Page:Walker (1888) The Severn Tunnel.djvu/94

Rh for the blue bricks), to crush the shale before it went to the brick-making machine.

While these works were going on the erection of the large engine-house for the 75-inch engine had been steadily progressing. The brickwork being completed, the erection of the engine itself was commenced on the 24th April.

The lowering of the 38-inch pump in the Iron Pit was commenced on the 4th June. On the 16th June this pump fouled a piece of timber in the pit, and the diver being sent down to explore, reported that there was a heavy piece of oak lashed across the pit which prevented the pump from being lowered.

On the 17th June the one pump we had still fit for work in this pit was started to relieve the pressure for the divers to commence removing this timber. It was then found that a timber-stage extended over the bottom of the pit above the sump.

Again the divers had to descend to remove this stage. By the 25th the stage was removed and the pump lowered, when we found that it was resting on a flange of the 15-inch pipe which had been placed as a column under one of the girders carrying the 26-inch plunger-pumps. Lambert again examined the bottom of the pit, and found that the flange of this column projected nearly 6 inches from the side of the girder.

The size of the pump had been fixed by Sir John Hawkshaw, upon information received from those