The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1907-12-13

LEAAL. EH r.
too soft a nature for the maintenance
OF a pile trestle, and the described
method was adopted only after several
other schemes had failed; the second
fill was over a deep gorge with good
solid foundations, and the galloway
was adopted primarily because II
seemed to be the cheapest and most
efficient mtehod.
About rs miles south OF Cleveland
the line OF the new railroad
crosses a swamp on IN embankment
from rs to SO feet high and one and
one-fourth miles in length. The bot
tom lands across which the line is To-
Gated are used for raising celery and
are overlaid by a black, decomposed
vegetable soil, incapable Of sustaining
any material weight. Soundings
showed the greater part of the ground
to have a mud crust about is feet thick
then quicksand for Is feet, then ten
feet of soft clay everything the hard
hlue.clay bottom. At intervals the
|smud crust was only Is feet thick, and
under 1t was a heavy underground
stream flow so great that the water
spurted several feet out of the sound
Ing pipes. These subterranean lakes
we're SO numerous as to make imprac
ticable the ordinary methods Of fill
ing"
Two unsuccessful attempts at cross
ing were made; one by laying track
on a trestle built on a foundation O
crossed timbers and brush. and anoth
er by constructing a pile trestle on the
ordinary plan. In both cases the
track sank into the mud, and the cable
scheme was tried as a last resort. Says
the writer:
Two Observation-Disclosures stee
cables, about five feet center to cen
ter, were stretched from an anchorage
in the fill already made, over the near
est bent OF the pile trestle remaining
on to the farther bents, to which
the other end was anchored. Upor
these cables ties were fastened,
I and a track laid, upon which thu
loaded cars were pushed and dumped
one at a time, at the end OF the I'll
The first span used a over 200 feet
covering the hole into which the tres
tie had sunk and which was at thi
time a pond Of water It's long and /
feet deep. On account OF the larg'
span made necessary by the impossI
biity OF driving a trestle bent in thi
rond, the sag in the cable was YER.
great, and the instability Of the car
quite marked. This, together wit
the great depth Of the Ali, necessitate
the constant lacking Of the track III
der the fill.
aAs soon as this sinkhole wa
crossed q large trestle bent wa
erected, and the long span decrease
by guy supports and timber grillag
blocks. The material deposited in thi
hole (25,000 cubic yards In a month
showed ahead and completely carrie
away the remaining portion Of the Pill
trestle which was serving as forwar
anchorage for the galloway. Timbe
towers we're then built ahead an
blocked up and skidded forward as th
work progressed. This is the name
in which the work is now being carrie
on. Permanent towers. founded o
piles, have been erected far ahead {
the work to act a. anchorages, an
the movable towers are used as SUI
ports for the galloway"
In the second place where cables q
being used there is a deep gorge Wit
solid bottom. but calculation Shove
that the cable method would be cheaI
er than the ordinary plan. savin
about s 100, or more than half II
cost. The illustration is from Il
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