New-York tribune., 1907-08-15
TUNNEL SHIELDS MEET.
TRIP IN BELMONT BORE.
Columbia Students Learn Something 9
L4bout COMPRESSED dir.

TWENTY-FIVE Columbia University students. +
charge Of three professors and the same number Of
newspaper men. endured Torquenada tortures in
compressed afriock yesterday besides running their
clothes for the privilege Of acquiring the merit
and Of assuring che public that the last shields
had met in the Belmont tunnel between Lexington
avenue an5 Long Island City
As the result the newspaper men-such especially
as ventured snto the airlock-had experience
which outclassed anything IN even their checkered
careers and the students learned philosophy
savoring of Mark Tapley and distinctly not of
the schools At p. m than twoscore
scribes clad in festive garb descended into
the tunnel at the foot of East 42d street. enter
the ariocks. AL more or less IN good health.
in possession Of the reporters essential acueress
of hearing. and with the tonic freshness CT the
river breeze tanning their cool faces. Three hours
later The same men emerged from airlocx. their
fcet soaked to che skin with liquid mud: their
clothes from the dripping dscolored strawhat
downward. plastered with mud; their faces white
and beaded with moisture and every mothers son
OF them all but stone-deaf
Compressed air and the other conditions under
which the tunnel is being finished told the story.
For three hours. in a perpetual damp gloom.
chaperonec by khaki-clad engineers and officials
the party had navigated under the river bottom.
now stumbling. bodies bent double under shields
dripping gray slime; wading ankle deep in
thick brown water; clutching dank iron
stanchiOns as they balanced themselves along a
slippery plank set midway between floor and roof:
now undergoing the airlock ordeal and again
stumbling serenely along the drier portions OF
track
Many of the students suffered severely in the air
lock waving their hands f-ancricay TO the doctor
in charge to be LET out when the pressure passed
endurance Several of the reporters. indeed. re-
fused TO enter any lock. announcing solemnIy
that il might by causing q headache inter
fere with his further days assignments and that
common loyalty TO his paper thus forbade any
thought of entering
The New York & Long Island Railroad bored the
tunnel. which some nine thousand feet be-
tween Lexington avenue and 42d street. Manhat-
tan (where there viii be ascending and descending
escalatorsl. and Van Alst avenue Long Island
City The total trackage is about 2oooo feet. the
electric system being the overhead contact rail.
The tunnel was bored in the record time of less
than two years. the shields having in the
south tunnel between Man-of-War Reef and Long
Island City on August s. Robert Shetler the engi-
neer who represents the Degnon Construction Com
pany in the boring work told Tribune reporter
yesterday that the contracting company would turn
the finished tunnel TO the railroad in October
The officials in charge Of the party yesterday
we're St John Clarke, the chief engineer for the
railroad: aIr Shaier and A A. Robbins. his prin-
cpal assistant: E. A. Herrick, the superintendent
for the Manhattan side. and c G. Van Dusen for
the Long Island side; II. r. Jacobson, in charge OF
Shaft No 1 and the 'open cut'' on the Long Island
side and r Moldstad. in charge OF Shafts Nos !.
. ana g en- the Manhattan side Professor F. A
Goetze dean Of engineering at Columbia University,
Professors
Locke and Mott headed the delegation Of Colum-
bian University students
Il was in Shaft that the tunnel seemed TO
come abruptly 10 end and the party was con-
f7onted by irOn wall. not unlike furnace face
with a circular disc of glass, resembling small
-or4aoIe let into its surface This the su-
pre1ne ordeal-the first airlock- Its object was to
fn7re the newcomer TO the regular high pressure OF
se q pounds above normal. beyond small door
WAY in the furnace face Tow opened, disclosing
chan her
q. the end with compressed air pumping tackle
and at the sides with fardels Of low hung iron
p,pes Into this crawied the first shift" Of the
visitors curiosity struggling with doubt and Doubt
iri turn. with apprehension
The visitors disposed themselves. crouchng. their
knees midway 70 their chins- The door slammed
The engineer turned crank. setting loose deaf
s.ninr inr1lsh os compressed air. The ordeal had
ler1r It lasted .n actually fOc about four min
,res AZ most but TO each unit Of the party II
seemed an age Slowly. gradually. came tighten
ing of the ear drums; smiling faces froze half way
The Tightening increased until IL seemed 70 many
that boiling oil being poured into their ears
Swallow hard, II that does no good. pinch your
r,astrils: keep your mouth tight shut. and make
as Il TO exhale through your ears. warned Ar-
NcCort and the party took the hint
In a rrice twenty fingers and twenty thumbs, in
Guiding the venerable professors. were finding the
rostriis Of twenty apprehensive noses soon ten
deaf aching men faced ten deaf. aching fellows
cursing their foolhardiness. their eyes wandering
,Y-ror1scollsly IN the direction OF the door Fore
heads were soon gernned with moisture. hands
conv-y,lsfvely opened and shut. and three or four
cried oi;r in agony that they could stand no more
rstop 81, Ny are bursting. shouted a young
Hnglish student his humorous nasal twang. born
Of his sudden deafness. contrasting oddly with the
expression OF his face, from which all color had
eFt,ed as II by magic. His neighbor. another STU
deut al the same time went white TO the Lps
wagvling his left arm franticaly FOR the pressure
20 cease TWO minutes. Three minutes. Three and
q half. Only the engineer and doctor were smiling
r,ovv-rhese two and Chinese student, mindful OF
his masters teachings At last, when the tension
seemed at its highest. the doctor cried All over
fhe-e was an outrush Of heavy vaporous air and
the door flung open
one nv ore the members of the party, stin half
deaf and bathed IN perspiration from tip to toe
although soon sivering with cold, crawled out into
the tunnel their experiences 20 be duplicated by
the party thai came next In the high pressure
area Of the tunnel beyond the Of the airlock
a. once became apparent. tauteDed eardrums re-
ceiyfng the air with perfect equaninity.
virtually only the completion of the concreting
and contact railing and the tracking OF the mann
mouth rife bore now remains tc be done before
the tunnel is turned over 10 August Belmont 8
company for operation.