Evening star., 1923-04-29
Daily Water Will Completion
Sixty Years Ago.

. So = <~z--~>~> S~~>,-E>-<,
sineer office is in immediate charge
OF the work, being assisted BY J. T..
Curtis, q. l.. Camp. Robert Ricketts,
and L. II. Doddridgc
More than $4,000 cubic yards of
earth will be excavated in digging the
trench for the underground aqueduct,
: while in excess Of 100000 cubic yards
of concrete Will be employed In build
Jug the su5terranean pipe line Along
some stretches Ii the neighborhood
+, OF Great Falls cuts from 10. to 45 feet
deep have been made through rock
bound cliffs, While :. duo Of tunnels,
] totalias about 800 feet in length. are
being cut through the highest hills
between Great Falls and the bound
AIRY line OF our federal scat of gov
, e!snn.ent. A remarkable siphon will
! carry the wate" supply under the
C"bi,r John creek. This mammoth
metal tub~way, incased in concrete.
! VIII male an abrupt drop of l10 fee,
at Cabin Io1:1 bridge an1 will con
To! t!le "'atr: from oIe sue Of the
! y-an-:.i:i2- c,ias... to the otl!er--a dis
/ t;,1ice "a 500 fee.
Po" eltut steam s.love. e.s---snechau-
iral disge:s that take the ardueus
, hard labor out Of trench construc-
tioE--are being used to open the
chanE s.wa- for the concrete con-
struction. r. IS worth q trip I'D to
/ Cabin JOHN just to watch and wor-
dc
these mammoth s.lovels operate. With
. the ruthless accuracy OF mechanical
autolnatoIns, they are tearing their
ways through hills ard dales that
I have withstood .atvra, weathering
and the attacks OF Father Time for
ages They poke tteir. steel -iawed
mouths into the opposing hillsides
i With the regularity o. Il steam engine
! exhaust. They snatch up their great
loads "f soil. spin through = half cir
t,e and disgorge them on the off side
Of the huge ditch. As soon as they
, complete the cutting OF the essential
! lines nf trench they are moved to the
| farther ends Of the project where CON
| struction Of the concrete tubeway has
| already progressed. Here they are
used for filing in the conduit gully
atte- tI4e aqueduct is built: The soil
! IS puddIeJ as II is dumped into place,
: so that it corupacts and settles firmly
around the water subway.
t The mammoth concrete duet. i'll the
! main. is being built Of mass concrete
! v-itiout metal reinforcement. There
are few sections in the rough and
! rugged section OF Great Falls where
! reinforcement is being used because
: OF unusu:,! typographical conditions.
: peak point Of the conduit. Mechani
. InitiaIl, the base or floor ot the
/ aquedrct ;s LAID. Il consisting OF
! solid la-er OF concrete ten inches
/ thick Like the arched sides OF
! horseshoe. the walls Of the gigantic
tube rise from this foundation, being
thirty-four inches thick 1T their base
ard taperiag to a width OF twelve
! inches at the crown OF the arch-the
! cal n1arve,s in the guise of steel forms
are used in raising the concrete walls
engineering devices that take the
enigna out of the mass concrete con-
! structiop.
:; =
0N the foor OF the aqueduct
| ~ dummy railroad track is laid tenn
| pora rily and firmly blocked into place.
! This. track accornoaates one OF the
most curious trains in all creation
Z: series OF small cars that by means
} OF special jackscrews and turn buck
les carry the interior metal forms
used in building the walls and top of
the water tunnel. The conduit is be-
, ing built in eighryfoot sections. The
! form bearing train consists of eight
cars, each Of which is ten feet long.
1t serves as a medium of support and
transportation for the interior metal
/ forms used in building one section Of
the aqueduct. When the cars are
, moved to the proper position for the
erection Of a new segment OF the
concrete duct, they are firmly anchor
ed in place. The jackscrews are used
to raise the forms to the proper
height, while the turn buckles are
employed to extend and stretch out
the concrete supporters.
The exterior forms are moved about
by means of an ingenious traveller
which runs on two steel tracks laid
along the outside walls Of the con-
duir. Hempen cables are linked be-
tween the traveller and gasoline trac-
tor that runs along the roadway at
the side and upper surface Of the
trenchway. This tractor furnishes a
means Of locouotion for the train
that conveys the interior forms as
we'll as for. the traveller that carries
the exterior forms. The outside
froms are lowered on their hoists un-
til they are directly above the inside