. Bell telephone magazine . y. Muchof this material was of a decidedlyspecial nature. In the meantime, ground crewsstarted clearing the right of way anddigging the pole holes. This was la-borious hand work. To understandwhy, one need only visualize a condi-tion, not of rocky ground, but of rockswith a little dirt between them. Evenif it had been possible to get motordriven digging equipment to the rightof way—which it generally was not—it could not have been used becauseof the character of the ground. Fewholes were dug without the use ofdynamite. A RIGHT-OF-WAY had to be obtainedand clearance
. Bell telephone magazine . y. Muchof this material was of a decidedlyspecial nature. In the meantime, ground crewsstarted clearing the right of way anddigging the pole holes. This was la-borious hand work. To understandwhy, one need only visualize a condi-tion, not of rocky ground, but of rockswith a little dirt between them. Evenif it had been possible to get motordriven digging equipment to the rightof way—which it generally was not—it could not have been used becauseof the character of the ground. Fewholes were dug without the use ofdynamite. A RIGHT-OF-WAY had to be obtainedand clearance provided for ten feet oneach side of the center of the for the top section, practicallythe entire 19 miles had to be cleared,for the route lay through woodedcountry, a tangle of aspen and spruce,with a few sections of heavy with the Forest Service,much good timber was saved by care-ful trimming. The brush was piledfor burning as soon as a sufficient 19^2 Across the Roof of the Continent 35. ■ A Finished Section of the Line Note that, contrary to usual practice, the pole line is not straight—thereby avoiding low ground where the snow may drift 20 to 30 feet deep in winter I snowfall laid a protective blanket ofmoisture over the surrounding forest. In general, full length treated lodge-pole pine poles, native to the moun-tain territory, were used in buildingthe line. The railroad was utilizedfrom Denver as far as its terminus atIdaho Springs, but this was still 25miles from the top of the pass andmore than 4,000 feet lower in poles and other material werehauled by truck from this point tovarious locations along the road nearthe right of way. From the road, allthe material had to be either carriedby the men or snaked with horses tothe point where it was to be used inthe line. The poles varied between 25 and40 feet in length, depending on therequirements of a particular unloading, care had to be exercised to drop off p
Size: 2030px × 1231px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthoramerican, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookyear1922
