The Twin Falls times. [volume] (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1905-1916, 1915-11-23
THREE MILES FOR $4,000, 900

lTfNEE MILES rOh %1l,VUV,VVO
A piece of eastern railroad building
which is termed more daring and or
iginal than any Of the great railroad
construction works Of the West" and
which contains the largest concrete
bridge in the world, was opened No
vember by the president of the
Lackawanna Railroad and public Of
ficials of New York, New Jersey and
Pennsylvania The most impressive
engineering feature OF the new cut
off on the Lackawanna line between
the cities of Scranton, Pa, and Bing
hamton, N. Y, is the great viaduct
over the Tunkhannock Valley. 1t is
half a mile long-2,375 feet, to be
exact and is as high as twenty
story building The whole cutoff
from Clark's Summit to Halstead,
Pa, is 1876 miles long and cost $12,-
100000. 1t reduces the distance be-
tween New York and Buffalo just SO
miles. Yet Lackawanna officials In
sist that it will pay for itself many
times over Says President w. H.
Truesdale in New York Times in
terview:
There were other savings than the
shortening of distance to be consid-
cred. The new route will give us a
maximum grade of 0.68 per cent,
against previous maximum grade of
1923 per cent, and total curvature
of 1850 degrees, against total vur-
Nature of 1870 degrees.
These, to the layman, may seem
as small and unimportant results
as the slight saving in mileage may
seem. But, together these changes
| will cut the running-time of every
| passenger-train between New York
! and Buffalo by twenty minutes, and
will reduce the running time Of
freights by full hour. Nor is this
all. BY reducing the traction, through
| reducing the grade, they will make
| 1t possible to move trains with two
engines which, under present condi.
| tons require five
A few impressive facts about the
F, viaduct are thus sketched:
The Tunkhannock Viaduct is FAC
feet high, more than a hundred feet
higher than the roadway of the Brook
| lyn bridge, and is half mile long
1t is by several times the largest con-
spans of 1870 feet each and two spans
of 100 feet each
1T contains approximately $500. 900
| cubic feet of concrete and $3.50, 900
pounds of reinforcing steel, the trains
which cross 1t being guarded between
massive parapet-walls rising four
feet above the level of the track and
three feet thick. Each of its foun-
dations has been carried down to the
bedrock, and this, in the cast of two
OF Its piers, meant making excava-
tons ninety-six feet deep"
Further description of the cutoff as
1
a whole is given to the press by the
Lackawanna Railroad as follows:
1T is what railroad men know as
replacement-line. being for the most
part in sight Of the old line for which
1t is substituted. The radical re-
| duction OF grades and curves is
achieved by very heavy cutting and
filling and by viaducts of enormous
size. all OF which was impossible in
the early days Of railroading. Some
idea of the magnitude OF the opera
ton Is seen from the fact that the
amount OF earth moved reached TO-
tai of 5,525,0O0 cubic yards, while the
rock excavation amounted to 7,647 ,OOO
cubic yards, 100000 cubic feet OF
concrete was used. and the amount
Eof reinforcing steel employed in the
various bridges, viaducts, and cul.
verts aggregated 4,720,000 pounds -
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