Results for ‘General News’
[Welland Tribune, 23 April 1897]
SPANNING the noisy torrent of Niagara’s famous gorge, there are now three distinct types of bridges- suspension, cantilever and arch. Of the three the arch bridge now in course of erection is, perhaps, the most interesting, because it is a radical change from the ordinary methods of modern bridge-building. The imagination must supply the bold ingenuity of the designers and the fearlessness of the workmen who have been engaged in bolting the hug structure together, For each side of the arch was only held from plunging into the river by a unique anchorage system. Had one of these anchors by accident given way the disaster would have meant great loss of life-for no man could hope to come out of those rapids alive-and serious money loss to the contractors.
The new bridge is being built to replace the old railway suspension bridge at Suspension Bridge, the first structure ever thrown across the Niagara gorge, and is designed to accommodate the immense traffic, constantly increasing, between the West and the East. As R.S. Buck, the engineer in charge says, “This point is the neck of the bottle. It chokes back the immense quantities of freight to the injury of consignor and consignee, and we propose to relieve the situation by building a double track structure of greater carrying capacity, which will be sufficient to care for the needs of traffic for many years, if not for all time to come.”
The old suspension bridge carried but one railway track, with a passage for carriages and pedestrians underneath. The new structure will carry double tracks on its upper deck and a road below for carriages, street railway and pedestrians. The old bridge, built by John A. Roebling in 1854-6, was originally designed with a maximum carrying capacity of 200 tons. The builders then were of the impression that the requirements would never be greater than that. But a very few short years showed them that they had greatly miscalculated the attractions of quick transportation between the west and east and in the 70s’ Engineer L.L. Buck was employed to reinforce the anchorages of the bridge and put in a stiffening truss so as to increase the sustaining strength of the structure to 350 tons, or nearly double its former requirements. Trains and engines, however, continued to increase in weight and these extra provisions were soon exhausted. It was conceded years ago that a new bridge was a necessity but the great cost of a new structure delayed its construction. Work finally began in April 1896, and has continued uninterruptedly until the present time. It is believed that the finishing touches will have been added to the bridge long before the heavy autumn traffic begins. Built to maximum requirement of 4,000 tons, more than ten times the capacity of the bridge which is being replaced, it ought to relieve all congestion.
The new bridge is being built around the old structure without any interruption to railway traffic. The grades of the upper and lower floors will not be materially changed. This will facilitate the removal of the old structure as soon as the contractors are ready to lay the tracks on the upper deck of the new bridge. The old bridge will be removed by sections and the new tracks are laid and the engineers are confident of being able to substitute the one for the other, with very slight interruption to traffic. It is one of the engineering feats of the century, and interest will not decline as long as work upon it continues.
The arch rests on massive masonry abutments built against the solid rock. A great steel shoe rests against the abutments and from its arms extend the first sections or panels of the arch. These panels are 34 feet long and four feet thick and the main ribs weigh about 32 tons. The two arms of the arch were built out like cantilevers until they met in the centre of the span, being held back on both sides by in ingenious system of anchors. These anchors are imbedded 20 feet below the surface of solid rock. In shape they resemble an inverted T and ten times the weight of the arms of the arch would not pull them out of their rocky bed. The anchors are connected to one end of an immense diamond-shaped adjusting link, from the other end of which the anchorage connection is attached to the arch, holding it firmly in place. The intermediate joints of the diamond are connected by a huge screw which widens or narrows it at will and correspondingly contracts or relaxes the supporting chain. Certain control is thus gained over the arms, which is necessary when the last panels are put in place as the practical keystone of this arch. As soon as the final sections are in position the usefulness of the anchors is gone. The sidewalk brackets of the permanent structure are used to carry out the material used for erection. At the end of the tramway the heavy panels were carried by these great travelling derricks and deposited in position with remarkable precision. The connecting panels were put in their places on Sunday, March 28th last, but there is much yet to be done before the bridge is ready for trains.
An evidence of the contractors’ confidence in the stability of the new structure is given in their plans for the removal of the old bridge, which will be taken off the supporting cables section by section and permitted to rest its weight on the new arch, trains running over the whole at the same time. As a whole the construction of this new bridge is a marvelous piece of engineering and ranks with other work of Chief-Engineer L.L. Buck, whose reconstruction of the old bridge in former years without disturbing the railway time tables stamped him as a man of high standing in his profession.
The old bridge was 18 1/2 feet wide. The new bridge is 47 ½ feet wide in the lower floor. The roadway on the lower floor will be 25 ½ feet wide with a single trolley track in the centre, and there will be walks on each side eleven feet in width. The arch span from pier to pier is 550 feet. The rise of the arch is 114 feet and the distance from the water to the top floor of the new structure will be about 240 feet. End spans 115 feet long connect with the top of the bluff and there are plate-girder approaches at each end 145 feet long, making a total length of new bridge of 1.070 feet. Seven million pounds of steel have been used in the building of this wonderful arch and it will cost the Niagara Railway Suspension Bridge company a round $500,000.
This company is an amalgamation of two companies, one composed entirely of Canadians and the other wholly of Americans. The Canadian board is composed of Thos. R. Merritt, St. Catharines, Ont., president; William Hamilton Merritt, Toronto; John L. Rannie, Toronto; Charles Riordon, Merritton; Judge E.J. Senkler, St. Catharines; J.G. Riordon and D.R. Wilkie of Toronto..
The American board is composed as follows: George L. Burrows, Saginaw, Mich., president; Lorenzo Burrows; Ezra G. Coann, Albion; A.C. Burrows, Albion; Charles C. Morse, Rochester.
The members of these boards form the joint board of directors, of which Thos. R. Merritt of the Canadian board is the present president.
The chief engineer, L.L. Buck, ranks as one of the foremost bridge engineers in the world. He designed and built several large bridges for South American railroads among which the Verrugas cantilever was the most celebrated. He also built a number of bridges for the Northern Pacific railroad, and designed and built the Driving Park Avenue and Plattstreet bridges in Rochester. His most celebrated work, however, was in connection with the old railway suspension bridge now being replaced. He reinforced the anchorages, replaced the old wooden stiffening truss with one of metal and the old stone towers with towers of iron, all without suspending traffic. He designed the 840 foot arch intended to replace the upper suspension bridge, near the Falls, which will be built, doubtless, in the not distant future. He is now chief engineer of the suspension bridge in course of erection across East river between New York and Brooklyn.
UNKNOWN TRAMP DIES BY WAYSIDE
[Welland Tribune, 30 April 1897]
Early on Tuesday morning as August Thomas was going along the road running east and west past William Hixon’s farm on Thorold township. He was startled to discover the body lying in the ditch by the roadside. There was only about 18 inches of water in the ditch, and the man’s body lay on his back in it, his head being a few inches under water. The man was dead. The body was recognized as that of a tramp who had been about Port Robinson the day before. In fact he had passed through Port during the past two summers, but no one knew his name. His tracks had led from Mr. Hixon’s barn, and it is supposed after passing the night there he had come out on the road very early in the morning and had been seized with a fit or paralysis and had fallen into the water, either dying from the effects of the fit or being drowned whilst insensitive under the stroke. The case was referred to Coroner Cumines who did not consider an inquest necessary.
The body was that of a man of about 70 years of age, apparently well nourished, but poorly dressed. Rather a heavy built man; with sandy complexion. He had two sticks with him, one of which had belonged to a piece of machinery in Mr. Hixon’s barn. The sticks he used to assist in walking, being slightly lame. There was no money found upon his person, nor anything by which the man might be identified, and the body was sent to the Toronto school of anatomy.
She Does her Work as a Man Does His
The Pet of the Force
[Welland Tribune, 2 April 1897]
The new woman has broken out in a new spot. This time it is the constabulary of the city of Alleghany, Pa., which she has invaded. Miss Florence Klotz can scarcely be called even a woman constable, though for she is only 18 years old. But she’s a constable all right. She serves warrants, summonses and subpoenas with all the authority and determination of a male minion of the law. Miss Klotz’s father is an alderman, whose regular constable was an old man who had an inconvenient way of being sick or invisible when he was wanted for duty. On one of these occasions, about two months ago, the despairing alderman pressed his daughter into service. That settled the matter. The girl constable proved to be the pluckiest, quickest, most reliable one in town. Her very first mission was to serve a subpoena on a farmer living four miles east of town. Miss Florence put on her bloomers, mounted her wheel and went after her man. When she came back, tired, muddy, but triumphant, she found a crowd in front of her father’s office to welcome her.
“I served them, papa,” she exclaimed, and then, womanlike, she cried, even though she was a constable.
She says she would rather deal with 100 men than with 10 women. The women think it is a joke, but the men think that the law must be obeyed even if it is embodied in an 18-year old girl. Before she went into the constabulary she wheeled through Alleghany county getting trade for her father’s candy factory. Next summer she and her sister will ride a tandem, geared to 68, on the same errand. She is described as slight and handsome, with raven black hair and snapping black eyes.
In one case Miss Klotz acted as councillor as well as constable. A butcher had kicked in the door when he found his hallway locked up by the baker who, with his family, occupied the rest of the house. The locking was by order of the landlord, who demanded that it be done at 10 p.m. The butcher was sued for malicious mischief. Miss Klotz brought subpoenas for witnesses, arranged the details of the hearing, cross examined the witnesses and finally had the case dismissed on her recommendation that each of the parties be furnished with keys. The costs were divided, and the young lawyer-constable smiled with delight as she counted over her share.
The only unruly case she has run across was a youngster of 14 who refused to go with her. She took the dilemma by the horns and the boy by the collar, tripped him up, and with a handy copy of “Pilgrim’s Progress” administered a series of businesslike blows where they would do the most good and led him weeping to court. A little jeweled revolver is her only weapon. It was presented to her by a big constable who was filled with admiration of her pluck. She says she doesn’t know what she would do if she ran against an ugly customer, but she declared, with a snap of her black eyes, that she would get him. She is the pet of the municipal force, and if she ever sent word for help the entire retinue of clerks, heads of departments and underlings would turn out to the rescue of Constable Florence. –St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
[Welland Tribune, 26 March 1897]
The crowding of our provincial asylums calls for prompt action on the part of the government. Insane persons are compelled to lie in jail for weeks before accommodation can be secured, greatly to the injury of such patients. Annie Oldfield of Niagara Falls, a very bad case, is still in jail, although her condition calls for a different treatment from that which the jail can offer. Special efforts should be made to have this young woman placed in an asylum without further delay.
LETTER OF CONDOLENCES FROM COUNTY ORANGE LODGE
[Welland Tribune, 19 March 1897]
After the interment of our deceased brother, Joseph Reavely, the brethren assembled in the lodge room at Port Robinson. The meeting was called to order, and after an impressive address by Worshipful Bro. O. Fitzalwyn Wilkins, county master, it was moved and carried that the following resolution should be forwarded to the bereaved family, and also to the Welland Telegraph and TRIBUNE, and to the Orange Sentinel:
Resolved, that in the death of Joseph Reavely, Esq., the Orange order in this county has sustained a loss which weighs indeed heavily upon us. He was one of its most earnest and liberal supporters, and a true and valiant knight. His loyalty to the Queen and the crown, his love of his country and his devotion to his religion made Orangeism to him a reality. His spirit was in perfect accord with the true principles and lofty sentiment expressed in the constitution of our order, and in his honorable and upright life he evinced those manly virtues and Christian graces which are most valued and esteemed in character.
Resolved, that the gloom which now rests so darkly over our county lodge fills us with sympathy for those upon whom this loss weighs most heavily, and that in this dark time of their distress we would unite with the bereaved widow and her children in asking for the grace of holy resignation.
O. FITZALWYN WILKINS, Co. Master
GEORGE A. TURNER, CO. Sec’y
G. JOHNSTONE, Co. Chaplain.
[Welland Tribune, 12 March 1897]
Committed as a vagrant in our jail is Richard McGuin, who has just received a notice from England that he is heir to £150 stock in the Great Eastern Railway company-together with accrued interest and dividends for ten years past. McGuin registers as 59 years old. He has about three weeks yet to serve, after which he says he will sail for England to claim his legacy. Richard now ranks as an A1 vag., and scarcely recognizes commons tramps as “they pass by.” Doubtless McGuin will remit to the county his arrears for board when he draws his check.
[Welland Tribune, 12 March 1897]
The Vancouver Index of March 1st, inst., publishes a report that E.A. Brown, who was alleged to have been drowned some two years ago, has since been seen and recognized by Vancouverites at Seattle and Tacoma.
[WellandTribune, 12 March 1897]
That unlucky mortal, Henry Haist, was in town Tuesday with his arm in a sling, looking for a police magistrate for the purpose of instituting proceedings against Charles Learn. Henry’s tale of woe is that he was thrown from a rig at Ridgeway a week ago last Sunday through the reckless and improper driving of Mr. Learn, suffering a dislocation of the shoulder and sundry other injuries.
[Welland Tribune, 22 February, 1889]
The past year has been one of progress for Wellandport, and the coming season promises to add materially to the business and “good looks” of our village….The Messrs. Heslop Bros., who have purchased the flouring mills here, are practical men who are sure to draw large patronage as soon as they get their modern machinery in position. They intend putting in a full roller mill of fifty barrel capacity. Work will begin at once and will be completed in about six weeks. The rolls are from the famous works of G.T. Smith, Stratford, whose name alone stamps the system as one of the best on the continent. ….Mr. Wm. Stewart has purchased from Mr. Eitle the machines used in the manufacture of cheese-boxes and fruit baskets, and is now engaged in the erection of a building with a view of carrying on that business in future. Read the rest of this entry »
[Welland Tribune, 22 February 1889]
“Where the wicked cease from troubling, And the weary are at rest.”
“There is no place like home,” says the old song; so we cannot do better than write of home-but another home than that spoken of in the sweet old refrain; The Home of the Dead. And the friends who have crossed Life’s margin for the Better Land from where the mighty “Onyakara” chants its endless song, have truly a beautiful home in which to lie at rest until that last great day when the grave gives up its dead. Fairview cemetery stands upon the highest elevation within the town of Niagara Falls, and commands a beautiful view of the surrounding country. The ground is twenty acres in extent, tastefully laid out and neatly fenced. Drives and footpaths intersect the front portion of the cemetery, while the rear portion is a meadow, with young shade trees planted all around its margin. Read the rest of this entry »
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