The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-09-03

Der, ana Wn1cn are 50 dIIdiSeO ia
when the water is let in it rushes up
through the openings and fills the
chamber, the water being held in by
the gates.
Raising the Ships From the Pacific.
There are only two locks here at
Niraf1Ores. The steamer comes
straight in from the Pacific when the
water in the lock is at sea level. This
water is salt. Then the gate at the
Pacific end is closed, and in from
the tunnel comes the water from the
Gatun lake, having passed through
1t fills the lock, raising as it does SIS
the ship to the level Of the water IN
the lock above.
The vessel then passes into that
lock, through the. gate facing the
Pacific, and it is raised to the level of
through it until it reaches the lock of
Pedro Miguel. Here, in the same
way, it is boosted thirty feet higher,
to the eighty-fve-foot level Of the
Culebra cut. The ship now has a
clean, clear steaming way of thirty
Gatun lake, before it comes to the
Gatun dam and to the three series Of
locks which drop to the level Of the
Atlantic.
The matter is simple enough. It is
merely like putting a block Of wood
III a luD anu pouring III Wdle1 " HIN
it rise to the top, or like opening a
spigOt in the bottom and letting it
drop as the water runS out. The
only difference is hat the block is
small and it weighs but a few pounds,
while the ship which will go through
these gigantic Jock tub may be as
long as was fhe Titanic or longer;
and it may weigh tens Of thousands
Of tons. The Olympic, for instance,
has a gross tonnage Of $4,000, and. |
an told, it could easily pass through.
The actual dimensions Of each of the
chambers are 1000 feet long, 10 feet
wide and more than 80 feet high.
Gates Which Cost $1,000. 900.
The gates to these chambers are
even more wonderful than the cham
berS themselves. The chambers are
of concrete. The gates are of steel,
and that in thousands, yes in millions
Of pieces, put together SO tightly that
they will hold these huge watts Of
water and raise and lower within
them vessels worth millions Of dol
lars.
But first as to the cost. I have said
than that. The contract for making
them was let by competitive bids in
; which the u. S. Steel Trust and
four others Of the chief steal manu-
featuring companies Of the United
States submitted offers. Each had
= ~ put up CI1oCkS LOT StF0IdI nuHuIoO
l thousand dollars as a guarantee that
I it would carry out its bids, but these
sums were returned to those who
failed. The lowest bidder was the
MCClintic-Marshall Construction Com
4 pany Of Pittsburgh and its offer was
making of forty-six gates, being on
A. an average almost $4,000 apiece.
The sum seems great until one
e realizes just what it covers. It in
: cludes altogether something like S.
900 tons Of steel made up Of tens OF
y thousands of pieces, some SC big that
e 1t takes a mighty steam crane tC
t handle them and others as small as
a pin or a needle. For instance
e there are more than 100000 pound:
d Of steel bolts and nuts and a hall
y million pounds of nickel steel pins
h There are millions Of pounds of riy
eted structural steel, over three mil
lion pounds Of carbon steel casting!
and hundreds of thousands Of pounds
Of Venadium steel, made up in al
c infinite variety OF parts.
Some Interesting Items.
4 1 have before me the items which
formed a part of the bid. They in
locks, twelve for the locks at Pedr,
Miguel, and fourteen for those her,
at Miraf1Ores. Some Of the gate.
:, are s~eventy-seven feet high and som,
as low as forty-seyen feet four inches
Each is made in two leaves or door
which swing back and forth. Thin
Of a doc as tall as an eight-stor
N house. Make it about f%ifty-fve feet il
width and you may get some idea o
these mighty doors, each containin:
- its myriad parts Of steel, put togethe
80 like a watch, which have been mad
at Pittsburgh and shipped in piece
down to the canal. The weight O
% the biggest leaves is something lik
500 tons. or enough to form a 600,
IS :, load for a dozen freight cars.
~ Think Of hanging gates of tina
III Kind in such a way hat they ca
swing back and forth at a speed tina
az will not affect the waters which 40,
a. IN and out, and at the same tim
at quickly enough to allow ships to g
Is through these locks within eight O
ne ten minutes and you have some ide
ST OF the difficulties Of their construe
n ton,