

SKEttlNO. 





Sim* Ur .irruntr i-Th.i- 



. % . v . ?.. . . . -,.'. f l-., 



i lai rfstte* I- r m U-M uin pe 

 wiMi the building * 

 Uwee points arc the first to 



or 



In Ib* ra..r .-f the n^nl collnjKM 



x .1 wm. *h..mn b / ln *j- 



aihaf the disaster wa probalily chargeable 



: . . . , . < , .. i >... - < 

 disiervQt irrHhf were made to fit by makeshift 

 it i hat and, so far a* was ascertain able, the 

 of the principal column up.-n it* base 

 I that a collapse was inevitable 

 ,^^r vr ,-.... Fortunately, it took place be- 

 fore the bu.l.i...^, 



CVmsrientioas supervision on the |rt of archi- 

 tect* entlnnn and !* seems to be 

 the only guarantee that steel-frame const ructio,, 



.lit become more and more insecure the 

 ws. If not properly protected, such 

 a structure most necessarily weaken by corro- 

 M*>. and eventually become incapabi 

 ing excessive wind pressure. 

 BtrpBirth of Brlekwerk. A fund for ex- 



i*n mental rmmrch has been established by the 

 Royal Institute of Itnti-h Architects, and their 

 fir* investigations are directe.i to brickwork, as 

 being upon the whole the most generally useful 

 form of mamnry. The phenomenal endurance 

 of brick)* for all crush ing strains has been recog- 

 ntard time out of mind, even the scriptural 

 r of 1U1--1 having been built of brick. Its 

 strength under what may be termed beam 

 tram is known to comparatively few. A brick 

 wall about flftv years old was available for the 

 i nt. which was conducted by Mr 

 . and is described in the journal of the In- 

 Mitutr. The wall was two feet thick, and an 

 timing twelve feet square was cut through it. 

 Var the round a lintd or brilge of bricks was 

 left, reaching across the opening. At first this 

 bridge was etven courses t hie k. but it would not 

 bveal under all the iron that could conveniently 

 he plaml uj- n it. -. the load was removed and 

 nek wen- kn.K-ked off and the 

 of thu Mirmunding brickwork. 

 This left four course* of I n the i r ..n 



weights were replaced to the amount of 6 tons 

 t hundredweight and 28 pounds upon the center 

 of this seemingly *:.-nd,- r ^.pport. The brick 

 beam carried this load for thirty hours without 

 any apparent sign of giving way. W hen finally 

 a did bcrak, the fall took place at night when it 

 wld not be observed. All the materials in this 

 wall we of the beet kind the lime and mortar 

 wme strongly hydraulic and the bricks hand- 

 made, It is not iikdy that average brickwork 

 woeld stand anything like such a test, but the 

 exptriment tends to increase confidence in brick 

 <* u rr-ua work of all kinds, provided reason- 

 m eareb taken in the construct ion and in the 



Especially is this true 

 of modem VmiMings, which are to 

 a my great extent practically of brickwork 



2S* !*V lnr>0 floor l ** m ' 1 - Tn e pieces of 

 ?" J"** "P 011 * compowd are or should 

 bap-d that they bind firmly togeth< 

 to tbdr load by thnut as well as by the 

 that are covered with mortar 



A Novel Coal Hump. The Excelsior Iron 



. land hn\e hitel\ constructed, 

 ..f Tiniothx l.-'ii::. a new devitr 

 fi-r unloading \\liich promi^rv to I.,. 



'uni: of (lit- kind Ihu- far i 

 A itroilgoylindrical frame isc..nstnn-lel 



ork, of suflicieiii tlinim-i 



allow an ordinarx coal car run through n ,, M 

 tracks that extend from end to end and " 



.vitli the rail- of the permanent \\ay. The 

 loaded cars, as they come ut>. 

 run into it. the \\heels are blorked. ami | 

 fnl rlii .ated by hydraulic j.ow. i 



the car along its platform and framework. 



is effected by a very simple adjustment, 

 which acts almost automatically on all cars 

 ordinarily used for coal transport. When the 

 damps are fixed, a -et of machinery i- thrown 

 into gear and the entire cylin-: . roll- 



in- up an inclined cross track until the 

 upside down and everv particle of coal tum- 

 bles out into a chute below. The cylinder is 

 then allowed to roll back to its origin.-, 

 lion, the clamps are looked, and the cm; 

 goes on its way, to be followed by a succes- 

 sion of loaded ones. In a test case < Ion I .t less 

 prcarranp-d for purpose of record it i- 

 that 3 fully loaded cars were diM-har.L'ed into rt 

 vessel lying alongside the wharf in three min- 

 utes. "the whole apparatus is operated 

 engine of moderate size, and the services of, 

 only 8 men are reouired. 



Laying a Gas Main. In the course of (Ju- 



nction of the Harlem Ship Canal it lie- 

 came necessary to lay a 12-inch gas main across 

 and under the navigable channel ai ! 

 bridi;* 1 . As the work must necessarily l 

 marine, it was desirable to 1'mMi it quicklj 

 to interfere with navigation forth, short. 

 sible time, and to lay the section of pipe in one 

 piece, so that water should not find its way in- 

 side. The problem involved th< 

 tion 878 feet long, weighing about 50,000 pounds^ 

 in water 20 feet deep. By means of a suction 

 dredge a ditch of the required dimensi..: 

 cut across the bottom of the canal. 

 being cleared awaj from its bottom and - 

 tiling prepared for the reception of th. 

 Twelve pontoons were constructed of 

 hemlock timber and painted with coal tar: 

 were each 50 feet long and 5 feet square. They 

 were arranged in pairs with rro-<pie-cs holding 

 them 8 feet apart Met ween these pairs of pon- 

 toons the sections of pipe were suspen-: 

 that they hung just clear of the wat 

 tral section of 78 f' ' toother, the 



joint* being of the Ward flexible pattern, and 

 floated on its pontoons to the middle of the 

 channel, leaving spaces open for naviirat 

 tween either end and th Alon^ the 



shores 2 other sections, each ir>o feet ion-. 

 floated and joined on similar pairs of p< -i 

 On Oct. 18, at slack low water, navi-ati 



d. and the 2 shore secti- 



on! till the ends touched the middle section nl- 

 ready in position. Workmen were ready, the 

 pontoons were securely anchored, the < 

 tions were made between the H-cti'.n of j.i[*% 

 and ropes were adjusted to derricks, which 

 on the pontoons ready for lowering. A 

 number of men had been drilled to work these 



