The description just given of the gallery girders will apply to all the
cast-iron girders throughout the building, of which there are 2,150; the
only difference between them being, that those for the roofs or other
internal portions, where no gallery is to be supported, are cast with a
less amount of metal. The form of girder just described, which is unusual,
was the result of several experiments performed under the superintendence
of Messrs. W. Cubitt, C. H. Wild, C. Fox, and other gentlemen, previous to
the commencement of the building; and the thickness of metal for the
different parts of these, as well as for all the other cast-iron work in
the building, was minutely calculated and determined by Mr. C. H. Wild and
Mr. C. Fox, under the supervision of Mr. Cubitt, the President of the
Institution of Civil Engineers, to whom the Royal Commission had intrusted
the responsible duty of the chief superintendence of the whole of the work.
[Illustration: View of Interior from the Level of Galleries.]
The Galleries.
To proceed to the gallery itself, supported by the girders just described.
The timbers supporting the floor are so arranged that the weight of each
bay of twenty-four feet square is distributed equally to the four girders
inclosing it, and in such a manner as to bear upon them at the points
immediately over the vertical standards.
In the transverse direction of the building two pairs of joists, eight feet
apart in each bay, are formed into trusses by tie-rods, 1-3/8 inches
diameter, passed through a cast-iron shoe at each end, and pressing up two
"struts," which are made to bear against the under-side of binding-timbers
running longitudinally, or crossing the joists, and immediately under them.
The cast-iron shoes for the trusses are bolted down to the girders, and
serve at the same time to receive the standard supports of the gallery
railing. The ends of the binding-timbers are secured by bolts and oak
suspension-pieces to the other two girders inclosing the square. Joists
about two feet six inches apart bear from girder to girder parallel to the
trusses, and resting on the binding-timbers. On these is laid the floor, 1¼
inches thick, grooved and iron-tongued. A light cast-iron railing, forming
a kind of trellis-work, is fixed between the columns, and is capped with a
round mahogany hand-rail. From the view at page 60 the arrangement of the
galleries will be readily understood.
Testing the Cast-iron Girders.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account