Tappan Wentworth

“ The legislature shall immediately after the passage of this act, elect two directors of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, to hold their office for one year, or until others are elected by the legislature; and any city, town or corporation that may subscribe not less than one hundred thousand dollars, shall have the right to elect annually one director; and any city that may subscribe not less than five hundred thousand dollars, shall have the right to elect annually by their council two directors in said company, which election may be held at any time after such subscription is made. ”

“ In this anticipation, ten vertical drilling machines were constructed to work in the shaft area and a compressor with two cylinders was provided to furnish the power for operating them. The want of drilling machines at the East End became so urgent, that these vertical ones were changed to horizontals, and used at that point, and the sinking of the shaft by hand-drilling still continues. But if the experiments now in progress at the East End with the new drilling machine shall demonstrate its superiority over [21] hand labor, the machine will doubtless be introduced into the shaft. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ Under the second contract with Serrell, Haupt & Co., the directors voted to substitute bonds for stock in payment of the work until 2,000 feet of the tunnel was completed, and to pay the discounts and losses to which the contractors might be required to submit, not exceeding fifteen per cent. per annum; and also, to issue to the contractors bonds to the amount of $100,000 in addition to payments. Said bonds were to be sold or pledged by Haupt & Co., to enable them to raise means to carry on their operations under the contract. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 blacksmith shop, near the entrance of the tunnel, contains three forges. The hand-drills are made, and, together with the machine drills, sharpened at this shop. The ordinary repairs of the drilling machines are done in the machine shop. New parts of the same are furnished from Fitchburg.
The heading in the tunnel at this end when driven by hand was about 15 feet wide by 6 feet high. When driven by the machines it is 16 feet wide and 8 feet high. Its location is in the centre of the tunnel, 41/2 feet above subgrade, and 11/2 feet above the road bed. ”

“ 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 ”

“ On the fifth day of May it had reached the depth of 300.5 feet. At this time the hoisting apparatus was removed from the shaft, and the work of excavation ceased. The new hoisting apparatus was fitted on the first day of August, and the drilling commenced at midnight on that day.
Previous to the change in the hoisting apparatus, the monthly progress had averaged about 181/2 feet per month. The advance in October and November was 46 feet; the gain over the previous rate of progress is attributable to the practice of simultaneous blasting. ”

“ The tunnel enters the eastern side of the Hoosac Mountain, in the town of Florida, a few rods from the right bank of the Deerfield River. The eastern summit of the mountain is 2,210 feet above tide-water, 1,499 feet above the Deerfield River, 1,429 feet above the grade of the railroad, and is distant from the East Portal of the tunnel 6,100 feet. The western summit is 2,510 feet above tide-water 1,788 feet above the Hoosac River, 1,718 feet above the grade of the railroad, and 6,700 feet distant from the West Portal. Each portal of the tunnel is 766 feet above tide-water. ”

“ The Committee are also of opinion that a due regard to economy in conducting the enterprise requires that the commissioners should at once, by experiment, ascertain the probable time required to excavate the enlargement of the tunnel, and that the work upon the enlargement be regulated and pursued with a view of avoiding any unnecessary delay in operating the road after the heading is removed. ”

“ They were given in pursuance of laws passed by the legislature, and for security of the payments received by the contractors for their services. The right of the Commonwealth to take possession of the railroad under the mortgages, must have been well understood. Further, the corporation, in surrendering the road to the State, did no injury to the contractors, for the act of surrender did not take place until after the contractors had suspended work upon both road and tunnel, and practically abandoned the enterprise ”

“ 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 diameter of the piston-rod is at the large end, 3 inches, at the small end, 275/100 inches.
So the number of inches of air area, is 820/800 when the drill is propelled upon the rock, and 77/100 when 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. ”

“ If the treasurer of the Commonwealth shall decide not to buy, as aforesaid, then the treasurer of the company, within three months after the receipt of any of said scrip, shall pay to the commissioners of the sinking fund, ten per cent. on the amount of the scrip so received, as a sinking fund. [82] After the whole of said road is open for use, twenty-five thousand dollars annually, shall be set apart from the income of said road, and paid to said commissioners ”

“ 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 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 materials furnished for the construction of the work are charged in their distribution to twenty-three accounts, as will be seen by the tabular statement of its cost. Requisitions for materials are signed by the immediate overseer, captain or foreman; they are handed to the superintendent for approval, and by him forwarded to the engineer. If the requisition is approved by both, the materials are ordered, and when furnished the applicant signs upon a duplicate his receipt for the same. ”

“ 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 port [34] when the piston moves back, and shuts it when it moves forward; the air is always on during its backward stroke. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The dimensions of the tunnel areas follows: The rock cutting is 24 feet high and 24 feet wide. The brick-work is 26 feet high and 26 feet wide. The bottom of the tunnel will contain a culvert three feet deep at the centre. Through this culvert the water from the tunnel is to be discharged. It now receives, in addition to the water accumulating in the tunnel, a 12-inch pipe, to carry air at a low pressure for ventilation; an 8-inch pipe to carry air for driving the drilling machines ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”