The sun., 1908-07-05
TWO MORE RIVER TUBES OPEN
PENNSYLVANIA TUNNELS STAND
WITHOUT AIR PRESSURE

And the Happy Contractors. Finding No
Sign Of Leak In the UDconcreted
D0rcs Between Manhattan and Ions
Island city. Wire the News Abroad.
News of Fourth OF July celebration
which took place under the East River
yesterday afternoon was flashed around
the world when the compressed air In tubes
@ and d OF the tunnel system being built
by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company
was taken of, making IL possible to walk
clear through these two tubes from Long
Island City to the big terminal station in
Manhattan.
In addition to the three or four hundred
workmen employed In tho tubes several
officials participated In the celebr alton.
among them Allen Moir. the engineer In
charge Of tho work for Pearson a Son. the
English contractors who are building the
tubes; Mr. Mason, resident engineer for the
Pennsylvania Railroad. in charge of the
Manhattan end Of the work, aud Mr.. Wood
ard. resident engineer for the railroad In
charge Of the Long Island City end. There
were present also Chief Assistant Superin-
tendent Patrick Ryan and Supt. C. II. Van
Duzen.
When the taking ofY OF the air was SIC
cessfully accomplished news Of the event
wns telegraphed and cabled around tae
world to engineers employed by the Pear
son company In other parts Of the globe.
while the main office Of the Pennsylvania
RAILROAD was also notified that another
gigantic part Of their costly undertakings
had been successfully accomplished.
Starting with an air pressure Of thirty
pounds to the square inch since Monday
Of last week the process Of gradually r.
ducing the pressure had been under way.
and at about ESQ o'clock yesterday after
noon the last pound Of compressed air vas
blown off, The information that the ak
ing Of Of the air was deemed by those pres
ent to be most satisfactory will be read with
interest by engineers and tunnel builders
everywhere, for when the last pound OF
air wheezed through the air chamber valve
and normal atmospheric conditions were
established 1t was found that botn tubes
were absolutely watertight.
There was neither crack nor scam in tho
immense iron ring twenty-three feet in
diameter which forms the unconcreted
ening jet Of water anywhere, to cause
anxiety. Everything was found tight and
compart at the point where the cutting
shields came together when the boring Of
the tubes was first completed. The special
casting which composed the ring at these
two points fitted true and tight. While
every precaution had been taken Yesterday
to guard against leakage or untoward hap
pening the precautions were needless, as
everything moved off with the exactitude
and precision that have marked the entire
work
Four types comprise the tunnel system
under the East River between Manhattan
and Long Island City and the tubes G and d,
which we're relieved Of the air pressure
yesterday. are known as the south tubes.
1t 10 expected that before the end Of another
two weeks the compressed air will also be
takenfron tubes A and 2. Work In these has
progressed to such a stage that probably
with the beginning Of the week there will
be lowering Of the air pressure to test the
tubes for leaks
With the taking off Of the air pressure
the concreting Of both sets Of tubes will 60
ahead rapidly. Already both tubes have
been concreted for distance Of fully 1000
feet under the river from the Long Island
City shore just as soon as the compressed
air chambers in tubes G and D can be cut
out between 200 and 800 extra hands will
carried on from both ends. While these
tubes measure rs feet in diameter from wall
to wall. when fully concreted the diameter
will be reduced to about 20 feet.
Work on the Long Island City terminal
Of the four tubes Ia progressing rapidly
and IL Ia understood that within few months
the compressed air win be taken from the
to walk from Long Island City to New
Jersey under ground and under river in
ordinary atmospheric pressure. The four
East River tubes probably will be turned
over to the railroad for track laying by the
first Of next year.