CORNISH VIADUCTS. 223 



sand and furnace ashes in the proportion of 1 of lime to If 

 of sand and | of ashes, and ground with water in a steam 

 mortar-mill. The average tenacity of this mortar was found 

 to be 70 lbs. per square inch, twenty-eight days after 

 mixing. 



The piers had not progressed very far when an accident 

 occurred, which involved the death of the resident engineer, 

 Mr. H. J. Cole. To unload the stone trains from the quarry, 

 a small travelling crane was used, kept on a siding on the 

 top of the bank. These cranes are generally provided with 

 clamps to tie them down to the rails when a heavy weight 

 is being lifted. By some means or other these clamps were 

 not, or could not be, used, and upon the arrival of the stone 

 train, the driver was unloading so slowly, that the resident 

 engineer became impatient, and jumped upon the crane to 

 show the driver how he wanted it done. In lifting a heavy 

 stone, however, he upset the crane, which, falling upon him, 

 crushed and scalded him to death instantly, and so injured 

 the driver that the poor fellow died a few days after. 



Mr. Cole was succeeded by Mr. T. H. Gibbons, M. Inst. 

 C.E., who has carried out the construction of all the subse- 

 quent viaducts, and fortunately, on those built by the Com- 

 pany themselves, without the loss of a single man. Accidents 

 have, of course, been numerous, one man having fallen from 

 a height of 60 feet ; but when the extremely risky nature of 

 the work is considered, it is certainly remarkable that the 

 casualties have not been more numerous. 



The piers are intended to diminish with an even batter of 

 1 in 60 on all sides. As a matter of fact they do not quite 

 do this, it being discovered when nearly up to the springing 

 that the face had set out all the way round, thus making 

 the inclination steeper. This seems to be due to a greater 

 settlement of the outside stones, which it does not appear 



