The power-plant was situated at the west portal of the tunnel, and the
power was transmitted by electricity and compressed air to the middle
shaft and east portal workings. The plant consisted of eight 100 H. P.
boilers, furnishing steam to four Rand duplex 18 × 22 in. air
compressors, and an engine running a 30 arc light dynamo. The compressed
air was carried over the ridge by pipes, varying from 10 ins. to 5 ins.
in diameter, to the shaft and to the east portal, and was used for
operating the hoisting engines as well as the drills at these workings.
Inside the tunnel, specially designed derrick cars were employed to
handle large stones, they being also operated by compressed air. This
car ran on a center track, while the mucking cars ran on side tracks,
and it was employed to lift the bodies of the cars from the trucks,
place them close to the front, being worked where large stone could be
rolled into them, and return them to the trucks for removal. In addition
to handling the car bodies the derrick was used to lift heavy stones.
The hauling was done first by horse-power, and later by dummy
locomotives.
_Croton Aqueduct Tunnel._--In the construction of the Croton Aqueduct
for the water supply of New York City, a tunnel 31 miles long was built,
running from the Croton Dam to the Gate House at 135th St. in New York
City. The section of the tunnel varies in form, but is generally either
a circular or a horseshoe section. In all cases the section was designed
to have a capacity for the flow of water equal to a cylinder 14 ft. in
diameter. To drive the tunnel, 40 shafts were employed. The material
penetrated was of almost every character, from quicksand to granitic
rock, but the bulk of the work was in rock of some character. The
excavation in rock was conducted by the wide heading and bench method,
employing the center-cut method of blasting. Four air drills, mounted on
two double-arm columns were employed in the heading. The drills for the
bench work were mounted on tripods. Steam-power was used exclusively for
operating the compressors, hoisting engines, ventilating fans and pumps;
but the size and kind of boilers used, as well as the kind and capacity
of the machines which they operated, varied greatly, since a separate
power-plant was employed for each shaft with a few exceptions. A
description of the plant at one of the shafts will give an indication of
the size and character of those at the other shafts, and for this
purpose the plant at shaft 10 has been selected.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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