Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1907-08-16
REMOVING THE BLUFF
High Pressure Pump to Be Used
At The Dam Site
At Least 100000 Cubic Yards Of Earth
viii Be Exeavated-oood Progress in
Construction Of Golfer Dam.

VIII Be ENeavated-Good Progress in
Construction Of Golfer Dam.
Visitors at the site Of the Connecticut
river dam at Vernon this week are given
| an idea of the magnitude of the under
! taking whicn no figures can convey. The
| chief energy of the 200 men and mighty
| machines is being directed toward cutting
! down the high bluff on the Higgins farm
| on the New Hampshire shore i'm order
| to give place for the extension Of the
dam which will run back at least 200 feet
| to what has been dry land at that end
! TWO narrow gauge locomotives and a
| horse car train are hauling the bluff
away at rate Of about 1000 cubic yards
day.
This rate of disposing of the bluff
will fade into insignfcance i'm another
| week when the new high pressure pump
| is put in operation. This pump is al
ready on the ground and is being set up
| When ready for business 1t will drive
two-inCh solid stream of water from a
| monitor nozzle with such force against
the sand and gravel that it will wash
into the river more than all three trains
are now carrying. This method of dis
posing Of the dirt is wonderfully effec-
tive where the soil is light and the eXca-
walton is situated right to allow the water
laden with dirt to flow away out OF the
held Of operations.
1t is estimated that at least 100, 900 Gu
bic yards of earth will be excavated at
! this point. The Dorings showed that the
rock formation did not extend up into
the BLUM to any extent and little If any
will be removed in order to build that
end of the dam. one Of tne narrow
gauge trains carries of the waste ma
tcrial from the southern and eastern end
of the bluff and dumps II down stream.
The other narrow gauge locomotive is
used on ~ track on the north side of the
blum where the waste material is hauled
back to the neck Of land to the eastward.
where the river nearly doubles back on
itself and Is dumped there Just below the
site of the dam the river sweeps around
"A bend and flows nearly mile in a
northerly direction and then turns in a
southerly direction. The narrow neck of
land at the bend is only few rods wide
and the waste material is being used to
build this neck up higher and wider as "A
precautionary measure. The narrow gauge
train drawn by horses is on the top of
the bluff and carries the waste material
to the edge, where ii is dumped down
where the trains can get at ii handily.
About 20 cars are in constant use on the
three stretches Of track.
The northerly section of the cofferdam
is now nearing completion and the down
river section. connecting with the west
ern end Of the section of cribwork already
in place, was begun this week. Tne
northern or up-river section treaching
from the Hinsdale shore to the rocks
which project above the water two thirds
Of the way to the Vermont shore, Is
nearly hled with ballast and sheathing
has begun. In this section alone about
5000 tons of rock ballast will be placed to
give II stability. a steam drill was
started on the ledge in midstream this
week and the portion of 1t which pro-
jects above the water will be blasted off
and used for ballast The rock ballast
heretofore used was blasted from the
New Hampshire side above the bluff.
Two large dNricks are in use on the
crib work handling the rock ballast
The downstream cribwork which began
this week will extend about 200 feet and
will be Identical in construction with the
northern section Of crib work. When ii
is completed a southern section will he
constructed from its southern end back
to the New Hampshire shore making
three sides Of a big box from which the
water will he pumped leaving a dry bed
for the construction of the dam itself
Lumber for cribbing is stll coming in but
the speed with which the work is being
pushed eats up the logs about as fast as
they can be brought The first INSTALL
ment of the 500 600 feet Of lumber bought
in Westmorcland began to arrive the mid
die of the week.
\ diver was employed a few days the
last of the week removing logs and
SlulnIS from tle Dtd OF tle river. Inc
spectators who visited the dam those
days were treated to an interesting sight.
The diver would go down with a heavy
chain which he would hook to some old
stump or log and then give the signal
for the derrick to hoist on the other end
of the chain. Some mighty old hemlocks
were brought to light which had prob
ably lain in the river bed for years
a contract has been made with the
Halle q Frost company of Hinsdale to
supply about 100 electric horse power to
run the stone crushers and other heavy
machinery
There are now about 200 men employed
at the dam site which will be about the
number at work until the actual con-
struction of the dam begins, The num-
Der goes up and down daily as men drift
in and get work and others get tired and
quit. Several men have left the employ
of the company through their getting into
trouble in Hinsdale and leaving this sec
tion hurredly.