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. This
purchase 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. As the arch is
driven in, the top of the invert is 4-1/2 feet 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.