Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1913-11-04
As II by magic. the gates swing open

As If by magic, the gates swing open,
and an electric locomotive. which has
run out on guide wall and fastened
to the ship. tows 1t into the first lock.
The gates swing together, and the ship
is imprisoned In a chamber 1000 feet
long and no feet wide and built OF
concrete. In q moment the water In
this chamber begins to rise, being sup
piled through holes in the bottom, and
the ship rises with the water.
Fifteen minutes after entering the
lock the ship has risen with the water
for twenty-seven and one-half feet. II
the full capacity for filling the lock
should be used the ship would rise
that height In eight minutes. Another
set of gates swing open in front OF
the ship, and the locomotives tow II
Into the second lock, concrete cham
ber of the same dimensions. The gates
having closed behind, this chamber be-
gins filling with water until the ship
Is raised again for twenty-seven and
one-half feet. A third set Of gates
open, and the ship Is towed Into the
fnal lock, where the operation Is re-
peated with a rise Of thirty feet. or
total lift for the three locks OF
eighty-fve feet. When the gates IN
front swing open the ship steams out
into the Gatun lake. The time spent
In climbing eighty-fve feet was an
hour and half.
For sixteen miles through this lake
the ship steams in channel 1000 feet
wide, for four miles in a channel 500
feet wide and for three miles in a
channel 500 feet wide, or twenty-three
miles In ALL Then 1t enters the famous
Culebra cut. which is 300 feet wide
through the continental mountain d.
vide and nine miles long. At the end
of the cut is the Pedro Miguel lock.
thirty-two miles from Gatun.
After entering this lock, which es-
sentially is the same as the ones on
the Atlantic side, the ship goes through
the reverse Of the process at Gatun.
The water In the concrete chamber be-
gins falling. taking the ship down with
IT, When It has fallen thirty feet the
gates In front open and the ship goes
out into another artificial lake, mile
and a half long, at the end Of which
are the Mirafores locks. These two
locks lower the ship twenty-seven and
a half feet each, or total for the three
locks Of elghty-ive feet, which was the
height the ship was raised on the other
side. The ship then steams through
a sea level channel for seven miles to
the Pacific, having made the whole
journey from deep water In the At
lantic to deep water In the Pacific
fifty miles. In ten hours.
At both ends the locks are built IN
pairs or twins. 80 that ships going
In opposite directions may pass
through them simultaneously. A wall
sixty feet thick separates the locks,
and II one set should become disabled
the adjoining set still would be avail
able for passage. The time required
for a ship to mount the three locks on
one side and descend the three locks on
the other side Is three hours.
On the Atlantic side the locks ut
Gatun are connected and constitute
one solid piece of masonry. On the
Pacific side the lock at Pedro Miguel
is separated from the two locks at MI
rafores by a small lake a mile and
half long. This lake. like the great
Gatun lake, is formed by damming riv-
ers. A dam at the Pedro Miguel lock.
which is the first lock encountered 60
ing toward the Pacific. holds the wa
ters of Gatun lake from spilling down
the Pacific slope.
Chief Engineer Stevens began the
excavations in the Gatun and Pedro
Miguel lock sites in 1905 shortly after
the decision was made for lock type
canal, but most Of the excavation and
all Of the concrete laying have been