The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1913-01-28
The PANAMA CANAL:
WHY IT HAS SUCCEEDED
.iBy Fred A Colvin. Assistant Editor
American Machinist-'')

<NS7ASNSNAAS 100000
American Machinist-')
More than any other undertaking
N the worlds history, perhaps, the
Panama Canal is due to the combined
development of many elements of civ
uization. While the French engin-
sers failed to complete the canal, we
must remember that no one could
have succeeded at that time, and we
must give them credit for courage, en-
cheering ability and a creditable
zcl1ievem cnt.
Without Col. Gorgas to first elm
mate the mosquito and make the Ca
nal Zone not only 1ivable but comfort
able and even attractive the cana
would never have been built. Without
the modern developments of excavat-
Ing machinery and of concrete the
great locks at Gatun, Pedro Miguel
and Miraf1ores and the nine-mile cut
at CuIebra would never have been
completed within a reasonable time.
without the repair shops at Cristobal
Gorgona, Empire and Balboa to keep
the locomotives, steam shovels and
other machinery in operation the rap
Id progress would have been impos-
sible. And without the selection OF
proper material to stand the climate.
not forgetting the too often overlook
ed item of betting. the cost in delays
and IN actual money might be diff
The shops at Cristoba1 and Balboa
handle the repairs for the dredges and
other excavating machinery at the At
lantic and Pacific ends of the canal,
respectively. This includes the bar
zes which carry the material away to
be dumped, some being self-propeI1ed
and called by their French name
.'cIappets.'' as well as tugs, launches
and any sort of sea- aoing craft which
may be used
The largest shops are at Gorgona,
enlarged from the French shops al
this place, and here all the locomo-
tives and cars for the excavation work
as well as for the Panama Railroad
are repaired. At times this shop
has employed 1900 men. 1t is diff
fcult to see the necessity for such
a large shop until we stop to consid-
er that the Isthnaian Canal Commits
sion railroad, built solely in the Guile
bra cut and for hauling the dirt Cor
spoil as it is called away from
it is about the size of the Boston &
Albany Railroad. There are over 500
locomotives and 1000 cars. and most
of the locomotives are big ones,
weighing over 100 tons each. They
are very unlike the usual contractors
locomotives we usually think of in
connection with excavation work.
At Empire the steam shovels are
repaired and the shops employ about
shop worksto keep the dirt flying. but
they are kept at work with as little
delay as possible by thoroughly or
ganiEed plan of action and a corps
of inspectors and rvorkmen.
The inspectors visit each shovel as
Il works away, and not only get the
reports of the shovel engin GERS, but
look 1T over for weak spots and worn
parts. Any needed repairs are re-
ported to Empire by telephone 50
that repair parts and supplies can be
prepared In advance.
After the dirt trains have stopped
running at p. M. the repair train
starts out from the Empire shops and
makes its rounds to the steam shovels
which are in need of it's services. This
repair train consists of a heavy loco
motive, a large wreeking crane, a.
box car. which is fairly well equip
ped machine shop and another box
car filed with supplies and parts or
dinariIy used, such as bolts and nuts,
packings and similar pieces.
The train takes the small machine
shop directly to the shovel to be re-
paired and in most cases does all that
is needed without its leaving its po-
sition or losing a minute from the
work, an excellent example of real eff
fciency. Sometimes whole new arm
or boom is swung into place by the
wrecking crane and trip to Empire
And these arms or booms weight sew
eraIttons and are not easy to handle.
But the aim of everything is to keep
things moving and push the Job
through to completion.
At Empire, too, is the main afr-com-
pressing plant OF the largest afr-conn
pressing systems in the world. Three
stations - Las Cascades, Empire and
Rio Grande-pump into about IA
miles of 1O-inch pipe line, which car
ries compressed air to drive the drills
for preparing the rock for blasting
Aside from the strictly repair shop
work to the locomotives and cars the
shops at Gorgona can be called the
manufacturing shops of the zone. A
good sized foundry equipment is pro-
vided for making iron, brass and steel
castings for all purposes needed in the
canal work. And while it is the in
tention to buy as much material as
possible, It has been found necessary
to make many, repairs which should
have been made in the States on ac-
count of the short sighted policy of
some manufacturers in charging ex-
orbftant prices for repair parts Tt
has repeatedly been found cheaper to
make a pattern and a casting and
then machine the casting than to pay
the price asked and wait for it to. be
made
Nearly all the machinery which has
gone to the Isthmus has been found
to require strengthening to stand up
under the severe work of the canal
excavation Crane arms have to be
reinforced. car sides strengthened and
other machinery parts increased in