Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1912-07-26
BUILDING RAILROAD
ON VERMONT SIDE
HoIbrook, Cabot & Rollins Have
Boston 4 Maine Contract
cal Yard-Proeress OF Work on site
OF 600 Foot Bridge.

cal Yard-Progress Of Work on Site
Of 600 Foot Bridge.
1t will interest the people of Brattle-
boro and other readers of The Phoenix
to know that the contract for building
the Boston & Maine railroad bed from
the site of the proposed Connecticut
river railroad bridge south of the viii
lage up through the railroad yard along
side the Central Vermont tracks has
been awarded, that work under that con-
tract was begun Wednesday morning
and that the road will be in operation,
according to present plans, this year.
An agreement has been reached also
whereby the Boston & Maine company
will make the changes in the railroad
yard and on Vernon street, although
President Charles S. Mellen of the New
York, New Haven & Hartford company
stated over the telephone wednesday
forenoon that the agreement mad not
been signed. All that remains to be
done in that connection. however, Is
formality and the Boston & Maine COM
pany is going ahead with preparations
for closing Vernon street to traffic and
having a large force of men put to work
on the proposed changes in a very short
time.
The contract for building the Boston
e. Maine roadbed on this side of the
river has been awarded to the Holbrook,
Cabot & Rollins corporation. the con-
tractors who are building the roadbed
on the New Hampshire right of way
from the Hinsdale end of the bridge site
to South Vernon. Acting under this con-
tract some of the rs men employed at
the bridge site set up a pile driver
Tuesday and on Wednesday morning the
work of driving piles for the trestle
x1hi will ha In fnr
the permanent roadway on the Vermont
side was begun not far from the north
west end of the bridge site. The work
Is under the supervision of Engineer II.
l.. Ripley, who has been giving special
attention lately to the operations at the
river.
AS is the case on the New Hampshire
side, the roadbed on the Vermont side
will be built for one track, but all the
rock cuts and masonry will provide for
two tracks, as will the bridge. The con-
tractors will have the roadbed construct
ed so that the railroad company can
lay the rails this fall, and the other
work in and about the yard will be well
under way this year, but the changes
for which Brattleboro contributed $4,000
will not be completed before another
sea son.
The American Bridge company of New
York, a branch of the United States
Steel corporation and one of the largest
bridge concerns in the world, is making
the bridge, which will cross the Con-
necticut at a point about opposite the
Snowflake canning factory. The structure
will cross the river diagonally and the
approach at each end will be on a
curve. When complete the bridge will
consist of five 80-foot girder spans and
two 250-foot truss spans. 1t will rest
on two granite abutments and six gran
lite piers.
For two of the piers, which will be
constructed where the water is so deep
that it is not practicable to build them
by the ordinary cofferdam metncj, the
open casson method will be used.
Piles will be driven, which will be saw :.
ed off level under water with horizon
tai saw. For each of these two piers a
caisson will be built, which will consist of
large water-tight box open at the top.
The bottom of the caisson, which is call
ed a grillage, will consist of heavy tim
bers fitted together so that they will be
water-tight. The caisson will be fioated
to point directly over the piles, and
inside it the construction of the granite
pier will be begun. AS the work pro-
crosses the weight of the granite will
gradually sink the caisson until the bot
tom, or grillage, rests securely on the
piles. Then the sides will be removed,
but the thick grillage will remain and
the pier will be complete.
Piles will be driven for three of the four
other piers and the ends will be sur
rounded with concrete, upon which the
masonry will be built For this work
ordinary cofferdams will be constructed
and from the interior of these box like
structures the water will be pumped out
to allow the workmen to build the ma
sonry, as was done when the founda ton
for the Connecticut river dam at Ver-
non was put in. The remaining pier,
which will be on the Hinsdale side, and
the abutment on the Hinsdale side will
rest on rock foundations, so it will not
be necessary to drive piles for them.
They will require the construction Of
cofferdams, however, as will the abut-
ment on the Vermont side, which will
rest on piles.
To facilitate this work and the work
of erecting the bridge temporary trestle
900 feet long is being built across the
river, on the upstream side of the
bridge site. This trestle now extends
from the Vermont side about half way
across the river. An opening 40 feet
wide will be left for the use of motor
boats and this opening will be spanned
by iron Orders. A railroad track Is laid
along the trestle as fast as the latter
is built out into the river, and upon this
track will run locomotives. cars and To-
connective cranes for use in the bridge
construction.
Grillages for the caissons are now being
built and the cofferdams are being put
in. To aid in the river work the men
have built a deck scow 25 by so feet,
and three pontoons have been shipped
in which, when fastened together form
lighter 2S feet wide and 81 feet long
by which material may be transported
from place to place. There are also on
hand two large pontoon pile drivers, two
Brown hoist locomotive cranes and much
light equipment
In their work on the New Hampshire
side the Holbrook, Cabot & Rollins cor
poration now have 10 locomotives and
six steam shovels in use. A seventh
steam shovel will be added to the equip
ment in short time.