New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-01-03
. ra,tor Of The Tribune.


..-,v five years hence he can begin tunnel
-. the East River and finish II before that
- begun by the Rapid Transit Commits
=, cor7rleted From what other engineers
<-,fIs- with subaqueous tunnelling nave told
20 r.cently and from statements MADE oy
.-,-v-n.n who have been employed IN the old
.yusson River tunnel and later in the recently
hsguu East River tube, I am inclined TO be-
lsve not only that the promises or the haplu
r-sns,t Commissions engineers that trains VIII
- cunning from the Battery 10 Borough Hall
an Brooklyn in two years are optimistic in the
.rtrerne. but also that the kind Of tunnel the
o,,v Is constructing will be unsafe for the oper-
.tion Of high speed electric cars
while the plans for The Pennsylvania railroad
,unnel provide against accidents 10 the tunnel
walls BY the derailment Of a car or motor there
Is apparently no such provision in the Rapid
transit Commissions plan for the East River
.unnel nor can there De. according TO the opin-
Ems Of engineers with whom have lately con-
,ersed. a similar safeguard in the rapid transit
.rr,sI without radical changes in the plans.
The benches Of concrete on each side OF the car
tracks In the Pennsylvania Railroad tubes, as
high as the bottoms of the car windows. would
keen q derailed train away from the walls Of the
,uhe Nowhere except possibly at the top as
=, result Of the telescOping Of cars, could any
of the wreckage from such an accident come
into contact with the metal walls. These thick
masses OF concrete. however, are almost as
heavy as. 4 not heavier than. the tubes oead
weight with its moving load added. To sup
port these enormous weights the Pennsylvania
Railroad tunnel engineers have decided that
more firm foundation than the river bed at the
zenith where the tubes are 10 lie is required.
Screw piling. descending TO great depths below.
4. 70 stand beneath the tubes and TO support
them No such ping and no substitute for 1t
No foundations IN fact whatever-is 10 be laid
for the East River tunnel. AT only one point
between pier lines, I understand the prohle
published by the rapid transit engineers, is there
a rock support for the tube. 1t is 10 be con-
Htructed partly in the treacherous silt that forms
the greater part OF the river bed and partly In a
comparatively thin layer Of clay that lies be-
tween the upper silt, and a still finer and less
stable silt below, saturated with fresh water
I. the vein OF clay were thick enough TO inclose
the tubes wholly and if its trend conformed to
the grade of the bore so that at no point would
there be q lack Of foundation or Of cover OF this
material sufficient 10 resist the weight press
ure and possible shock from accidental causes
probably there would be no additional safety in
an artificial foundation. but such, am told Is
not the case
The steep grade from each pier line TO the
nentre of the river. 10 which Mr. Mclean has
directed alIeNloIi, d1-l l44e S-4O- N---S - 49,
est level. II seems TO me. constitute very grave
menace TO the lives Of passengers.
suppose a water main should burst either in
Brooklyn or IA Manhattan undermine the I'll
protected land end OF the tunnel and the stream
flow into it, A few hundred barrels would MI
the l5-foot tube 10 the top at it's lowest point
In q very few moments and a train running
into the food would carry its passengers TO GER
tain death. OF course, a considerable leak in
the subaQueous section would not be less fatal
Candor conpels the admission. however, that
whatever the grade OF the tunnel, there could be
no safety within ii below the water level if the
tube were broken. Referring to the cross sec
ton illustrated in your publication last Sun
day, find that the cast steel tube is slightly
reinforced on the outside by a thin shell Of con-
crete, or grout, and that the space between the
ribs inside is filled with the same material
Aside from this, the only barrier between pas
sengers and the food Of mud and water pressing
upon the tube with tremendous force at the
lower level is a cylindrical sheet Of 1k-inch
cast steel Would a derailed car ploughing
through the thin concrete lining between the
ribs and striking Of them with its full
weight at the velocity with which the trains are
20 be run break the tube? I confess / do not
know. II is not my business TO know, but every
engineer 10 whom have put the question has
shrugged his shoulders and said he would rather
be elsewhere than in the tunnel when such
experiment tried.
an well aware that too much credence should
not be placed IN the story OF a workman who for
any reason has abandoned his Job but the
stories Of two men with whom have recently
talked agree well in the main, and disagree
naturally in minor particulars that they
al least worth passing thought. These men
are both laborers who formerly worked IN the
old North River tunnel, or at least who say
they did and who until recently have been en-
ployed in the new East River tunnel. One OF
them declares that after the recent accident IN
the old North River tunnel he had left the job
not account OF the bends" a species OF
paralysis due 10 working IN compressed air, but
because the longer he worked there the more
firmly he became convinced that he might go
into the tube once too often. 1T is a Shiny
burrow In the river mud" he declared. land
entirely too near he'll for a Christian with big
family" The other said he had go
many men carried out with the bends" that
when he felt symptoms OF the malady coming
OF he concluded to spend the rest OF his days
above ground Finding 1t difficult TO get out
side work. he concluded, he said. TO try the
East River tunnel, where the working had not
he thought, yet TO the compressed air
stage.
II had enough OF the East River tunnel
when I saw twenty-five segments OF the
tube that had 10 be taken out. even at this early
stage OF construction" said he. because they
could not stand the pressure"
THAT same show OF scrap iron" said the other
workman. scared ne off the JOB. If they have
20 take out plates before they are fairly under
the river. what co you suppose will happen
when they get about forty feet lower? The
boss said these plates were defective. Well. they
looked like IL, sure as they came out" / asked