Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. LXVIII, Sept. 1910 | Page 6

tunnel of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Company. Later, a further contract was made with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company providing for the construction of the tunnel of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Company westward under the tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad in Jersey City to a junction with the latter at Summit Avenue, at which point can be installed a joint station, and the operation effected of a joint electric train service between Church Street, New York City, and Newark, N. J., the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks between Summit Avenue and Newark to be electrified for that purpose, with a transfer station established east of Newark, at Harrison, at which point the steam and electric locomotives will exchange. By means of this, all down-town passengers will transfer to the electric service at Harrison Station, and thus the Pennsylvania Railroad Company is expected to be relieved of maintaining a separate steam service for passenger traffic to Jersey City and a large down-town station with extensive contingent facilities at that point.
From the foregoing it will be seen that the final decision to extend the Pennsylvania Railroad into and through New York City by a system of tunnels, and erect a large station in that city on a most eligible site, was not reached in a hurried or off-hand manner, but after years of painstaking study and a full and extended investigation of all routes, projects, and schemes, whether originating with the company or suggested by others.
[Illustration: Plate VI.--Pennsylvania Railroad Extension: Map Showing Proposed Lines Leading to Those Finally Adopted]
Plate VI is a map of New York City and vicinity on which are shown the various lines contemplated in the evolution of the New York Tunnel Extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad hereinbefore outlined.
The question of tunnels under the North River was an uncertain factor in the larger Pennsylvania Railroad scheme, owing to the nature of the ground composing the river bed in which the tunnels would be constructed.
It is well known that about 35 years ago an attempt was made to construct a tunnel under the North River by using a "Pilot" system under compressed air and forming the tunnels in brick masonry. Owing to the very soft nature of the materials through which it passed, several serious accidents occurred, and the work was abandoned after about 2,000 ft. of tunnel had been constructed. Later, this work was taken up again, when a shield was installed and an additional 1,800 ft. was built with cast-iron segmental lining, but the work was again abandoned, owing principally to financial difficulties while coincidentally before entering a rock reef which presented another serious difficulty in construction. The experience then in the construction of this tunnel led capitalists and engineers to believe that, owing to the very soft nature of the ground, a tunnel could not be built that would be sufficiently stable to withstand the vibration due to heavy traffic, and for this reason tunnels under the North River were not looked upon as practicable. The writer devised a scheme to carry within the tunnel the rolling loads on bridging supported on piers or piles extending from the tunnel invert down to hard material. These would be attached to the tunnel itself or would pass into it independently through sliding joints in the tunnel shell. This scheme gained the confidence of the management, as it was believed that, by adopting such a plan, tunnels could be built in the soft material underlying the Hudson River and remain stable under all conditions of traffic. After thus feeling assured that by this method the tunnels could be made safe beyond question, orders were given to proceed with the great work of the extension into New York of the Pennsylvania and Long Island Railroad systems.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--(Full page image)
ENGINEERING STAFF ORGANIZATION
CHIEF ENGINEER | CHIEF ASSISTANT ENGINEER | | +--(CHIEF OFFICE) | | | +--OFFICE ENGINEER | | | | | +--Chief Draftsman. | | Draftsmen. | | Messenger. | | | +--MECHANICAL ENGINEER | | | | | +--Mechanical Draftsmen. | | | +--ASSISTANT ENGINEER | | | +--Accountant. | Clerks. | Telephone Operators. | Messenger. | | +--(TERMINAL STATION WEST) | | | RESIDENT ENGINEER | | | +--Assistant Engineer. | | Chief of Party. | | Instrumentmen. | | Rodmen. | | Chainmen. | | | +--Inspectors. | | | +--Clerk. | Janitors. | | +--(SUBAQUEOUS, 32ND STREET AND WEEHAWKEN TUNNELS) | | | GENERAL RESIDENT ENGINEER | | | +--Cement Inspectors. | | Ass't. Cement Inspectors. | | | +--Photographer. | | | +--Recording Clerk. | | Ass't. Recording Clerks. | | | +--DISPATCH BOAT | | | | | +--Captains. | | Engineers. | | Deckhands. | | Messenger. | | | +--RESIDENT ENGINEERS | | | +--(CONSTRUCTION) | | | | | +--Ass't. Engineers. | |