The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1907-12-12
SINISTER RIVER
MOCKS RAILROAD
AT CHAMBERLAIN
"OId Muddy" and Engineers
Struggle for Supremacy
New $1,000, 900 Bridge.

Chamberlain. s. D.. Dec. 1.-THE pile
and pontoon bridge of the Milwaukee
Railroad company across the Missouri
river at this place is just now a bone
of contention between the Missouri
river on the 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 tranSpoTta-
ton. The bridge is the only one OF its
kind on the Missouri.
When 1t was constructed, the old
liners made the prediction that it
would not last long when the Big
Muddy" got on one of It's annual ram
pages. But the railroad engineers were
not discouraged and used all their In
genuity to construct a bridge which
would not, at least, be carried away
In times Of high water.
In q measure the engineers have thus
far been successful, for the bridge has
not yet been totally destroyed by the
river, although sections Of Il more than
once have been carried away. Except
for a space Of about $50 feet, the bridge
Is formed Of piles driven into the bot
tom OF the river. The gap OF $50 feet
Is filled with a huge pontoon boat,
which is said to be the longest of its
kind in use on inland water Of the
United States. The pontoon boat is at
tached to the bridge at one end or 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 OPP
ened to permit the ice to float through
instead Of lodging against the bridge.
and thus endangering 1t.
Protective Piers.
For the protection of the bridge,
what are termed bulldog piers were
constructed on each side OF the river,
from q point some distance above the
bridge and running ~diagonally toward
II, In the form Of q huge funnel, with
the draw in the bridge forming the
small part of the funnel. These piers
consist OF very heavy piling, driven as
far into the bottom Of the river as d
huge piledriver can force them. The
heavy chains. The piling has then been
inclosed with heavy a planking,
which, on the upper side of the piers,
slopes outwardly toward the north, the
direction from which the river flows,
The planking is bolted together and to
the piling with heavy iron and steel
bolts. The interior Of the piers are
heavily braced and 1t would be impos-
sible to mako 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 cross the river and strike
the giant pier near the east end of the
draw, which, In its turn, Is intended to
withstand the great pressure Of the ice
and cause 1t 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-
lend from to another along the
entire face Of the line Of piers. I'm
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.
During the high water this year sec
tons Of the piling forming the bridge
were carried out three or four times In
a few weeks, greatly interfering with
traffic.
The expense Of maintaining the
bridge under these conditions has
been something enormous, and 1t is be-
lieved the railroad company will soon
commence h construction of a new
overhead 81, zoo, 900 steel bridge.