2S6 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[Sept. 



THE OUSE BRIDGE, ON THE HULL AND SELBY RAILWAY. 

 By William Braylet Brat, M. Inst. C.E. 



(From a paper read at the Institution of Civil Engineers, Session 1845 J 



In the year 1836 an Act was obtained for making a line of railway from 

 Hull to S'clby, where the proposed line was to join the line from Selby to 

 Leeds, which had been opened two years previously. 



The Act contained a clause respecting the bridge, by which the railway 

 was to cross the river Oiise, requiring an opening arch to be provided 44 feet 

 in width, for the passage of steamers and vessels with fixed masts. 



The river Ouse at Selby is about 196 feet wide, and 14 feet deep, at low 

 water ; the tide rises 4 feet at neap tides, and 9 feet at spring tides. The 

 freshes are very rapid, and have occasionally risen 1 ft. 3 in. ahnve the high- 

 water mark of spring tides. At the times of the new and full moon, it is 

 high-water at Selby about half-past 8 o'clock, 3^ hours later than at Hull. 



The bed of the river consists of silt, resting on a thin bed of quicksand, 

 beneath which is hard clay. The clay dips to the north about 10 feet in the 

 width of the river, and the south bank is so liable to slips, that in one part 

 of Selby, the road along the side of the river cannot be raised within 3 feet 

 of high-water mark spring tides ; and on the site of the bridge, the kidding 

 or staithing, formerly done to preserve the bank, had slipped many yards into 

 the river. 



The erection of the bridge was let to Mr. Briggs, of Eerry-on-Trent, and 

 to the Butterley Iron Company. The work was commenced in the autumn 

 of 1837. The'piled foundations of the Selby abutment, and the adjoining 

 pier, were finished early in the month of February following. 



During the dry spring of 1838, the piles for the other piers of the north 

 abutment were driven, and were finished in June; but the rain during the 

 succeeding autumn and winter, caused such a continuance of freshes, that 

 the sheet piling round the centre pier and the capcills were not finished till 

 May 1839. The fixing of the standards for the piers was commenced early 

 in April, and v\as completed in June. 



From that time no further progress was made till the end of September, 

 as the castings for the superstructure did not arrive from Butterley until that 

 time. 



Tlie opening arch was closed on the 11th of October 1839, and re-opened 

 for the navigation on the 13th of February, 1840 ; during which period all 

 the vessels were obliged to pass through the other opening, which now forms 

 the fixed arch of the bridge. 



The fixed arcli, with the remainder of the ironwork, was completed by the 

 end of March 1840. 



Construclion. 



The weight of metal in the bridge is about 590 tons, viz., 

 Tons. Cwt3. 

 Cast iron .. .. 6i;8 2 



Wrought iron .. .. 20 16 



Br; 

 Lead 



10 



J>81) 



15 



The weight of each leaf of the opening arch is 92J tons, viz.. 



Tons. Cnls. 



Ironwork .. .. Ho 14 



Oak planking .. .. 3 9 



Permanent way ., .. 3 12 



92 



IS 



The abutments are each founded on 58 piles, 18 feet long, on the Selby 

 side of the river, and 28 feet Isng on the Barll)y side ; these piles were driven 

 into the hard clay, and their beads were cut off level to receive the longi- 

 tudinal sleepers, 10 inches wide by 5 inches deep, which were fixed at dis- 

 tances of 3 feet from centre to centre, and on them were placed, at intervals 

 of 4 feet apart, transverse cills, also 10 inches wide iiy 5 inches deep, and the 

 intermediate spaces were filled in witli broken chalk stone, grouted with thin 

 mortar. On this platform the abutment was built of brickwork, with stone 

 quoins, string courses, and coping. 



These abutments were subsequently tied by strong wrought-iron rods to 

 heavj stone piers, built on the solid ground at a distance of about 40 yards. 

 These tie rods completely counteracted the tendency, which the slipping of 

 the river banks would otherwise have had, to thrust the abutments forward, 

 and to narrow the opening arch. 



The six timber piers are placed in pairs, by which means the tail end of 

 the opening leaf is preserved from injury. 



Each of the four land piers is founded on 20 piles 15 inches square, which 

 were driven about 15 feet into the clay, cut off level, and then tenoned, to 

 receive three cap-cills 16 inches wide by 12 inches thick, the tops of which 

 are laid 15 inches above low-watermark of spring tides. 



Upon these cap-cills s'x cast iron frames are strongly bolted, with cast iron 

 braces fitted between the frames on each side of the pier. Two transverse 

 girders resting on these frames tie the whole together, and furnish proper 

 bearings for the superstructure. The ends of the piers are finished with cut- 

 waters fiirmed of cast iron plates 1 inch in thickness. 



The centre piers are similar to the land piers, but are founded on piles 

 from 33 feet to 30 feet long, which are further cased round with sheet piling 

 6 inches thick, spiked to the cap-cills. 



The iron frames are covered with planking 3 inches in thickness, on the 

 side next the 45 feet arches, to protect them from injury by vessels passing 

 through the bridge. 



These works entirely conceal from view the brace piles of the centre piers, 

 which are very well contrived for security. The two brace piles are rounded 

 for a portion of their length, so as to allow the cast iron sockets to descend 

 and take a solid hearing on the square shoulders of the piles. 



Before lowering these sockets, fir braces 12 inches square were fitted and 

 bolted on them ; and when these sockets were let down to their bearing, the 

 tops of these braces were brought to their places and secured to the centre 

 cap-cill by cast iron caps and bolts. 



The superstructure consists of si.K ribs of cast iron 1 J inch thick, resting 

 on the transverse girders, one being under each line of rails and one under 

 each handrail. The ribs over the land arch and the land piers are in two 

 lengths, and finish with flanches forming abutments for the ribs of the fixed 

 and opening arches ; the ribs over the centre pier finish at both ends with 

 similar flanches, and the fixed arch is composed of ribs joined at the crown, 

 and bolted to strong brace plates, each 6 feet long, to strengthen the junc- 

 tion and stiffened by two other rows of braces. 



The covering plates are of cast iron J inch thick, strengthened with flanches 

 beneath. They are bolted between these ribs, resting on flanches, cast for 

 that purpose, near the top. Outside the riljs is fixed a cast iron ovolo cor- 

 nice with a plinth, into which the standards of the wrought iron railing are 

 fitted- 



The line of railway is laid across the bridge on contiguous timber bearings, 

 12 inches wide by 6 inches deep. 



The opening arch consists of two leaves precisely alike, each keyed on a 

 cast iron shaft 9 inches square, with turned journals and plummer-blocks and 

 brasses at each rib. Each leaf consists of five pairs of tail-pieces, keyed on 

 to the square shaft, with proper kentledge boxes bolted between the ex- 

 tremities of each pair; and of six ribs bolted at one end to the flanches of 

 the tail-pieces, and at the other end to the cast iron meeting plate, and 

 further strengthened by intermediate pipes and bolts. 



The leaf is covered with oak planking 3 inches thick, and a plinth and cor. 

 nice is made of wood, to correspond with the rest of the bridge. 



The railing to the opening arch consists of iron standards and chains, and 

 the railway is laid in the same manner as on the rest of the bridge. 



Machinery for raising the bridge. 



The machinery for raising the bridge consists of an iron segment of 9 feet 

 radius, keyed on the main shaft and bolted to the ribs. Into this works a 

 pinion 12 inches in diameter, keyed on a second shaft with a wheel 4 feet in 

 diameter, which is worked by a pinion 12 inches in diameter, and by bevel 

 wheels from the capstan. The power is thus multiplied 285 times, or a 

 power of 8 lb. on the handle will balance 1 ton, at 1 foot from the centre of 

 the main shaft. The centre of gravity of the leaf is about !^ inch below, and 

 in advance of the centre of motion of the shaft. 



The resistance of the opening leaves, at first starting, is 321b, ; when the 

 opening is 20 feet wide, the leaf is just balanced, and 17 lb. at the handle, 

 overcomes the friction and moves the leaf either way, and when it is entirely 

 up, a force of 32 lb. is required to lower it. The time necessary for raising 

 or lowering the bridge is from 50 to CO seconds, but it has been done in 30 

 seconds. 



At high-water spring tides and in times of freshes, the kentledge boxes and 

 tail-pieces dip into the water ; additional force is then required for raising 

 the leaves. When the tide rises 9 teet above low water, one man is just able 

 to lift the leaves, by exerting a force of 80 lb. at the hanille of the capstan ; 

 when the water rises above this level, powerful crabs, erected at the ends of 

 the bridge, are used ; a chain from the l)arrel being passed over the segment 

 and attached to the meeting plate. A force of 6 lb., applied to the handle 

 of the crab, is of equal eft'ect with 8 lb. applied at the handles of the capstan ; 

 and as the leaf rises and the tail plunges into the water, the chain rises off 

 the segment and obtains an increased leverage to lift the bridge. 



The resistance caused by the rise of the water is equal to 38 lb. at the 

 handle of the capstan, for every foot above 9 feet that the water rises. 

 The highest fresh, since 1840, was IC feet 2 inches above low watermark. 



The elTect of heat in expanding the bridge is considerable ; this is provided 

 for by taper iron keys, fitting in the grooves of the meeting plates, and in- 

 serted to such a depth as to give a proper bearing for the opposite leaf. The 

 opening is J of an inch wider in cold frosty weather than during a hot sum- 

 mer. 



DRAINAGE OF RAILWAY CUTTINGS. 

 By Thomas Hughes, Assoc. Inst. C.E. 

 (Paper read at the Institute of Civil Engineers, Session I845._^ 

 It is not the object of Ibis paper to enter upon the cau^^cs of slips, thong 

 the subject has engaged the attention of the author for some years ; but, pre- 

 suming it to be agreed that water is the chief cause, it will suBice to give a 

 description of the employment of Watson's drain pipes, and of their applica- 

 tion to two railway banks in the neighbourhood of London. 



