Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1904-03-17
THE NORTH RIVER
TUNNEL IS DONE
Final Excavation Made and the
Last Tube Riveted.
NOT AN INCH OF DISCREPANCY
Twenty Men, Headed by President
McAdOO, Passed Through the
Completed Tunnel Under the
HudsO River.

New York, March 13.-The North
river has been obliterated at last. A
dream that has stirred the pulse of two
great cities for 80 years has become a
reality. Twenty men passed through
a completed tunnel under the Hudson
river Saturday.
The gang of men pushing the cutting
shield under the bed of the river broke
through into the New York heading
just before noon, and the last ring Of
the cast iron casing plates was riveted
into place at 11:55 a. m. That ended
II.
Not az Inch of Discrepancy.
So exact had been the calculations OF
the engineers that, When the closing
shield was opened, the tunnel was
found to be connected without an inch
of discrepancy. The first to look
through the shield into the New York
heading was Superintendent Jas. Bra
dy. He yelled with delight as he gazed
On the faces of the New York gang Of
workmen.
Before entering the first air-lock,
where the pressure was II pounds to
the square inch, each member of the
party was handed a box of gum and
told to Chew for dear life"
"SwaIlOw, Swallow, Swallow"
IF you feel that you are about to
turn inside out" remarked a doctor,
cheerfully, swallow, swallow, swal-
low, as fast as you an"
Thus encouraged, President McAdoo
and his companions set out on the first
stage OF their journey. The air roared
while the pressure was being turned
on. Seated in the small cable cars
which had been used to carry out ex-
cavated materials, the party rolled
along the rails and through the cleo
trically illuminated steel tube now into
the dark, o into the brilliant light;
down and down, to the lowest point,
far under the bed of the Hudson; then
gradually up, until they had travelled
1000 feet from the entrance.
End of the First Lock.
There they reached the end of the
first lock, and crawled through the
stout steel doors into the second lock,
where the pressure was even greater.
Chew gum and swallow hard" was
the repeated warning of President Nc
Adoo as they made their way on foot
up the long line of the tunnel to the
point where the connection had been
made with the New York heading just
a little while before.
Gasping for breath, they hurried
through the solid rock cut which had
given the engineers the greatest trou-
BILE.
At one stage of the journey Chief
Engineer Jacobs told the party they
were only ten feet under the bottom of
/ the river, with millions of tons of wa
ter above them, and a stout steel tube
as their only protection
Through the Second Lock
Through the door of the second lock
the members of the party crowded and
drew up in a cluster in the New York
heading, surrounded by the workmen.
Through two more locks they passed
on foot, experiencing at each lock a
elimination of the air pressure, and
then were conducted TO the final cham
Der, containing only the normal pres
sure of the atmosphere. Then they
were drawn UP to the surface. None
was worse for the experience.
A Two Days Holiday.
The Stars and Stripes were run up
amid cheers. President McAdoo ad-
dressed the workmen, giving two days
holiday with pay, and the party, after
a final round of cheers, resumed ordi-
nary attire and dispersed.