New York Herald from New York, New York • Page 45

WORLD'S HEAVIEST BRIDGE, NOW SPANS HELL W'C ivSvOv! $-v HOW THE HALF SECTIONS OF THE ARCH RPACHf OUT FROM EITHER SIDE OF THE RIVER WHILE BEING HELD ALOFT BY THE GREAT BACKSTAYS OF THE TEMPORARY CANTILEVERS. An Engineering Feat Called Great Even in This Day of Wonder Workers in Steel THE WORLD'S GREATEST Hell Clifton arch, Niagara Falls Viaur Viaduct, Prance Rhine bridge, Bonn T'HE steel arch across Gate, tho heaviest bridge In existence, will soon bo ready for traffic, and It will then be possible for travellers to pasa through New York, going north or south, without any of the Inconveniences and delays that Wo unavoidable. Time will bo saved, money will be saved. The Hell Gato bridgo Is part of a ten mllo project known as the New York Connecting Hallway, and of this, the East River division alono repre sents an outlay of $30,000,000 and covers a stretch of three and a half miles. Tho masslvo span has cost It Is an Interesting illustration of what up to.date American railroads are willing to spend In order to please their patrons and to shorten runs.

The East River Is a much bridged waterway, but from an engineering standpoint none of tho other bridges is to be compared 'with the newest span. The entire project was conceived more than ten years ago when railroad men turned their minds to the problem of speeding passenger trafllc through Now York city and of hastening freight through or around tho metropolis without Increasing tho congestion existing oven then. To help 'hem to a solution, they called to their aid tho beat engineering talent. The outcome of tho combined studies of the cxpqrts was a routo that -would allow passenger trafllo to and from New England to pass through tho l'cnnsylvanla terminal on Manhattan, using both the Hudson and tho East Itlver tubes, whllo freight trains -would traverso tho Borough of Queens and Hiooldyn to tho Hay Hldgo shore, where they would bo forrled across the bay to tho Greenville piers. The whole line was fairly plain sailing with the exception of one staggering obstacle, Hell Gate.

Tho character of that waterway of- Reviving the Handicrafts of Our Great-Grandmothers UST a little thing I picked up in America. Hand made, of courfe. Tho peasants In the Southern States mako them In their own homes," There's something about that statement that sounds wrong, In splto of ie fact that It Is very familiar. You've beard it often, only instead of America was Franco or Germany or Holland or lid.um or Spain. Amor.cuns have been picking up llt-tn tilings made by hand all over Eu-i lie fur tho last hundred years.

Some-t mcs in connection with tho foreign made work they can show a hand woven bedspread or a bright colored famplr-r made by Colonial ancestress, Mil ihee aro heirlooms. It Is often i.ioii for granted that nothing worth M'uie is made In America to-day by Im'O ln-ciuj'o people aro too busy, too t'-mmerrtai. sounds Inconsistent In Mfu- of tho fuct that Americana pay prices for tho handicraft of Eu- T'rn nits of our grr-nt-grandmotliors nm fr.i-Kuiton to a largo extent nnd whatever knowledge of handicraft 1m-rnii'rmts bring with them from Europe sunn lost In tho mechanical roar and t.uiry of American factories. A' leuhl this was true until a few iii-nil-) upi when tluco young pro-f" o.i I women appealed on the scene, riii- i ng business and bringing art i urn, or entering art and brlng-" iHiness with Ihnm. It Isn't qiilto wliu-ii for with flu-til art and '-eis nre ns oloxely allied rs they re w.nely sciuratod ns a rule.

fcre STEEL ARCH BRIDGES. Spnn. 1,017 feet 810 feet 721 feet 614 feet fered natural difficulties enough, and theso wcro augmented by the volume of traffic-threading that tortuous, turbulent route. It was Impossible to build false works which might interfere with shipping, and to bo prolltable It was necessary that the bridgo should be wide enough and strong enough to carry four tracks and to bear tho bur den of heavily laden trains. Here was an economic prerequisite that was enough to balk the best engineering cunning, and yet If tho project was to pay a bridge of that capacity had to bo provided.

CouM It bo done? There was nothing in the way of a precedent to answer tho question. Tho whole schemo hinged upon the building of this particular link, and that seemed to most peoplo quite Impracticable. Not so, however, to Gustav Lindenthal, the engineer. How well ho planned and how well tho workers wrought Is evidenced to-day. Mr.

Lindenthal has a modest way of speaking of this latest monument to Tils technical skill. "To an engineer one bridge differs from another only in magnitude," ho said, "much as ono egg is bigger than another egg. All such structures have basic principles thnt persist no matter What may bo their proportions. "Tho Hell Gate bridge is mainly different from other steel archeis because of Its length and Its exceptional weight. These features Imposed certain mechanical problems that had to bo met, and to do so successfully It was necessary to doviso special apparatus and facilities.

"To begin with there -were reasons why an arch should bo adopted Instead of a cantilever span, the ends of tho arch to be supported by flank-ills' towers of masonry and there hinged so that the half sections could bo brought together finally at the 'centre -with tho nicest sort of precision far above tho unobstructed river. To control tho growing -weight of tho Theso three women are Mrs. Rose Watson, who up to a year ago was expressing her art through tho medium of somo new Ideas of child culture In a school of her own; Miss Eleanor Flowers, who was on tho stage, and Miss Earncstine Evans, a Journalist. They have combined forces and havo started nn all-Americnn revival of handicrafts so long burled under modern machinery that no ono without the Ideals of theso three enthusiastic, artistic business women would ever have dreamed It possible that they could bo brought back to life. They have searched through the South and havo found women living in Isolated farmhouses who still remember tho nrt of hand made patchwork quilts and liund woven bedspreads.

Tucked away In tho attics of theso old farmhouses wero looms covered with dust and cobwebs, and somo of theso havo been brought down from their retirement and put back to use by women who aro taking Joy In work they had long given up ns having no pluco In modern life. Years ago thcrp whs factory cm the'rallsadca whern hand woven 4dlkH woro made, Tho three artistic business women searched until they found tho dlscurdcd hand looms; they bought them and set them working ugaln and manned them with old workmen whoso fingcru havo not forgotten tho skill taught by their masters In Franco and nclglum. Tho workmen aro nil old men, and It took long search to find them harnessed to soulless, automatic midlines in factories nil over America. Hut at last enough wcro found to begin, and theso old men will in turn take apprentices so that thi-lr art may ot die and the Flambeuu WcuvCrn ou 1 I outrcachlng half sections of the arch, 1 i hinged as they wcro at their base, it was necessary to have means by I whIMi thiMcn p.tlnnsi hn llftpd or lowered in order to bring them exactly together at the time of union. men were thoroughly proficient that were pome crltlcrt who persisted until "To this end four extremely power- i they were allowed on tho actual Job.

the, final utilon was mad in bcllev-ful Jacks, each with a lifting capacity "Some or tho other special facilities lug that something would fall and of 2,400 tons, were provided, and two were rqualty out of tho ordinary run, millions of dollars be sacrificed in of theso wero set on top of each of tho brldtro towers. At one tlmo during tho erection work these Jacks raised tho arch sections, representing thousands of tons apiece, matter of 21 Si inches. And finally when the union waa made with the central panel tho Joining arms were controlled so nicely in moving into placo that a watch could have been suspended with safety within the closing Jaws. "From start to finish tho building of tho bridgo was carried along without a single mechanical breakdown of any importance. The rivets used In tho span aro the biggest and longest ever employed, and their driving called for the use of the, largest of pneumatic hammers.

Theso tools tho Palisades may continue long after tho first workers have gone. Hero are woven silks of beautiful colors, dyed by hand with -Yegetnblo dyes, for curtains, draperies, scarfs or "I'arls" frocks, the "sort of thing you can't get In America," woven to last through generations nnd dyed with colors thnt nevpr fade. Tho Flambeau Weavers havo opened a gallery In this city for tho display not only of their own products but also of the work of every other American artist skilled In handicraft. Hero aro shown patchwork quilts and knitted bedspreads from Georgia and South Carolina, gorgeous blue and yellow drngonlly lustre pottery mado by a womun In New York, hand mado fur niture, the wood polished and stained until It looks llko brass, and dozens of other varieties of hand work resurrected from tho almost forgotten secrets of tho past or produced by tho original brain of somo modern artist who has novcr before had nn opportunity to bring his work befuro tho public. Tho Flambeuu gallery is designed ns a clearing house for hand made American art work.

Hero any artist whoso work shows merit can exhibit without charge and seek a market for tho products of his brain nnd hands among peoplo who havo real art appreciation regardless of whether tho worker comes from Sevres or I loboken. Hero ono can find hooked rug chair seats In curious designs, hand woven tapestries, braided mats of bright colors mado by tho blind workers at tho Lighthouse, Japanese batik work on silk for sofa pillows or hangings or even dress designs. There are plcturu frames of rosewood inlaid with Ivory THE SUN, SUNDAY, '8, re were, of course, difficult to handlo In the beginning, and It took somo time to train the riveters to control them nrmwrlv. Tlirv admired tho trick after whllo, and It was not until tho i and time and practice were necessary in order to make their management or manipulation accurate. Remember, whllo the heaviest sections of some other bridges are as, ponderous as the heaviest used on the Hell Gate span, no other bridgo in its entirety Is so massive; and all of tho great weights had to bo hoisted into place and secured with tho utmost precision.

"At the centre, tho top of tho arch Is 303 feet above mean low water, and the closing panel weighed 300 tons. Tho lifting machinery waa therefore of unusual capacity, and notwithstanding tho extraordinary loads every part was raised and moved Into position to nicety." ilr. Lliuhnthiil's brief explanation mado In Mexico and Mexican altar i cloths showing a weird combination of Indian legend and Hlblo history In their composition; hand mado laces and hand wrought Jewelry every kind of art, no matter what form of expression the artist chooses to use. "Wo bi-llovo that wo arcdolng a big work fur American art," explained Miss Flowers. "That thero Is a demand for this sort of thing Is shown by tho number of people who go abroad to get It, it Is a disgrace that America has gained the reputation of having nothing to offer to the world of art.

"As a matter of fact wo really have moro to offer than any other country in tho world, for wit population is made up of peoplo from vcry country In tho woild and tney nave iiroiigm their art or tho knowledge of their art with them. Tho only trouble Is that American at lists havo never been en couraged. "Weavers havo como to us irom other lands and havo found thnt their skill was of no valuo In a oountry where tho machine rules everything, so they wi-ul iul factories and their children havo grown up without kn of thu handicraft of thoir fathers, until now tho art of hand weaving 1h almost lost In Amerlcn. Wo had to search far uud wide before we found a few old men to put to work at our looms on tho Palisades. "It Is tho siinio with new arts.

Tho artist designs something original and sells a fow copies Just as novelty and thero tho matter ends. Neither tho world of art nor tho artist Is any tho richer for his labor. "Tho Flambeau weavers aro going to oIihiiku condition, "Wo urn making It possible for every artist to JANUARY 21, 1917, ft 'Ms. LEVELING UP ONE OF THE GREAT HYDRAULIC PLACED ON IAi TQW Of- ONE OF THE TOWERS quite falls to tell anything but a small i part of the story of this engineering accomplishment. ino- unucriaKing has been followed with lntei-Cia by the whole, engineering world, and there I disastrous crash.

They had In mind the collapse of the first Quebec bridge, and their fears wero sonjewhat Justified when tho second Quebec span gavo way as the central panel was being hoisted Into position. Tho secret of Mr. Llndenthal's success has laid In his capacity for infinite pains In preparation. No detail lias been too small to warrant his personal attention. No -wonder, then, that his plans, when exhibited at Leipzig two years ago, won, for him tho highest award and a gold medal.

To-day tho Hell Gato bridgo repre sents a sustained mass of 10,000 tons of steel alone. From pier to pier the arch spans nn intervnl of 1,017 feet This far exceeds the reach of any bring his work before the public. "We give him an nudlenco with tho world by exhibiting his work freo of chargo whero It can stand or fall on Its own merits. Of course If tho work does dell wo gel commission. "We aro not working altogether on tho prlnclplo of art for art's sake.

"Men have always considered art nnd business incompatible, but with tho entrance of women Into tho world of business a chnngo Is sure to come. Wo can put art Into business nnd business Into nrt without detracting from the merit of the ono or the profit of tho other. "dust now while tho rest of the world Is at war Is America's chanco to prove that she Is not all sordid commerce, that her enormous prosperity has brought her something better than a keener appctlto for moro gold and that worthy artists need not starvo and dlo unrecognized even In commercial America." It was a long speech, nnd tho enthusiasm with which Miss Flowers delivered It mado mo feel llko a 10,000 person audience. Mrs. Watson was so busy that she didn't havo tlmo to talk to me, but from time to tlmo she nodded appioval of the speech of her partner.

Dozens nf othor artists are associated with tho three artistic buslnrns women who form tho nucleus of tho Flambeau Weavers, nndjf enthusiasm, conscientious work and teal appreciation of art can usher In tho new c-ru in American art of which they dream It will bo a reality before many years have passed and thu United Htntes will bo famous In Europo ror something bcbUIes millionaires. THE Gustav Lindenthal ENGIN6EF? other bridgo or the some general design. Tho enormous weight Is supported by two great masslvo towers of granite 250 feet high, and tho ends of tho bridgo rest upon four ponderous shoes of cast steel, each weighing 500,000 pounds, the largest castings ever made. It Is nt these four points that tho arch Is hinged. The purpose of the hinges was to permit tho bridgo to be built temporarily on the cantilever prlnclplo and to allow ultimately for the levelling of tho two sections of tho arch as they approached each other and finally came near enough together to bo Joined.

To dcM-rlbo tho process of construe Hon popularly, It may bo likened to a standing upon a narrow ledgo while leaning out over space with one arm extended backward and gripping tho limb of a treo. Tho feot would represent the hinged shoes of tho arch sections and tho arm the temporary backstay at each tower which kept each growing hnlf of tho arch from falling Into tho swirling waters of Hell Gate. With tho outstretched halves of tho arch once joined, tho backstays, mado for tho time being of girders later to bo used as track supports In the ap proaches, were no longer needed, nnd Instantly tho solidity of the structure depended alono upon Its own tre mondous dead weight and tho firmness of the footings provided by the sustnln Ing towers of granite, Tho union nlso meant a period of structural readjust ment, during which tho arch, previ ously kept aloft by tho tension of tho backstays, became rigid by virtue of tho compressive pull of Its ponderous fabric of steel. In short, its capacity to onduro Is tho product of Its own crushing weight. It was nocessary, therefore, for tho engineers to provide measure of llexiblllty which would admit of this cettlltig Into place when tho arch be came self-supporting nnd stood upon Its own feet In straddling the Enst River.

Likewise, the engineers had to mako certain that there would bo a gencrour, margin of atrength that would guard against collnpsc dining tho long months of construction, when, imnel by pnnel, each half of tho arch roHo higher nad reached further out over Hell Gate, Tho better to understnnd how well this woik bus been enrried to completion it should bo borne In mlud that each half of tho arch weighed tons Just brforn they wero united by tho Insertion of tho central panel, a mars of 300 ton of steel. Theso out-stretiiiod arms were broqglit Into position nnd Joined on October 1, 1915, and mi pitclsely had every part bicn buill and set In place that measurements GATE'S TIDES FINISHED BRIDGE OVER HELL GATE Gustav lindenthal and the men that helped in the bulloing op the Link in Transportation Chain That Will Help Lessen Freight Congestion in New York taken across tho gap before the central panel was linked up showed agreement within live-sixteenths of an Inch with tho lengths previously calculated. Hero -was tho climax of two years of abstruse computation and many I months of building together of 000 pounds of steel. The layman will more fufiy grasp this engineering niar- vel when ho bears In mind that the. bridgo npd its temporary cantilever structure utilized thousands and thou- sands of pieces of steel of varying lengths and thicknesses, and only by fitting these together with the greatest nicety -was it possible to obtain this de-grco of accord.

Further, there was tho question of expansion nnd contraction not only as the general temperature changed but as the heat of tho sum mer sun affected unequally different parts of the growing arch and the backstays. Mr. Lindenthal foresaw all these dif ficulties and anticipated them by providing tho four enormous hydraulic Jacks already mentioned. Theso Jacks, especially built for the work, made It possible to take care of any temporary sagging In the half sections of the arch held aloft by the tension of tho cantilever backstays. They wero able to raise tho saddles of the cantilevers where they passed over tho tops of the towers.

In this way the cantilevers were raised fifteen inches above their final positions, lifting nt the same time tho unjoined Hps of tho arch flections, though of course not to tho samo extent. Finally by lowering tho four Jacks tho two cantilevers wero brought together, the loads on tho backstays wero released and tho arch so Joined became a self-supporting structure. Again, ns further proof of the astonishing nccuracy of tho engineers, the final lowering of tho arch halves was "within ono-thlrty-second of an Inch of the distance previously estimated. Since October 1, 1D13, the trackway suspended from tho arch has been built, and to-day tho bridge Is ready to bear the live loan of twelve ton per linear foot, whllo sustaining IJ-nnnr spanning tho East River, twenty-six tons of structure per linear Tll r'mlc "ell Gato bridge has a total foot. For the sake of popular com- I 'encth of 1,151 feet, nnd Is composed parison this live load might be likened of inverted bowstring truss span, to the weight of forty-live of tho lo 1,10 uninitiated theso trusses viewed biggest and lupavlest of modern loco- fmm are slim looking fab-motlves In motion, rlcatlons and yet they are really mas- Trafllc experts estimate that some- 1 Mvo- because they aro mado up of thing llko forty fast through passen- hnked eye bars sixteen inches wldn ger trains will traverse the Hell Gato "0IC than two inches In thickness, route daily, and travellers from Not 'dy that, but th0 Juncture of ton bound to tho West and South may contiguous sections is effected by make their Journeys without transfer means of pins sixteen Inches in dla-when reaching Manhattan.

Apart Ulpter. from tho matter of convenience Tho third bridgo In thu system is great deal of tlmo will be saved, that over tho Hronx Kill. As this Whero freight Is concerned, the lino Waterway will bp dredged In time so when- finished at Hay Ridge will mean as to permit mulgatlon by lingo ves-a saving of six hours for goods bound sels, it was necessary to provldo lift beyond Now York city. bridge. It Is of the bascule type and Preliminary to actual erection, every consists of two spans each feet big mcmher or the" Hell Gato arch was lung.

Jn sinking the foundations for assembled at the steel works. Section tho pleis of this structure uncertain by section panels and tho llko wcto ground was struck, and the engineers pluced In position horizontally, ami finally had to go down well over a then, and only then, tho rivet holes hundred feet before reaching solid wcro drilled in order to lnsuro nccu- rock. racy and to make it certain that the w)lIo lcl, various units could be fi led together and sectircd without a 1. tch. Through these holes rivets an Inch lt and a quarter diameter were isiibse- quenuy cirivcn, am.

many in moso wero eloven Inches long. Tlicso rivets aro on eighth of nn Inch In diameter WCt! construction of the present unfinished Quebec bridge. An eighth of an Inch may not seem much of a difference, hut to tho engineer It means a very r.it.tii nf I. 7 Liiiii-iuvHiuij i.i.r. iui i.iv rlvcters.

All this may souni! like fairly tusy sailing, and so It was, reluthely speaking, thanks to tho foresight uii the part of Mr. Llndentl il and Ills ii-mi-elates, but nature InterpuM-d a serious problem when It came to building tho foundation fur ono nf the great supporting lowers, fur It iieccssury to get down to solid mi to be sure of a firm footing, No trouble was i- neiienced In I' case of the east tower nn the Long Island side nf Hell (late gone on with tho precision nf the builders had only to exca- "ml enormous as the task has iilo an opui mi 20 fiet fliep In thw '-t reaching Its completion rock that lay neat- the aurfucc, within acucdule lime, J--. mm Over on the "Ward's Inland shore, however, tho engineers discovered after reaching tho underlying ledgo that tho rock was crossed by a great diagonal fissure. This necessitated tho sinking of twenty-ono pneumatic. concreto calssotiw, the deepest of them going down 120 feet below the ground surface.

This task alone took seven months of continuous and laborious work, and although tho "svnd hogs" toiled under a very heavy air pressure thero was not a elnglo fatal enso nf caisson disease because of the skilful supervision and the prompt recourse to tho hospital lock whenever any of tho inert showed symptoms of "bendij." On the western 'approach tho New York Connecting Railway runs from tho tracks tho Now York New Haven and Hartford line at 142d street and swings to tho south and east, passing over tho Rronx Kill, Randall's Mnnd and Little Hell Gate, and thenco upon a steadily rising viaduct Joins the Hell Gato arch on Ward's Island. At that point tho tracks reach an elevation of 135 feet. Crossing Hell Gate, the railroad continues Its way still upon a towering viaduct a half mile long and 135 feet high, and then gradually descends to gindo after swinging around to the Houth and west In order to arrive at tho Sunnysldo yard of tho Pennsylvania Railroad, Long Island City. At that point tho tracks run directly Into tho East River tubes of tho system. Tho trains will all bo drawn by electric locomotives and every part of tho line, Including tho stretch over Hell Gate, is stone ballasted In order to glvo rigidity to tho roadbed nnd to reduce noino.

At fairly frequent Intervals along the routo thero aro exits by which passengers can reach the ground In caso of accident or during a -prolonged haltlwg of traffic. Ordlnnrlly tho bridge over Little Hell Gate would bo considered an engineering feature well worthy of detailed description, but in tho present instance it is overshadowed by Its (., (IV HMJ III riveting of tho central Joint the arch l' a two hmged hls change It was necessary to wait fur certain conditions of the weather and tho temperature, so sensltlvo wan 11 that gigantic mass of steel to tho In- of Nt and cohl With cundl- tlims right, a sliding connection at tho top of tho arch WcW changed Into ilveted Joint, and with tlut done the stillness of the urch was considerably augmented ami made just so much more capable of withstanding tho stresses of moving traiulnads. The work of building this luaninnith arch' began rally In tin- actual pit juration nf the steel work having liion stinted months befoie at tho null. Hln-'e then the eieclion has.