Omaha daily bee., 1909-08-14

river.
A Mighty Fui.
This lie not the only big thing to be done
near Andover. Beginning at the west end
OF the cut IL an embankment, which will
probably be the biggest railroad embank
ment in America, II viii be more than
three miles Ions. from seveny-nve to ITO
feet high. and contain esS. so cubic yards
Of material In order TO obtain sufficient
material for this high bank II was neces-
saty to acquire the ~neighboring hills and
burrOw through them for more than LOn.O0)
cubic yards OF earth. Upward Of 100 dump
carloads Of earth and rock are poured on
this embankment every day. THIS means
that 1t Is growing at the rate OF approx
mately 5000 yards a day. The grading OF
the five and a fraction miles comprising
the contract. which includes the cut and
the big 'fill," will cost more than SAO0d.Ooo,
or more han $4,000 a mile. IL includes an
other big embankment across the valley OF
Lubber Run creek. one-sixth the site OF the
bFnk at the other end Of the deep cut. Tho
nve-mile section. therefore. may easily be
the most expensive open country railroad
building in The country.
II the construction feature OF the eastern
end Is great cuts and entertainments that at
the western end Is bridges. There are to bs
two, one sixty-fivO feet high and formed OF
five l5O-foot spans, two leO-foot spans and
two &Nfoot spans TO carry the trains over
the Delaware river, and a second ll5 feet
high and formed Of five 12O-foot spans ard
two 1Oo-foot spans, with suitable approaches
to cross Paulins XIII These will be Of
concrete, the spans being arches support
ms smaller arches called sduAdrels. In the
old line there are two tunnels, with q total
lenkth Of almost fVur-fifths OF a mile. In
the new line there will be none. In the
old rome OF the grades were more than
sixty feet to the NILE. In the new there
will be no grade above 2s.4 feet to the mile.
In the old line there are nfty-seven curves,
with o length Of curved track Of lass miles.
In the new this is reduced to fifteen curves.
with . length Of curved line Of only AS
miles. Moreover, the longest curve on the
new line is only a trifle over one-half the
length OF the maximum curve on the old
line. There are many curves on the old
line which are longer than any on the new
cutoff. on the old line the rise and fall
In the track is PAS feet. In the cutoff II
IL only eleven feet, a great source of say.
Ing in operation.
Another mighty undertaking crowned
with success Is the completion Of the
Hudson river tunnels, between New York
anu NeN JtIeSNi tochiH known as the
McAdoo tubes.
The tube system, develop,I to It's logical
extent, today s conceded to make prac-
tically unlimited the possible development
of Greater New York in the next ten years.
The immediate effect Of the submarine
tubes has been to bring the New Jersey
shore. to which access hitherto has been
had by twenty minute ferries, within three
minutes OF Broadway.
The terminal buildings OF the Hudson G.
Manhattan railroad are gigantic structures,
literally cities within themselves, capable
Of accommodating 10000 persons. as well
as serving for the subterranean station OF
the downtown tubes under The Hudson,
Occupying two city blocks, hey are twenty.
two stories. or H5 feet, In height, and are
so arranged as 10 offer the maximum Of
surface for windows and air wells. There
are thirty-nine elevators.
These structures are known collectively
as the Hudson terminal buildings Of the
HUDSON & Manhattan Railroad company.
but like tho tubes themselves they are
better known by the Lame Of their pro-
%jector, as the "McAdoo terminals" Indi-
vidually, one of them, which stands on
the block fronting on Church street, be-
tween Cortlandt and Dey streets, IL the
Cortlandt building. while its twin, likewise
fronting Church street, but between Dey
and Fulton, is the Fulton building They
are the largest office buildings in existence.
containing lS,lJo, 900 cubic feet OF space. ana
the heaviest, Weighing 1000 tons ana
resting on the biggest Golfer dam ever con
structed. This latter structure is 4OOxl7s
feet in horizontal dimensions, and from
seventy-five TO ninety-eight feet deep.
Trains from the Hudson & Manhattan
company's twin tubes from New Jersey.
under the Hudson river, enter the base
ment station, thirty feet below the surface.
and pass under Dey street TO the subway
under Broadway. The tunnels at the Jsr-
sey City end are connected with twin
tunnels crossing TO Morton street, up
sixth avenue to Thirty-third street and
across Ninth avenue to Fourth avenue.
Tit execution of this gigantic enter
prise, which has been effected by Will
liam G. McAdoo.' with the sympathy and
approval Of the Pennsylvania railroad. but
without financial backing Of any descrip-
ton from that corporation. is a financial
achievement that ranks with the engineer
ing feat Of running the tunnels. Taken
In connection with the Pennsylvania roadia
tunnels, which give access from Long
Island to the railroads ste lon ia the
heart OF New York City, by the first OF
next year, they form a trunk line ~
travel which promises to bring about a
%ravision of the traffic routes OF the city.
The success with which tunnels are
overcoming the water barriers to the
metropolis spurs railroad engineers 20
undertaking a bridge over Hell Gate, that
section OF turbulent waters connecting
East river with Long Island sound. The
project is to be a part OF the New York,
New Haven q Hartford road. forming
an all rail connection with its system on
Long Island.
This big bridge will be not only the big.
gest steel span ever built in the history
Of the world, Il win be the first step in a
combination between the PennsylvaniA ana
New Haven railroads which will make a
complete connection between New Eng
land and the south and west. The system,
as planned, contemplates q railroad rouzA
from the Bronx down through Astoria and
Brooklyn and connecting with the two big
tunnels OF the Pennsylvania 90 az to open
all Long Island and New York to southern
traffic in a way that never has been
known before.
Some OF the other Brooklyn bridges are
longer from station to station, but the new
bridge OF the New Haven road will be the