Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 88.djvu/194

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��Popular Science Monthly

��the emergency. These plows pushed the snow into the middle of the streets, where it was carried away by the work- ers.

On Tuesday morning, nearly all of the vast quantity of snow had disap- peared from the main thoroughfares, and the fleet of motor-trucks vanished as suddenly as they had appeared. Heaps of snow still clogged the middle of many of the side streets, but the work of removing this was done as it had been in previous winters, by gangs of men working twenty-four hours a day, aided by horse-drawn carts.

Where did the motor- trucks come from? Where had they gone when the main streets and avenues had been cleared?

Dissatisfied with the slow methods of snow re- moval last winter when two or three heavy storms paralyzed the traffic of the city, Street Cleaning Com- missioner Fetherstone ar- ranged with a number of large contractors to mobil- ize a fleet of privately owned motor-trucks, suit- able for the removal of snow, whenever a storm threatened to disorganize the transportation of the city.

A census was taken of the owners of trucks who were willing to furnish them when needed for this work. A large number of these power- ful vehicles were placed at the disposal of the contractors, and when the call was sent, the trucks were quickly at their appointed stations.

The work done by these trucks was remarkable. The ample bodies held an average load of two and one-half times the amount of snow that could be con- tained in the largest of the old-style carts and wagons, and the snow was carried to the various disposal points in a small part of the time usually required. As a result, the snow disappeared from the important streets as if by magic.

��A Gigantic Steel Bridge-Beam

ONE of the greatest of modern en- gineering undertakings is the con- struction of the New Quebec Bridge, which upon completion will span the St. Lawrence near Quebec on the site of the great Quebec Bridge which collapsed several years ago with a great loss of life. Work upon the foundations of the original bridge was begun in the early spring of 1910, but nearly all the work accomplished when the bridge fell

���One of the largest steel beams ever used in bridge

building, designed in place of the faulty members which

caused the disastrous collapse of the new bridge at

Quebec, before it was completed

had to be practically abandoned and re- commenced from the foundations them- selves.

Since the disastrous collapse was caused by weak members, the en- gineers have fitted to the new bridge some of the largest steel beams ever used in bridge building. An idea of their great size may be gained from the illustration, showing an end section of one of the members. Half of the pin hole shown is to receive a steel pin nearly four feet in diameter. It is expected that trains will be crossing the bridge in another twelve months.

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