614 



ERECTION OK THE GOKTEIK BRIDGE. 



necessary chisels, hiiinnicrs, jiikI other tools for ])ridg-e construction. 

 At the outset heavy rains interfered (•onsidera])ly with the pr<)«i-c'ss 

 of the work, the violence of the storms ])eing so oreat that it was s(d- 

 doni possible to do an>^ work between noon and sundown. The tem- 

 perature ranged from below the fi'eezing point at night to over i>0° 

 in the shade in the forenoon. Another delay was caused by the i-efusal 

 of the native laborers, on account of their superstition, to use com- 

 pressed air in riveting, and nearly all of this was done by hand, although 

 the plans called for 192,000 rivets in the tield work alone. 



The usual plan followed in bridge construction of indicating the 



i\ I U r sliovviiiK opposite bide ut goigc in the dibtduce. 



locations of different parts by numbers and letters could not be fol- 

 lowed in this case owing to the ignorance of the natiyes; so a (;olor 

 scheme was adopted, by which each column and girder was given a 

 distinctive color, and the joints between the columns painted with a 

 combination of stripes. All the erection outfit was painted black to 

 distinguish it from the bridge material proper. In this way the thou- 

 sands of pieces were handled and put in position without difficulty. 

 In beginning the construction of the viaduct the steel was hauled to 

 the end of the track and deposited in a temporary storage yard in such 

 a manner that it could be lifted by the traveler. Thus the first towers 

 were erected. As these were placed in position the superstructure was 



