The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1907-12-13
SINISTER RIVER
MOCKS RAILROAD
AT CHAMBERLAIN
"o'd Muddy" and Engineer
Struggle for Supremacy---
New $I.ooo,ooo Bridge.

Chamberlain, S. D.. Dee. 1l.-The pile
and pontoon bridge OF the Milwaukee
Railroad company across the Missouri
river at this place is just now bone
river on the one hand and some of the
finest engineers in the country on the
other. The company constructed the
bridge as a temporary means of for,
warding cars loaded with material to
the track builders on the west side of
the river, and has since been using 1T
for passenger and freight transporta-
ton. The bridge is the only one of its
kind on the Missouri.
When ii was constructed, the old
timers made the prediction that 1t
would not last long when the Big
Muddy" got on one of its annual ram
pages. But the railroad engineers We're
not discouraged and used all their in
genuity to construct bridge which
would not, at least, be carried away
in times of high water.
In Il measure the engineers have thus
far been successful. for the bridge has
not yet been totally destroyed by the
river. although sections of it more than
once have been carried away. Except
for 81 space of about $50 feet, the bridge
is formed of piles driven into the bot
tom Of the river. The gap of $50 feet
which is said to be the longest Of it's
kind i'm use on inland water of the
United States. The pontoon boat is at
tached to the bridge at one end Of the
space occupied by It, while the other
end can be released and dropped down.
thus forming a draw which enables
boats to pass through the bridge. In
times of drifting ice the draw is op-
ened to permit the ice to float through
instead of lodging against the bridge,
and thus endangering it.
Protective Piers.
For the protection of the bridge.
what are termed bulldog" piers We're
constructed on each side of the river,
from Il point some distance above the
bridge and running diagonally toward
It, in the form of huge funnel, with
the draw in the bridge forming the
small part Of the funnel. These piers
consist of very heavy piling, driven as
huge piledriver can force them. The
piles are chained together with extra
heavy chains. The piling has then been
/ ine'osta with heavy oak planking,
y which, on the upper side of the piers.
slopes outwardly toward the north, the
direction from which the river flows.
The plankins is bolted together and to
i the piling with heavy iron and steel
bolts. The interior of the piers are
| heavily braced and 1t would be impos-
sible to make them any stronger than
they are.
The piers on the opposite side of the
river were designed, when the ice
breaks up in the spring, so to defect
the floating masses that they will shoot
diagonally across the river and strike
the giant pier near the east end of the
draw. which, in it's turn, is intended to
withstand the great pressure of the ice
and cause it to swerve and pass
through the draw.
To strengthen further the smaller
piers they are connected with huge oak
timbers, which lie in the water and ex-
tend from one to another along the
entire face of the line of piers Inn
mediately outside the line of oak TIM
bers is a boom. formed of several logs
tightly chained together. and which.
like the oak timbers, extend along the
entire line of smaller piers. to which
| the protecting timbers and boom of
| logs are tightly and securely fastened
with heavy chains.
i During the high water this year sec
tions OF the piling forming the bridge
We're carried out three or four times in
few weeks. greatly interfering with
traffic
The expense of maintaining the
bridge under these conditions has
been something enormous, and it is be-
commence the construction of a new
NEGRO SLAYER OF
TWO is RELEASED
Rapid City. S. D., Dec. lied Wall
! ace, the negro slayer of Frank and John