Evening star. [volume], October 23, 1927, Page 6, Image 66

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
6
MOTORING I
BY WILLIAM ULLMAN.
Steernig wheels frequently have nuts added after they’ve left
the assembly line.
AFTER being pushed through
the rear wheels for more than
30 years, the motor car is
about to undergo a meta-i
niorphosis that will leave it being
pulled by the front pair. That, at
least, is the opinion of many auto
motive engineers who foresee front
wheel drive as the next radical
change in automobile design.
A -subject of engineering study for
years, and talked about and tested ;
in a few cases, front-wheel drive now
seems about to become an actuality
because the motor car designer is in
a dilemma. He wants to build a less
expensive car, a more efficient car,
one that is safer, more comfortable
and graceful. He cannot do it with
rear-wheel drive beyond certain lim
its: so he is looking to the possi
bilities offered by turning the engine
around in its frame and using its
power through the front wheels.
The potentialities of front-drive
in these vital respects have been in
dicated in racing cars embodying this ;
principle. Again the speedway has
served as a proving ground.
** * *
First among the advantages indi- \
rated in this manner is that front- ■
drive will be less wasteful of engine
power, making possible the use of j
smaller motors. Smaller motors cost
less to build, because they require
less iron and steel. They use less j
gasoline and oil, which means that j
operation costs are reduced as well
as construction costs.
Front-wheel drive # will be less j
wasteful of power because it will
be a close-coupled mechanism; using
the engine’s output at its source. \
The transmission, a very short pro
peller shaft and the differential will
he a few inches apart instead of be
ing stretched out the whole length
of the car. as in the conventional
design. Where power travels so
short a distance it has less chance to
get lost. At present transmission
and differential are from three to six
feet apart. Six or seven inches will
suffice in front-wTieel drive, accord
ing to engineering authorities.
A small engine and a six or seven
inch propeller shaft will mean the
elimination of a great deal of excess
weight. Tire wear will be cor
respondingly less. Here is another
item of reduced expense that is sig
nificant.
Just how much smaller the engine
will be when front-wheel drive comes
into its own is a matter of specula
tion. Some idea may be gathered
from the fact that the little straight
eight, motors used in
racing cars embodying this type of
drive have been highly successful.
The bore of such engines is only
2 11-16 inches, and certainly their
performance, allowing for different
conditions, coiqpares most favorably
with passenger car motors of much
larger cylinder sire and larger
stroke. It scarcely is to be expected
that so tiny an engine will be used
in passenger cars, but it is not to be
doubted that reductions in sire are
possible.
** * *
Greater comfort, every motorist
knows, is one of the goals toward
w;hich th’e car designer constantly
directs his energies. Front-wheel
drive is declared to hold especially
bright promise in this respect. Com
fort definitely is involved in the ratio
of sprung to unsprung weight in a
motor car, and present design gives
unsprung weight an uncomfortably
larger margin than is desirable.
For instance, the present rear axle
carries the heavy differential gears,
the axle shafts, the propeller shaft
and the brake mechanism, as well as
the wheels and tires, all unsprung
weight. If driving the car were to
be made the function of the front
axle, this weight would be removed.
Then, the rear axle would carry as
unsprung weight onljP the wheels,
tires and brakes.
This might seem to be a process
of making the rear of the car com
fortable at the expense of the front,
to which these units would be trans
ferred. This is not the case, how
ever, for in the relocation of pro
peller shaft and differential they are
certain to be carried on springs.
Incidentally, the removal of these
units would permit the achievement
of ore goal toward which the engi
n^ r , has striven for years; namely,
the lowering of the body. At pres
ent, even in those cars which have
adopted hypoid and worm gearing
for this purpose, the propeller shaft
still presents a definite limitation in
respect to reduction of road clear
ance and the achievement of that
low, rakish appearance that is so
desirable.
In front drive, no limitation to
lowering the body remains except
that interposed by the character of
the highway itself.
** * *
Safety is one of the most appeal
ing features of front drive, and that
it permits a lower body, of course,
is a factor in this safety. Such a
step means a lower center of grav
ity and a reduced center of mass,
which would give the car an ability
to hang to the road and would rep
resent an amazing improvement over
even what already has been done in
this respect.
Front drive automatically knocks
out one of the worst foes of the
motorist—the skid. It is inherently
free from this tendency. In addi
tion, it permits the employment of
the transmission brake in its fullest
expression, thereby assuring an
equalization of braking force that is
absolute at all times. The value of—
■
The Old Mechanic Says:
i
Now, I’m join' to tell one on myself.
I've got a weakness that costs car
owners a pretty penny, and perhaps if
I confessed it there would be less trou
ble all 'round.
Like most other repairmen, I've
gone a long time without realizin' my
failin'. It never came to me quite
clearly until the other day when I was
doin’ some work on a Blank six and
happened to refer to it as an Eager
eight. It was an Eager eight that I
worked on Just before tackling the
Blank.
All right for me to make a mistake
In the name, but it got me thinkin' of
the times I’ve made the error of think
in’ of a present car in terms of the
«>ne f worked on hefoSe. Tall it “serv
ice hangover,” if you like. I don’t
know if there’s any technical name for
it or not. but this sort of thing exists
to a large extent and everybody pays
for it.
1 think car by gjßt
this to safety is not difficult to com
prehend.
One of the points in connection
with this unfamiliar design, about
which curiosity is natural, is that of
steering. It would seem that an axle
which was called upon to fulfill the
function of driving the car would
he more difficult to steer. This is
not the case according to race car
designers and drivers. Steering is
, even simpler and less of an energy
' consumer in front drive, they de
clare. This is true even where a
separate axle for steering is not
used.
Front drive has not yet been tried
in the United States, save in racing
cars. Europe has seen it adopted
with success in several notable in
stances —by Voran and Rumpler in
Germany, Italia in Italy and Parville
in France.
In principle, front drive is essen
tially sound. Every type of vehicle,
except the automobile, is pulled in
stead of pushed. Animals always
draw the conveyances or implements
for which they provide power. Lo
comotives perform their tasks in
front of the cars they pull. Air
planes, universally, are pullers,
whereas, in the early types, planes
: were pushers. The principle of pull
i ing has more advocates than the
I other.
The dilemma in which motor car
designers find themselves mav cause
them to adopt this principle next
year, or at the latest, in 1929, unless
the prophets have gone far astray.-
** * *
Federal aid for the country’s high
way system dates from July 11. 1916,
when President Wilson signed the
Federal aid road act. That marked
the beginning of the present system.
One hundred years before, how
ever, the Government had been active
in the construction of roads. Many
of the principal links of the West
ami Middle West originally were laid
out as military roads connecting the
forts which dotted the wild frontier
country of those days. In 1811 the
Government began the construction
of the greaf National Pike, which
was to extend from Cumberland,
Md., to St. Louis, Mo. This highway
was to serve for military purposes
and also as one of the principal ar
teries for the settlement of the great
Northwest Territory.
The improvement of this road was
carried on more or less actively until
1840. It was built and surfaced of
stone practically the entire distance
from Cumberland to the western In
diana line. At that time, however,
the belief spresfd that the newly de
veloped railroads would entirely dis
place highways, and because of this
the National Pike from the Indiana
line was not surfaced with stone, but
merely graded, in the belief that
eventually it would serve as a rail
road bed.
The thought that the railroad
would entirely displace highways as
a means of communication between
the far-flung settlements that were
springing up in the vast Western
part of the country at that time was
very strong. The last Government
appropriation for the National Pike
was made in 1838, and from then
until 1893 the Federal Government
took no part whatever in read con
struction or maintenance.
** * *
In connection with lacquers ie
member that pyroxylin, which is the
basis of these auto finishes, is a son
of guncotton and a brother to a
number of high explosives. If ybu
happen to be looking over the inter
esting of spraying on this
highly inflammable substance, don’t,
under any circumstances, light a
cigarette. Os course, most of these
establishments post a “No Smoking’’
sign, but too many motorists have
come to ignore these familiar words.
Furthermore, many workers in lac
quering plants do not appreciate the
hazards involved. The complete
wreckage of one body-making plant
through the sparking of a mercury
vapor lamp in a spray booth hap
pened at a time when the company
was producing about 500 bodies a
day. . A series of explosions of in
creasing intensity followed the first
and rather mild one. Then the fire.
Don't smoke anywhere near the
smell of lacquer solvents and diluents.
** * *
Now that air cleaners, oil filters,
gasoline strainers, crankcase ventila
tion, vibration dampeners and ther
mostats in the cooling system are ac
cepted features of modern design,
motordom looks forward to the gen
eral acceptance of a number of other
necessities. These include such use
ful devices as electric primers, ther
mostatic carburetor adjustment, self
adjusting clutch plates, vaporizers
and the like.
I-eatures such as automatic chassis
lubrication, ball-bearing shackles,
four-speed transmissions and other
desirable improvements are retarded
in their general adoption merely be
cause of their cost. But they are
coming. Ask those who are using
them.
** * *
Having safely passed the period of
fear of a saturation point the auto
mobile industry is racing on firmly
convinced that the day will come
when there will be a car for every
person in the country, and then
some.
Many persons are keeping their
old cars and buying new ones. In
time there may develop the "antique”
automobile, with many persons proud
rather than ashamed of the cars that
are of a former period, though they
will have new cars as well.
tin’ the mechanic’s mind on the make
of car being attended to. The owner
should repeat the name frequently In
talking about the trouble and should
aim to make the mechanic forgetful of
all the other cars he has been han
dlin’ throughout the day.
Different cars require different tim
ing, different tappet clearances, dif
ferent front-wheel alignment. I’ve
been so engrossed In a former Job that
I thought there was something wrong
with the distributor of the next car I
tackled Just because It didn’t look the
same as the first one. With the
thoughts of the first car still In mv
mind. I’m here to admit that I’ve put
troubles into customers’ cars while
they were payin’ me to help them.
A mechanic has got to be in the
mood for a car In order to give it
proper attention. He can’t be thinkin'
of the cars ha repaired Just before.
It’s common sense for the ear own
er vo svjer mtcbaffi »tr||g|^.
THE SUNDAY STAR. WASHINGTON. D. 0.. OCTOBER 23. 1027-BART t
WHERE MOTORIST MAY VIEW CHOICE MARYLAND SCENERY
Motor Toons
Green Spring /
Valley || j
\ 7+ov^on
\\"\ druid *|jo«NTy y
%. \|/ \ / Bhopkins ! * X/Eikndfl*
fl- Baltimore J
<?€%\ GITY
Tnmtoshw&n. / iVgfyIWASH INGTON J
This delightful Jaunt through the Green Spring Valley, famed for ita entrancing verdure, and the Loch Raven district, which contributes to Baltimore i
City's water supply, will approximate ISO miles for the Washington motorist from the time he leaves until he is hack in the National Capital. The Loch
Raven region is especially beautiful, strongly suggesting the lakes and verdant settings of bonnie Scotland. The route selected for going and coming through
Baltimore avoids the more congested streets. The Baltimore noil leva rri and the Elllcott City-Ashton road offer alternate approaches to the city.
Check Advocated
On Spare Tire Air
To Insure Value
When testing the sir pressure in
the tires many motorists are con
tent to call the job well done when
they have gone around the four
wheels. They apparently are sat
isfied that .the spare has sufficient
pressure at all times.
Too often they are wrong, and
when they come to change tires
find that they have two flats In
stead of one on their hands. The
spare may not be working, but it
is well to keep a check on its readi
ness to work when the emergency
calls it into service.
MOTORISfisURGED
TO PLAN FOR WINTER
Advance Preparation for Hardest
Season on Car Held Vital by
A. A. A. Expert.
Motorists who begin now to con
sider the effects of Winter’s rigorous
conditions on their cars will have
taken the longest step toward the
prevention of these effects, according
to Denton Peterson, in charge of the
emergency road service of the Dis
trict of Columbia Division, American
Automobile Association, who points
out that many calls for service that
come to the club have their start in
the put-it-off attitude of the car
owner.
"If the motorist begins to realize
right now that he will need a battery
that is in the best condition, that
Winter makes its demand for special
grades of oil and grease, that a
change in gasoline may be advisable
and Jhat an anti-freeze is necessary
and gives real study to the special
requirements, he will not have trouble
this Winter,” says Mr. Peterson.
“Winter troubles come from slovenli
ness in car care. It is dimly In the
car owner's consciousness that cer
tain things should be done, but they
do not come into the forefront of
one’s mind until the first bitter cold
day has got in its disastrous effects.
“Now is the time to consider what
anti freeze one will use, to learn from
the proper source Just what grade of
oil and grease is best for the tem
peratures in the area in which one
lives, to find out whether the gen
erator is set to supply the greater
current that the battery needs, and
generally to learn the condition of
the car. Analysis of the emergency
service records of this club reveals
that thousands of motorists do not
seek this information until they have
found themselves stalled, possibly
with serious damage to the car.
“It is too early, of course, to act
In all these matters, but it is not too
early to get ready to act correctly
when the time comes."
billboards'doomed
ALONG KANSAS ROADS
Highway Commission Bang All
Signs Except Markers for
Routes.
Billboard and other advertising
signs along the Kansas highways
must come down by the first of next
year. That order has been issued by
the Kansas State Highway Commis
sion.
The ccmmlsslon’s order grows out
of an act adopted by the Kansas
legislature last Winter to the effect
that no signs of any kind shall be
permitted along the highways except
officially authorized 'standard road
markers. Both convenience and
safety in travel as well as ths ap
pearance of the highways were fac
tors in the legislation.
A special provision of the act was
a ban on billboards within 1,000 feet
of a highway intersection or rail
road grade frowning.
Official Service
DELCO—KLAXON—REMY
Author IneJ by United Met ere
Service
CREEL BROS.
1811-17 14th St. N.W.
KNOW OPERATION OF EACH UNIT
IN YOUR CAR TO ESCAPE BILLS
Devices Like Starter and Carburetor
Should Be Understood By the
Constant Motorist.
Although there are 22,000,000 motor
ears registered In the United States,
and while it Is a fact that they have
received a large measure of attention
on every hand, It remains true that
an amazing proportion of owners is
unacquainted with some of the sim
plest facts in connection with work
ings of a piece of automotive equip
ment.
In the great onrush of the automo
bile to popularity some basic consid
erations seem to have been overlook
ed. As the automobile has widened
its market it has created thousands of
purchasers to whom the mechanism of
an automobile is a closed book. They
operate the controls, but do not under
stand what they are operating and
how the co-ordination is brought
about.
Novice .May Profit.'
To the veteran, then, this article
may seem a tritie elemental, yet it
probably is true that many who con
sider their knowledge of automotive
fundamentals complete may And it
very well worth while to go over their
multiplication table once more. To
the novice the information contained
herein should prove of value in clear
ing away some of the' mystery which
seems to enshroud mechanism of the
modern automobile.
Under the hood there is a unique
power plant. It will not start of its
own accord. In modern oars an elec
tric motor starts the engine shaft re
volving. Pressing the starter button
automatically brings into engagement
the gears that enable the starter
motor to transfer its energy to the
flywheel of the engine shaft. It is
MARYLAND AUTO TAGS
TO BE READY NOV. 28
Tax Payment* to Be Required Be
fore Plates Will Be Issued
Under New Law.
Maryland automobile tags for 1928
will be ready for distribution on No
vember 28, it is announced.
Only those who have paid their taxes
and have received receipts from the
tax department will be eligible to se
cure the tags, under the Maryland
ruling now in effect.
Three hundred thousand application
blanks have been mailed to tax of
ficials in the State by the office of
the commissioner of motor vehicles.
Tax officials in the various counties,
under a law enacted by the last legis
lature. must examine the tax roll and
certify whether each automobile own
er has paid taxes due on the vehicle.
The system has been In effect in Bal
timore for several years, and the mo
tor commissioner has refused to issue
license tags there unless the city
certifies on the blanks that taxes
were paid.
The taps for next year will he
white figures on a light blue back
ground.
t -
Oil Spray Shows leak.
Car owners who suspect a compres
sion leak at one of the spark plugs
can determine the accuracy of their
suspicions by squirting oil around the
plug joint. If bubbles appear, the
gasket is leaking. The test is an old
one, but it remain* the most effective
for this particular ailment.
AUTO I
REPAIRING
ALL MAKES
Gardner, Flint and Hudson
SERVICE A SPECIALTY
T. J. CAM FIELD
ISIS O St. N.W.
Nprth »757
Tires and Arrmnrlra
plain that if the driver keeps his foot
on the starter pedal after the engine
starts the starter motor and its gears
may be damaged.
Even when in motion a gasoline en
gine requires speed for power. The
hardest job for the engine is to pet
the car started from rest. Further
more. the engine can't be raced and
then joined to the shaft that conveys
the power to the rear wheels without
straining the clutch, which does the
Joining. The manufacturer, there
fore, provides a set of gears that gives
the engine a mechanical advantage—
that is. by going into low gear the en
gine can run fast, though the car
will move very slowly when the clutch
is engaged. The engine is enabled to
move the stubborn car because it
moves it so slowly.
Starter Is Important.
Knowing this much about what’s
under the hood, it isn't necessary to
ask a mechanic why the engine stalls
when trying ta start it In high gear,
and one is not easily misled into
thinking there Is nothing wrong if the
engine stalls when starting off in low.
Jf it stalls in low. and clulchjng is
done gently while the engine is given
a little gas, the indications are the
engine is not running properly. The
carburetor is probably adjusted for
so lean a mixture that the engine is
starving for fuel.
There is quite a story in the choker
button, which one pulls out when
starting the engine. This control
merely shuts off the air to the car
huretoi* so that thp engine sticks in
(Continued on Seventh Page.)
WOMAN APPLICANTS
PASS COLOR TESTS
No One Fails to Distinguish Red,
Yellow and Green in Mary
land Examinations.
Out of more than 10.000 Maryland
woman motorists who have had their
eyesight tested before being given a
license, not one has been found color
blind, and in the two years in which
the eye test prescribed for automo
bile license applicants has been in
effect every woman applicant has cor
rectly named the colors used in the
test.
Not that the eyesight of the wdmen !
is better than that of the men, the ex- j
amlners assert, for it Is not. Woman j
applicants fall more frequently than ;
men because of defective eyesight ,
other than color-blindness,*lt was said.
Approximately 5 per cent of the men ,
who apply for the licenses are de
ceived by the colors they are request
ed to name, it was estimated. ‘
No trick is employed in the colors ,
shown to the applicant. Usually, if I
the colors red, green and yellow are !
named as rapidly as they are focused,
the applicant is passed without diffi-
i
■ mmmSSSS^
ITWbWTt ,\yJ f:
|wf I §
reSaMiyl
Dalco OH Lubrication
For Transmissions
and Differentials
Not High Priced
5,000 Miles Per Filling
Prevents rear end
“humming"
No Thinning Out In Warm
Weather
If Tbnr dnbr can't supply yon. don't
accept s •übht Itute. lie ran set it from
Dalco Lubricants, Inc.
Factory
4th and Channing Sts. N.E.
North 10053
Hint to Motorists
Caught in Traffic
On a Busy Street!
To get across the boulevard dur
ing the hour of heavy travel fre
quently is a difficult driving feat.
Since traffic on the more important
thoroughfare has the right of way
at ail limes, considerable speed is
necessary if one is to cross with
out disrupting the main traffic
stream. It may be helpful In this
predicament to remember that the
average car will pick up faster In
second speed. Shift to high after
crossing.
NEW ORLEANS BRIDGE
TO BE OPENED SOON
$5,500,000 Structure Seen as At
traction for Tourists Dur
ing Winter.
Motorists from Washington and oth
er Northern centers, planning a South
ern tour during the Winter, will he
interested to learn thnt the opening
of the $5,500,000 Pontchartrain Bridge
at New Orleans is scheduled for not
later than February 1. According to
an announcement, efforts are being
made to throw open the structure
January 8. anniversary of the Battle
of New Orleans.
The total length of the bridge,
which is a vehicular toll causeway,
is 14*4 miles. It spans I.ake Pont
chartrain. and is called by its builders
the longest bridge In the world.
The Pontchartrain Bridge will be a
crossroads for two Important trans
continental trunk routes, one east an.l
west and other other north and south,
the former being the Old Spanish
Trail from Jacksonville to San Diego
and the latter the new Colonial high
way to link New York and New
Orleans.
The “logging" of the Colonial high
way was started September 17.
■ - •
United States population in 1900
wa . 89,000,000, automobile registration
8,000; in 1926 population was 115,000,-
000, motor vehicle registration 22,000.-
000. ____________
American
Auto
Heaters
Mi ' Jh
JfewCost*
7{idmgCmfirt \
j The abundance of clean heat
delivered by these cast alum*
I inum registers is hardly to be
compared with their small aim
and low cost.
Pria/'Wirt*,
except CtdillAc
l UsdUe dtaJurt
ARMENTROUTS
1 1710 14th St. and 10th and Eye
MMmPis wmmm .
HOLLAND VEHICULAR TUNNEL
HELD GREAT BOON TO TRAFFIC
♦
Motoring Between Manhattan and Jersey
City Will Be Strikingly Expedited by
Hudson River Twin Tubes.
One of the greatest engineering i
feats of modern times, the Holland
Vehicular Tunnel, running under the
Hudson River from Manhattan to Jer
sey City. Is to be thrown open to the
public November 13. No more will
motorists going to or coming from New
York be forced to wait In line at the
entrances of the 15. ferries which now
connect the metropolis with the Jer
sey side of the river. Instead, they
will keep right on, and In less time
than it takes to walk from the back
of the White House grounds to the
base of the Washington Monument,
they will find themselves in the heart
of Manhattan.
Approximately 15,000,000 automo
biles and trucks every year will dive
into the twin tubes of the Holland
Tunnel under the Hudson River and
travel the 9,250 feet from shore to
shore in six minutes or less. Motor
ists from Washington and nearby sec
tions going to New York will find the
tunnel a great convenience, both in
the matter of saving time, as well as
making the journey more pleasant,
through the elimination of the nerve
trying wait at the ferries across the
Hudson.
$18,000,0(10 in Expense Fund.
Jn opder to accomplish this marvel
of engineering skill, $45,000,000 have
been spent, according to Waldemar
k'Homeffert, writing in the New York !
Times. This money was appropriated !
by the States of New York and New j
Jersey. Seven years have elapsed
since work on the tunnel was begun,
-and of the three men who have super
vised the work two have died.
The name of the first, the man un
der whom actual work was begun and
who carried it almost to completion,
Clifford M. Holland, is hewn over the
stone entrance portals of the two
tubes, a last memorial to the genius
who directed the work from 1919 to
1924. In the latter year, overcome bv
the long hours he spent at his desk
and under the compressed air In the
tunnel itself, he succumbed.
Holland was but 36 years old at the
time he was placed in charge of the
work, but he long had been connected
with tunnel construction In New York
City. He graduated from Harvard in
1906 and by 1914 was in direct charge
of the construction of eight tunnels
under the East River at New York.
Milton H. Freeman, construction en
gineer, working with Holland on the
tunnel, succeeded the latter when he
died in 1924, hut lived only a few
months after his appointment. Ole
Singstad, chosen by Holland as de
signing engineer, was then placed in
j charge of the work and it was com
peted under his direction.
Skill and Courage Required.
Few motorists, with the exception
of those versed in the difficulty of
great engineering problems, will real
ize, as they pass through the tunnel,
the endless skill and courage required
to carry on the battle against the ele
ments as it was waged underneath the
Hudson River for some six years. To
the majority the tunnel will be a
means which enables them to get to
or from Manhattan Island in a more
convenient manner than by ferry.
YVhen the Washington motorist for
the first time enters the southern
tube, passing from New Jersey to New
York, he will see what appears to he
an endless white-tiled cavern, brightlv
illuminated. At the left is a raised
sidewalk, Intended chiefly for the traf
fic police. Two endless lines of traffic
one, the speedier, composed of passen
ger cars, the other comprising heavily
laden trucks—will be passing through
the tunnel, bound for New York City.
In the wall, close to the sidewalk arid
at regular intervals, are niches where
traffic policemen stand, and overhead
are the signal lights, red and green.
There is also a third light, one
which Is not lit. but which, if inquiries
are made, will be found to be a light
commanding the engine to he stopped.
This light will flash only in case of
emergency, such as when the suction
pumps refuse to carry away the in
sidious carbon monoxide funies.
Tells “How It Was Done.”
The answer to the question "How
was it done?" reveals a story of deep
est Interest, not only to the engineer
ing profession, but to the layman as
well. The method employed in boring
the two tubes has be n used time and
again in Europe and America, and is
| known as the shield method. A shield
j is a short steel cylinder made up of
| steel plates, the diameter of t!:j cylin
der being slightly larger than that of
the tunnel lining. The north tube on
the New. Jersey side was bored with a
si >ld 31 feet in diameter. The entire
south tube and the north tube on the
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| New York side were bored with shields
3« feet 2 inches in diameter and 16
feet long. The finished tube has a
diameter of 29 feet 6 inches, and each »
of the shields weighed 400 tons.
Each shield was divided into 13 man
high compartments by means of ver
tical and horizontal partitions, and it
was in these that the workmen, slang
ly termed "sandhogs." dug out the
dirt, mud and rocks in the path of the
shield.
To keep the Hudson Riv»r out of
the compartments the pressure of tons
of water was opposed by an equal
pressure of air within the shield. In
cessantly a struggle was waged, one
in which the air always had to main
tain the upperhand. but no more. Too
much air pressure could result in
blowing workmen snd all up through
t’re bottom of the river.
Experience of Workers.
The men who worked in this high ,
air pressure, before entering the shield
for work, as well as when leaving the
shield, had to go through a series of
air compression chambers, first to
make them used to the I her air pres
sure and then to bring them back to
the normal air pressure again. This
was done by means of air locks, which
are connected in a series.
doing through -a series of these
locks, each of which has a higher
air compression than the predecessor,
j the workmen gradually became ac*
} customed to the air pressure to which
I they were subjected In the shield.
When they quit work they went
through these chambers in reverse
order, a much slow’er process, so that
their bft»od would be
to the outside air.
While working under compressed
air the blood becomes charged with
gasses of the air, chiefly nitrogen,
and had any workman stepped forth
suddenly into normal atmospheric
pressure his blood would literally
.have boiled. He would have endured
all the agony of what doctors term
"caisson disease.” and which he calls
the "bends.” So, each time, after
working In the shield, the workman
took 45 minutes or more to become
what might be termed "decom
pressed.”
Shield Forced Forward.
When all material within reach of
the sandhogs had been excavated the
shield was pushed forward into the
mud and rock by means of 30 hy
draulic screws, it took a thrust of
6.000 pounds per square Inch to force
the shield forward. Some days, when
going through silt, it went as fast as
25 feet per day, while on others It
gnawed its way forward at a much
slower pace.
The erector, attached directly be
hind the shield and moving forward
with It, picked up the heavy steel
plates and held them in position, so
that they could be riveted together,
thus forming the lining of the tunnel.
Between the lining and the outer
earth the spaces were filled with ce
ment and sand on the New York and
New Jersey shores, while under the
river Itself the silt flowed in an<J
filled the spaces.
Four shields In all were used, two
on each tunnel, working from opposite
shores. Those of the north tube met
on October 29, 1924, and those of the
south tube on December 7 of the same
year. So minute had been the mea
surements andv the manner In which
the shields had*been guided that they
were in perfect alignment.
Work on Twin Tubes Begun. '
With this work completed, the inte
rior arrangements of the twin tubes
was undertaken and along with It
was tackled one of the most serious
problems of all, that of supplying the
tubes with fresh air. No problem in
ventilation of such, a gigantic magni
tude had ever presented itself to mod
ern engineers and in order to solve
this, the scientific resources of thp
United States Bureau of Mines, Yale
University and the University of Il
linois were drawn upon. The result
has been that the Holland Tunnel,
from the standpoint of fresh air sup
ply, has been declared to be as safe
as any open-air boulevard.
Heretofore, for ventilation purposes
in tunnels, engineers had relied upon
the natural draft which always is pre
sent in such a structure. This method
in a short tunnel or in a tunnel where
comparatively few automobiles pass, is
adequate, but as a means of ventilat
ing the Holland Tunnel this method
was, never even considered.
The tunnel primarily w*as con
structed for automobile traffic, and the
exhaust of the automobile discharges
(Continued on Seventh Page.)