CXVIII.
RAILWAY
PIERS OF MIDLAND
BRIDGE, SHUBENACADIE RIVER,
SOUTH
MAITLAND, NOVA SCOTIA.
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Geo. E. Thomas, M. W.
Read April
Our paper
S. E.
j, i go i
on the pneumatic piers for Shubenapurpose to bring before you some
of the difficulties encountered and overcome in locating and sinking
This river may be called an arm of the Bay of Fundy,
the caissons.
the tide coming in through Minas Basin and up through Cobequid
Bay, rushes through the narrow passage with a velocity of 10 feet
per second on the neap-tide to
5 feet per second on the springfor this
evening
cadie River Bridge.
It
is
is
my
i
FlG.
tide.
There are two
l.
and the peculiarity
two hours and thirt)
tides in twenty-four hours,
at this point being, that
we have
all
the flow
in
minutes, it taking nine hours and twenty minutes to run out
also,
that on the incoming spring tides we had a rise of seventeen feet
of water in twenty minutes.
This is known as the Bay of Fund)
Bore.
have heard it said of its coming on a level plane o\ S feet.
feet, and
think the mistake is made by the
never saw it over
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Thomas
— Piers
of Midland Railway Bridge.
159
undulation caused by the tide striking the sand bars and making
quite a wave; but I do not underrate the power of the tide in the
Bay
of
Fundy.
substructural work on this bridge consisted of two abutments, four pedestals and six river piers, and are located as follows:
Starting from the west side of the river with a concrete abutment,
The
Fig.
Pier No.
1.
30 feet from the center of this was one pair of concrete pedestals;
the next pair was placed at an equal distance from those then Pier
Pier No. 2, or the
No. 1 was located just 30 feet east of those.
draw pier, was located as shown on the plat as 42 feet from center
of pier No. 1, and the other piers were 219.50 feet from center to
center, and the east abutment was the same distance from pier No. 6.
started work on the west abutment and found a soft shale
rock cropping out we excavated through this about 1 2 feet to a
hard rock bottom; on this was placed the concrete, bringing this up
to surface of ground, and then placing the mould and building up
the work to the proper elevation.
The same course was followed
with the pedestals.
Pier No,
begins at low water and was built up in the open.
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Thomas
160
Piers of
Midland Railway Bridge.
We
had considerable difficulty in preparing- the rock under this pier,
was very uneven, and we had only a period of one and a half
We succeeded in making a
hours in which to work on each tide.
true and practically level bottom on the hard roek, into which we
drilled and put in a number of anchor rods, to which was fastened
the first course of crib timbers to the rock, consisting of 12x12 inch
white hemlock timber.
It was slow work, as it had to be very
After this course was
carefully done in order to secure success.
securely fastened, it was much less difficult to care for the courses
Hemlock timber
above, each being drift-bolted to the one below.
was used only up to ordinary low water, and above this point we
used what is known in that country as Bay Shore spruce.
When this crib was built up three feet and calked, we put in
The reason for starting so early
the first two feet of concrete.
on this filling was that we could not put in on the low tide more
The time was so short during low water, bethan this quantity.
fore there was a return of a very rapid tide water, bringing with it
a heavy body of sand and mud, and before this came we had to
protect the new made concrete by very carefully covering it with
canvas, placing on this large stones and filling in between those
We
with small ones to break the force of the incoming water.
This pier,
learned several lessons before completing our work.
No. 1, was formed differently from the others, it being rectangular.
The purpose of this was to enable a protection to be built against
This crib was not
it to keep off the ice, etc., during the winter.
completed last season, winter coming on before it could be done.
The first pneumatic pier to be put in was No. 6, and was the
one on the Colchester county or east side the plans of piers and
the profile showing the bed rock, etc., were furnished by the railway company's engineer. This profile proved fault}', as the rock
Low water was shown
did not materialize at the points indicated.
at a given elevation, and immediately under the bottom of this pier
No. 6 the rock was shown to be too close to enable us to put on a
timber roof and have this submerged, as we required at least six
feet for a working chamber in a pneumatic caisson.
With the consent of the chief engineer I decided to build up
the walls of the caisson 10 feet high, putting on a roof of two
courses of 12x1 2-inch timber, lined with 3-inch spruce plank, and
calking the seams, fitting up air and supply shafts, and building
up a temporary crib around the sides and ends, and loading this
After reaching the
with rock to overcome the uplift of the tide.
bed rock we removed this temporal")' roofing, etc., and carried up
This involved a large
the concrete continuous to the bridge seat.
amount of extra work, but we did not consider it sate to put m a
timber roof that would be exposed to the climatic changes ami
as
it
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Thomas — Piers of Midland Raihvay Bridge.
101
However, I found upon reaching the point
rock on the profile, that we had still nearly 3 feet
This greater depth,,
deeper to excavate in order to reach bed rock.
if known in advance, would have enabled me to put in a permanent roof on which we would have built up the permanent concrete,
Immediately
thus not only saving labor, but very valuable time.
overlaying the bed rock under this pier we found a hard conglomerate, embedded in which were large boulders, making it a hard
subject to rapid decay.
indicated as
material to excavate.
Our next pier was No. 5. This was located 219.50 feet from
The caisson
the center of No. 6 and about 500 feet from shore.
Fig.
3.
Pier No.
6,
Temporary Roof Removed.
was built to pass through the class of material indicated on the profile, that is a soft material permitting rapid sinking
but in this we were disappointed, as from start to finish we encountered an entirely different formation to that represented. Not
only was the material which we passed through different to that
represented, but we had to go about 14 feet further to find bed
rock.
This, of course, meant a great expenditure of time and
for this pier
money, especially in such a river as the Shubenacadie.
We met with a strange accident in the early stage of sinking
this caisson.
The tide was due in one-half hour and the men were
getting ready to come out, as I never allowed the men inside the
caisson when the tide struck the site.
This caisson was out on a
sand-bar, and the tide was so low there was absolutely no current
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luinuis
—
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Midland Railway Bridge,
at this point at the time and as there was only four feet of water in
the working chamber, there was a very light air pressure.
Due, I
;
think, to some carelessne>s, the two doors of the air lock were
allowed to be opened at the same time, and in this way there was a
rush of water into the body of the caisson which so frightened
some of the men, they made a stampede for the shaft, each trying
to get there first.
I
was informed by some of the older pressuremen, who were not frightened and who stood their ground, coming
out after all the trouble was over, that if the men had kept cool
all would have been well.
However, we are not all built on the
same lines, and we would all be better men were our first thoughts
equal to our second.
lost four men, this number being taken out
dead.
In three minutes from the time the air was lost from the
chamber everything was again in working order and the water was
out of the working chamber.
In fact, it was not realized that four
men were injured until they were found in the bottom of the
caisson chamber.
The accident was thoroughly investigated by
the coroner, a competent jury and the friends of the deceased,
and all exonerated the contractors. I would say there was not any
change made in any of the machinery or appliances after the accident, the men showing implicit confidence in the system by
returning to work as soon as the bodies had been shipped to New
York, except one who was buried in a little church-yard near the
bridge site, and who, I was informed, had been a soldier in Her
Majesty's service at Halifax.
His fellow workmen erected a very
handsome stone over his grave, giving an account of the accident.
experienced much difficulty in getting this caisson to the bed
rock, having to take it about 14 feet deeper than indicated, through
a very hard tenacious material, which necessitated the use of a large
quantity of dynamite.
We could not make much impression on it
with ordinary picks, and had to resort to drills, steel bars and explosives.
However, we finally reached bed rock, and made a first
class concrete pier.
next went over to pier No. 2, which is the draw pier and is
located about 42 feet from the center of pier No. 1. It will readily
be seen that the opening for vessels to pass is small. On this pier
No. 2 will rest the small jack-knife draw.
experienced great
difficulty in getting the rock under this pier level enough to receive
our caisson, as at low water there was only 2 feet 6 inches of water
We
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one end and nearly
This necessi6 inches at the other.
drilling and blasting before bringing
the caisson down.
The point of location of this pier was the most
difficult to do this work in, as it had to be done at extreme low
water, and the lower the water the greater was the concentration of
the tide.
The incoming tick-, in time and force, depended some
at
tated doing
12 feet
some under-water
Thomas — Piers of Midland Railway Bridge.
163
what on the direction and force of the wind in the lower bay that
would cause it to vary as much as thirty minutes between some
tides.
One day it came up so much before it was expected, it
washed away our steam drills and tools, swamping the heavy working float that was held by heavy steel wire cables. This float came
up after the tide slacked up, but the tools were never seen afterwards.
There is no use trying to handle these tides during the
Fig.
4.
Pier No.
and Working on Pier No.
1
2 for
Draw
Span.
strong run.
After a hard fight and persistent effort we finally got
this rock so levelled up by the use of stone and clay thrown in on
the slack tide from our cable bucket, that it was possible to put this
caisson in position and get enough weight on top to hold it down.
This enabled us to get inside of it and level the rock, taking the
caisson down through the temporary filling and making a first class
job.
We filled the working chamber and completed this pier up to
the coping, none of which was set, however, until the concrete was
well settled.
The next
was No. 3, and with this one we had the least
not saying it was easy work, but we had been well
drilled into the work with the others by this time, that this one
trouble.
pier
This
is
seemed comparatively
easy.
After the experience
I
had with the material and location of bed
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Thomas — Piers of Midland Railway Bridge.
rock
in No. 5,
concluded
would alter the form of the cutting
edge and strengthen the caissons for piers No. 3 and No. 4.
This was done by putting on the outside a course of vertical
timbers, 12x12 inches, letting them extend down about 12 inches
below the other side timbers, and bolting them through into the
working chamber putting in extra through rods, etc., etc. We got
No. 3 to bed rock and filled with no more than the to be anticipated
amount of trouble. This, however, was the calm before the storm.
We started in on No. 4, the last of the caissons, and which was
known as the " Z. I. Fowler," named after the chief engineer of the
Midland railway. This caisson was launched and taken down to the
bridge site in good time and without accident, getting it out into
position, and leaving it about 12 feet above the direct center line of
the bridge.
We did this to enable us to put on the first lot of
concrete, as the flotation of the timber in the caisson was so great,
and the time between the tides so short, we could not get weight
enough on it in one tide to hold it down. We used two day-light
tides to do this work.
We put in all the concrete we wanted on
the first tide, the caisson riding safely over the night tide.
The
next morning we located it exactly in position and were anxiously
watching it settle. At this time the water was passing freely over
the sand-bar directly above us this seemed to stop instantly and
the bar was exposed this caused the water to strike the west bank
of the river, concentrating the full force of the falling tide against
the upstream west side of the caisson, which parted the three steel
cables and forced the caisson out of position, and in five minutes it
was hard aground 8 feet out of position toward the east. All the
moving cables were rigid except the broken ones. These we had
to renew and the others to slack up before the tide came again to
allow the caisson to rise with the incoming tide.
This it did successfully; but before we could get down to renew the broken side
cables, the sand-bar had been removed, due to the presence of caisson above it, causing a very great concentration of tide under the
working chamber. This caused the structure to roll over, bottom
side up, and I thought, perhaps, the concrete which had been put in
would roll out, but in this I was disappointed.
You will notice
there are times when it does not pay to use an extra quality of
concrete.
I knew the caisson could be rolled back, but the same
conditions would exist, and the momentum of rolling would have to
be cared for.
We put
concluded to try, as we might succeed.
on the purchase and rolled it back, but it kept rolling.
At once
decided to remove the caisson to the shore, it possible.
All the
cables except the inshore upstream one were cast loose and allowed
to drag on the bottom, and thus steady the caisson as it flanged to
the hank.
Ii
did all
anticipated it would, until the mooring gear,
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Thomas — /Vers of Midland Railway Bridge.
165
which was now on the under side, caught in one of the large
anchors, which brought too much strain on the cable and parted it.
The caisson then floated up the river on the strong flood tide, and
we followed it in our yawl boats and with strong manila lines.
rowed much faster than the caisson drifted, and securing a
1,000-foot line to a tree on shore, we rowed out to meet the caisson,
and in this way navigating it into slack water, then landing it until
the returning tide, when, with the assistance of our tug boat, we
took it on the early ebb tide to our building yard, there taking out
the concrete, using dynamite.
then wrapped four 1 ^-inch
steel hawsers around the caisson, two each way, and led these on
We
We
Fig.
5.
Caisson for Pier No.
4,
being rolled over.
Putting a heavy purchase onto- each, and taking the hauling parts to separate engines, we rolled the caisson back into position.
Notwithstanding the fact this caisson had endured such
hard usage, it was but very slightly damaged.
at once made
shore.
We
the necessary repairs and prepared to get it into position, which
we did with perfect success.
experienced a new difficultv in
We
on this caisson.
Every pier put in, reducing the
opening for water passage in the river, seemed to act like so many
wedges, and made the current more violent in the openings.
During the spring tides it seemed next to impossible to keep the new
filling this crib
Thomas
106
-
Piers of
Midland Railway Bridge.
This happened several times,
concrete from being washed away.
and we would lose the result of a day's hard work.
We finally
abandoned the use of canvas anil used woolen blankets. Those
seemed to conform more to the concrete, and in this way we managed to get above the tide. We found it was better to keep the
concrete close up to our cribbing, thus preventing the scouring
action of the water falling over the top of the crib.
By watching
the changes of the current in the river, I was enabled to so place
ray direct cables that in this way to hold this caisson that had once
gotten away from me.
It certainly was a very trying and anxious
time, and I want to say the men who stood by me through the
placing and sinking of those caissons did their full duty, and I
assure you it was a very nerve-trying position.
The plan adopted
by me to locate those caissons was, first, to take the caisson clown
from the building yard to the mouth of the five-mile river, which
was about 300 yards above the center line of the bridge. In order
to do this, we had to start at certain periods on the tide, there
being so many changes of the current in this river.
The distance
from the building yard to the bridge site was only one mile, but
there were so manv swirls and eddies we had to keep lines on shore
the whole distance and check up on the cable at the lower end.
Another strange feature of those tides is, that the bodv of water
would be falling and still a very strong current on the surface running up and at a certain time of each tide, without any notice, the
the whole river would be running out with apparently irresistible
force, and if not prepared for this you would move down stream
with it.
We were taught more than one lesson this wav. There
is absolutely not over thirty minutes on the top of high water when
you can handle any floating stock at the site of the Shubenacadie
bridge.
I saw this upon my first visit to the bridge site, and concluded to use a cableway across the river, the distance being about
I put up two towers.
The one on the west side was
1,400 feet.
built on the marsh bank, and was about 85 feet above low water,
while the one on the east side was built on the bluff, and was about
the same height above the water, though the tower being on higher
ground was shorter in the posts. Those towers were very strongly
built.
I also took the precaution of putting some wire guys to the
heads of the towers.
We did this to guard against the wind strain
which came up with the flood tide, sometimes with considerable
force.
We used a 2 '..-inch diameter Lidgerwood cable with the
ordinary working steel wire ropes.
The main cable was anchored
back in the ground, the end on the west side being held in marsh
mud.
With this we had to be very careful, and to overcome an\
possible chance of it giving way, we used as an anchor four \ei\
large hemlock logs buried in a deep trench, the front of the trench
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Thomas — /Vers of Midland Railway Bridge^
Wl
The main sheave for passing
being planked up with 3-inch plank.
the main cable through was securely lashed to those four logs with
^6 -inch flexible steel wire rope, each part being brought to a proper
bearing, and giving each part its share of the load.
We loaded
This cable" never
the surface of the ground with field stone.
moved or gave me any trouble, and we have handled between tides.
Fig.
high as
cubic feet.
as
6.
Tower Supporting Cable Railway.
116 buckets of concrete, each bucket containing 32
The machinery never gave me any trouble further than the
ordinary wear and tear of machinery driven under such hard work
as this was.
I cannot
speak too highly of the cable system.
I
would not say this work could not have been done in any other
Thomas
168
Piers of
Midland Railway Bridge.
way, but I would not like to try any other way known to me.
We had quite a time getting the main cable over, as the everpresent tide came on us when we were about two-thirds way across;
but we completed our task without accident. We also experienced
great difficulty in getting our supplies for the work; the stone for
concrete was quite a problem. We used large quantities of small
boulders which had been washed down the river, and we also found
a vein of about 5 feet of quartzite on the- river bank, which we quarYou see the tide enters into all
ried when the tide would allow.
our arrangements.
The cement selected by the Dominion Government Engineer
was the White Brothers brand of England, which was there manufactured and shipped to Halifax by steamer, and from Halifax to
Stewiacke siding by rail, unloaded again and taken down to the
bridge site in small scows, the distance being about 12 miles.
The sand-bars are so numerous and change so often one cannot
take up a boat with more than 2 foot draft, and this has to be
handled with sweep oars and only make from three to four trips
per week, up on one tide and down on the next, if you are not
You see the tide is omnipresent. The sand
nipped or caught.
for our concrete was another problem for the same reason.
had to go 50 miles to Five Island Point to get a good and acceptable sand and this we had to get in schooners, as it is sometimes
The gravel which entered into the convery rough on the bay.
crete largely had to be boated on the tide from De Bert beach, a
point about 16 miles down the bay, and only small barges could
had a small tug we
go after this on account of sand-bars.
sent several times, but we generally had complaints from the
We
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Our coal was quite an item, as this had
be brought either from Passboro or over the Intercolonial railroad to Stewiack, and then barged down to the bridge site. It was
a common occurrence to see the barge with coal or cement pass
the site, going down stream, the tide being so strong they could
Even the water for the boilers had to be
not make a landing.
boated to the site, about 2 miles, in barges, and only make one
We had to stop sinking the caisson
trip with each barge on a tide.
on more than one occasion on account of lack of fresh water for
captain about the risk.
to
the boilers.
We moored the caissons with not less than six steel wire cables
on each, those being not shorter than from 600 feet to 1000 feet
each, and fastened to either large anchor cribs filled with rock on
a sand-bar, or to anchor bolts put into the rock in the river bed.
The cables were fastened with clips to those and attached to the
After the caisson
caisson by a specially devised mooring gear.
had been properly weighted with concrete we would put our ma
Thomas — Piers of Midland Railway Bridge.
]!»
chinery barge alongside, mooring it in a similar manner.
We
would take our water barge alongside the machinery barge and
We
pump
lost all of the
the water out as rapidly as possible.
barge load of fresh water on several occasions by the tide breaking
in over the water scow. We tried on one occasion to bring coal off
on a barge and use it from this barge, but the incoming tide settled
this point by standing the barge on end, dumping the coal, then
fouling the moorings and breaking the barge into two parts. After
this I ran all the coal out by the cable way, which added much
more work to our already hard worked cable.
Machinery, derricks and barges were built by us as strong
as wood and iron could make them, knowing as I did the
rough usage they would have to encounter.
In the barges I used
hardwood frames and spruce sides, strongly trussing them throughout they were 80 feet long and 22 feet wide, and 7 feet 6 inches
The mooring timbers were
deep, with a good flare at each end.
very strong, of 14 inch by 14 inch hardwood and with a very
heavy warping chock on each end. All of which was necessary,
as we not only had the racking of the machinery, but the sandbars
were so changeable that, generally, at low water, the barges would
be on the bottom and very unevenly landed.
Our machinery consisted of an ordinary pneumatic plant, viz.; compressors, pumps,
boilers, electric lighting machinery, etc.
also had in the hold
of the machinery barge a large number of barrels connected with
pipe, which we used for water storage, the plant being very comOur derrick barge was a duplicate of the machinery barge;
pact.
it was surmounted with a very strong derrick and carried an 8
inch by 10 inch double Lidgerwood winding engine.
The coping
stones for those piers were quite heavy, four on each pier weighing
qver 8 tons each.
Setting those stones with a long boom was no
child's play, with the strong running water that was there.
We
also had several derricks along the wharf on shore, also at the shipyard where we built the caissons and one up the river at Stewiacke.
This work called for more machinery than ordinary work does, due
to the time of still water being so limited for loading or unloading
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supplies.
Our caissons were built of 1 2 inch by 2 inch white hemlock,
and were 62 feet long, 26 feet wide, and had 8 feet of working
chamber. The sides were three feet thick, all drift and through
bolted, lined on the inside with 3-inch spruce and calked, also
braced across and through with 1 ^-inch rods put in from side to
side.
A hemlock roof 3 feet thick was planked over and the seams
calked.
From this point we started our crib work, this also being
calked on the outside.
They were built sharp on each end, and
each of the ends were faced with hardwood 6 inches thick, which
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Thomas — Piers of Midland Railway Bridge,
170
was fastened on with ?a-inch steel drift bolts; then the nose and
shoulders were faced with ^j-inch steel plates, fastened on with
The cribbing was 12 inch by 12 inch Hay
4 -inch iron raj; holts.
Shore spruce.
We did not use any timber ties, but in place used
were four of these
4 -inch through rods with turn-buckles. There
<
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1
put
in
every third course of timber.
of two classes, viz., hearting and facing; this
was mixed on a platform on the west side of the river under the
In all cases
cable way and transferred out to the various piers.
Portland cement was used.
We also built into the concrete, hook
Our concrete was
Fig.
rods
made
of
7.
^-inch round
Ice
iron,
Formation.
which overlapped each other, thus
in vertically and hori-
These were put
zontally.
This work was designed by the
Midland Railway Company, Mr. X. I. Fowler
making
a continuous bond.
chief engineer of the
of Ottawa, Ont.
Mr.
and of whom I cannot speak too
found in Nova Scotia a warm hearted
I
must say that
highly.
and energetic people, ever ready to extend tin- hospitality oi their
homes and hearts to us.
All railroads in Canada are subsidized l>\ the Canadian Go\
this road is by the Dominion and Provincial Governernment
howler
is
a very able engineer,
I
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Discussion
— Piers
of Midland Railway Bridge.
171.
we were under
the supervision of the Governof Halifax being the Provincial
engineer I had most to do with, and I found him to be a very able
and competent engineer.
ment, consequently
ment engineers, Dr. Martin Murphy
DISCUSSION.
Mr. Finley- -In describing the foundations for one of the piers
Mr. Thomas mentions that there was a hard material that was very
difficult to remove.
Why was it necessary to remove it ?
Mr. -Thomas I will simply say that what has been might occur
again, and it was very evident that at some time the river bed was.
down at bed rock, and at some time in the future the water might
I can never do my work too well,
go down again to the bed rock.
for I realize that human life is concerned in the integrity of the
—
foundations of these piers.
What appears to me most singular, in
Gen" I W. Sooy Smith
Mr. Thomas' talk this evening, and what might perhaps invite criticism (which would not be in good taste in the absence of those
who designed the work), in the light of American engineering, is
the fact that the bridge should have been planned as it was, and
that there should have been such a lack of knowledge of the conditions under which these foundations have been built, and even
the material itself upon which they were to rest was not well
known. The soundings also proved deceptive. It would certainly
appear that that, of all situations, was one in which a long span
would have been advisable, first, on account of the extreme diffi-culty of putting in the piers, and second, because of the obstruction
of the piers themselves.
Great ingenuity was called for on the
part of those conducting this work, as has been made evident to
us.
The greatest difficulty was imposed upon them, and it seems
to me to have been, to some extent, unnecessary, if a thorough
knowledge of the work had been obtained in the first place. If a
plan of substructure had been made, adapted to the superstructure
and adapting itself to the existing conditions, the difficulties would
have been very largely reduced and the final result, it seems to me,
very much better.
Mr. Thomas With regard to the proper soundings being taken,
it was what we have all met with and will meet with again, namely,
they did not allow the engineer, in the first place, sufficient money
to make the necessary examination, and more than that, the man
who did make it had evidently never done any of that class of work
before, as in place of making "borings" he made "drivings."
He
drove a rod down; he said he could not turn his pipe down.
I made some surveys for the
Roberts-Corbin Syndicate when I
was in the employ of Sooy Smith & Co.
It is not generally known,
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Discussion
172
— Piers
of Witlluml Railway Bridgt
1
tiiaclc all the borings and all the surveys in New York harbor
from Cortlandt street to Ft. Tompkins and up the Kill von Kull, for
the proposed tunneling, etc., which is to be done under New York
went down over 266 feet to rock, using only a 1 J^-inch
City.
pipe.
went down 104 feet through boulders and very hard material, and there is no use telling me a man cannot put a pipe down
where he wants to, it he understands his business.
would like to ask what are the dimensions of
Mr. Strobcl
but
I
1
I
these piers
Fg.
8.
?
Pier
Showing Protection Plates; Moulds not
at Upper Part of Pier.
Mr. Thomas
under coping, 24
Size
vet
feet long
taken
by 8
down
feet
wide
•
coping, 2 feet thick, of granite.
Mr. Strobcl What batter?
Mr. Thomas On the lower part on the first 12 feet, 6 inches
inch in 12 inches for
12 inches on the ends; and on the sides,
the first 12 feet, and /> inch in 12 inches from there up.
Is it not a matter of fact that we have always had
Mr. /'in ley
considerable difficulty in borings and soundings n account oi the
in
1
l
in. K
curac) of locating rock
Mr. Thomas
Mi. Morison, and
I
I
?
do not know
do not think
that
I
it
varied
is.
',
I
did
some work
inch there.
1
foi
think a
Discussion
— /Vers
of Midland Railway Bridge.
1
]'.)
man
should ascertain, as General Smith has said, the exact location
I have never heard of any of Mr. Morison's borings
being found faulty.
The borings that were made across the Colorado River, at The Needles bridge, were made by competent engineers, but they did not strike it correctly by 40 odd feet.
As there are a good many young engineers here
Ge?i. Smith
this evening, I will say that there is nothing, it seems to me, more
important, in preparation for the building of any bridge, than to
ascertain, with the greatest accuracy, all the conditions and surroundings, not only with regard to the difficulty of doing the work,
but the good judgment to be exercised in planning it.
Very often
economical methods can be used when you know perfectly the conditions with which you have to deal.
Those of us who are grayheaded have learned these things by sad experience, and here is a
notable example of a very great deal of difficulty growing out of
the want of knowledge of the conditions and want of. adaptation of
the plans to the conditions.
Mr. Thomas I would like to say that sometime ago I put up a
lighthouse on the coast of the Bay of Fundy, near the New Brunswick line, and the specifications read something like this (it was
for the Government)
Seventeen feet of water cylinder was to
be landed and then dredge out about 5 feet of soft material on
the surface, when there was to be 18 feet of concrete put in and
then pumped out.
I went up there to find out all I possibly could
in regard to the conditions, and from the condition of the material
I found there I concluded that it was no place to put a lighthouse,
called the Government's attention to it,
I
75 feet above water.
but they simply ignored me and thought I did not know what I
was talking about. I finally decided to write to my firm in New
of the rock.
—
:
;
York, and had no further trouble, as I received instructions to go
ahead and do what I had proposed. In place of going down 5 feet,
I drove piles in
that cylinder 76 feet long, driving piles which I
Some days we would drive one pile and some days
had to splice.
not any, but I put the lighthouse up, complete to the lantern.
Mr. Finley I recall a case of a foundation, a few years ago,
where the engineers located rock within six feet of the bottom of
the river this was done by two engineers at different times, so we
thought we had a pretty sure check on it, and yet we drove 30-foot
—
;
piles in each foundation.
—
Mr. Gerber I would like to ask the chairman why he thinks
the Missouri River is a particularly easy place to locate rock.
I
have had a little experience there and in one place we failed to
locate
.][r.
it.
Finley
I
think
so
by comparing
it
with
other
places.
I
I
r
Discussion
I
— Piers
of Midland Railway Bridge,
was under the impression that
somewhat
in
the Missouri River
it
would be
easier to definitely locate rock.
Mr. Gerber In about '87 there were some borings made in the
Missouri River near Sioux City, which were made in pretty good
saw the work being clone at various times, and I think
shape.
I
Two years
they went down 30 feet and did not find any rock.
My predeafter. I made some more borings at the same bridge.
cessor, who made the first borings, found clay at a depth of forty
feet, and after going through five or six feet of clay he encountered
I did not find any
sand until he got to the bottom of his borings.
feet.
The only thing
I did find clay at 90
clay at 40 or 50 feet
in which our borings agreed was that we had no rock at 140 feet,
and subsequently we put down four caissons and then the difficulty
with the borings was very easily explained. When we got down 50
feet we found plenty of clay, some of it in chunks 1 5 feet square,
but in between these pieces of clay there would be fissures of sand
six or eight feet wide; and as to rock, when we got down about 70
feet we found plenty of large boulders, on which we could have
landed with our pipe and found what we might have supposed to
1
;
be rock.
I
*&£•
%&.
1
»&
•-my
Erratum.
On
page 64, Vol. VI, February
bottom of page,
lor
"Mr.
Kinley
"
1901, fifteenth line from
substitute " Mi. Keiehmann."
issue,
ABSTRACT OF MINUTES OF THE SOCIETY.
SPECIAL {MEETING, February
27, 1901.
special meeting (No. 443) was called for the 27th of February, in accordance with a resolution passed at the meeting of February 13, 191)!, for the further
discussion of the "River and Harbor of Chicago." Owing to the absence of those
expected to speak on the subject, the meeting was not called to order, but converted itself into a social gathering and a smoker.
A
REGULAR MEETING,
A
March
regular meeting (No. 444) of the Society
6,
1901.
was held
in its
rooms March
6,
1901.
Mr.
W. H.
Finley,
1st
Vice-President,
in
the chair, with about thirty-five
members and guests present.
The Chairman announced
that, if there would be no objections, the reading
of the minutes of the preceding meetings would be dispensed with, as they would
be found printed in the Journal, and would be in the hands of the members in a
few days.
The Secretary read from the minutes of the Board of Direction, held March
5, the names of those elected to membership:
—
Active Members
R. B. Stearns, 1527 Kenmore avenue, Chicago.
Jewett Darling, 239 76th street, Chicago.
E. J. Steinbeck, Freeport, 111.
W. K. Means, 456 Jackson street, Milwaukee, Wis.
W. D. Taylor, 2107 W. 36th street, Chicago.
Jno. Mclntyre, 41 14 Ellis avenue, Chicago.
Alberto Bement, 218 La Salle street, Chicago.
Jno. H. Sutter, 733 Chicago Stock Exchange, Chicago.
O. H. Vanderlip, 163 Randolph street, Chicago.
Geo. A. Damon, 1540 Marquette Building, Chicago.
—
Junior Members
H. C. Lothholz, 31 Lake View avenue, Chicago.
Jno. F. Icke, 317 W. Mifflin street, Milwaukee.
Wm.
The
Artingstall, 13
Hamilton avenue, Chicago.
list of names who had presented
Secretary also read the following
tions for membership in the Society:
C. McD. Townsend, U. S. Engineers, Rock Island,
C. Schroeter, 222 Evergreen avenue, Chicago.
Seafert, 161 La Salle street, Chicago
R. W. Carter, 3953 Michigan avenue, Chicago.
A. J. Caldwell, 5202 Kimbark avenue, Chicago.
H. M. Ely, Rockford, 111.
peti-
111.
Wm.
B Ketchum, 6S6 W. Adams street, Chicago.
There being no other business before the house, there followed the discussion
of Mr. Boardman's paper on the "Substructure of the Glasgow Bridge." The
lantern slides prepared to illustrate this paper were shown with a short explanation from Mr. Boardman.
Gen. Sooy Smith followed with an account of the construction of the first Glasgow bridge, "the first steel bridge in the world," and also
of the "Hay" steel used, its testings, etc.
Mr. Geo. Thomas followed with some
information as to the substructure and foundations.
Mr. Taylor also spoke of
the old bridge, and Mr. Finley spoke of his experience with "Hay" steel.
At the conclusion of the discussion of the Glasgow bridge, Mr Jas. A. Seddons gave a reply to the paper of Maj. Townsend, of the U. S. Engineers at Rock
Island, in which he had discussed Mr. Seddon's previous paper, XCVI, "Reservoirs and the Control of the Lower Mississippi.''
At the conclusion of Mr. Seddon's remarks, there being no further business,
the meeting adjourned.
R.
L75
Abstract of Minutes
176
a
/'///,
MEETING, Man
Society.
b to, 1901
special meeting (No. 11; "I the Society was held in its rooms on March 20.
Mr W. II Finley, 1st Vice-President, in the chair, and about forty-five members and guests present.
The meeting being called to order, the Chairman announced the recent death
». Whitney,
of the University of Wisconoi a member of the Society, Prof X.
sin
He then introduced Mr I". L. Wright, an architect of this city, who read a
scholarly and suggestive paper on "The Art and Craft of the Machine, " which was
illustrated by lantern slides of certain notable buildings, complete or in process of
construction.
In the discussion which followed, Mr. E. Lurch, of the Art Insti\
<
seconded some of the points ol Mr Wright's paper, and stated what was
The Chairman
being done at the Art Institute along the same line of education.
ami Prof. Chamberlain, of Lewis Institute, also took part in the discussion. On
motion from Mr. F. L. Hill, it was decided that further discussion of Mr. Wright's
paper would be held at some other meeting in the future, as may be decided by the
Mr. Reynolds offered a motion, duly seconded and carPublication Committee.
ried, that a committee of three be appointed by the chair to draft suitable resolutions on the death of our late member, Prof. N. O. Whitney.
After the meeting adjourned refreshments were served.
tute,
^IISUTES OF REGULAR MEETING,
April
?.
igoi.
A
regular meeting (No. 446) of the Western Society of Engineers was held in
the Society rooms the evening of April 3, 190 1, Vice-President W. H. Finley in
the chair, and about fifty members and guests present.
On motion, the reading of the minutes of the previous meeting was dispensed
with.
The Secretary presented a report from the Board of Direction as to the election of members as follows:
/'or Active
Members —
Win. H. Pearce. 84 Adams street, Chicago.
John Van Wakeman, 383 Ontario street, Chicago.
C. Schroeter, 222 Evergreen street, Chicago.
R. W. Carter, 3953 Michigan avenue, Chicago.
A.J. Caldwell, 5202 Kimbark avenue, Chicago.
R. P. Ketchum, 6S6 W. Adams street, Chicago.
McD. Townsend. Rock Island.
Member
Wm. Seafert, 161 La Salle street.
Junior Member
C.
.
111.
—
Xssociate
—
H. M.
Ely, Rockford.
Chicago.
111.
Applications for membership were presented as follows:
.
Xctive
Members —
L. P. Friestedt, 145 La Salle street, Chicago.
F. W. Hawks, Ellsworth Building, Chicago.
Chas. L. Hall, No. 1 W. Kinzie street, Chicago.
L. P. Vale, 5520 Ohio street (Austin), Chicago.
Albert Scherzer, 1616 Monadnock Building. Chicago.
B. Taggert, Delaware, Ohio.
J.
V. K. Hendricks. Terre Haute, Ind.
C. T. Dike, Peoria, 111.
\\
\
Merrick, Eagle Cirove, Iowa
Kaukauna, Wis
D. C, Rounseville,
R. E. McDonnell, Kansas City, Mo.
W. C Armstrong, Boone, Iowa.
H. E. Stannard. Barraboo, Wis.
R, C. Sattley, Wheaton, 111.
For transferfrom Junior Grade —
Kircboffer, Barraboo, Wis
W
(
i.i,
.
Vent, 89
1''.
1
ith street,
<
!hi<
1
Abstract of Minutes of the Society.
1
J
J
—
fiou'or
A. S. Rosing, Buda,
111.
There being no further business, Mr. Geo. E. Thomas, a member of the
Western Society of Engineers, was introduced, who read a paper on "The Piers
of the Midland Railway Bridge over the Schubenacadie River, Bay of Fundy,
Nova Scotia." This was illustrated by numerons lantern slides,
Discussion followed from Messrs. Finley, \Ym. Sjov Smith, F. L. Hill, Strobel, Gerber and Thomas
The meeting then adjourned.
(MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING,
April
i
7
,
igot.
The
special meeting (No. 447) of the Western Society of Engineers, held
April 17, ioor, was called to order by Vice-President W. H. Finley, in the Society
rooms. About ninety members and guests were present.
As this was a speciul meeting, there was no business transacted; but Prof. S.
B. Newberry, of Sandusky, Ohio, was introduced to the Society by the Chairman,
who gave an interesting address to the Society on "Some Engineering Problems
in
Cement Mauufacture."
There were a number
the
raw
material,
of lantern slides
and finished product
and also an exhibition of samples of
to illustrate the lecture.
Discussion followed, particularly along the lines of testing of cements, from
Messrs. T. T. Johnston, Boardman, Wisner, Bergquist, Finley, McHarg and
Warder.
The meeting
then adjourned.
42$
LIBRARY NOTES.
The
Library Committer wishes to express thanks for donations
Back numbers of periodicals are desirable for exchange and in completing valuable volumes for our files.
Since the last issue of the JOURNAL we have received the following gifts from the donors named
to the library.
:
Nova
Scotian Institution of Science, paper, Vol. X, pt. 2, Proceedings and Transactions, Session 1 899-1 900.
State Board of Health of South Carolina, 21st Annual Report for year 1900.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Paper XI and XII, Result of Tests made
in Engineering Laboratories of the M. I. of T.
Edward A. Bond, State Engineer and Surveyor of New York, paper, Report on
the proposed Barge Canal from the Hudson River to the
Great Lakes.
Munn & Co.! New York, N. Y., 1 vol., cloth bound, Scientific American Cyclopedia of Receipts, etc.
Board of Trustees, Commissioners of Water Works, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1 bound
volume, Report of Water Filtration, 1899.
Board of Trustees, Commissioners of Water Works, Cincinnati, Ohio, 3 vols.,
cloth, Annual Reports of Cincinnati Water Works, 1898,
1899 and 1900.
Hon. jas. McMillan, Washington, D. C, 1 vol., cloth, Senate Report on Purification of Washington, D. C., Water Supply, Washington,
1
901.
Metropolitan Sewerage Commission, Boston, Mass., 1 pamphlet, 12th Annual Report for year ending Sept., 30, 1900.
Henry V. Ahrbecker, Secretary Engineering Association N. S. W., Sydney, N. S.
W., 10 vols., cloth, Proceedings of Engineering Association New South Wales, Vols. I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII,
VIII, IX, X, 1885-1895 inclusive.
Mr. Geo. F. Stone, Secretary Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago, 1 vol., cloth, Annual Report, Board of Trade, Chicago, 1899.
H. W. Thomlinson, Architect, Chicago, 1 pamphlet, Annual of the Chicago Architectural Club, 13th Annual Exhibition, 1900, "Art Institute
"
Allegheny, Pa., Secretary American Society Municipal Improvements, 1 pamphlet, Report 7th Annual Convention, American Society Municipal Improvements, Milwaukee, Wis.,
August, 1900.
Munn & Company, New York, 1 vol., cloth, Progress of Invention in 19th Century.
Addison J. McCune, State Engineer Colorado, 1 vol., cloth, Tenth Biennial Report, State Engineer Colorado, 1S99-1900.
R. A. Shailer, Chicago, bundle of sundry pamphlets, nearly 16 vols. Journal Associated Engineering Societies, and nearly 5 vols. Journal
D. L. Fulton,
W.
J.
H. Warder, Chicago, 10
S. E.
vols, unbound;
Journal Franklin Institute, 18S8-1S92
4 vols. Transactions American Society Mechanical Engi
neers, Vol. IX-XI pamphlets, Vol. Will \1\ bound.
1 bound vol. Transactions American Institute Mining Engineers, Vol. XIX, 1890 1891.
H I'. Boardman, Chicago, pamphlets, Journal of Geology, University of Chi
parts of Vols II and V, Vols. Ill and IV.
E. E. R. Tratman, 4 pamphlets, Iowa Engineering Society Annual 1900, Indiana
Engineering Society Proceedings 1900, Technograpfa No,
1899-1900, Michigan Engineers 1900.
14,
1
vol., cloth,
(
1
rauge
vol. bds.
I
Baldwin Locomotive Works Catalogue, Marrow
ocomol ives,
administration Report Railways in [ndia, [898
1899,
178
Library Xotes.
War
179
Report of Chief Engicompleting reports for 1900.
Manual of Surveying Instructions for Survey of Public
J. R. Mann, M. C, I vol.,
Lands.
Jones & Laughlins, Pittsburgh, 1 vol., leather, Standard Steel Construction, Book
of Shapes, etc.
small vest-pocket book, leather, "Useful Information for Business Men, Mechanics, Engineers, etc."
Spon & Chamberlain, New York, 1 vol., cloth, Design and Construction of Oil
By Goldingham.
Engines.
Philadelphia, 1 vol., cloth, Oil Analysis. By Augustus H.
J. B. Lippincott Co.,
Gill, Boston, Mass.
Philadelphia Book Co., Philadelphia, 1 vol., cloth, Artificial Ice Making and Refrigeration.
By L. M. Schmidt.
Ossian Guthrie, Chicago, 1 vol., cloth, Kentucky Geological Survey, Jackson Purchase Region, 1888.
"
8 pamphlets, 8 numbers Journal Associated Engineering
Chief of U.
S. Engineers,
Department, 4
neers 1900, Pts.
5,
6,
vols., cloth,
7
and
8,
Societies, Philadelphia.
"2
"
pamphlets, Proceedings Ontario
Land Surveyors,
1894,
1897.
Brooklyn Engineers' Clubs, Brooklyn, N.
Y.,
vol., cloth,
1
Proceedings of Club,
Vol. IV, 1900.
U.
S. Interstate
Commerce Commission,
1 vol.,
cloth, 14th
Annual Report Decem-
ber 24th, 1900.
Bulletin No. 18, 1 pamphlet, "Our Trade with
Japan, China and Hongkong, 1889-1899."
Marcus Barker, Secretary Board on Geographic Names U. S., 2 vols., cloth, 1st
and Second Report U. S. Board on Geographic Names.
Board of Health, New York, N. Y., 3 vols., boards, Annual Reports Board of
U. S. Department Agriculture,
Health 1897, 1898, 1899.
1 vol., cloth, Illinois State Board of Health,
"Sanitary Investigation Illinois River and Tributaries, 1900."
Osborn Engineering Co., Cleveland, Ohio, 1 pamphlet, Abolishment of Grade
Crossings, Report Special Committee, December 18, 1900.
Pacific Coast Ry. Club, San Francisco, Cal., 1 pamphlet, Official Proceedings
Pacific Coast Ry. Club, March 16, 1901, Vol. II, No. 11.
Michigan State Agricultural College, Bulletin 186, December, 1900, 1 pamphlet;
1st Report Upper Peninsula Experiment Station.
Edson Manufacturing Co., Boston, Mass., 1 pamphlet, Catalogueof Pumps, Tools,
J.
H. Warder, Chicago,
Winches, Capstans, etc.
Son, Chicago, 1 pamphlet, "Boilers, Technical Library No. 4;
Trade Catalogue.
T. W. Snow, Chicago, pamphlet, Catalogue Otto Gas Engine Works.
By Gillespie.
J. H. Warder, 1 vol., cloth, "Roads and Railroads."
1 vol., cloth,
Unwin's "Iron Bridges and Roofs."
G. M. Bond on "Standards of Length and Their Practical Applica-
J.
T. Ryerson
&
1
'
tions ".
BOOK NOTES.
The Designing, Construction and Maintenance of Sewerage
Systems. By A. Prescott Folwell, M. Am.Soc.C.E. New York: John Wiley
Sewerage
:
& Smis.
Cloth, 6x9 inches; pp., 372; 24 tables
and 4S
illustrations.
Price,
S3. 00,
Mr Folwell
furnished a very valuable work on practical construction,
hook treating of this subject being oi unusual value and interest.
The engineer in charm' of work who encounters for the first time wet or difficult trenches will find relief from many anxieties in a careful perusal of the very
Nor does one often find better pracfull and interesting chapter on this subject.
tical hints and suggestions than are given for difficult work in quicksand.
The information here given is notably from one who has experienced the difficulties whereof he speaks, and who has been alive to valuable suggestions from
every quarter which he has assimilated with his own experience.
Equally valuable are the general hints and suggestions about all ordinary
forms of construction, including the chapter on detailed plans and specifications,
the latter being interlined with comments, in italics, which are excellent, particularly those with reference to back filling and ramming,
That portion of Mr. Folwell 's work covering the problems of design are a
good general restatement of recent practice, Lhough in many cases it would have
been desirable to give mere liberally the authorities quoted and data used. Perhaps space prevented.
Thus, for instance, the statement on page 75: "It has been found in practice
than an actual velocity of 1 '.< feet per second will ordinarily suffice to prevent
deposits where house-sewage alone is admitted," needs both qualifications and
elaborations, and even then would probably be questioned by some sanitary
lias
that portion of his
engineers.
The very good workable table of velocity and discharge for circular sewers
could have been profitably supplemented by a similar table of egg-shaped sewers.
Not much light is thrown upon the subject of sewage disposal. The author
expressly disclaims the intention of elaborating this subject; but even the outline
given might, perhaps, have been boldly omitted and the space used to greater
advantage otherwise
A good many tables of sewage gaugings are compiled, but nearly all relate to
normal flow, and hence are valuable only in designing the separate system sewers.
At present there is, perhaps, no one point where more light is needed in sewer design than actual data of maximum run-off for storm water.
There is reason to believe a very wide difference of practice will be found in
this country, not only as between different cities, but between different sections of
the
same
A
city.
number of actual examples of rain-fall and run-off on sewer districts.
accompanied by full data as to area, density of population, slope ol surface,
amount of pavement and roof area, and especially character of soil as to permiability and impermiability, will do more to place the work of designing combined
sewers on a scientific basis than any other one thing at the present time
Engineers have not been in the habit of placing such data on record except in
isolated cases, but there is reason to believe there is a large amount of it to be
had could it be brought to light.
Taken as a whole, Mr Folwell' s book is helpful and valuable, especiall} to
the oung engineer.
large
5
The science of sanitary engineering is growing so fast that it is almost impossible any longer to cover the whole field thoroughly within the limits of one
book, but doubtless a judicious outline from an author of recognized standing,
with more or less fullness, where fullness is most import, mi, makes a book which
is more
practical for the worker in this field than a more elaborate treatise
might
be.
A.,
Book Xo/es.
181
Sewer Design. By H.
N. Ogden, C. E., Asst. Prof, of Civil Engineering, Cornell
New York: John Wiley & Sons. Cloth, 5x7^ inches; 234 pages,
University.
Price, $2.00.
23 illustrations, 31 diagrams, 25 tables.
It is a comfort, now and then, to take up a book which does not attempt to
cover more ground than can be thoroughly and properly dealt with.
Prof. Ogden's hand-book on sewer design has the excellent quality that it treats
The work is primarily intended for students, being
well the ground its title covers.
derived from the writer's regular course of lectures; but it may be profitably placed
in the library of every expert on sewer design, being well up to date in its information, and presenting in an orderly and logical arrangement all that is valuable or
interesting in recent sanitary discussion of this subject.
It is
especially full of
observed cases and collected data.
The writer begins with the subject of combined and separate systems, showing what is even yet not very generally admitted, that local conditions nearly always
determine the selection of the system to be used, and even at times demand a
combination of the two systems in the same locality. Sewer engineers who have
acquired their experience with either one or the other systems, and thereby become
partial to that with which they are most familiar, are apt to be unconscious of the
fact that there is no longer any controversy as between the relative merits of the
combined and separate system, but that the selection between them is a test of the
broad-minded education of the designing engineer.
The chapter on "The proportion of rainfall reaching the sewers," and "Relation of density to percentage," are perhaps as valuable as any in the book, in that
they bring out quite clearly the inherent difficulties of correctly proportioning
storm water sewers where data is so deficient and factors so numerous and variable.
The discussion of this subject in the Journal of the Western Society of
Engineers, published since the date of Prof. Ogden's first edition, has also
Perhaps
brought out the wide variation in practice found in different localities.
it is safe to say that nine-tenths of sewer design is for suburban districts, or, at
least, urban districts, not largely paved or roofed, or likely to be.
The wonderful
increase in rapid transit facility in the last decade almost assures the prevalence in
the future of less crowded urban conditions outside the radius of business centers
than has prevailed in the past. Just what allowance should be made for these conditions is one of the problems of the time.
It is evident that with more thinly
settled districts wider variations of run-off will obtain in different localities, due
to the increasing influence of
unpaved
soils.
Interesting and valuable chapters on "Population," "Ground Water," "Eormula," have been compiled with all of the best recent data. A valuable list of
diagrams is found in chapter 13, and the use of flush tanks has received especial
attention, and new information has been obtained by inquiry among engineers
where they are in use.
The volume is liberally supplied with plates and cuts and well indexed, and
A.
is a distinct addition to the resources of the working sanitary engineer.
The
Scientific American Cyclopedia of Receipts, Notes and Queries.
Edited
by A. A. Hopkins. Published by Munn & Co., New York, 1901; 15th edition;
6x9 inches, 734 pages, cloth bound. Price, $5.00.
This book
ence" from the
largely
Scientific
is
compiled from "Notes and Oueries " and "CorrespondAmerican, and also from Cooley, Spon and other simi-
lar sources.
The
present edition
shows a commendable tendency
to
quote sources of
authority.
While touching on a vast number of subjects relating to the useful arts, the
following subjects, with the number of pages devoted to each, may be mentioned
as of interest to the engineering profession:
Preservation of wood, 4; fire proofing, 3; paints, 5; varnishes, 14; lacquers,
enamels, 3; polishing, 11; oils, 6; lubricants, 3: inks, 19; hektographs. 1; photography, 30; microscopy, 10; boilers, 4; electro metallurgy, 12; welding, 2; tempering. 2: alloys, 13.
C.
4;
Book Notes.
182
A
Short Hand-Book of Oil Analysis.
By Augustus H. Gill, Massachusetts InB. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia.
Boston, Mass.
J.
Second edition, revised, 1900; i6mo, cloth; 5x7^2 inches, 143 pages.
Price,
stitute of
Technology,
$1.25,
This hand-book is well written, clear and concise in its statements, and is emphatically a "hand-book" for the student and analytical chemist.
Fart I treats on the physical and chemical tests
It is divided into two parts.
ol "Burning Oils," "Lubricating Oils," "Animal and Vegetable Oils" and "Methods for Examination of an Unknown Oil." The apparatus for determining the
physical characteristics of oils, as "flash point," "viscosity," etc., are illustrated.
In this connection the author does not highly endorse the use of friction machines
to determine the value of an oil for lubrication, but references are given to descriptions of such machines as the "Ordway-Woodbury" machine, the "Thurston"
machine and the "Beauchamp-Tower" machine, each of which has found favor
among some operators for its own special class of work.
Part II treats of the derivation, description and examination of oils, under
the headsof "Petrolium Products," "Vegetable Oils," "Animal Oils" and "Waxes."
Subheads relate to adulterations and their detection, and the uses for the
several oils enumerated.
The appendix contains many reference tables and formula; also a list of reagents and the specifications for oils as issued by the Philadelphia & Reading R. R.
There is a good index to the book, and there are references on almost every
page to the authorities for the writer's statements, or to more extended literature
\Y.
treating on the several subjects.
The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
Munn & Co., New York.
A. M.
By Edward W. Byrn,
Considering the wonderful strides made in invention in the past hundred years,
one would think the author had taken upon himself a great task; but he has discharged it probably as well as could be done in a book of 470 pages. The scope
of the volume is well set forth in the following quotation from the author's preface:
"The work cannot claim the authority of a text-book, the fullness of a history, nor
It is simply a cursory view of the century
the exactness of a technical treatise.
in the field of invention, intended to present the broader bird's-eye view of progress achieved."
The author has made free use of the Patent Office records, so the main facts,
dates of inventions, etc., can probably be relied upon.
The first chapter is "The Perspective View"; the second, "Chronology of
Leading Inventions of the Nineteenth Century." The succeeding chapters take
up the different subjects more in detail. Chapters 3 to 9 inclusive treat of the
various applications of electricity. Then several chapters are taken up with steam
and
its uses.
A
few of the other typical chapter headings are:
Printing; Vulcanized
Rub-
Food and Drink; Medicine, Surgery and Sanitation; The Fhonograph; The
Roentgen or X-Rays; Civil Engineering; Metal Working; Ice Machines Minor
ber;
Inventions, and Patents of Principal Countries of the World.
There are thirty-five chapters in all
Naturally, specialists who expect to find much information in their lines will
be more or less disappointed at certain omissions, but too much must not be expected.
The descriptions of the most important inventions and appliances are
usually good and clear, and the gradual development along certain lines, such as
is described in a very interesting manner.
the electric telegraph, printing, etc
The author has aimed to give the proper credit for inventions.
Take it altogether, the book affords very interesting and easy reading, ami is
The table of contents by chapters gives no page reference ami
well illustrated.
every page of the text is headed by the general title of the book instead of 1\ the
particular chapter heading; but this inconvenience is partly offset by a ver) good
II
in le\ .it the end.
B
,
1
'
Book Xotes.
183
Requirements, Resources and the Construction of
Water Supplies
Works. By F. E. Turneaure, C. E., and H. L. Russell, Ph. D., of the
University of Wisconsin; with a chapter on Pumping Machinery, by D. W.
Public
:
Mead. C.E.,
S5 00.
New
M.W.S
E.
Octavo
York: John Wiley
&
746 pages, 231 figures.
Sons, 1901.
xiv.,
Cloth bound,
candidate for the favor of engineers interested in this branch of
Part I treats of requirements and reis divided into two parts.
sources of public water works, and is subdivided into quantity of water required,
with sources of supply, and quality of water supplies. These nine chapters treat
on modern requirements for quantity and supply, rainfall, flow of streams, ground
water, examination of water supplies, quality of water, and communicable diseases
with water supplies, etc.
Part II relates to the construction of water works, subdivided into "Works
This
latest
their profession
for Collection of Water," "Works for the Purification of Water, 'and "Works
This is the largest part of the book, consisting of
for the Distribution of Water "
over 500 pages distributed through nineteen chapters.
Some of the heads of these
are: Hydraulics, pertaining to the movement of water under different conditions;
Intakes from River and Lake Supplies; Ground Water and its Collection, Reservoirs, Dams of Earth, Masonry, etc.; Objects of Purification, and Methods by
Sedimentation, Filtration and Other Processes; Distribution of Water by Pipes,
etc.; Conduits and Pipe-lines; Pumping Machinery; Reservoirs and Distributing
Systems, and finally Operation and Maintenance.
The constant reference to further sources of information for the several topics
treated, whether to other books or to the technical periodical literature, is a valuable feature of the book, giving it an encyclopedic character, and is introduced at
the conclusion of almost every chapter.
The whole subject of public water supplies is handled in a broad and liberal-
minded manner, and
time containing
most recent and approved practices, at the same
valuable information of a practical character.
W.
treats of the
much
The Design and Construction
of Oil Engines, with full directions for erecting,
running and repairing, including descriptions of American
and English Kerosene oil engines. By A. H. Goldingham, M. E. Fully
illustrated.
Published by Spon & Chamberlain, 12 Cortlandt street, New
testing, installing,
York, 1900.
8vo, 196 pp.
Cloth, $2.00.
The author
states in his preface "that this work was written with the intention of supplying practical information regarding the kerosene or oil engine, and
in response to frequent requests received to recommend such a book."
"While many works have been published on the subject of gas engines, some
of which refer to or describe the w-orking of the oil engine, no other book, it is
believed, is devoted entirely to the oil engine in detail.''
The author covers the ground very thoroughly in nine chapters. He also gives
some valuable tables of tests of engines and the properties of sundry oils, besides
numerous illustrations. The book is furnished with a full index.
can heartily
recommend this work to those interested.
J. H. B.
We
Argentine Republic
Ministry of Public Works Bureau of Inspection, Navigation and Ports. Competitive designs for the construction and operation
of a commercial port at Rosario City; preliminary documents; index to documents and analytical table. Buenos Aires: Lithographing, printing and binding establishment of William Kraft.
There seems to have been so many projects for the port of Rosario, on the
Parana river, that an index became necessary. Mr. E L. Corthel, M. W. S. E
was called in as consulting engineer to report on the plans submitted.
O. C.
:
;
Argentine Republic
Ministry of Public Works Bureau of Inspection, Nav
igation and Ports. Competitive presentation of projects for dredging plants.
Antecedents Decision of the General Commission on the proposals of the
firms receiving awards; Werf, Conrad ct Co. and Satre Fils Aine & Co.
Buenos Aires: Lithographing, printing and binding works of William Kraft.
The preface states that the Government, being in need of the best dredging
plants for the improvement of its rivers and harbors, invited competitive projects
:
—
;
Is
Book
i
Votes
— Trade
Publications.
from the whole world. Five firms responded, and the book gives particulars of the
(). C.
two projects selected by the jury.
Principles and Practice of Artificial Ice Making and Refrigeration. Louis M.
The Philadelphia Book Co., l'hiladelphia. Pa., 1900. 8vo,
Schmidt, Ph.B.
Price, -t-J-SO.
XIV.; 231 pages, 87 illustrations.
This treatise
is divided into four parts, as follows:
deals with the principles of the subject as historical, methods of generation, methods of application, ice making, capacity for refrigeration, piping for
refrigeration, insulation, features of the ammonia compression system, of the absorption system, and of a compressed air refrigeration plant, the brine and special
appliances.
Part II shows the practice by particular systems and apparatus, and the well
known machines of Linde, De LaVergne, Fetherstone, Boyle and Eclipse are
described.
These use ammonia. There is also described the anhydrous sulphurous or ammonia system, the carbonic-anhydride system, the compressed air system, and the ammonia absorption system of F. Carre,
Part III relates to structural insulation to prevent absorption of heat, as recommended by well known manufacturers of refrigerating plants.
Part IV consists of various tables and data of value to the managers or operators of refrigerating plants.
The book is provided with a good index and is well illustrated, but it does not
go into the thermo-dynamics of the subject of refrigeration. It is not too techniW.
cal for the general reader.
Part
I
TRADE PUBLICATIONS.
Railway Water Appliances.
Chicago,
The Otto Gas Engine Works, 360 Dearborn
street,
111.
This handsome new catalogue, just issued by this company, fully covers
everything that can be required for railway service, from a complete water station
It shows the many applications of
to details and price lists of separate parts.
power from gas and gasoline engines, among railroads at the present time, including some new and novel devices.
The catalogue contains much to interest railway engineers. The illustrations
and press work are superior to most trade catalogues.
Technical Library No. 4. issued by Jos. T. Ryerson & Sons, Chicago.
This little pamphlet treats especially of internally fired boilers supplied with
corrugated furnaces. This class of boilers has many advantages and generally
has shown a high efficiency. The illustrations are good, showing various forms of
The book conconstruction, and particularly the Morison suspension furnace.
tains a partial list of those using this type of boiler and high commendation from
some experienced steam engineers.
Boilers.
The
catalogue of the Edson Manufacturing Company, Boston, Mass., relates
known diaphragm pumps, and to other lines of manufacture, which include appliances and fittings for marine work, as steering gear, wrenches, capstans,
etc.
Also street sweepers for one and two horses which have proved satisfactory
to their well
by many
years' use.
WESTERN SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS
Secretary's Office, Library and Reading Room
1734-37 Monadnock Block
Meeting Hall
1
LIST OF OFFICERS FOR
738-41
Monadnock Block
1901
Octave Chanute
President
W. H. Finley
First Vice-President
B. E. Grant
Ralph Modjeski
Second Vice-President
Treasurer
TRUSTEES
Term expires January,
Term expires January,
Term expires January,
August Ziesing
Bion J. Arnold
Reynolds
J, J.
The above named
officers of the
1902
1903
1904
Society constitute its Board of Direction
Secretary and Librarian
J.
H.
WARDER
STANDING COMMITTEES
On Finance— W t H
On Publication— B.
Ralph Modjeski,
Finley, Chairman:
W. Melcher.
W. T. Keating,
Chas.
E. Grant, Chairman, 1640 Unity Building;
T. W. Snow, 360 Dearborn St.
577 South Albany Ave.
Ralph Modjeski, H. P. Boardman.
Arnold, Chairman:
J.
On\Membership— August Ziesing, Chairman: E. Gerber, B. B. Carter.
;
OnlLibrary—B.
SPECIAL COMMITTEES.
On~ Publication— P M. Chamberlain— Lewis Institute, Andrews Allen, 1317 Monadnock Block; D. W. Mead, 1st Nafl Bank Building, B. Wolhaupter, 642(5
.
Kimbark
Damon, 1540 Marquette Building.
Reynolds, Chairman: A. Reichmann, G. A. M. Liljen-
Ave., G. A.
On Entertainment'— J.
J.
crantz
MEETINGS.
—
Tuesday after the 1st day of January.
Regulir Meetings— 1st Wednesday of each month'except January, July and
Annual Meeting
August.
Meetings— 3rd Wednesday evening of each month except July and August.
Board of Direction— The Tuesday evening preceding the 1st Wednesday of
Special
each month.
is:,
Response Paper Rubric
Summary
Argument
Analysis
Writing Style
A
Accurately describes
the contents of the
reading without errors.
Summary consists of
only the most
important parts of the
reading, logically
arranged and clearly
explained.
B
Accurately describes the
contents of the reading
with few errors.
Summary mainly
consists of the most
important parts of the
reading, leaving out few
key points and including
few trivial points.
Summary is generally
clear and logically
arranged.
Author’s argument is
Author’s argument is
explained clearly and
explained in a generally
accurately, with no
clear and accurate way,
ambiguity. Evidence
with little ambiguity.
for the argument has
Evidence for the
been identified
argument has mostly
correctly.
been identified correctly.
Provides a convincing Provides an analysis that
and logical analysis of is mostly convincing and
the author’s argument, logical, informed by
informed by material
some material from
from lectures and/or
lectures and/or other
other course content.
course content.
Writing is consistently Writing is generally
clear, precise, and
clear, precise, and
concise. Almost
concise. Few
entirely free of
grammatical errors.
grammatical errors.
C
Describes the contents of
the readings with several
inaccuracies and errors.
Summary presents some
important parts of the
readings, with key points
left out and/or trivial
points included. Structure
is sometimes unclear
and/or illogical.
D
Summary consistently
has inaccuracies and
errors. The most
important parts of the
reading have not been
addressed. Much
insignificant material
from the text has been
included. Structure is
consistently unclear
and/or illogical.
F
No summary.
Author’s argument is
explained in a partly
clear and accurate way,
with some ambiguity.
Evidence for the
argument has partly been
identified correctly.
Provides an analysis that
is partly convincing and
logical. Little
engagement with lectures
and/or course content.
Author’s argument is
explained without
clarity or accuracy.
Evidence for the
argument has not been
identified correctly.
Author’s
argument
is not
explained.
Provides an analysis
that is unconvincing
and/or illogical. No
engagement with
lectures or other
course content.
Writing consistently
lacks clarity,
precision, and
concision. Many
grammatical errors.
No analysis
of the
author’s
argument.
Writing sometimes lacks
clarity, precision, and
concision. Some
grammatical errors.
The response
paper is
unintelligible.
2021/1/19
Writing a Response or Reaction Paper — Hunter College
About Us
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THE WRITING
PROCESS
Writing a Response or
Reaction Paper
Each semester, you will probably be asked by at least one instructor to read a book or an article (or watch a TV show or a film) and to
write a paper recording your response or reaction to the material. In these reports—often referred to as response or reaction papers—
your instructor will most likely expect you to do two things: summarize the material and detail your reaction to it. The following
pages explain both parts of a report.
PART 1: A SUMMARY OF THE WORK
To develop the first part of a report, do the following:
Identify the author and title of the work and include in parentheses the publisher and publication date. For magazines, give the
date of publication.
Write an informative summary of the material.
Condense the content of the work by highlighting its main points and key supporting points.
Use direct quotations from the work to illustrate important ideas.
Summarize the material so that the reader gets a general sense of all key aspects of the original work.
Do not discuss in great detail any single aspect of the work, and do not neglect to mention other equally important points.
Also, keep the summary objective and factual. Do not include in the first part of the paper your personal reaction to the work;
your subjective impression will form the basis of the second part of your paper.
PART 2: YOUR REACTION TO THE WORK
To develop the second part of a report, do the following:
Focus on any or all of the following questions. Check with your instructor to see if s/he wants you to emphasize specific points.
How is the assigned work related to ideas and concerns discussed in the course for which you are preparing the paper? For
example, what points made in the course textbook, class discussions, or lectures are treated more fully in the work?
How is the work related to problems in our present-day world?
How is the material related to your life, experiences, feelings and ideas? For instance, what emotions did the work arouse in
you?
Did the work increase your understanding of a particular issue? Did it change your perspective in any way?
Evaluate the merit of the work: the importance of its points, its accuracy, completeness, organization, and so on.
You should also indicate here whether or not you would recommend the work to others, and why.
POINTS OF CONSIDERATION WHEN WRITING THE REPORT
Here are some important elements to consider as you prepare a report:
Apply the four basic standards of effective writing (unity, support, coherence, and clear, error-free sentences) when writing the
report.
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Writing a Response or Reaction Paper — Hunter College
Make sure each major paragraph presents and then develops a single main point. For example, in the sample report that
follows, the first paragraph summarizes the book, and the three paragraphs that follow detail three separate reactions of the
student writer to the book. The student then closes the report with a short concluding paragraph.
Support any general points you make or attitudes you express with specific reasons and details. Statements such as "I agree
with many ideas in this article" or "I found the book very interesting" are meaningless without specific evidence that shows why
you feel as you do. Look at the sample report closely to see how the main point or topic sentence of each paragraph is
developed by specific supporting evidence.
Organize your material. Follow the basic plan of organization explained above: a summary of one or more paragraphs, a
reaction of two or more paragraphs, and a conclusion. Also, use transitions to make the relationships among ideas in the paper
clear.
Edit the paper carefully for errors in grammar, mechanics, punctuation, word use, and spelling.
Cite paraphrased or quoted material from the book or article you are writing about, or from any other works, by using the
appropriate documentation style. If you are unsure what documentation style is required or recommended, ask you instructor.
You may use quotations in the summary and reaction parts of the paper, but do not rely on them too much. Use them only to
emphasize key ideas.
Publishing information can be incorporated parenthetically or at the bottom of the page in a footnote. Consult with your
instructor to determine what publishing information is necessary and where it should be placed.
A SAMPLE RESPONSE OR REACTION PAPER
Here is a report written by a student in an introductory psychology course. Look at the paper closely to see how it follows the
guidelines for report writing described above.
Part 1: Summary
A Report on Man's Search for Meaning
Part 1: Summary
Topic sentence for
summary paragraph
Dr. Viktor Frankl's book Man's Search for Meaning (New York: Washington Square Press, 1966) is both an
autobiographical account of his years as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps and a presentation of
his ideas about the meaning of life. The three years of deprivation and suffering he spent at Auschwitz
and other Nazi camps led to the development of his theory of Logotherapy, which, very briefly, states
that the primary force in human beings is "a striving to find a meaning in one's life" (154). Without a
meaning in life, Frankl feels, we experience emptiness and loneliness that lead to apathy and despair.
This need for meaning was demonstrated to Frankl time and again with both himself and other prisoners
who were faced with the horrors of camp existence. Frankl was able to sustain himself partly through the
love he felt for his wife. In a moment of spiritual insight, he realized that his love was stronger and more
meaningful than death, and would be a real and sustaining force within him even if he knew his wife was
dead. Frankl's comrades also had reasons to live that gave them strength. One had a child waiting for
him; another was a scientist who was working on a series of books that needed to be finished. Finally,
Frankl and his friends found meaning through their decision to accept and bear their fate with courage.
He says that the words of Dostoevsky came frequently to mind: "There is one thing that I dread: not to be
worthy of my suffering." When Frankl's prison experience was over and he returned to his profession of
psychiatry, he found that his theory of meaning held true not only for the prisoners but for all people. He
has since had great success in working with patients by helping them locate in their own lives meanings
of love, work, and suffering.
Part 2: Reaction
One of my reactions to the book was the relationship I saw between the “Capos” and ideas about anxiety,
Topic sentence for first
standards, and aggression discussed in our psychology class. The Capos were prisoners who acted as
reaction paragraph
trustees, and Frankl says they acted more cruelly toward the prisoners than the guards or the SS men.
Several psychological factors help explain this cruelty. The Capos must have been suppressing intense
anxiety about “selling themselves out” to the Nazis in return for small favors. Frankl and other prisoners
must have been a constant reminder to the Capos of the
courage and integrity they themselves lacked. When our behaviors and values are threatened by
someone else acting in a different way, one way we may react is with anger and aggression. The Capos
are an extreme example of how, if the situation is right, we may be capable of great cruelty to those
whose actions threaten our standards.
Topic sentence for second reaction
paragraph
I think that Frankl’s idea that meaning is the most important force in human beings helps explain some
of the disorder and discontent in the world today. Many people are unhappy because they are caught in
jobs where they have no responsibility and creativity; their work lacks meaning. Many are also unhappy
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Writing a Response or Reaction Paper — Hunter College
because our culture seems to stress sexual technique in social relationships rather than human caring.
People buy popular books that may help them become better partners in bed, but that may not make
them more sensitive to each other’s human needs. Where there is no real care, there is no meaning. To
hide the inner emptiness that results from impersonal work and sex, people busy themselves with the
accumulation of material things. With television sets, stereos, cars, expensive clothes, and the like, they
try to forget that their lives lack true meaning instead of working or going to school to get a meaningful
job, or trying to be decent human beings.
Topic sentence for third reaction
paragraph
I have also found that Frankl’s idea that suffering can have meaning helps me understand the behavior of
people I know. I have a friend named Jim who was always poor and did not have much of a family—only a
stepmother who never cared for him as much as for her own children. What Jim did have, though, was
determination. He worked two jobs to save money to go to school, and then worked and went to school
at the same time. The fact that his life was hard seemed to make him bear down all the more. On the
other hand, I can think of a man in my neighborhood who for all the years I've known him has done
nothing with his life. He spends whole days smoking and looking at cars going by. He is a burned-out
case. Somewhere in the past his problems must have become too much for him, and he gave up. He
could have found meaning in his life by deciding to fight his troubles like Jim, but he didn't, and now he
is a sad shadow of a man. Without determination and the desire to face his hardships, he lost his chance
to make his life meaningful.
Concluding paragraph
In conclusion, I would strongly recommend Frankl’s book to persons who care about why they are alive,
and who want to truly think about the purpose and meaning of their lives
Dr. Murray and Anna C. Rockowitz Writing Center website feedback:
7th Floor of the library in the Silverstein Student Success Center
(212) 772-4212 | email us
HUNTER COLLEGE
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