Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. LXVIII, Sept. 1910: The Bergen Hill Tunnels. Paper No. 1154Lavis, F.
History
Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. LXVIII, Sept. 1910: The Bergen Hill Tunnels. Paper No. 1154
Lavis, F.
Civil engineering -- Periodicals; Railroad tunnels -- Design and construction
Up to the time the trap rock was reached, about 1,100 ft. from the
shaft, the excavated material was disposed of by loading it on flat
cars. All the trap, however, was stored to be used later for concrete
and ballast.
When the tunnels were in full working order, sixty muck cars of the type
shown by Fig. 5, were in use, about evenly divided between the two
tunnels. For some time the work was greatly hampered by lack of cars,
and even with the sixty finally obtained, there were many times when
extra cars could have been used to advantage to keep the shovel working.
When mucking by hand, the mucking gangs consisted of from 15 to 20 men.
The maximum output was 50 cu. yd., and averaged about 35 cu. yd. per
shift; there was a great deal of trouble in keeping the gangs full, as
labor at that time was very scarce, and the tunnels were quite wet. The
maximum output of either of the shovels was 159 cu. yd. in one shift,
and the best average in any month--which was between July and December,
1907, during which time only the enlargement and bench of the Central
Shaft headings was being taken out from the western end--was 60 cu. yd.
per shift. As the shovels were generally idle for one shift out of
three, the quantity actually handled averaged 90 cu. yd. per shift
during the shifts the shovel worked. All these quantities were “measured
in place,” and, as previously noted, would be about equal to twice as
much measured loose in the cars.
The shovels at both ends were usually worked with three crews for the
two tunnels; two day crews, one at each shovel, and a night crew which
was used in either tunnel as occasion required. The day crews generally
averaged from 45 to 60 hours overtime during the month, one of them
working during the early part of the evenings in the opposite tunnel to
the night crew. For a short time, when the ventilation at the western
end was very bad, four crews were worked, day and night crews in each
tunnel; but, as a general rule, the method of working three crews was
preferred by the men, and was less expensive for the contractor.
At the Hackensack end, 4-yd., Allison, one-way, dump cars were used,
being handled by “dinky” locomotives, of which there were three in use
up to October, 1907, and four after that. One 15-ton Porter engine, with
10 by 16-in. cylinders, was used outside the tunnels for handling the
trains (from 6 to 8 cars) on the dumps and to the crusher; the other
three, 12-ton Vulcans, 9 by 14-in., were used in the tunnels. About 30
dump cars were in use, and of these there were generally from 3 to 6
under repair.
Generally, 4 cars were hauled out together, although 5 and occasionally
6 were handled. The work was generally arranged so that the heavy
mucking shift alternated in the two tunnels, the two engines being
worked there and a single engine in the other tunnel.
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