The Cairo bulletin., 1914-01-12
White Hot Rivets Dart Through
Air, Leaving Behind Tail
Like Comet.
CAPACITY OF TANK IS TWO
HUNDRED THOUSAND GALLONS
Brings Center of Pressure a Mile
Nearer TO South End of
City

The steel tower and tank, with 4
capacity of 100000 gallons. to fur
nisl the city with high pressure OIL
its water, is nearing completion
and the tower to support the tank
is In place.
The tower stands on lot on the
south side of Twenty second street
midway between Poplar and Syca-
more streets. This brings tlu CEN
ter Of water pressure a mile nearer
TO the south end ef the city than
il eyer before has been. This is
the geographical center of the city
The steel tank and tower is be-
ing constructed by the Chicago
Bridge and Iron Works, wlrich is
the largest concern OF its kind in
the world. Tho Iron workers doing
this work are iii II class by them
selves, being neither bridge build
crs nor boiler makers, and arc cm-
ployed only on this class of work.
The rivets used to fastcn the
beams are heated at forge placed
90 or 80 feet above the rlveter
and when they become white hot,
are taken from the Goals with q
pair 3s tongs and hurled through
the air to man who catches them
In a bucket. Their descent III ap
pearance is m,ich the same as a
comet rushing across the sky, lcar-
ing behind It tail OF fire,
When the rivct is caught, and the
riyetcr seldom misses it, it is
placed in position and securely
weldtA with heavy hammers. SO
securely do these riycts fasten The
beams together that although tn
company has built more than 1,50a
of these tanks in the last few years,
not one of them has been lost.
The tank will stand wind
strain Of 100 miles an hour and
easily takes care of its own weight
and the weight of the water Will
out strain.
The concrete foundation for the
six legs are sunk only eight feet
into thc ground blat spread in fan
shape from tho top 10 the bottom in
order 70 give sufficient base witl.-
out going deep into tho ground. 1t
has been demonstrated that dccD
foundations run into sand. which is
constantly shifting ard is therefore
dangerous The gumbo under this
tank has been tested and will stand
q strain OF two and one half tons TO
the square foot, which is twice the
strength necessary to bear the
weight of the tower and tank.
The tower rises tS0 feet above
iit anu tht NuHh Nh'' u
is SO feet in diameter. will rise at
least 30 feet above this. At the
bottom of the tank is four foot
stand pipe running to the, ground
and connecting with a lG inch
water main. The flow OF the water
into the pipe is controlled by auto
matte valves, which permit the tank
TO refill whenever the water is low
enough TO reduce the pressure. The
tank cleans itself automatically ami
it is not necessary to empty il Vt
water for the cleaning.
For painting the tank inside and
out, which is necessary every two
years, there is a ladder running
along one of the beams from the
ground to the top of the tank and
inside the tank from the top to the
bottom Of the stand pipe.
This tank will give pressure OF
So pounds at Twenty-second street.
A tank of this kind is far superior
to a stand pipe as the pressure re-
mains the same even when the
water in the tank is low, while with
stand pipe, a fall Of few feet in
the water greatly reduces the pres
sure and when the water is low,
there is almost no pressure.
1t is proposed, after the tower
and tank are completed. to make a
park Of the grounds on which II
stands. An iron fence will be
placed around it and it will be sown
in grass and flower beds.