[Transcriber's Note:
This chart was originally presented as an illustration, Figure 10.
It is shown here rotated from horizontal to vertical for readability.
As in the original, only a partial board is shown; the number of Scows
was at least 8.]
+---------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------/
| Scows. | H.S. | H.S. | H.S. | H.S. | H.S. | H.S. /
| | No. 1 | No. 2 | No. 3 | No. 4 | No. 5 | No. 6 /
+---------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------/
| Loading Points | | | | | | /
+--+------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------/
| | Pier No. 72 | | | | | | /
| +------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------/
| | Thirty-third | | | | | | /
| | Street East R. | | | | | | /
| +------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------/
| | Thirty-fifth | | | | | | /
| | Street East R. | | | | | | /
| +------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------/
| | Long Island City | | | | | | /
+--+------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------/
| Unloading Points | | | | | | /
+--+------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------/
| | Greenville. | | | | | | /
| +------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------/
| | Hackensack. | | | | | | /
| +------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------/
| | Passaic. | | | | | | /
| +------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------/
| | Governors Island.| | | | | | /
+--+------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------/
| Stake Boat. | | | | | | /
+---------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------/
| Dry Dock. | | | | | | /
+---------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------/
| | /
| Extra Pins. | Empty. White Pins not in use placed here. /
| | /
+---------------------+-----------------------------------------------/
The scows were all taken from the general service about the harbor; some
of them were practically new, while others had seen much service. They
were of two general types, truss-framed or bulkhead-framed; all were
flat-bottomed, with a rake of about 45° at bow and stern. The
truss-framed scows were built with a cross-truss every 10 to 15 ft., on
which rested, fore and aft, two classes of beams, main and intermediate.
The main beams were built of timbers ranging from 10 by 10 in. to 14 by
14 in., were scarfed at the joints, and trussed with the bottom logs.
The intermediate beams were of timbers varying from 6 by 6 in. to 10 by
12 in., had butt joints, and were dapped at the cross-trusses to give a
convex surface to the deck, which was built of 3-in. and 4-in. plank,
from 8 to 12 in. in width, running athwartship. The sides of the scows
of this class were spiked and bolted to trusses similar to those running
under the main beams. The bulkheaded boats had both sides and two
longitudinal bulkheads placed so as to divide the scow into three
sections of equal width, built of 8 by 8-in. or 10 by 10-in. timbers,
laid one upon the other, and bolted through from top to bottom. The
beams on these boats ran athwartship, rested on sides and bulkheads, and
ranged from 6 by 10-in. to 10 by 12-in., spaced 2 ft. apart, and dressed
to give a convex surface to the deck, which was usually 3 in., in some
cases 4 in., in thickness, and made up of narrow plank from 4 to 6 in.
in width.
[Illustration:
Fig. 11.
DIAGRAM OF DECK SHOWING BAYS]
These boats had all been designed for lighter work than they were here
required to perform, and a large amount of breakage occurred from the
start. 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; and, as much of the breakage could not be
noticed from the exterior, a thorough examination of the interior of
each scow was made before and after every loading. In order to keep
proper records, the bays of each scow, formed by the cross-trusses, were
numbered, beginning aft with number 1 and going forward to the bow, and
the longitudinal bays formed by the main beams were lettered, beginning
with "_A_" on the port side. A beam broken in "1-_A_," therefore, would
be an intermediate beam in the stern port corner bay, and a beam broken
in "10-_A-B_" would be a main beam at the bow end on the port side. The
underside of each plank was marked with a number beginning with 1 at the
stern and increasing by unity to the bow. Fig. 11 is a diagram of a scow
in accordance with this system. In addition to recording the date,
location, extent, and party responsible for each damage, in a book kept
for that purpose, the injured member was marked with paint, the color of
which indicated the party responsible. The repairs were made by the
contractor for the disposal of material, and the cost was assessed
according to the marking in the boat.
The careful inspection of the damage done to scows and the cost of their
repairs enables a fairly accurate statement to be made of the amount at
different points, and it is here given on the basis of cost of repairs
per cubic yard, barge measurement, of material handled.
Cost, in cents
per cubic yard.
Repairs of damage done in loading material
from the terminal site 2.00
Repairs of damage done in loading material
from cross-town tunnels 1.32
Repairs of damage done in loading material
from under-river tunnels 1.77
Repairs of damage done in transporting and
unloading material from all points 1.81
The above figures do not include the expense due to scows which were
overturned or sunk while in the service, which amounted to 0.4 cent per
cubic yard, additional.
_Ninth Avenue Tunnels._--The two double-track tunnels under Ninth
Avenue, constructed to obtain 100 ft. of additional tail room on each
of four tracks, required an excavation 76 ft. wide, Fig. 12. The rock,
although fair, was not firm enough for so great a span, and, to obviate
the necessity of timbering, the center wall was built before excavating
for the full width. The dip of the rock at this point is almost 90°, and
to prevent blowing away the entire face in excavating for the tunnel,
the pit excavation was not carried west to the final face below the
springing line, a 10-ft. bench being left at that elevation. A top
heading 9 ft. high and 10 ft. wide was started above that bench and,
after penetrating about 10 ft., was widened to 20 ft. A cross-heading
was driven in each direction at the west end of the first heading; the
bench was then shot down, and the first 10 ft. of the longitudinal
heading was widened sufficiently to receive the center wall, Fig. 12.
After the middle wall had been concreted, any voids between its top
and the rock were grouted through pipes left for that purpose; the wall
was then protected by curtains of heavy round timber securely wired
together, and the remainder of the excavation was made by widening
the cross-headings toward the face. The muck was carried out by two
cableways, one on each side of the completed middle wall, each of which
was supported by a tower outside of the tunnel and a large hook-bolt
grouted into the rock at the inner end of the tunnel. Forms were built
for each tunnel complete, and the concrete was delivered by a belt
conveyor, running over the top of the lagging, and moved out as the
tunnel was keyed.
[Illustration:
Fig. 12.
TERMINAL STATION SKETCH SHOWING TWO TRACK TUNNELS
AT NINTH AVENUE AND THIRTY-THIRD STREET]