The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-08-05
WORK OF AMERICAN ENGINEERS.
Hold the Palm for Daring Feats In
Construction.

Construction.
Although there are many smart en-
gineers in Europe, there is no country
where they achieve the heights of fame
they do in the United States. The
palm for colossal daring in construc-
tion, whther 1t be in the line of sky
scrapers, bridges or tunnels, certainly
belongs here.
It is only in the United States that
one can see huge RATS going down
stream carrying complete houses OF
brick and stone which are to be
dumped down in some spot more IA
vorable than that from which they had
been removed. But the removal OF or
dinary dwellings of FIVE, six and even
seven stories is so usual sight that
no one save visitor 10 america would
now be surprised TO meet a mansion,
with gardens and a nice bit OF shoot
ing attached, on its way to some dis
tant part of the country
II Pittsburg, the city of steel, II was
found necessary to remove the Grand
Opera House a distance of 70 feet in
order to admit the widening OF Dia-
mond street Engineers came and had
look at the structure and unanimous
ly agreed that 1t would be quite feasi-
BILE to move 1t intact. The builing 10
not small measuring 12SxSO feet, and
weighing about 5000 tons.
Progress was necessarily slow, some
times not more than an inch an hour,
and the work, which was begun on Sat
urday, was not completed until the fol-
lowing Tuesday. Forty-seven men were
engaged on the job night and day, and
the cost of removal was $l5O,OOO. For
the purpose of transit foundation was
erected beneath the building and the
house was then placed on rollers. On
the spot where It was intended to erect
the opera house another foundation, of
course, had been built, and here the
big building was successfully placed.
Not a crack in any Of the walls was
visible, and as an example of house
moving" it Is unique.
At the Columbus Railway Company's
works, at Columbus, o., there are no
| fewer than l60 smoke stacks of vary
| ing heights. These answered all prac-
| tical purposes until the time came
when, on account of the introduction
| of mechanical stokers and economiZers,
a greater amount of draught was found
| to be necessary, and It was decided to
| add so feet to some of the stacks The
fact that the work was accomplished
without In any way interfering with
! the duties of the chimneys renders 1t
| somewhat remarkable. The first stock
was heightened and completed within
! few days, the furnaces being kept
| going all the time. The cast iron cap,
which surmounts each Of the stacks,
was removed, the brickwork cleaned,
| and on It built a new single shell OF
brick so feet high, which was support
! ed entirely on the old outer shell. The
biggest water pipe in the world, capa-
BILE, 1t is said, of holding an average
river, was laid by the Ontario Power
Company on the Canadian side Of Nj
agara Falls. The gigantic pipe, which
is made of steel throughout, is a mile
and a quarter in length and sixty feet
In circumference. The steel plates have
a thickness OF half an inch, and in put
ting them together 200 tons of rivets
were required
Philadelphia is noted for many dar-
ing engineering feats. One Of the most
daring, perhaps, was when four foot
water pine was moved a distance OF IL
feet without interfering in any way
with the water service. 1t is said that
no other country offers an exact par
allel to this interesting and great un-
dertalying. To realize the remarkable
nature of this feat 1t must be under
stood that 1,20O feet of pipe, weighing
with the water, about 10000 tons, was
moved out of line IL feet and then
! lowered IL feet.