The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1909-07-09
CAR LOAD OF STRUCTURAL MET
AL is BEING DELIVERED ON
BUILDING SITE.
TRAM T0WERDEMOL| L|SHED
Recent Storm Blew Down Tower 110
Feet High Constructed for Purpose
of Handling Concrete to Be Used in
the New ReeimentaI Post Buildings
Novel Scheme for Getting Sand.

A. car of structural iron-the first
metal for the new buildings at Fort
Missoula-arrived yesterday morning
and was being unloaded and hauled to
the building site during the afternoon.
A car of reinforcing steel is on the
road and should arrive at the post
within the next two or three days.
Construction work has been rushed
with such speed that nearly everything
is in readiness now for the steel and
concrete on most of the nine build
ings that are to be erected first. The
work of excavating was completed
some days ago on the officers quarters
and all of the cement foundations for
these buildings are in. On one build
ing the falSeWork for the steel and
concrete are almost complete.
Yesterday the task of installing the
footings for the two double barracks
was about completed and work on the
the end of the present week. bar
ring any unforeseen accidents. There
is force of about 40 men employed
at present and the contractors stated
yesterday that before the end of next
week there will be force of about
$50 men on the ground.
The recent storm demolished a no.
foot tramWay tower which had been
constructed to handle the concrete
for the buildings, and the necessity
for reconstructing this will cause some
delay. The wind caught the structure
and toppled 1T over, leaving only the
base standing.
Two tramWay towers must now be
built to handle the concrete in transit
from the mixer to the various build
ings where it is wanted. The big
tower 40 feet high, will be erected
mixer while another, considerably low
er, will be erected at the other side
Of the field where the nine buildings
are being erected. The concrete after
being mixed will be loaded in big
scoops, hoisted to the top of the high
tower, then by gravity will be moved
to the exact place where it is wanted
and pumped there for the use of the
concrete workers. These towers have
been used in other construction work
by McInnis & Harrington. the con-
tractors, and have been found to be
labor and time savers.
Sand and gravel for the concrete is
being taken from an island in the
Bitter Root river about One-half a
mile below the post. Here a cable
has been strung from the top of a hill
on the north bank to a cable tower on
the island and a moving scoop, or
shovel, is operated on this cable by a
donkey engine. The scoop is so ad-
justed that when allowed to run down
upon the island by gravity, then start
ed back across the stretch of sand by
means of the engine, it digs it's nose
into the sand and loads itself. 1t is
then pulled along the cable to a set
of sand bunkers on the north bank
where the shaye automatically dumps
itself, throwing the sand and gravel
into a big hopper which is provided
with a loading chute to load the wag-
ons. Wagons and teams will be kept
busy hauling the sand and gravel
from the bunkers to the mixer as
1t is needed.
The apparatus was given a thorough
test yesterday afternoon and was
found to operate perfectly. Almost a
cubic yard of material can be dumped
into the hopper each time the shovel
is hoisted.