4i: 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[May 4, 1 1888. 



the waters advanced. Small as it was, compared with 

 the hotel, it had been moved in three pieces, having been 

 cut into sections for the purpose. After this experience 

 the most natural idea was to attack the problem of deal- 

 ing with the great hotel upon a similar basis. It was 

 proposed to saw it into a number of sections, and to move 

 it back piecemeal. The cost of the operation deterred 

 the managers from attempting it. 



The hotel is owned by the Brooklyn, Flatbush and 

 Coney Island Railroad Company, and the superintendent 

 of the road, Mr. J. L. Morrow, and the secretary, Mr. E. 

 L. Langford, in discussing the matter, originated the 

 highly ingenious and novel plan which was adopted. Its 

 execution was confided to Mr. Morrow. The plan was 

 to place the hotel upon a number of freight cars, resting 

 upon parallel tracks, and to draw it where wanted by 

 locomotives. The nearest approach to such a method 

 is to be found in the Eads Ship Railroad, and the moving 

 of the gigantic hotel is a happy augury for the success of 

 the other project. 



The building is a wooden structure four hundred and 

 sixty-five feet long, one hundred and fifty feet deep, and 

 three stories high, as regards its main portions. Five 

 towers rise from the roof. Its longer front faces the sea. 

 It had to be moved backward in the direction of its 

 shorter axis. The estimated weight of structure was five 

 thousand tons. From one hundred to one hundred and 

 fifty tons of plaster were contained within it. It rested 

 upon a series of short posts which, in their turn, were 

 supported by piling. 



The first operation was to lay a series of parallel 

 tracks from underneath the building. Longitudinal 

 planks two inches in thickness were placed in the lines 

 where the rails were to run. Upon these, the cross tiers or 

 sleepers were placed, and the sand was eventually rammed 

 under the planks and sleepers alike. This gave the sleepers 

 a double support, directly from the earth, and also from 

 the stringer planks. The rails were of the ordinary type, 

 weighing fifty-six and sixty pounds to the yard. They 

 were laid with a four foot nine inch gauge rod, and 

 rather freely, so that their gauge was probably five- 

 eighths of an inch more than the normal. The idea of 

 this was to provide for any lateral play that might be 

 necessary. Twenty-four lines of tracks were laid, and 

 were carried under the building and out from it about 

 three hundred feet landward. To lay tracks for moving 

 the building its own depth, a mile and a half of raih were 

 required. One hundred and twelve platform cars were 

 hired for carrying the building from the Iron Car Company. 

 Their break wheels were removed, and stowed each pair 

 under their own car. The building was next attached in 

 twenty foot sections, and packed up. 



One 90-ton, three 60-ton, five 30-ton, and four lo-ton 

 hydraulic jacks were used. The sills were raised from the 

 supporting posts, and the cars were rolled under, carry- 

 ing with them transverse timbers of 12 by 14 yellow pine. 

 Each piece rested upon two cars on adjacent tracks, the 

 longest timber being only forty-one feet in length. One 

 hundred and ten thousand feet of this timber were 

 required. As far as possible the timbers were 

 made to bear upon the central axis of the car, and over the 

 trucks. The house was raised enough to permit the cars 

 and timbers to go under it, one or two inches clear- 

 ance being allowed for. In one place the building had 

 settled nearly a foot. This was straightened up. The 

 cars on each track were coupled together, and then 

 were jacked apart so as to pull out the drawheads to I 



their fullest extent. The weight of the building lowered 

 upon the cars kept them in this position. In some cases 

 this jacking apart was omitted. Such cars were con- 

 nected by rope slings twisted so as to rigidly hold them 

 together. The idea was to prevent any separation or 

 alteration of the longitudinal distance between cars. 

 No system of diagonal bracing was used, the utmost 

 simplicity characterising the arrangement. 



In sections of twenty feet the whole building was 

 gradually placed upon the cars. It is believed that the 

 strain upon some of them cannot have been less than 

 seventy- five tons, yet nothing gave way, although 

 the springs were strongly compressed, so that the bol- 

 sters were nearly in contact. 



A number of heavy blocks and falls were then connected 

 to the front ends of the twenty-four lines of cars. As 

 abutment, the forward blocks were attached by chain 

 slings directly to the rails. The tackles were arranged 

 so that there were twelve falls, the end of each of which 

 was carried to the motors. A number of thirty-five ton 

 locomotives were placed upon two tracks, and six ropes 

 leading from the falls were attached to the coupling at 

 the rear of each set of engines. Some of the tackles 

 crossed each other, so that each set of engines had its 

 pulling strain distributed over more than half the face of 

 the building. The strain was taken up on each fall 

 before it was attached. Three tons of rope were used 

 in making these connections, and, when all was ready, 

 the signal to start was given. For the first pull, April 3rd, 

 the orders were to start the building, and then imme- 

 diately stop. Six locomotives were used. The ropes 

 gradually tightened, and the building without a shake or 

 tremor moved back slowly, and stopped after a short dis- 

 tance had been traversed. A careful examination showed 

 that all had worked perfectly. On the afternoon of the 

 same day a longer pull was given. Then on April 4th, 

 with only four engines, the hotel was again moved, and 

 was left 239 feet behind its original position. The work 

 had now to stop as far as moving the building was con- 

 cerned, because the rails were not laid any further, and 

 because the piling of the new foundation was not all 

 driven. The rails, sleepers, and stringers left between 

 the house and the water were transferred to the front, 

 and a way provided for the hotel to move the rest of its 

 journey to its new resting-place, 495 feet from its original 

 location. 



No difficulty of any kind was encountered. Want of 

 power had been the principal thing that was feared, but 

 four locomotives proved enough to carry the house along 

 at the rate of a fast walk. The engines were found to 

 work admirably in producing an absolute and definite 

 pull. The total weight moved was placed at one thou- 

 sand tons for the cars, and five thousand for the building. 

 This represents the weight of about one a half miles of - 

 loaded cars, or of a large ocean steamer. 



Reference has already been made to the Eads Ship Rail- 

 road. In the moving of the great hotel, a far more 

 difficult task than that called for in the operation of the 

 ship railway was accomplished. Instead of a ship, com- 

 pact and strongly built to resist every kind of strain, a 

 large house, of relatively little intrinsic strength, was 

 dealt with. A little settling or inequality of movement 

 would have wrecked it. As regards power, light loco- 

 motives were used. Compared with an iron or even 

 wooden 'ship, the hotel might be pronounced a house of 

 cards. The confidence in the Eads scheme cannot but be 

 largely increased by this feat in engineering 



