El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-05-27

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a = the integrity OF the great 18TH
milan waterway will depend upon
the dams, so will it's successful opera
ton depend upon the locks The canal
is so miles long from deep water in the
Atlantic to deep water in the Pacific
The middle section OF SO miles In
length Is IS feet higher than the two
ends. This section Of the canal would
be utterly useless If it were not for the
locks that will enable ships to climb
up and down from level to level
These locks are in fact gigantic ma
rine stairways, arranged like double
tracked railway SO as to permit one
ship to go up while another comes
down at the same time.
Climbing up, a ship will. be impris-
oned in a huge concrete basin into
which additional water will be admit
ted until the level is raised sufficient
ly for the vessel to float out on the
surface of the Eext higher step. Com
ing down, a ship will go into such
basin and the water will be let out
until the vessel is at the level Of the
chamber bellows Three such steps will
take the ship from the lake level to
the sea level
The Double Locks.
The two side by side locks. includ-
ing both outside walls. are approx
mateiy $50 feet wide. The outside
walls are so feet thick at the base up
to a height OF "a feet, when they begin
TO taper in six feet steps until they
are only eight feet thick at the top,
which is 81 feet from. the bottom
The middle wall dividing the two
locks, is so feet thick all the way up.
At Gatun there will be flight CT
three of these double locks,s forming
three huge steps, each of which Will
take the ship UP or down, as the case
may be, % feet and four inches.
The Gatun locks are at the Atlantic
end Of the canal. At the Pacific end
the locks are not arranged in con-
tinuous flight. two steps being taken
at Mirafleres,s where the Pacific sea
level ends. and another a little more
than a mile further inland at Pedro
Miguel
To be big enough for a ship larger
than any that ever has floated. the
lock chambers are ITO feet wide. In
side, and long enough to accommodate
a ship a thousand feet long Thus the
total length of the three locks IN the
flight at Gatun is more than 5000 feet
Running the entire length Of the
three walls of the locks. Immediately
above the floor level, are three big tun-
nels, almost large enough to carry
double tracked, standard gagged rail-
roads. They have each a diameter Of
IS feet, and through them will be car
ried down from the lake above the
water to operate the locks
The Large Tunnels.
Connecting with these three huge
tunnels are series OF smaller culverts,
eight feet in diameter. which run
across the locks. under the floor. From
these come up through the floor a
large number of holes. each about two
feet in diameter The water is first
admitted into the big tunnels, from
them into the ones beneath the floor,
and through the sieve-like floor into
the lock chamber itself When ship
seeks to pass down out of Gatun lake
10 the sea level ditch. the upper gates
are opened and electric towing loco
motives pull it into the first lock
Then the gates are closed behind. and
huge valves are opened in the o1S
tunnels leading to the lock below, and
soon enough water has flowed out of
the upper lock to make 1t level with
the water in the lock next below. the
gates and valves at its lower end hav-
ing been closed.
The machinery for operating the
giant valves in the culverts and for
swinging the huge gates open and shut
will be stationed in chambers in the
middle wall and will be driven by
electric current generated at large
hydro electric plant at Gatun spill
way. It will be so arranged that II
anything goes wrong with the current
it still can be operated by hand
Protecting the Locks.
The system of protecting the locks
from injury in operation is elaborate
beyond anything ever before planned.
At the entrance to each lock are
placed huge chains across the OPEN
ing. each end fastened to giant n.y.
draulic jack. When a vessel comes
up to the entrance Its bow bumps into
this chain If it is not under absolute
control The hydraulic jacks give the
chain a yielding quality which pre-
vents any sudden jar and enables 1t
effectively to stop any vessel. up to
10, 900 tons in size. moving at as much
as three knots an hour.
No vessel will be permitted to enter
the locks under its own power. Ships
will approach huge central guide
walls. which carry very heavy spring
buffers. Here they will be met by
four electric towing locomotives run
ming on narrow gage tracks Two OF
these will hitch to cables at the bow
and will pull the ship into the locks.
The other two will hitch to cables at
the stern and hold the vessel back,
keep it from moving too fast and stop
it when the gates are cleared. As near
ly every accident in lock operation in
the past has arisen from vessels pass
ing through under their own power,
the electric towing locomotives practi-
cadly insure absolute safety.
But, with that characteristic deter
mination TO eliminate every possible
chance Of accident. chief engineer Goe-
thaIs has gone even further. There
will be two sets of gates at every vital
point in the lock system, so that if.
by any remote chance. a vessel should
ram down one set there still would be
another to protect the lock. These
double gates at vital points move in
unison so that there are always two
effective safeguards. Should a vessel
break away from the towing apparatus
or otherwise become uncontrolled, it
might, one time in many thousands.
succeed in battering down one gate.
Should 1t do so there is still not a
chance in a million that 1t would ram
down the second one.
Prepared for Accidents.
But suppose it did-the canal locks
will be prepared for it, A large can