The New York herald., 1921-09-25
BOATING IN ASTORIA
in A HUGE GAS TANK
That Is Experience Work
men Will Have in the
New Holder.
VORTEX OF BLACKNESS
14,200.000 Gallons of Water
Have Been Pumped In
to Receptacle.
ONE OF WORLDS LARGEST
It's Construction by Light t,
Heat and Power Company
Cost $1,5OO,OOO.
VORTEX OF BLACKNESS
ONE OF WORLDS LARGEST

SooO PI.cOO,OOo.
A workman closed a valve in an
eight inch main yesterday after the
last drops of 14,200,00O gallons OF
water, which had been flowing for a
week in an unchecked stream. had
spluttered into the huge new gas hold
or of the Astoria Light, Heat and
Power Company. at Astoria, l.. |.
His act marked an important step
in the completion Of one Of the largest
gas holders in the world. one which
represents an outlay by the company
OF $1.500,000 The only other holder of
like impressive dimensions is the twin
it and was its prototype. The new
holder is 1000 ton construction ca
pable of holding 100000 cubic feet
of gas without leakage. In fashioning
lis cylindrical sides 100000 rivets
were used 10 fasten it's steel plates.
Two little punts and a second hand
f1at bottomed rowboat, like mules bound
doomed to live and toll, took ono part
ing look at the light of da:. Fm when
the last steel plate ana the Ia It .nan-
hole covers are boltcd down those shah
by little craft must begin a long term
of dismal Imprisonment afloat on lake
OF Styglan darkness, 800 feet across,
that fills the tank Df the gas holder.
Above their thwarts will loom for an
indefinite period the no less inSy black
steel dome that represents the crown
of the holder
Mass of Concrete.
Though the flooring of the tank. which
Is laid on the bedrock. is hardly more
than eighteen inches thick, 1t and the
great cylindrical retaining walls. which
must Withstand the pressure IF forty
eight feet of water. have consumed In
their construction 100000 pounds of
concrete and an additional 100000
pounds OF steel reinforcement.
Within this great concrete tank rest
the telescoped sections of the holder,
huge cylinders OF steel plate, eacn section
forty-eight and a half feet high. There
are Ave such sections. The liter one,
known as the crown section. carries The
steel dome that forms the top OF the
holder. Substantial and earthbound as
this vast structure looks, 1t really Is very
light in comparison with TIC tremen-
dous lifting surface which IL exposes
TO the gas. some $4,000 square feet.
Were a sufficient number of rubber
tubes run Though the water and under
its edge, and a sufficient number of per-
sons with only average chest expansion
asked to blow into the tubes. the mighty
sections OF this huge steel telescope
eli tat, fra tuf
less exertion on the part of the blowers
than a small boy eXpends in initiating a
paper bag.
1t was not necessary that the concrete
tank should have a fiat bottom. The
construction engineers effected a con-
siderable economy, therefore, when they
confined their excavating operations to
. circular trough so feet deep and wide
enough to accommodate the foot con-
crete retaining wall of the tank and the
telescoped sections of the holder. which
had to rest inside the wall Within the
circumference of this circular trough
they left the native rock standing in
the shape of huge truncated cone, its
flat top 100 feet in diameter. while the
inclined radius running down to the en-
circlinE trough is LAG feet long.
Use of the boats.
Before the water was let into the tank
the small punts and the flat bottomed
boat lay upon the top OF this rock cone
There they had their pictures taken. AS
the water level is several feet above the
top OF the truncated cone, they now are
afloat, but they are not adrift. Each
OF the three craft Is tied directly under
one of the manholes in the crown of the
holder.
Workmen will be let down through the
manholes and into the boats. Then the
lids will be replaced and the holder will
be blown up with air, not with gas. AS
the crown section rises above the water
there will come into view the rollers
bearing against the guide tracks on the
inside OF the next section. These have
TO be adjusted.
Then the holder will be blown up some
more, the next section will be lifted and
It's rollers will appear above the water.
So for the next few weeks the expert
merchandising of the construction COM
pany will be padding around In the
small boats. making adjustments here
and there in a vortex consisting OF
5000 900 cubic feet of midnight black
ness, made all the more opaque by the
puny lights they will carry.
After every necessary adjustment mas
been made the boats will be tied up, one
under each manhole, the experts will
depart and the manhole covers will be
again bolted down. Then the air will be
let out OF the holder and the illuminat-
ing gas will be pumped In. From that
moment the poor little punts and tho
second hand skiff are going to be very
lonesome, for these great holders are
built 20 work continuously for years
without further interior attention.
This second tank unit is part OF a
contemplated plant at Astoria, to consist
Of six. Even as the plant stands to-day
Il is the largest gas producing works In
the world. This holder marks the COM
pletion OF additions to the plant costing
s7,500,000 and capable OF producing
s0,000,000 cubic feet of gas day, in
addition to the 5o.oo0,000 cubic feet pro-
duced by the original plant,