DATE.Distance fromshaft, feet.Progress,feet.Nov.1, 1865,367.5Dec.1, 1865,414.446.9Jan.1, 1866,459.445.0Feb.1, 1866,503.043.6Mar.1, 1866,546.543.5April1, 1866,584.838.3May1, 1866,623.338.5June1, 1866,682.158.8July1, 1866,746.164.0Aug.1, 1866,810.564.4Sept.1, 1866,871.460.9Oct.1, 1866,945.474.0Nov.1, 1866,1,004.258.8Dec.1, 1866,1,042.037.8
The West heading at this shaft was at first driven 6 feet by 11. It has been found advisable to enlarge it to the dimension of 10 feet 6 inches by 15 feet. This work has been performed by contract. The first letting was at the rate of four dollars per cubic yard, the State furnishing the materials used and removing the stone. The contractors at this rate could not pay their expenses. It was raised to six dollars per yard which was found not to pay, and in July the price was advanced to seven dollars and fifty cents. The State pay the men, charging the same to the contractors, and keep their time. Good progress is made and the work is done to the satisfaction of the engineer.
The East heading at this point was being enlarged also by contract, from 6 feet by 15, to 101/2by 15. The work commenced on the 15th of July, 1866; the price paid is seven dollars per cubic yard; the contractors load their own stone and also that coming from the heading. The State provides the materials used, and hoist the stone to the surface. While the work of the miners at the East heading and of the contractors upon both enlargements was progressing in a very satisfactory mariner, the whole was arrested by an unexpected and somewhat sudden influx of
Water in the Tunnel.
On the 27th of November the miners working east from the West Shaft struck a seam running across the stratification of the mountain. Water soon issued from the seam at the rate of twenty-three gallons per minute. On the 29th, the water had risen at the foot of the shaft to two and a half feet above grade, and the work was stopped. The usual speed of the engine working the pump was forty-two revolutions per minute; it was increased to fifty-six, and at that rate it succeeded in preventing any further rise of the water. It became necessary to increase the power of the pumps. The plunger was enlarged from eight to ten inches, and a third lift pump was added. To affect this arrangement the pumps were stopped from 9 o'clock, A. M., December 7th, to 31/2P. M. on the 8th. At this time the water was four feet and eight inches above grade. On the 12th the water was so much reduced that the miners recommenced work. The next day, at 2 P. M., the water was struck in largequantities, the whole flow from the heading being 100 gallons per minute. On the 14th, the work was again suspended, and unsuccessful attempts made to stop the water by means of wooden plugs driven into the seam. The pumps working with the longest stroke and at increased speed, were just able to keep the water from rising.
On the 19th, at 10.30 A. M., one of the trunnions of the pump-bob broke, and seriously injured the pump gearing and boxes. On the 21st a new trunnion was put in, and the pump was attached to the small hoisting engine, the water now being seven feet above grade. On the 28th, at noon, the breakages being all repaired, the large engine was again attached to the pumps, the water then being nine feet and eight inches above grade. And, on the first day of January, at 4 P. M., the water stood nine feet ten inches above grade at the foot of the shaft.[A]
[A]At the time of the presentation of this Report, the Committee understood that the water was entirely removed from the shaft and tunnel.
[A]At the time of the presentation of this Report, the Committee understood that the water was entirely removed from the shaft and tunnel.
The New Shaft.
This shaft is located about 264 feet westerly of the West Shaft. Its dimensions are six feet by thirteen in the clear. The rock to be removed from an area of eight feet by fifteen. The labor is done by contract. The first price was $40 per foot; increased July 1, 1866, to $50 per foot. The State furnishes all the materials for construction, and the power to raise the stone and water from the shaft. The depth of the shaft will be 277 feet when open to grade. On the first day of December, the miners working down had progressed 180 feet, and those working from the tunnel up 45 feet. It was then calculated that the shaft would be excavated in two months. Plans for permanent pumps had been prepared; to furnish the pumps according to the plans, would take several mouths. In the meantime, a temporary pump was to be made at North Adams, under the direction of the engineer.
On the first day of January, about thirty-eight feet of stone remained for excavation in this shaft. The water in the tunnel stopped the work from below, and the work is driven upon one face only at the present time.
There are two small engines at this point, one of fourteen and one of ten horse power. The pumps at this shaft, if constructedagreeably to the design of the engineer, will discharge sixty-five gallons to a stroke and are to be worked by a bull engine. The lift of the water will be eighty feet less than at West Shaft, being discharged about 40 feet below the surface.
The West End.
The work at the West End of the tunnel is under contract. Mr. B. N. Farren of Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, by an agreement dated May 1, 1866, contracted to put in a stone and brick arch of the dimensions before stated, 26 feet by 26, for the following prices, viz.:—Earth excavation $3.50 per yard; brick masonry, $12 per perch; stone masonry, $6 per perch. Contractor planks the bottom and sides when necessary at $15 per lineal foot. The State furnishes the bricks at $9 per thousand and the timber at $16 per thousand for hemlock, and $18 for spruce and hard-wood. The length of arch contracted for is 174 feet, the whole of which is open. The State also furnishes the cement, which costs in Troy, New York, from $1.65 to $1.70 per barrel, to which is to be added the freight at 30 cents per barrel. A barrel of cement is used for a perch of masonry.
The contractor agrees to construct two hundred feet of under ground tunnel, and as much more as he can before August 1, 1867, at the following prices, viz.:—Earth excavation at $6.50 per yard; brick masonry at $13 per perch; stone masonry at $6.50 per perch. The timbering, from $40 to $50 per foot, lineal, depending upon the thickness of the wall. He may, under permission from the engineer, take stone and sand from the State's premises, without making compensation.
Payments are to be made about the 12th of each month for the work done the preceding month, at the rate of 80 per cent. of the finished work.
The decision of the engineer as to the method, quality, quantity and classification of the work to be final and conclusive. In order to facilitate the progress of the work and with a due regard to economy, the State has purchased the following lots of land in the vicinity of the West End, to wit:—A wood lot, containing sixty acres, at a cost of $9,900; the Harrington Farm; 130 acres with the buildings, inclosing the West End and West Shaft; and running half way up the mountain. Thispurchase was made January 26, 1866, price $3,000. The Kingsley lot, purchased March 16, 1866, at $2,793.87.
The timber used by Mr. Farren is obtained from these lots. The tops of the trees are cut into wood and used at the brickyard. About five hundred cords of wood has been cut on the Harrington, and one thousand cords on the Kingsley lot, for the use of the brickyard, and is now on hand.
The necessity of making the bricks required for the arch tunnel is apparent. They could not be furnished by individuals at North Adams. 120,000, before the yard at the West End was fitted up, were purchased at Springfield at $9 per thousand; the freight of which to North Adams was $6, and the teaming to the West End $2 per thousand. If to these prices be added the depreciation and waste from handling, the cost will reach $18 for all that could be used in the work. It is the opinion of the engineer and superintendent of labor, that the bricks made by the State will cost less than $9 when delivered to the contractor.
Mr. Farren began work under his contract June 7, 1866, and early in December the brick-work at the top of the arch had entered the mountain. The masonry was commenced about, twenty-five feet west of the point first selected, so that the open masonry will in fact be 200 feet long. About thirty feet of invert is left uncovered the present season, under an apprehension that the bricks on hand will only supply what will be wanted in the drift, in order to prosecute the work with dispatch. The invert has been properly protected, and its preservation may be expected.
At the beginning, the invert and the sides to the spring of the arch was laid with five courses of brick, and the arch with six. The masonry has been strengthened to meet the effect of the soft ground and increased pressure to eight bricks thick all round. Where rocks are found, it will be reduced at the bottom, and perhaps at the top.
The excavation of the drift is in progress and is carried on with two galleries. The lower one is of timber, and is at the bottom three feet below the grade of the road. This gallery is ten feet wide and ten feet high.
The upper gallery, also of timber, is ten feet wide and four feet high, and the space between the galleries is about ten feet. Asthe arch is driven in, the top of the invert is 41/2feet below the grade of the road, and 18 inches below the timber of the lower gallery. The top timbers of the upper gallery constitute the top timbers of the tunnel during the excavation. They are supported above the masonry and the arch is turned under them.
Side drains, six feet high and four feet wide, are excavated ahead of the galleries, to assist the drainage of the ground through which the galleries and tunnel are driven. The water from these drains is let into the tunnel through its sides, and runs out with the general drainage upon the invert below the road-bed. Holes are left in the invert at proper intervals to facilitate this drainage.
The side drains are hereafter to be filled with stone, which will constitute a blind drain, and also afford a proper support to the masonry.
The work at this point is of difficult prosecution, but the performance of the contract may be confidently expected.
The Brickyard.
Twenty-four thousand bricks can be moulded daily. The drying yard is 300 feet long and 120 feet wide. The kiln shed is 300 feet long and 50 feet wide, and of capacity to burn all the bricks that can be moulded. There are six brick machines, four of which are in use. They are driven by an engine, and used alternately, two each day. The making of bricks at the yard commenced June 26 and closed October 24, 1860. About 1,700,000 bricks were made, of which 80 per cent. are sufficiently hard for use in the tunnel, which is estimated to be sufficient to complete the 374 feet of tunnel now under contract.
The clay for the bricks is found near the yard, and hitherto a sufficiency of sand has been found in the vicinity; but it is less abundant than the clay.
Miscellaneous.
In addition to the property enumerated under the preceding heads, the State has at North Adams, a freight house, cashier's office, engineer's office, stable and two coal sheds, and opposite the West End on the Pittsfield and North Adams Railroad, an additional freight house. There are also two instrumental station houses on the east and west summits respectively, all of which are occupied by the State for the purposes of the enterprise. There is also one seven-horse engine and three small compressors. Tho State has also four mule teams, three of four, and one of two animals, making fourteen in all. There were also used on the work in the early part of the year, twelve or fourteen horses, employed in hauling clay, sand, wood, &c. Six of these have been sold to Mr. Farren, and the remainder are to be disposed of. To this enumeration should be added five horses and three or more carriages kept at the stable at North Adams for the transportation of the engineers, superintendent, master mechanic, &c., from point to point along the line of operations wherever their presence and services might be needed.
for the expense of keeping five horses, and the repairs; which is about five dollars per week in all. The charge for keeping horses at the stable in North Adams, is five dollars per week for feed; and the cost for the use of one horse and wagon from North Adams to the East End, is four dollars. These horses were also used to transport the commissioners and the committee visiting the tunnel, when required for that purpose.
The Road between the Tunnel and North Adams.
It is proposed to change the course of, the road as it emerges from the tunnel, and two lines have been surveyed, which, diverging near the approach cut, unite again about midway from thence to the village. The difference in length is about thirty feet. The northerly line is the least expensive to construct,and best favors the landholders on the route. It has the recommendation of the engineer, and the approval of the consulting engineer, and will probably be selected. There are reasons for an early location of this portion of the road which call for a prompt action in this behalf on the part of the commissioners, which will undoubtedly be taken.
The following table shows the expense of the tunnel and the land and works connected therewith under the administration of the commissioners, as found November 1, 1866:—
The following table shows the cost of the works under the classification of outside and inside expenditures, as given by the consulting engineer.
The exact correctness of any classification of the expenditures is not very important, inasmuch as the sum total is chargeable to the construction of the tunnel; but the Committee do not see the propriety of charging the engineering and superintendence exclusively to the outside expenditure. They have seen a classification which gave,—
General Summary of the Force Employed on the Tunnel,
Experiments.
The interest awakened by the magnitude of the undertaking to tunnel the Hoosac Mountain, and the anxiety manifested for its early completion, prompted the commissioners to the discovery of means to accelerate the progress of the work. Their attention was naturally directed to the operation of drilling, and with a view of improving upon the machine drill used at Mont Cenis; scientific mechanics have been employed to devise and construct a drill that should attain that end.
As a first step Gouch's patent of the hollow piston-rod, was purchased for New England, for the sum of five hundred dollars. After which, a Mr. Gardner was employed to construct a drill; but his efforts failed of success after an expenditure of thirteen hundred dollars. A Mr. Butler was engaged to devise a machine, but in the course of studying the subject, his health failed and his services were lost.
A Mr. Hanson completed a machine which promised some success; but on trial it proved a failure.
A second machine called the Brooks, Burleigh and Gates drill, was made under the direction of the commissioners at Fitchburg. This machine was put upon the works and used for several months.
A third machine, called the Burleigh drill, an improvement upon the preceding one, was next produced, which is now at the works on the East Heading.
About $13,000 was spent upon these experiments, resulting in the construction of the Brooks, Burleigh and Gates drill, and the manufacture of four of them. About one-half of this expenditure may be charged to these last drills; the other was unproductive of anything of value.
The Brooks, Burleigh and Gates drill was patented, but the Commonwealth has the right to use them in the construction of the tunnel.
These machines will now be described.
The Hanson Machine.
This machine has a cylinder and valve motion, similar to a steam-engine. The piston is hollow, the drill-bar which may be of any required length, passing through it, is moved with the piston, by means of four wedges or cams on each end ofthe piston; these cams are pressed on the drill-bar by means of sliding collars forced upon them by a complex arrangement operating alternately. The drill-bar is rotated by means of a ratchet operated by a spiral groove in the shield of the machine. The main difficulty in this machine was in the complex arrangement for forcing the collars upon the cams or wedges. It did not work well in a horizontal position. The machine consisted of one hundred and twenty pieces, and weighed five hundred and ninety-five pounds.
The Brooks, Burleigh and Gates Machine.
This machine has a hollow piston, the drill-holder being a screw passing through the piston, moving with it, and fed through it, by means of a nut on the end of the piston-rod. This nut is held by means of a cap or union nut, as it is called, the union nut being screwed on to the coupling, and the coupling nut screwed to the piston-rod. The feed-nut protrudes through the union nut, and is allowed to turn round in it. On the end of this feed-nut is a ratchet gear covered by a ratchet-band with an arm upon it, all moving with the piston. The ratchet arm moves up and down in a spiral groove, the groove being in a shield attached by screws to the cylinder; on the ratchet-band there is a pall and two springs, one under the other. One of the springs holds the pall in gear, the other holds it out of gear. As the piston moves down, the outer spring comes in contact with a trip which is on the shield and is lifted up, allowing the under spring to throw the pall into the ratchet, and as the piston is moved back, turns the nut round, thereby feeding the screw forward. At the extremity of its backward stroke, the pall comes in contact with another trip on the shield which lifts it out of gear, the outer spring having a catch upon it which holds the pall when thus lifted out. The rotary motion is given by a ratchet on the coupling-nut, covered by a ratchet-band the arm of which moves in a spiral groove in the shield similar to the other, only having a spring to hold the pall in the ratchet; this rotates all the parts on the piston except the ratchet-bands and cross-head. The latter is held between two check-nuts on the coupling-nut. To this cross-head is attached a bar which communicates with a valve which opens the portwhen the piston moves back, and shuts it when it moves forward; the air is always on during its backward stroke. The piston having a greater area on the forward than on the backward stroke, overcomes the backward pressure and moves the piston ahead, and when cut off, the continued pressure forces the piston back.
This machine is automatic; generally running until some portion of it is destroyed. No part of the machine has been found strong enough to withstand the friction upon it for any considerable portion of time. The union nut has proved its weakest point, and the breaking of this generally destroys that part of the piston to which it is attached. Another point of weakness is the feed ratchet-band, the springs of which are almost continually breaking.
The machine consists of eighty pieces; twenty-three of which are screws, fifteen pins, and seven pieces of cast iron. It weighs 240 pounds, runs about 200 strokes per minute, and costs about $400. Its longest run without breaking has been five days. The run of one of them two days without breaking during the time, is considered fortunate. The average breaking is more than one a day. A table showing the list of breakages will follow this description.
The piston-head of this machine has a diameter of 45/8inches. The diameter of the piston-rod is 4 inches at the large end and 21/4at the small end.
So there are 1287/100square inches of air area to drive the drill ahead into the rock, and 423/100to draw it out; but as the air is not taken off from the front end, the actual pressure is upon an area of the difference between the two, or 864/100square inches.
Table showing Number of Drilling-Machines Broken, &c.
1866No. Machines Broken.Cross Heads.Cylinder Flanges.Coupling Nuts.Feed Springs.Feed Palls.Ratchet Covers.Valve Stems.New Packing.Tapper Bars.Screw Spindles.Union Coupling Nuts.Feed Nuts.Shields.Piston Heads.July21,325243221107-----31,6772110452181423---Aug.7,7541-1815843964----14,766-52517113-101611-21,657132815137-12-12--31,102119647182-102451-Sept.7,6511-27424--5211--14,6025-232122-10-321121,5611128613--3-122-30,56321313162-4-191-Oct.7,547--39271-93-12-14,53512285101-91462-21,583--28413--93-42-31,77712634112-121262-Nov.7,382-219313--82-34-14,4011-1729--8324--21,44-1-3214--7-111-31,66---34211-13811-1-1,084622030517982002780151253047201
About forty of the Brooks, Burleigh and Gates machines have been used at the tunnel; of these eight or ten were originally vertical, and intended for use at the Central Shaft. At the commencement of their use, the machines were new and had their best wear in them; there were from twenty to twenty-four at the beginning. In a short time they began to break down, but by putting on a large repair force and converting the vertical machines into horizontal ones, a fair supply was kept up for from two to three months, at the end of which time the greatest machine progress was attained, viz., fifty-four feet and six inches, in September. After that the progress diminished very much, and in proportion to the giving out of the machines. It is the opinion of the engineer that if a constant supply of machines could have been furnished, that the progress would have reached a point much beyond that obtained by hand labor; but with the stoppage of the supply, the number of machines that could be kept in working order was daily reduced, and at lastit fell down to two or three, and finally, at times, none were in condition to work. The frames were, however, kept in the tunnel to await the completion of the Burleigh machine, the reception of which was retarded till late in October; much beyond the time anticipated by the commissioners, although the work of their construction was carried on continuously night and day. They came at intervals of several weeks, two at a time; the first of which were put into the tunnel on the thirty-first day of October. Through the month of December, four of these machines were at work.
The Burleigh Machine.
Has a solid piston (so called,) which has a hole in its back end to allow the feed-screw to pass in without touching; the drill is secured to this piston. On the back end of the piston is a section of a ball used as a cam, which works the valve and the feed-motion. The valve is rotated by a rod lying on the band of the cylinder; upon this rod are two cams which perforate the band of the cylinder. The action of the piston brings the ball on its end in contact with these cams, rocking them up and down; the rod to which they are secured being connected with the valve, imparts to that its motion. This machine is fed altogether on ways, or a bed-piece, upon which is the feed-screw; the feed-nut is upon the end of the cylinder-band. To this feed-nut is attached a feed-ratchet, which is held between two collars, allowing it to turn round. Upon the cylinder-band is a lever, one end of which passes through the band; upon the other end is a pall. The motion of the piston raises the lever up, pressing the end containing the pall against the ratchet which turns the nut on the feed-screw, thus moving the machine forward. The rotating ratchet is in the band of the cylinder and has a spline in it, and a pall on its outside. The piston having a spiral groove is turned by this ratchet as it moves down. On the return of the piston, the pall drops into the ratchet and then the piston is turned. The piston is not encumbered with any machinery, and moves alone; its area of air is greater on the forward than on the backward stroke; the alternation of the valve admits the air. The machine, like the one last described, contains eighty pieces; it has the same numberof screws and pins, and weighs 372 pounds including the ways or bed-piece; without the ways its weight is 212 pounds. Its number of strokes is about 300 per minute, and its blow somewhat lighter than that of the other. This machine is not entirely automatic; the feed-motion not working regular; when it does not, it is fed by hand, which is a simple process.
These machines stand the work much better than those first made at Fitchburg. Their average time in the tunnel without repairs in the interval, is about five days; they have needed repairs in two days; one remained at work fourteen days. They accomplish double the work without repairs that those do which were made after the previous pattern. There is a further advantage in using the Burleigh machines; their breaking, when it occurs, is not very serious, the injured parts consisting mainly of cams, can generally be replaced at the tunnel; whereas for the repairs on the Brooks, Burleigh and Gates machine, the dependence to a very great extent has been upon the machine shop at Fitchburg.
The piston-head of this machine has a diameter of 425/100inches. The diameter of the piston-rod is at the large end, 3 inches, at the small end, 275/100inches.
So the number of inches of air area, is 820/800when the drill is propelled upon the rock, and 77/100when returning from it.
A full complement of men to work the machines first used, would be, perhaps, thirteen. Mr. Gates, who superintended their operation in the first instance, began with fourteen, but they were reduced to thirteen. The Burleigh machine practically requires feeding, and a full set at work would probably demand fifteen men for their successful operation.
The value of these machines has not yet been ascertained. The Committee are of opinion that when a full complement shall have been obtained, so that the workmen can have at all times a full supply upon the frames, that greater progress can be obtained by them than by hand drilling; and after a few months operation, the cost of using them, in comparison with hand labor, can be fairly tested. But as the Brooks, Burleigh and Gates machine has been abandoned, no useful results would be obtained by comparing the expenses within the tunnel during the months of July, August and September, with three correspondingmonths when hand drilling was carried on, and no satisfactory comparison can be made between the working of the Burleigh machine and hand drilling, until a sufficient number of machines has been introduced into the tunnel to keep the men fully employed. It is to be hoped that machines sufficient to make the test may be soon obtained, and that this desirable information may be made known.
The introduction of the first machine into the tunnel, before its capacity, strength, and expense of working had been fully tested, was unfortunate, inasmuch as its use there delayed the progress of the work. The second machine gives such promise of success, that it will be continued in use in the tunnel until a fair test has been made. But should the Burleigh machine prove unsuccessful, and further attempts with machines be attempted, the Committee recommend that their usefulness be tested outside of the tunnel, and meanwhile the excavation with hand drills be resumed.
Experiments with Dr. Ehrhardt's Powder.
The first blast was fired in the tunnel at the East End on the 20th of November, but owing to the presence of charcoal or some other substance in the article, a poisonous gas was evolved which effected the miners disagreeably, and drove them from the work. The subsequent experiments at this point were not satisfactory, and were discontinued, and subsequently resumed at the Central Shaft, where it was used most of the time for a week, varying its composition from time to time. At the close of the week, while preparing for the last blast, a premature explosion took place, resulting in the death of one of the miners, and the injury of three or four others.
The material result of this experiment was as follows:—With 261 days' work and 1391/2lbs. of powder, 202 buckets of stone were removed; while in the preceding week, using common powder (schaghticoke) with 2513/4days' labor and 236 lbs. of powder, 168 buckets of stone were taken out. The cost of the experimental powder is about twice as expensive as the common powder, and its superior strength is apparent from the above result.
Experiments with Nitro-Glycerine.
During the summer, some experiments have been made with this explosive agent. A quantity, costing $934.29, was brought to the works by Colonel Schaffner, who exhibited the action of the material in various ways, with a view of testing its power, and the comparative safety of introducing it instead of powder. After repeated trials outside of the works, during which about three-fifths of the material was consumed, it was introduced into the tunnel at the West Shaft with the following result: It was used for three days at the East heading of the West Shaft; the advance made in the heading was for the time, 141/2feet;—being an advance of 4.82 feet per day, and at the rate of 125.33 feet per month.
The progress made at the West Shaft on the East heading the present year, ending December 31, 1866, is 626 feet and 8 inches. This progress was somewhat lessened by the influx of water in December. The monthly advance has been 52 feet and 2 inches. The average of the eleven months ending with November is 53 feet and 6 inches. Assuming the progress made with glycerine during the three days of its use to be obtainable throughout the year, the monthly progress, using that material, would be 120 feet and 10 inches, on a calculation of twenty-five days to a month, which would give an annual advance of 1,450 feet.
Without vouching for results so favorable to the progress of the work, it is impossible to overlook the importance of the experiment; and the Committee are of opinion that this material, if it can be procured, should be introduced into the tunnel and shafts, and a thorough experiment made, in order to determine whether it can be used with an advantage even approximating to that shown by the first trial.
Experience has proved that the rock at the Hoosac Mountain is of a peculiar character: comparatively easy to drill, but extremely hard to displace, and that its advantageous excavation requires a strong explosive agent. The difference in the use of weak and strong powder is at once observed, and the effect of simultaneous blasting, by the aid of electricity, is proved by the increased progress of the work since it has been used. It would seem evident, then, without the aid of experiment, that an explosive agent, possessing eight times the power of common powder, would be a valuable auxiliary to this undertaking; and that if such an one could be obtained, and safely used, no time should be lost in procuring a supply.
The use of nitro-glycerine in England is not uncommon; its components are well known; and the Committee are informed that it might be advantageously manufactured at any point where it is used.
Electrical Firing.
The experiment of simultaneous blasting by electricity has been made with admitted success. The increased progress inthe Central Shaft from an average of about 181/2to 23 feet per month, demonstrates its utility, and will undoubtedly insure the continuance of that mode of firing in preference to the method formerly practised.
The Troy and Greenfield Railroad.
The completion of the railroad from Greenfield to the tunnel has been contracted for with B. N. Farren, for the sum of $545,000, exclusive of the cost of depot buildings, turn-tables, and engineering expenses. The road to be opened for travel to Shelburne Falls by the 15th of November, 1867, and to the tunnel by the 15th of July, 1868. A lease of the same has been executed to the Fitchburg and the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad Companies, at a rent of $30,000 per year, to expire on the completion of the tunnel, or whenever the work on the same shall be stopped, by competent authority.
Mr. Farren commenced work under his contract about the 20th of October. At this time there were about four miles of track,—exclusive of that which had to be removed with the trestle-bridges,—built by Mr. Haupt. Some portions of the track were in fair condition; but the larger part of it must be relaid. Many of the ties are of hemlock; they are all decayed and must be removed, and new ones substituted. None of the bridges were strong enough to be used, and the timber of which they were constructed is too much decayed to be used for building purposes: There is on hand in addition to the track laid, chairs, or connecting joints, sufficient to lay five miles of rails; also about ten thousand chestnut ties. Such of these as had been properly piled are sound. Many of them, however, are so much decayed, as to be unfit for use.
The road-bed has in many places been injured by rain and frost. At exposed points near the river, it is entirely destroyed. Comparatively speaking, there was little masonry on the line. With the exception of one pier, the bridge masonry at Green River will be taken down. All the deep ravines were crossed by trestle work, and consequently there were but few culverts. Of these some small ones are still standing in good condition. Of the bank wall built, about one-half remains,—theremainder has either fallen down, or will be taken down and rebuilt.
Very little alteration will be made in the general location of the line or its gradients. The curvature will be very much modified and improved. Some sharp and reversed curves will be entirely saved by the substitution of straight lines. Others, where the expense of reduction is not very heavy, will be materially changed. The alterations below Shelburne Falls are substantially as follows:—
The same plan for improving the line above the falls will be pursued, so that when completed, the road combining the alignment with the gradients will, in the judgment of the engineer, be "superior for doing economically a heavy traffic, to any railroad in New England which runs east and west."
At Green River there will be substituted for Mr. Haupt's bridge of 700 feet built on a curved line one of 470 feet, to be constructed on a straight line. The remainder of the ravine to be made a solid embankment. All the bridges on the line are to be "Howe's Truss," and equal in strength and durability to any in New England.
The trestle-work has been removed, and the ravines where it was placed are being filled with substantial masonry and solid embankments.
On the first day of November Mr. Farren had about fifty men employed; on the first day of December, two hundred andseventy-five, and on the 14th of December, when one of the Committee visited the line, he had over three hundred.
About one-third of the masonry for Green River bridge has been built, and the stone is quarried for the other bridges. Nearly one thousand yards of culvert masonry and three hundred yards of bank wall have been constructed, and from forty to fifty thousand yards of earth removed.
The timber for Green River bridge is sawed and will be framed in January. The material for all the bridges below Shelburne Falls has been contracted for, to be delivered early in the spring. Twenty thousand ties have been purchased, together with posts and boards for fences. The work at the rock-cut near Shelburne Falls will be commenced in the month of January.
On the line below Shelburne Falls, there will remain in the road, the following sharp curves, to wit: In the track as laid and not disturbed, four of six degrees, and in the remainder of the line, six of six degrees, three of seven, and two of eight. One of the eight degree curves, is through a long heavy cut, and cannot be reduced without great expense. The other is near the Deerfield River crossing, where all trains will be required to run slow. It cannot be avoided without a tunnel or a curve over the entire bridge. The three seven degree curves occur in heavy rock-cuttings, and these are all the sharp curves that are contained in a space of thirteen miles.
Above Shelburne Falls the alignment and grades are more favorable. From the tunnel to the Deerfield River crossing, below Shelburne Falls, a distance of twenty-two miles, there is but one ascending grade going east; its location is about two miles west of the falls; it is one-half mile in length, and is thirty-five feet to the mile. Within the same space going east, there are the following descending grades, to wit: One of forty-five feet per mile for 2,000 feet, one of forty feet for 6,000 feet, one of twenty-eight feet for 2,500 feet, and one, near the village of Shelburne Falls, of fifty feet per mile for 5,300 feet. The remaining grades are from five to twenty feet per mile.
The sharp curves remaining after the proposed improvements will be as follows, to wit: Near the depot grounds at Shelburne, and running through the village, there is necessarilyone eight degree curve, and on the seventeen miles between the falls and the tunnel, there occur thirteen six degree curves. A slight change in laying the track will increase the radius of these curves to 1,000 feet. This in some cases can be done.
The county commissioners have been called out and have made an adjudication in regard to the public crossings and alterations of highways between Greenfield and Shelburne Falls.
The whole work below the falls is under good progress, and is being prosecuted with great vigor. The laying of the track can be commenced as early in the spring as the season will admit, and its extension to Shelburne Falls, may, in the opinion of the engineer, be expected early in October.
It appears from the foregoing, that of the work now in progress on the road and tunnel, their is performed by contract,—the construction of the railroad from Greenfield to the East End of the tunnel; the enlargements east and west in the tunnel at the West Shaft; the excavation of the New Shaft; and the arch masonry and excavation at the West End; while the work at the East End, at the Central Shaft, the heading and lifting at the West Shaft, the lifting at the New Shaft, and the work at the brickyard has been performed by the State. No criterion has been afforded enabling the Committee to determine upon the comparative economy of the different modes of operation.
The commissioners in their able report in 1863, speaking of the manner of constructing the tunnel, say: "It would not be wise nor according to any precedent for the State to expect to get the work done at the contract price if it should turn out to cost more. It would certainly get no abatement if the price was found to be exorbitant. We are clearly of the opinion that it should not be constructed by contract, excepting in so far as parts of the work may be in detail to the men actually at work upon it, and even such contracts should' not be permanent in their character." That the commissioners in April last entertained the idea of inaugurating and continuing the contract system so far as the same should prove economical for the State, satisfactorily appears in the following letter: