George C. Clarke

“ The bottoms of the guide-planks were cut off just above the concrete as it progressed, and, as soon as the wall had reached a strut at one end of the section, that strut was removed, the form was built up to the next strut, at front and back, and braced to the sheeting, so that, by the time the entire length of the section had been carried up to the level of the first line of struts, forms were ready at one end for the succeeding layers. The layers of concrete never exceeded 8 in. ”

“ In order that the contractors for the excavation should be unhampered as to method of loading, the contracts provided that they should pay for all damage done to the scows in loading, other than ordinary and usual wear and tear, all other damage being at the expense of the contractor for the disposal. A rigid system of inspection was necessary to determine and record properly the damage for which each contractor was responsible ”

“ The distance of 12 ft. below the surface was the depth of the inverts of the sewers, which undoubtedly drained the ground above them, thus accounting for the standing of the ground-water in planes practically parallel with the surface.
Third.—Weight of buildings back of wall neglected, as that of the present type will about equal the cellars filled with material at 100 lb. per cu. ft., and if large buildings are erected in the future they will undoubtedly be carried to rock. ”

“ The excavation was started by hand, but three 70-ton Bucyrus steam shovels were put to work as soon as they could be delivered, the first on July 25th and the third on September 12th. The excavated material was loaded by the shovels on end-dump wagons, each having a capacity of 2 cu. yd., and was conveyed in them to the dumping board at 35th Street. The average number of teams was 135, 10% being snatch teams to pull the wagons out of the pit and to assist them up the runway at the dumping board. ”

“ The north area has a width of about 170 341 ft. and the south one, 160 ft., at the house line, each area tapering gradually to the width of the standard three-track tunnel at the east ends, noted above in 33d and 32d Streets. Additional track room for four tail-tracks is gained by the construction of two double-track tunnels under Ninth Avenue at 33d Street, their center lines being parallel to the street and 45.5 and 84.5 ft. ”

“ The building of monolithic sections in trenches required that the thrust from one set of struts be taken by the concrete before the set above could be removed, and necessarily caused slow progress, the rate at which concrete was deposited being just sufficient to prevent one layer from setting before the next layer above could be placed. ”

“ The south side of the upper deck of the pier carried three sets of nine hoppers, each set covering 90 ft., a little less than the full length between bulkheads of the largest deck scows, with 70 ft. clear between sets, to allow for the length of a scow outside of the bulkhead and to permit the free movement of boats. Each hopper occupied the full space between two bents, and, as the caps were topped by strips of timber of triangular section, with a width of 12 in. on the base and a height of 6 in., protected by a 6 by 6-in. steel angle, each set of hoppers presented 90 lin. ”

“ The equipment of the machine shop was increased by one 18-ton trip-hammer operated by air and one bolt-cutting machine, size 1 in. to 11⁄2 in. The carpenter shop remained the same except that the electric motor was replaced by a 25-h.p. single-cylinder air motor; there was added to the repair shop a drill shop containing: Four forges with compressed air blowers, four anvils, two Ajax 20-ft. drill sharpeners, and one oil blower forge. ”

“ The cars were taken to the dump and returned by 25-ton, standard-gauge, engines which had previously done service on the Manhattan Elevated Railroad, but were spotted for loading by the engine on the dredge. ”

“ Four of these were on upper decks, two on the north and two on the south edge of the pier, at an elevation of 41 ft. above mean high tide, to carry earth and small rock to chutes from which it was dumped into barges. The other two tracks proceeded by a 5.3% grade down the center of the pier to the lower deck where, at a distance of 540 ft. from the bulkhead, and beyond the upper deck construction, they diverged into six, two on the north and two on the south edge of the pier for standing tracks to serve derricks, and two down the center for shifting purposes. ”

“ Three stiff-leg derricks, similar to those used on the retaining wall work.
Three Bucyrus, 70-ton steam shovels with 31⁄2-cu. yd. dippers.
One traveling derrick, built with an A-frame of 12 by 12-in. timbers, 15-ft. mast, and 25-ft. boom; the traveler carried an engine and boiler similar to those used on the stiff-leg derricks, and was used on the Seventh and Eighth Avenue sewers, as well as in the pit.
Ten Rand-Ingersoll rock drills, Nos. 1, 31⁄4, and 4.
One Reliance stone crusher (nominal capacity 17 tons of crushed stone per hour) belt-driven by 50-h.p. engine. ”

“ The pit-excavating plant included that listed for the first period and, in addition, the following:
One Vulcan, 30-ton, steam shovel, with 1-cu. yd. dipper and a vertical boiler.
One Ohio, 30-ton, steam shovel, with 1-cu. yd. dipper and a vertical boiler.
Four guy derricks (50 to 80-ft. masts and 45 to 60-ft. booms) , operated by Lambert 7 by 10-in. engines, with two drums and swinging gear, mounted with 25-h.p. vertical boilers, but driven by compressed air. ”

“ It will be noted that, except in three cases, Borings 313, 328, and 333, the two profiles correspond very closely at the points where the borings were made, but they differ widely between those points, a variation of 5 ft. being common; there is a variation of 14 ft. ”