The Ellensburg dawn. [volume] (Ellensburg, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1913-02-27

| lily used, such as bolts and mus pack
ings, and similar pieces.
The train takes the small machin,
shop directly to the shovel to he re
paired and in most eases does all that
is needed without its leaving its posi-
ton or losing a minute from the work
an excellent example of real efficiency
Sometimes a whole new arm or boom
is swung into place by the wrccking
crane and a trip to Empire with its
arms or hooms weigh several tons and
are not easy to handle. But the aim
of everything is to keep things NOV
ing and push the Job through to com
plctiOn.
At Empire, too. is the main air
COMPRISING plant of the largest air
COMPRISING system in the world.
Three stations-I.as Cascades, Empire
and Rio Grandc-pump into about II
miles of l0-inch pipe line, which ear
rcs compressed air to drive the drills
for preparing the rock for blasting.
Aside from the strictly repair work
to the locomotives and ears the shops
at Gorgona can lac called the manu-.
featuring shops of the zone. 4 good
sized foundry equipment is provided
for making iron. brass and steel east
ngs for all purposes needed in the
canal work. And while it is the inten-
., al
siblc. it has been found necessary to
make many repair parts which should
have been made in the States on ac-
count of the short sighted policy of
some manufacturers in charging cxor.
hitant prices for repair parts. II 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 nm
der the severe work of the canal cx-
cavation. Crane arms have to be rein
forced. ear sides strengthened and
other machinery parts increased in
proportion. The old French rails have
been largely used for such reinforcing
and there seems to be no end of them.
They make excellent beams for the
sides of dump and other ears and are
also used in reinforcing concrete
structures in many places. even includ-
ing the edges of curbing for street
sidewalks. Bridges of short spans have
also been built of these rails and they
have been put to more uses than can be
mentioned offhand. Whoever bought
them bought them with great liberal
itv. to put the matter mildly.
Everything about the whole canal is
on a big scale, even though the sue
cess of the largest may depend on the
proper working out of the smaller de
tails. The locks at Gatun will lift the
vessels 50 feet from the sea level tc
that of the lake. which is formed by
the huge Gatun dam. The lake will
cover l64 square miles and flow tn,
water from the locks at Gatun through
the great Culcbra cut and to the locks
on the Pacific side at Pedro Miguel
The locks will accommodate vessels
900 feet long by 10 feet wide ant
drawing - feet of water. But as tn,
average vessel in the tropical trade il
under 600 feet long, auxiliary or in
tcrmcdate gates are provided so tina
40 per cent of the water for lockin.
vessels can be saved unless the vesse
exceeds 600 feet.
The Gatun locks are about l..
miles long. of solid concrete, and form
the largest concrete structure in tn
: world. They are double. to allow tn
passage of vessels in both direction