New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-03-12
P.R.R. R.AWARDS CONTRACTS
TWO BIDDERS GET THEN.
S. Pearson s Son and the O'ROurkt
Company-PlanS for Work.

To s Pearson & Son, Limited the English
contractors. Of which Sir Weetmau Dickinson
Pearson is the head. yesterday awarded the
contract to build the four tunnels under the
East River for the Pennsylvania New-York EX-
tension Railroad Company. a corporation formed
20 carry out the tunnel plans Of the Pennsyi-
vania and the Long Island Railroad Company.
This award completes the letting Of the tunnel
,vc-L as the O'Rourte Engineering Coustruc-
Laf 90. ppaIiy OF which s.hu p. tRo-rSe IS
president obtained the contract for the North
River tunnel job a few days ago. The awarding
of the North River tunnel contract TO the
0.Rourke company was reported in The Tribune
several davs ago. and that report was officially
confirmed on Thursday. and again yesterday.
when the official announcement regarding the
Pearson company was made.
: Pearson 4 Son is one Of the largest con-
tracing firms in the world. II was established
more than fifty years ago. and has Invented
MANY appliances used i'm tunnel building 1t
was the first it is said. TO use the system OF
sbieId driven construction. Its nominal capital
is S7,JNOO0O. For more than "a decade IL has
been engaged in some Of the largest engineering
works IN the world. Besides the Blackwall tUn-
ne,s the North City tube and the Dover Harbor
,rrrroverneuts Il has built the English govern
ruent docks at Malta and has had number Of
large contracts i'm China.
It has an extensive contract with Mexico un-
der which II has been doing large amount OF
harbor and railway construction I'm that coun-
try. having just finished the building Of the Vera
Cruz Harbor improvements. 1t is now building
the Tebuautepec Railway. from Tehauntepec. on
the Gulf side to Coatzacoalcos on the Pacific side
of the isthmus. with harJor construction at
either end.
Tt is said TO do SsO0OOOOO Of contracting
To- al cot
Carr Brothers No. 81 Broadway. Sir Weet-
man Dickinson Pearson. president. and f. w
.Toir another member of the firm. are staying
at the Waldorf. Sir Weetman and Mr. Moir
came TO this city from Mexico Tuesday last
While in Mexico Sir Weetman was stricken with
intermittent fever. Since then he has had fire.
quent recurrent attacks. He was so i'll with
the fever yesterday that he was compelled to
keep to his room at the Waldorf.
In speaking about the awarding Of the East
River tunnel contract TO the Pearson company
Mr.. Moir said last night
have been identified with tunnel work in This
Ps,t Trs ~, uS sas '"S We {g "a. CLOCK to-day
sent word TO Sir Weetman that the PeunsyIvaniI
tunnel contract TO the Pearson company No
If the Pearson sempSGv f6r tf s TO Fi tEe HEures
] do not think should say anything I under
stand that several other parties bid for the work
and that the Pearson bid was not the lowest The
W. 1rI.fJ
10 the Pearson company was. I think that t1e
PENNSYLVANIA Railroad thought it was likely 10 do
the work In the best possible manner on Account
o. its vast tunnel experience. Work ON tb. 10
River tunnel Will be begun soon as DoesfbIa
No time must be lost. Tn Pearson bid was sub
mitted last October.
Sir Weetmau and 7 received a dispatch from, tho
Pennsylvania peOple about a week ago sslting ms
t. come 10 this city. After arrived he-r TroT1
Mexico. on last Tuesday, held q CousuItat zion
with Chief Engineers Noble and Jacobs The nm
nel work must be completed IN four wears from,
date Of contract. I have 10 doubt that the Pc n
son company can do IL in the time set as ! do NOT
appTehend any difficulty in building the tu-DeI
Our methods in constructing the RackwalI quS rhc
Severn tunnels will / think. be followed in ne
East River work The greatest achievement Of the
Pearson company. ! consider to BE- the BlackwaII
viii be smaller than that tunnel which Will in nv
opinion. make the East River work easier than was
the BllckwaN work; the air pressure in the East
River. however. viii be higher. and there will Ia "a
great deal Of rock to bore through
The East River work. ia my opinion is one Of tho
taken by railroad. only an American railroad
would dare project such "a feat. An Fnrlfsh
railroad would. think think long time before il
conceived that such a feat was possible
The O'ROurke Engineering Construction Com
pany was capitalized at S1.000O0O Among the
directors are George W. Young Andrew Freed
man. Robert II. McCurdy and James y Burden.
jr. Its president. John +. O'Rourke. was the
chief engineer Of the construction work Of the
Poushkc epsie Bridge. For some years Mr..
Continued on fourth page.