The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-06
WORK ON SEABOARD
 IS BEING PUSHED People Begin to Realize What
 It Means to the City TRACKS LAID IN THE CITY Gigantic Task of Lowering the Water Main on Twenty-second Street to
 Allow Laying of Track Has
 Been Completed.
TRACKS LAID IN THE CITY

The new tracks of the Seaboard Air Line coming into Birmingham will be laid in a deep cut along Avenue A from Twenty-third street to Twentieth street On each side of this cut will be high cement retaining wall and there will be a driveway for vehicles on each side of the track.
 The track is now laid up as far as Twenty-third street and extends about five miles east before there is an uncom- pleted stretch.
 The excavation for the cut along Ave nue A is now in progress and has been practically finished as far as the Twenty second street viaduct. The viaduct along both Twenty first street and Twenty-sec- ond street will be remodeled so as to pass over the cut and will be raised sufficient ly to allow the passage of trains.
 Seaboard trains will cross Twentieth street on the grade that now exists. The freight depot for the new line will be located on Avenue A between Eighteenth and Twentieth streets and the Seaboard tracks will extend. down far enough to connect with the branch of the Birming- ham Belt railway on South Nineteenth street.
 To Extend Out Avenue A.
 Later on it is the intention to extend the new line on out Avenue A, but for the present the tracks will extend only to Nineteenth street. A petition was presented by the railway to the city council at it's last meeting to allow the building of stationary awnings out over the street in front of the new freight depot so that freight can be loaded and unloaded in all kinds of weather. The the railway pave the street under the awning with vitrified brick.
 There is no doubt now but what Sea board passenger trains will run into the Union passenger station. Definite ar engagements have not yet been made with the Louisville and Nashville for entrance into the station, but it is felt that there will not be the last difficulty on that score.
 Present plans contemplate the making of arrangements with one of the roads now entering the station from the east for the use of its tracks to run passen- ger trains into the she'd
 While the Seaboard tracks are on Ave nue A, and will run, within two blocks of the passenger station, it will be nec- essary to connect up with some of the lines having rights of way on Railroad avenue. This connection will probably be made somewhere out in the vicinity of Sloss furnace.
 Importance Realized.
 Since Seaboard engineers have actually begun exeavations' for tracks within the corporate limits of Birmingham, persons generally realize more fully the impor- tance and magnitude of the work in pro- gress and many spectators are seen down on. Avenue A every day watching the work.
 In digging the cut some arrangement had to be made so that the work would not interfere with the water service mains which cross the avenue horizontal ly between Twenty-second and Twenty third streets. The pipes have been raised on scaffods and cross the street about fifteen feet above the surface of the ground By this means the water supply of consumers along the avenue is not in- terfered with.
 The pipes present an unusual appear ance suspended in the air as they are and the engineers and workmen in charge are constantly being asked what part these pipes play in the work that is going on.
 Water Main Lowered.
 The Birmingham Water Works compa- ny has practically completed it's gigantic task of lowering the big main above it without interference. This was one of the biggest engineering feats that has been attempted in Birmingham for many a day.
 The big main from the Cahaba station had to be lowered twenty-seven feet at Avenue A and Twenty-second street, and at the same time the work had to be done in such a manner as not to interfere with the water supply. The excavations ex- tended for two blocks and required many months of constant work
 Much of the work was through solid lime rock. and when it Is considered that neither dynamite nor powder could be used. because of the fear of endangering the water main, and that hundreds of tons of rock had to be picked out by hand 1t is remarkable piece of work.