. The American railway; its construction, development, management, and appliances . n ap-plied in perfecting the con-nections of the parts of atruss, and many valuable ex-periments have been madewhich have greatly enlargedour knowledge of this diffi-cult subject. The introduc-tion of riveting by the powerof steam or compressed airis another very great im-provement.* Valleys and ravines arenow crossed by viaducts ofiron and steel, of which theKinzua viaduct, illustratedhere, is an example. Abranch line from the Erie, connecting that system with valuablecoal-fields, strikes the valley of the Kin
. The American railway; its construction, development, management, and appliances . n ap-plied in perfecting the con-nections of the parts of atruss, and many valuable ex-periments have been madewhich have greatly enlargedour knowledge of this diffi-cult subject. The introduc-tion of riveting by the powerof steam or compressed airis another very great im-provement.* Valleys and ravines arenow crossed by viaducts ofiron and steel, of which theKinzua viaduct, illustratedhere, is an example. Abranch line from the Erie, connecting that system with valuablecoal-fields, strikes the valley of the Kinzua, a small creek, about15 miles southwest of Bradford, Pa. At the point suitable forcrossing, this ravine is about half a mile wide and over 300 feetdeep. At first it was proposed to run down and cross the creekat a low level by some of the devices heretofore illustrated in thisarticle. But finally the engineering firm of Clarke, Reeves & to build the viaduct, shown above, for a much less sum than * See following article on Feats of Railroad Engineering, page Kinzua Viaduct ; Erie Railway. HOIV TO BUILD SAFE BRIDGES. 31 any other method of crossing would have cost. This viaduct wasbuih in four months. It is 305 feet high and about 2,400 feet skeleton piers were first erected by means of their own posts,and afterward the girders were placed by means of a travellingscaffold on the top, projecting over about 80 feet. No stao-ino- ofany kind was used, nor even ladders, as the men climbed up thediagonal rods of the piers, as a cat will run up a tree. The Manhattan Elevated Railway, about 34 miles long, is noth-ing but a long viaduct, and is as strong and durable as iron via-ducts on railways usually are, while from the slower speed of itstrains it is much safer. It may not be out of place for the writer to state here what, inhis belief, is the next series of steps to be taken to insure safety intravelling over our bridges : Replace, wherever possible, all t
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