Evening star., 1915-10-10
The Panama Canal at Work.
v.-Locks and Power.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

the great surprises to those who
watched its construction.
Long before the locks were completed
certain foreign engineers of the high
est standing and reputation prophesied
that the giant gates would prove too
bulky for successful operation. Others
asserted positively that the slightest
earthquake shock would put them out
of commission. Disaster in various
other forms was confidently promised.
The locks may literally be said to
have worked without a hitch. There
has never been an accident in one OF
lost by any ship because the lock ma
chinery was out of repair.
The men who work the locks have no
improvements to suggest, except a very
few minor ones with regard to the cleo
trical connections. Before the locks
were built design after design was
drawn and cast aside.
Every contingency was provided for.
every possible difficulty foreseen. and
their clocklike working today is the
their construction.
Between the two channels of each
lock. about midway their length. is q
Directing Center ling two-story
of the Great Lift. building OF the
and red finish. This is the brain, the
directing center Of the great lift. In
this building the captain and his as
sistants have their headquarters. The
top floor Of the building is all one room
about sixty feet long, and here stands
one of the most complicated and re-
markable electrical control boards in
the world. It reaches almost from end
to end Of the room. Its face Is a sort
of map of the canal, upon which each
gate and culvert is represented by an
actually moving part which always
registers the exact position of its giant
counterpart in the lock.
BY means of this board one man may
control every part of the lock. tell at
glance the exact position of ships
passing through it, the depth of water
in each stage and whether all the
working parts are in perfect order. BY
walking along the board and turning
a few brass handles the operator at
Gatun lifts the biggest ocean liner
eighty-five feet in the air.
The lock gates upon this control
board are represented by little steel
arms Upon each lock gate itself there
is small electrical motor which is
operated by the movement of the gate.
The current from this motor actuates
the arm upon the control board, so
that every move of big gate is in
stantly and accurately followed by that
of its small representative on the
board. In addition to the miniature
gate showing the position Of the great
one, there are tiny red and green lights
upon the board which change their
color as the gates are opened and
closed. Thus a glance at the board
shows the exact stage of every opera
u2Rs rSs ca,v.,.. ,.,,.,,,, -. ], !,
canal by which the water is raised
and lowered in each stage. are repre-
sented upon the control board by little
steel boxes eight or ten feet high,
set with panes of glass; There is a
light back of these miniature windows
and curtain that moves up and down
as the culvert opens and shuts This
curtain Is actuated by an electric cur
rent generated by the culvert valves in
the same way as the miniature gates.
Thus the width Of lighted glass shown
by each of these culvert gates indi-
Gates exactly how wide open the cul-
vert is. and how much water is going
through.
X X
An upright gauge with a moving
needle always shows the exact depth of
the water in
Upright Gauge in each lock.
Shows Water Depth. mere ,nasos as atso tso
designed to show the position of the
forcing miter, which is intended to lock
the great gates when closed. It has
never been found necessary to use this
however, as the pressure of the water,
forcing the fiat surfaces of the gate to-
gether. prevents the escape of single
drop. t
Any ONE who has watched the lock
gates at work must he fully convinced
any emergency. In case, however, that
they should fail, there is great emer-
gency gate at each end which may be
operated from the control board just
as the others are. This emergency gate
consists in a system of steel leaves
hung in frame, which may be quickly
swung across the mouth of the lock-
and dropped into position. At Gatun
locks, recently, these emergency gates
were swung into position and allowed
to hold the head of water. while the
regular gates were being cleaned and
repainted. But there has never been
any opportunity to use them in the pre-
vention Of an accident.
operation of the canal is that the gates
might be opened in the wrong sequence
and a rush of water started which
might damage both the locks and ships
passing through. This is prevented by
an elaborate system of interlocking
bars which makes it impossible to work
the gates and culverts except in pre-
sequence. There are about
two and a fourth miles of these inter-
locking bars. After listening to de-
scription of the complicated way in
which they operate, the layman is en-
.ireIy willing to trust without under
standing them.
The most impressive thing about
through the locks is the ease
with which the thing is accomplished.
There is no fuss nor excitement. Very
gently the ocean steamer slides be-
hind the concrete walls, set with giant
ia mn-nosts. Lines are thrown out fore
and aft caught by gangs of blacks,
and the connections with the electrical
towing engines are made. Then, slow
iv and majestically, the great iron
rates swing In behind the ship, there
is a low rumble of rushing water
which becomes louder as the surface
breaks into foam and bubbles. Almost
yet swiftly, the ship is
lifted. Then the gates before 1t swing
open. the great chain drops and the
hrst step is accomplished.
In addition to the operator in the
control house and the blacks who man
age the lines. only
Goes With Ships to one other man is
necessary to the |
Report Posltlon. operation of the
locks. He walks along beside the ship |
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