The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1908-09-18
NEW B. 4 o. RAILROAD BRIDGE.
More Than 5000 Feet Long-New
Structure In Same Position AS
Ord One.

WHICH gives Some luea OF tue magnitude
of the work and the difficulties confront
ing the engineers. The following are
extracts from the article:
Across the Susquehanna at Havre de
Grace, which is more than mile wide,
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is tear
ing out its old bridge, that rises high
above the bed of the river, and is con-
structing new 81, 900 900 double track
bridgein its place, without the least in
reference to traffic.
At first blush the euornity and the
difficulties of such feat in engineering
are not apparent. With hundreds of tons
of "false work" beneath, where the old
bridge is being torn away girder by grid
er and new steel and graniie substituted,
aud other hundreds of tons of permanent
construction being extended foot by foot
for the second track; with immense steam
derricks running back and forth from the
bridge to the shore for new girders, and
with scores of men working on travel
er" that is 100 feet high-with all this,
trains do not stop in crossing the bridge.
If the original bridge had been a
double-track structure, the problem would
not have been so difficult. the engineers
say, for trains could have been switched
to one track while the piers and girders
below the other were put in place. But
the old bridge has only one track and
has to be torn away aud the new one
practically constructed under the wheels
of passing tains.
Work is now being pushed over the
eastern channel. Here the caps have
been removed from the stone piers and
the new granite coping is being substi-
tuted for the increased weight of the new
track and the new 80 ton distributing
girders. Immense Orders that have been
set up under the rails and above the
coping as part of the elaborate system
of false work will later be used in per-
manent spans of the new bridge. This is
an attractive lesson in economy of ma
hundreds of dollars foot.
The old bridge was opened for traffic in
1886 and consists OF west approach via
duct 212 feet long. an east approach via
duct 224 feet long and viaduct over
Watsons Island I,o42 feet long. 1t has
four deck spans $50 feet long and nine
truss spans varying in length from 200
feet to $40 feet; one deck span $50 feet
long, one $40 feet long and one 1876 feet
long. This gives the total length of the
structure 6,3I6 feet
The new bridge will be more that s,
900 feet long-byfar the largest one on
the Baltimore and Ohio system. Its con
struction will require as, 900 cubic Yards
masonry in the substructure and 1000
tons of steel in the superstructure.
The great deck spans. over the eastern
channel are now being completed. Two
hundred and twenty-five men are bending
their energies to have the new piers up
and all the new steel work in before the
ice on the Susquehanna begins to break
up next spring. The ice is foe to con-
struction that has to be avoided when
possible.
The work is necessarily slow because of
the time it takes to put in the false con-
structiou. 1t is estimated that much of
this temporary work, because of its elab-
crate nature, takes twice as long to per-
feet as the permanent construction that
will take its place. The rails have to be
kept on level even while the piers and
girders are being torn away beneath
them. The new stone piers will be cap
able of holding any traffic that may go
over the bridge. With some of the new
locomotives weighing I75.ooo tons the
new, bridge will have to be twice as strong
as the old one. Across Watson's Island
the piers are of concrete and are finished
Work over the west channel will not be
in full swing until next summer. 1t will
take two more years to complete the
gigantic and unique project.
When the new Baltimore and Ohio
bridge is done the Susquehanua at Havre
de Grace will be spanned by two bridges
that are among the finest structures of
its kind in the world. The new bridge of
the Pennsylvania Railroad, about mile
below that of the Baltimore and Ohio, is
Que of the iuest that could be built 1t
is double tracked aud passenger trains
can run over it at full speed.
With these bridges over the Susque.
hanna-the limited express not being re-
quired now by the counties to make a
stop on either side-and with the great
new Union Station in Washington,
making it possible for trains to go ont of
the capital at full speed. the time between
Washington and New York will be short
ened considerably.
If a person could always know just