this purpose. Each of
sists of two long narrow beams, which
make the whole affair look like a pair
of monster skids on wheels. Four horses
draw each of these trucks and it takes
them about three hours to make the
journey each way. Twelve of these
trucks in all are engaged in hauling the
big pipes. They move together. and, as
they come along the country roads ex-
tended out one after another, each with
its length Of massive black pipe, they
they make novel sight. The body of
each truck is about two feet from the
ground and the pipes are easily pulled
up ON it by horse power at the Paterson
works At KingsIand, however, the
process of unloading the trucks is much
different.
THE FIRST STEP.
The first step which the engineers took
in the laying of this pipe across the
marsh was to construct a solid road for
ty feet wide from the river to the up
land. This was done some months ago
by simply dumping solid filling into tas
ooze and letting it settle until it found
the bottom. Along this road these big
trucks bring the sections Of pipe to the
tplaee where they are to be laid. Skids
are laid from the truck to the ground,
as many men as can find place on. the
pipe for their hands push and strain un-
til the pipe is started and rolls down the
skIds into the marsh.
Putting the massive pipes in place is
almost as easy. In the centre Of the
road, which the engineers have built
across the meadows, Is dug a shallow
tecnch not over a foot or two deep. From
This heavy pieces of lumber are laid to
the pipes which rest in the ooze at the
side Of the road. This is from two 70
three feet deep and is entirely covered
with water SO that the large one is call
ed "The Lake. The lab5rers az wear
r1;hher boots which extend "a fheir mid.