T A 
 
 :-NRLF 
 
 EbE 4D3 
 
 Essential Points GoTeminf 
 
 the Financial Value of an 
 
 Engineering Property 
 
 By 5CHUYLER R, SCHAFF, C. E. 
 
Essential Points Govern- 
 ing the Financial Value of 
 an Engineering Property. 
 
 An attempt to explain the influence of 
 the engineer on the financial success 
 of any of the following subjects, and 
 written with the intention of making 
 the relations of the engineer to the 
 general public more definitely understood. 
 
 By 
 SCHUYLER R. SCHAFF, C. E. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 Printed by The Richardson Press 
 1912 
 
Copies of this book can be obtained of 
 
 SCHUYLBR R. SCHAFF, C. E. 
 
 5 Beckman Street 
 New York 
 
 Price, 1.00 
 
 -. * *' ' 
 
 * *'* * *;' >, r ] 
 
 t r t, f* < . i , . 
 
 Copyright 1912, by Schuyler R. Schaif , NewJYork 
 
Classes of Properties Considered 
 
 Page 
 Water Supply 1 1 
 
 Railroads 19 
 
 Hydraulic Power Systems 29 
 
 Drainage of Lands Partly Inundated 41 
 
 Irrigation 53 
 
 Bridges and Viaducts 63 
 
 Miscellaneous Structures 75 
 
 247070 
 
Introductory 
 
 THE first point to be made clear is to 
 define the term "Engineering Prop- 
 erty." By this is usually meant a 
 large class of industrial properties 
 that would require the services of an engineer 
 in estimating their cost and in designing their 
 arrangement. That would include water works, 
 railroads, gas and electric light plants, water 
 power companies, and projects of that kind. 
 
 It is evident that the first question which 
 would naturally arise concerning an engineer- 
 ing property, is whether it will return a satis- 
 factory income on the investment, as well as 
 whether the original capital is there to stay 
 or will eventually deteriorate in value. To de- 
 termine this it is necessary to go through a 
 certain line of reasoning and to make the 
 proper deductions from that reasoning. The 
 purpose of this book is not to go into any 
 specific property, but is to show the line of 
 reasoning to be used in each class of property 
 in such a way that it can be understood by any 
 one that is not an engineer and to be of assist- 
 ance to him if he may be connected in any 
 one of the following projects. It is not in- 
 
 5 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 tended to be a technical work in the sense that 
 it is instructive to engineers in their profes- 
 sional capacity. Instead it is intended to make 
 clear the financial side of the subjects taken 
 up, and to show the professional duties of an 
 engineer which would have an influence on it. 
 It may seem as though few people would be 
 interested in the properties mentioned below, 
 but it is the purpose of this book to show 
 conclusively that practically any one who is 
 interested actively in business can find some- 
 thing of value in studying out these problems. 
 A promoter would want to know the cost of a 
 property as well as have a fair idea based on 
 the records of similar work, or what the prop- 
 erty in question is going to return to him finan- 
 cially. Similarly, an investor would not only 
 be interested in the probable income, but would 
 want to find out whether the bonds or stocks 
 issued against the property under his consid- 
 eration are backed by actual values of con- 
 struction. The owner of any manufacturing 
 plant is naturally interested in whether he will 
 be able to cut down his expenses by adding 
 equipment, such as conveying machinery, and 
 the various kinds of loading and unloading de- 
 vices. To the public at large, the value of a 
 property as determined by an engineer is im- 
 portant in the fact that when municipal im- 
 
If 
 
 INTRODUCTORY 
 
 provements are considered, such as water 
 power and the like, he practically pays through 
 his taxes and assessments for the cost of this 
 work, and any economy would be for his 
 benefit. 
 
 , An investigation to ascertain the first cost 
 of an engineering project or to investigate the 
 probable earnings would naturally apply to a 
 small property as well as to a large one, 
 and it is pertinent to say that no property, how- 
 ever small, should be carried out without the 
 assistance of a member of the engineering pro- 
 fession. The tremendous scope covered by it 
 makes it impossible for any one to cover the 
 whole class of subjects covered by the profes- 
 sion, and requires him to specialize along cer- 
 tain lines which he may consider most interest- 
 ing. This book, therefore, does not attempt to 
 cover all branches of engineering. Some of 
 which that are not included would be natural 
 and artificial gas projects, roads and pave- 
 ments, drainage systems for waste matter, 
 canals, and problems dealing with the efficiency 
 of management of industrial system. * The 
 class of properties considered here makes it 
 necessary to take up surveying, tunneling and 
 electric lighting, but only in their relation to 
 the subjects as given and not as a separate and 
 
 7 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 distinct class of work as undertaken by some 
 engineers. 
 
 In taking up the methods by which the 
 financial value can be reached, it will be neces- 
 sary to consider separately each class of prop- 
 erty which this book will cover. This is due 
 to the fact that not only will the parties in- 
 terested be of different class, but the methods 
 by which the value would be reached would be 
 treated in a different manner and the results 
 obtained would be considered from a different 
 standpoint in each case. 
 
 One thing is in common in all of the follow- 
 ing subjects. It is necessary for every engi- 
 neer to fulfil through himself or his staff the 
 duties of inspector. It is obvious that he must 
 see that his designs are carried out according 
 to his ideas, and that all his specifications are 
 lived up to. In the subjects following, his 
 specifications in regard to the quality of any 
 tnaterials which are to be used, are of the 
 greatest importance. Through his knowledge 
 of the physical properties of steel, concrete and 
 earth, he can obtain the most economical re- 
 sults possible and yet insure absolute safety. 
 The time to be allowed for any contract, and 
 the manner in which it should be done, would 
 also be embodied in any specifications. By re- 
 stricting any builder to a specified method of 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 erection he may ensure the completion of a 
 contract on time, and do so before any con- 
 tract has been consummated. 
 
 Any deductions in regard to the cost and 
 future success of any of these enterprises 
 would be obtained by comparing the results 
 of properties similar to the one under consid- 
 eration, taking into account any features which 
 may differ. It follows then that the investi- 
 gation of every property is a separate problem 
 by itself with its deductions based on previous 
 experience. It must be born in mind that the 
 subjects taken up in the following chapters 
 can be considered among the most conservative 
 investments because of the fact that they have 
 an actual property value behind them. This 
 property and the usual franchises and rights 
 that permit their operation, as obtained by the 
 following methods of reasoning, guarantee 
 their fundamental or capital value. 
 
Water Supply 
 
 A*~Y community that is considering a 
 water works system should take up 
 first the question as to whether there 
 is sufficient population within reach 
 to warrant the necessary outlay. This is de- 
 termined by taking a certain number of gal- 
 lons per person as the probable supply re- 
 quired, making an allowance for future growth 
 as determined by previous records which may 
 be in possession of the census authorities. The 
 next step is to have an estimate made of the 
 first cost of this work and the amount neces- 
 sary for maintenance. It is then possible to ar- 
 rive at a definite conclusion as to its financial 
 success by comparing the interest on first cost 
 plus the maintenance, with the probable earn- 
 ings. 
 
 The first cost may appear large but it must 
 be remembered that in any system of this 
 kind a continuous supply of water must be 
 guaranteed, and the safety of any dams 
 must be beyond question. To illustrate this 
 point it is only necessary to call attention to 
 the floods caused by broken dams and to the 
 heavy fire loss due to interruption of water 
 
WATER SUPPLY 
 
 service. The first cost would seem to be in- 
 creased by the fact that in order to insure 
 this continuous supply it is necessary to have 
 practically two complete plants, or to be more 
 exact, two complete sets of everything liable 
 to failure or requiring cleaning. This includes 
 of course, pumps, reservoirs and pipe lines. 
 The maintenance cost would vary considerably 
 with the kind of system used, whether gravity 
 or forced. 
 
 The gravity system should be used in every 
 case in which the natural facilities are at hand. 
 It will consist of a reservoir to catch and hold 
 until used, the natural rain fall of the district, 
 and the necessary pipe systems to connect the 
 reservoir with the consumer. In order to use 
 this system, however, it is necessary to have 
 high ground within reach of the community in 
 question. This high area must be large enough 
 to gather a plentiful supply, and high enough 
 so that water will flow from it by gravity into 
 the top stories of the tallest buildings in the 
 community below. This gravity system will be 
 the least expensive to maintain, and when 
 properly designed will be the most reliable. 
 
 The forced system is not all that could be 
 desired, but is necessary in a great many cases 
 on account of the fact that the community in 
 question may be on higher ground than the 
 
WATER SUPPLY 
 
 surrounding country. In the forced system it 
 is usual to drive wells and pump the supply 
 directly from the wells into a reservoir, usually 
 in the form of a steel stand pipe which acts 
 not only as a reservoir, but as a governor to 
 steady the water pressure. In this system it is 
 absolutely essential to have two complete sets 
 of pumps. They must be of a make both 
 reliable and noted for their long continued 
 action. 
 
 The geological nature of the land in which 
 any proposed system of wells is to be driven 
 is of the greatest importance and would be 
 gone into by the engineer investigating a forced 
 system of this kind. It does not always follow 
 that the underground drainage will flow in the 
 same direction as the surface drainage. The 
 study of the geological formation of the strata 
 underground will show the general inclination 
 of these various strata and the probable area 
 drained by them. It has the further advantage 
 of showing whether the supply of water to be 
 drawn off would come from a direction in 
 which contamination may be expected* due to 
 the presence of a drainage system of a nearby 
 community. 
 
 One of the oldest forms of pumps which can 
 be considered in a class by itself as it is entirely 
 automatic, is a hydraulic water ram. Under 
 
WATER SUPPLY 
 
 proper conditions it would be considered as 
 good a as gravity system. 
 
 The action of a ram can force a small pro- 
 portion of the total amount of water obtained 
 to a considerable height above the source of 
 supply and do so entirely by automatic action. 
 This system, however, can seldom be made on 
 a large enough scale to be of use to any consid- 
 erable community. It is most important in the 
 water supply of small villages and to the 
 owner of large industrial plants, and as such 
 can be considered a profitable investment. 
 
 It often happens in water supply problems 
 that the water in question will hold in sus- 
 pension a considerable amount of earthy mat- 
 ter which will be in such fine particles that it 
 will not settle to the bottom while in a reser- 
 voir. It must be understood that this sedi- 
 ment in no way impairs the value of it for 
 drinking purposes if it can be filtered out. This 
 is done by the construction of filter beds. 
 
 The latest type of filter bed is made of re- 
 inforced concrete. It consists of a reservoir 
 divided into several compartments that can be 
 separately operated. Along the bottom of 
 these reservoirs are placed a number of cov- 
 ered drains on the top of which is placed first 
 a coarse grade of sand, and then finer grades. 
 The action of these filters is obtained by run- 
 14 
 
WATER SUPPLY 
 
 ning water in at the top allowing it to perco- 
 late slowly through the sand, finally to be 
 taken up by the drains and carried away 
 in a clear state. The use of alum placed in so- 
 lution in the unfiltered water has been found 
 to assist this operation materially. 
 
 The sand, of course, collects all the sedi- 
 ment that was previously held in suspension 
 and will become useless in a short time. At 
 stated periods the top layer of sand must be 
 removed, washed, and then replaced. This op- 
 eration makes it necessary to have filter beds 
 divided into separate compartments and ad- 
 ditional filtration surface to make up for this 
 cleaning. 
 
 When properly proportioned by the engineer 
 in charge this method of getting rid of the 
 matter held in suspension, is very efficient and 
 the result will be a clear water. Filter beds 
 will increase the first cost as well as the cost 
 of maintenance of any system but will not 
 necessarily bring these two costs high enough 
 to make the financial outcome at all doubtful. 
 
 The most important duty of an engineer is in 
 the selection of the kind of system to be used 
 and in the proper designing of it. He would 
 make use of every natural advantage found 
 within the vicinity in which this system may 
 happen to be. He should be assisted by the 
 
WATER SUPPLY 
 
 proper authorities in obtaining the necessary 
 information as to population and data of a 
 geological nature. The value of an engineer 
 in determining the correct methods to be used 
 in any system, can not be over estimated. 
 
 From the standpoint of the taxpayer it is 
 not only a matter of economy but one of purity 
 of water, safety and continuance of operation, 
 and it is for him to realize that in any water 
 system the strictest economy seldom proves the 
 wisest course in the end. It is of interest to 
 him as a probable consumer to see that the 
 engineer in charge has had chemical tests made 
 on the water to be used and that the result of 
 those tests will give a soft water free from all 
 injurious bacteria. It is of extreme import- 
 ance to him to know that the derivation of 
 this supply is away from the influence of the 
 drainage system of nearby cities. Further, it 
 is well for him to see that laws are enacted 
 and what is more important, to see that they 
 are enforced, which will prohibit any one from 
 tampering with the reservoirs of the proposed 
 system. 
 
 The investor, however, must necessarily 
 look at any water proposition from the stand- 
 point of an investment and not as a consumer. 
 To this end he must know whether he will re- 
 ceive a reasonable income and be sure that his 
 
 16 
 
WATER SUPPLY 
 
 capital will not deteriorate. In regard to the 
 deterioration of property, it can be said, that 
 water supply companies are considered as be- 
 ing the most lasting of any class of securities. 
 
 It is obvious that water is not a luxury. It 
 must be used every day whether in times of 
 panic or not, and if once installed can be 
 counted on as being permanent. In regard to the 
 deterioriation of this class of property, it is 
 well to note that it is less than almost anything 
 else, and can insure the investor that whatever 
 was put into the property can be gotten out in 
 the end, provided a small allowance has been 
 made for renewals and maintenance. It is 
 well to say here that gravity systems in par- 
 ticular do not require many renewals. 
 
 In relation to the cost of maintenance it 
 can be said that it is usually a steady amount 
 which can be counted on many years in the fu- 
 ture, and that any fluctuation which may arise 
 is generally due to future extensions which 
 would be considered as a separate investment. 
 It is pertinent to say that here again the grav- 
 ity system is superior in economy over its 
 alternative, the forced system which requires 
 pumping. To arrive at a definite basis on 
 which to base any calculations as to whether 
 a water supply property is a good investment, 
 it is best to find out definitely if the proper 
 
WATER SUPPLY 
 
 authorities have authorized the financial end 
 of it. After that, the fact that the bonds rep- 
 resent actual value can be ascertained through 
 an engineer who can place the value on the 
 property. 
 
 The cost of maintenance and operation can 
 be also valuated by him. Its probable earnings 
 are much easier to estimate upon. Knowing 
 the population which the system in question 
 covers, it would be easy to derive the total 
 amount of water to be consumed if the con- 
 servative allowance per capita of eighty gal- 
 lons per day be used. This total quantity of 
 water, when reduced by the usual water rate 
 in force in that part of the country, will give 
 a probable income which is more certain than 
 almost any other estimated income. As a class, 
 water supply companies will give to the in- 
 vestor a sure income and an actual value be- 
 hind the capital it represents. 
 
 18 
 
Electric and Steam Railroads 
 
 IN THIS discussion of railroads only new 
 systems will be considered. Rail- 
 roads which have been in operation for 
 any length of time can show their earn- 
 ings and general ability to prove their worth 
 from previous records. On the other hand, a 
 new location has to be studied as a separate 
 problem, and should be done by an engineer. 
 It should be emphasized that the duties of an 
 engineer in the first location of a railroad sys- 
 tem, whether it taps new or thickly populated 
 country, is of the greatest importance. In 
 showing the relation of an engineer to the pub- 
 lic, it would be pertinent to give some idea of 
 what he can accomplish by making use of 
 every natural feature which may come to his 
 attention. 
 
 In the first place the primary cause for 
 building a railroad is to connect two important 
 places. In general there are several different 
 routes which will connect any two points. The 
 choice of the final route is usually governed by 
 the topographical nature of the country. The 
 topographical features of a certain district 
 might be explained by saying that rivers, 
 
RAILROADS 
 
 mountains, or any rise or fall of the surface 
 of the country would be considered as a topo- 
 graphical feature. That is topography is the 
 condition of the surface as left by nature. 
 
 It is obvious that it would be more econom- 
 ical to construct a railroad which would re- 
 quire the least amount of grading and the few- 
 est streams to bridge. The effect of choice of 
 route is most noticeable when going through 
 a mountainous country. 
 
 In locating a railroad the engineer cannot 
 always pick out the most economical route be- 
 cause in so doing he may not touch important 
 points that should be on the future system. It 
 is for him to decide whether the extra cost in 
 reaching this point would be made up by the 
 revenue derived from it. For instance, a town 
 may be situated on the opposite bank of the 
 river from which the location would naturally 
 be laid out and would, therefore, require a 
 bridge to enter the town and probably one to 
 leave it. To estimate as to whether this would 
 be worth while, it would be necessary to find 
 the cost of the bridges in question and com- 
 pare the interest on that cost with the prob- 
 able income derived from it. 
 
 It oftens happens that instead of a stream 
 to encounter, a city may be situated so high 
 from the rest of the line that it would require 
 
RAILROADS 
 
 considerable grades to reach it. In this way 
 it is evident that it is not always profitable to 
 reach every town on a line and that any sys- 
 tem should not necessarily be condemned 
 simply because it does not tap everything 
 within apparent reach. 
 
 The customary method of speaking of grades 
 is in percentages. That is, when a one per 
 cent, grade is spoken of it would mean a rise 
 from the horizontal of one foot vertically while 
 going through a distance of one hundred feet. 
 The effect of grades on traffic can best be 
 shown by stating that an engine can only pull 
 one-third of the freight up a one per cent, 
 grade that it can on a level track. And of 
 course any increase of grade will decrease the 
 amount of traffic that can be carried by any 
 one engine. 
 
 The question of grades has a very important 
 effect on the future maintenance of any pro- 
 posed system. It is the duty of a locating 
 engineer to strike a just balance between the 
 interest on the first cost of reducing grades, 
 and the saving in maintenance due to this re- 
 duction. In branch lines, in which traffic will 
 not be of a heavy character like coal or ore, 
 it will be found that the most economical 
 method will be to permit heavy grades and 
 save on the first cost. 
 
RAILROADS 
 
 A heavy trunk line will find itself extremely 
 inconvenienced and its maintenance cost run- 
 ning too high if it is not laid out with due re- 
 gard to the proper grades and their influence 
 on future maintenance. This only emphasizes 
 the fact that the success or failure of a, pro- 
 posed railroad system is dependent largely on 
 the ability of the locating engineer. Another 
 item which enters strongly into the mainten- 
 ance cost and the general efficiency of any 
 system is the road bed itself. By that is meant 
 the rails, the ties on which they lay, and finally 
 the actual ground itself. The size of rails to 
 be used is always governed by the traffic ex- 
 pected to run over them. A railroad that has 
 considerable grades may find it best to use 
 heavy engines which will make it necessary to 
 lay the system throughout with heavy rails. 
 Vice versa, light traffic will accomplish great 
 economy in first cost. 
 
 The ties upon which the rails rest must be 
 chosen in accordance with the traffic used. 
 That is, large ties for heavy traffic and small 
 ties spaced further apart for light traffic. In 
 any permanent road where the cost of timber 
 is high it may prove profitable to put these 
 ties through one of the many preserving pro- 
 cesses. 
 
 Drainage is the most important point about 
 
RAILROADS 
 
 the actual condition of the road bed itself. 
 Good drainage should be obtained no matter 
 whether the proposed system is permanent or 
 temporary, as it is practically the foundation 
 upon which the whole operating equipment 
 moves. No locating engineer would permit 
 a saving in expense at the cost of a probable 
 future washout. 
 
 In general the choice between the power 
 used, either steam or electricity, is made on ac- 
 count of the haulage expected. Steam is in 
 use for long hauls where speed would be re- 
 quired, while electricity at the present time is 
 used on most slow speed lines and where 
 freight or passengers would be expected to 
 travel only a short distance. The cost of in- 
 stalling the proper apparatus for a long dis- 
 tance electric railroad is considerably above 
 that of a steam railroad. This extra cost is 
 occasioned by laying a third rail and the neces- 
 sary transmission systems to get the electric 
 power to that third rail when at a distance from 
 the source of current. Steam, therefore, is 
 the motive power for practically all lon dis- 
 tance railroads in which each piece of freight 
 can be expected to cover a long haul. 
 
 Electricity is always favored for urban traf- 
 fic, not only on account of its cleanliness, but 
 on account of the fact that it is more econom- 
 23 
 
RAILROADS 
 
 ical than steam when a greater number of 
 transportation units are moved over a short 
 line. An investigation of power consumption 
 seems to show that electricity for transpor- 
 tation purposes in urban traffic is more eco- 
 nomical than steam. 
 
 While speaking of power it is well to note 
 a comparatively new system which has shown 
 evidences of having a good future before it. 
 This method is to generate electricity by a 
 gasolene motor, which is mounted upon a car 
 making an independent power generating plant. 
 For branch lines extending from a trunk rail- 
 way this will probably prove to be a consid- 
 erable factor in reducing maintenance cost. 
 
 In special cases it may prove expedient to 
 make use of hydraulic power and convert the 
 same into electricity for the use of transit 
 systems. The subject of hydraulic power will 
 be taken up later under its own classification 
 and will not be considered here. 
 
 It often proves advisable to tunnel through 
 a mountain instead of going around it or 
 climbing up to its top gradually by the use of 
 a long grade. Tunnels as a rule should be 
 avoided, especially on new lines, as they tend 
 to increase the first cost. They prove ad- 
 vantageous, however, in reducing grades on es- 
 tablished systems and can be bored with per- 
 
RAILROADS 
 
 feet accuracy. They are, however, an expen- 
 sive addition to the road bed and should be 
 avoided if possible. In constructing a tunnel 
 an engineer will attempt to drill it at as many 
 places as possible in order to save time. The 
 customary idea that tunneling is a problemati- 
 cal experiment based entirely on guess work 
 is erroneous. Any engineer accustomed to 
 that work can estimate its cost very closely 
 and can be certain of carrying it through suc- 
 cessfully. 
 
 Bridges enter into the construction of a rail- 
 road and have an important effect on its cost. 
 The methods by which an engineer would take 
 up a structure of this kind will be fully ex- 
 plained later. 
 
 An investor who is considering entering into 
 the financial end of any proposed railroad 
 should take up first of all the question of what 
 does this railroad connect. In other words, 
 is the city at each end of the line attractive 
 *|nough to make this road a success. 
 I. He must remember that a proposed line 
 often connects a large city with a trunk line 
 or with a terminal, and in that event he can 
 leave out of his consideration the population 
 at the end where the connection to the original 
 system is to be made. Instead he should take 
 up the traffic that exists on the line connected, 
 and consider its effect on his proposed system. 
 
RAILROADS 
 
 If the line is long and goes through fertile and 
 thinly populated country, it can be assumed 
 that after a few years that country will be 
 paying its share for freight. 
 
 It must be born in mind that a railroad 
 tends to build up its surroundings, which in 
 turn increases the value of the railroad itself, 
 and that slow growth based on conservative 
 operation will eventually be the best. 
 
 It is not advisable to invest in any system 
 that is operated through a country that has 
 undergone too fast a growth. A mushroom 
 growth is generally followed by an equally 
 quick shrinkage. The fundamental idea in in- 
 vesting in any railroad system is to have real 
 worth behind it. This will be shown in its 
 earnings if the system passes through fertile 
 soil and large cities, or connects other transit 
 systems that have been established and have 
 proven their worth. 
 
 In other words, the fundamental basis on 
 which all railroad property should be based is 
 that of stability caused by actual manufactur- 
 ing industries of a staple character, or by the 
 actual proof that the land traversed is cap- 
 able of growing good crops. Of course it is 
 not necessary that a proposed system should 
 pass through this district, but if not, it should 
 be a connecting link between districts of that 
 nature. 
 
 26 
 
RAILROADS 
 
 To insure the capital invested it is neces- 
 sary to see that the financiers have received 
 their franchises and rights from the proper au- 
 thorities. Overcapitalization can be guarded 
 against by seeing that the engineer's estimate 
 of original cost has not been exceeded except 
 by that due to maintenance for the first few 
 years. 
 
 The above suggestions would apply, of 
 course, to a promotor who would wish to see 
 his securities on the market and give good re- 
 sults to his customers. A promotor can apply 
 the engineer's estimate of the first cost and his 
 own knowledge of the territory traversed and 
 from that reach a definite conclusion as to the 
 financial worth of his system. The public in 
 general should realize that for every dollar 
 saved by an engineer they will evidently bene- 
 fit to some extent through the reduction of 
 freight charges and passenger rates. 
 
 Competition is an important point to con- 
 sider in investing in a new railroad system. 
 The customary idea that competition is ruin- 
 ous to the success of a new railroad is very 
 often wrong. If it can be proved that the new- 
 system under consideration has a road bed 
 which can be operated more economically than 
 its competitor, and that will get equal rights 
 to operate, it will turn out to be an advantage 
 instead of a detriment. It will not be neces- 
 27 
 
RAILROADS 
 
 sary in this case to enter an entirely new terri- 
 tory and build up its own trade, but will in- 
 stead outdo its old competitor by virtue of its 
 better location and more economical operation. 
 
 There is one class of railroad that may be 
 considered profitably, though not coming un- 
 der the head of a railroad as understood by the 
 public at large. Many mines and large indus- 
 trial plants find it to their advantage to add 
 small transportation equipments of their own. 
 A railroad of this kind can be made profitable 
 on any long haul in which the freight to be 
 carried consists of large, bulky material, such 
 as ore and coal. 
 
 It has the advantage over other railroads 
 that its income derived from transportation is 
 a known factor and established by the com- 
 pany which operates it. That is, an ore prop- 
 erty operating its own system would know 
 definitely how much material it would carry, 
 as well as the distance over which it would be 
 hauled. 
 
 The cost of maintenance and the first cost 
 would be derived by an engineer in the same 
 manner in which he would obtain them in a 
 public railway system. He may, however, be 
 assisted by the fact that he could use a nar- 
 row gauge for his rails and save in road bed 
 expenses. 
 
 28 
 
Hydraulic Power Systems 
 
 THERE are two ways of classifying 
 hydraulic power plants in regard 
 to their purpose. The first is one 
 in which a company is already 
 formed and has been using as its prime mover 
 either steam or some other form of energy. 
 This company would look at water power 
 purely as a matter of economy and the ques- 
 tion of a market for its power would be set- 
 tled. That is, a hydraulic plant would be con- 
 sidered only as a cheaper method of obtaining 
 energy. 
 
 For instance, it often happens that a com- 
 pany has been formed and has been in opera- 
 tion for some time, which will manufacture 
 a certain sort of product. It may be brought 
 to the attention of the owner at some later date 
 that within a few miles of the site of his in- 
 dustrial plant is located a source of water 
 supply, probably in the form of some stream 
 which may have a waterfall or rapids some- 
 where on its course. If it should be a mill in 
 which the water wheel can be directly con- 
 nected to the machinery, or if it has to be 
 transformed into electrical energy and sent 
 
HYDRAULIC POWER SYSTEMS 
 
 through a transmission line to the manufac- 
 turing plant, is a question that must be de- 
 cided by the engineer who is designing and 
 estimating on this work. The owner must 
 take into account the fact that in order to be 
 economical the operating cost of his water 
 plant must not only be cheaper than the op- 
 erating cost, including the price of the coaTln 
 a steam plant, but the sum of that operating 
 cost and the interest on the cost of installa- 
 tion of the water power must be less than that 
 of steam. 
 
 This is decided by the topographical features 
 of the country in relation to its water supply 
 and the price of coal at that locality. It is 
 a common thing for paper mills, saw mills, and 
 flour mills, or, in fact, any other mill requiring 
 power that may be located in the country, to 
 be run by hydraulic power. In showing the 
 relation of an engineer to the public, and in 
 bringing out the facts which govern the finan- 
 cial value of a hydraulic plant, it would be best 
 to give some of the reasons which would in- 
 fluence him in his decision. 
 
 The most economical method of operation is 
 to run the machinery directly from the water 
 wheel itself instead of transforming the me- 
 chanical power derived from water into elec- 
 
 30 
 
HYDRAULIC POWER SYSTEMS 
 
 trical energy, transporting it a short distance 
 and converting it again into mechanical power. 
 
 In a direct connected system it is necessary 
 to have the water wheels or turbines within 
 a short distance of the machinery to be run. 
 It must be understood that this distance re- 
 ferred to means not only a short distance on 
 the level, but must be within a small distance 
 vertically. Unfortunately it is seldom possible 
 to put a power using mill in the bottom of a 
 narrow valley where the actual turbines would 
 be ordinarily placed. Whenever this is pos- 
 sible, however, it would be used instead of 
 electricity. The actual connection between the 
 water wheels and the machinery in an indus- 
 trial plant would be made in this case by 
 shafting, and any reduction of speed, due to 
 the fact that the most efficient speed of that 
 water wheel may be different from that of the 
 machinery, would be made through reduction 
 gears. The engineer in charge would, of 
 course, make his decision whether direct con- 
 nection would be advantageous, by consider- 
 ing each project as a separate study. 
 
 It will be pertinent to say that almost any 
 quantity of water power can be used. If the 
 quantity at hand is too small to run the ma- 
 chinery required, it can be stored in a reser- 
 voir similar to the reservoirs used in water 
 31 
 
HYDRAULIC POWER SYSTEMS 
 
 supply for cities, and the quantity stored can 
 be used in intermittent periods in which the 
 full power can be obtained. 
 
 The second case to consider is one in which 
 the purpose of the hydraulic plant is to sell 
 the power generated to different customers in- 
 stead of as in the first case, erecting this power 
 plant for the sole purpose of furnishing power 
 for the owner's benefit. It is obvious that a 
 direct connected hydraulic plant cannot be used 
 when the power consumed will be taken up 
 by many different customers. 
 
 The distance from source of supply to con- 
 sumer is a large factor in establishing the 
 financial future of any hydraulic company. It 
 has been found by practice that there is a loss 
 of energy in transmission lines which carry 
 electricity over any great distance. Also the 
 first cost of the line makes it prohibitive for 
 any but the largest companies to carry their 
 power over any considerable distance. 
 
 It would be well in a company of this second 
 class to look carefully into the question of the 
 sale of power and to make sure that there is 
 sufficient market to consume all the power 
 generated. Within a short distance, which will 
 depend of course on the size of plant erected, 
 should be a large enough community to con- 
 sume all this power. It is best in this case 
 3* 
 
HYDRAULIC POWER SYSTEMS 
 
 to take a community which will take away an 
 even supply of energy, and in doing so cut 
 down what is known as the peak load. By a 
 peak load is meant an extra load which would 
 occur at a certain time in the day. That is 
 generally about 5:30 o'clock in the ordinary 
 city, when factories and offices are lighting up 
 and when traffic undergoes its rush hour, and 
 in addition, residences will require lights. In 
 general any power plant that has for its con- 
 sumers those who will consume steady power, 
 can be considered as a good business project. 
 As an example of this steady consumption of 
 current, it could be said that any power plant 
 devoting its energy to a number of manu- 
 facturing industries which are more or less 
 constant and which keep steady hours of op- 
 eration, are bound to show themselves to be 
 a profitable class of consumers. It is seldom 
 possible, however, to have consumers so placed 
 that a sudden increase of power used can be 
 avoided. It will be the duty of the engineer, 
 therefore, to use his knowledge in forming 
 some method of distributing his machinery so 
 this sudden increase of power can be taken 
 care of, and without adding any extra amount 
 of machinery. 
 
 The most difficult question to the engineer 
 is in the design of dams. It is of the most 
 
 33 
 
HYDRAULIC POWER SYSTEMS 
 
 importance to design a dam that is safe. The 
 loss of property caused by sudden floods, and 
 the possible loss of life makes necessary the 
 most careful attention of any engineer. The 
 purpose of a dam is either to back water up 
 to the level required, or to act as a reservoir 
 to retain a sufficient quantity to keep the hy- 
 draulic plant going in time of a drought. If 
 the case of a large slow-moving river be con- 
 sidered, it can be readily seen that a dam 
 stretched across it will back up the water be- 
 hind it until it reaches the top of the dam and 
 this dam would be considered as one serving 
 only as a wall to back the water up to the re- 
 quired level. It often happens, though, that 
 a stream high up in the mountains will run 
 dry in the Fall and will be full of water in the 
 Spring. An engineer in designing a dam for 
 this case would design it primarily in relation 
 to its purpose as the closing wall of a reser- 
 voir. To be sure, it may act similarly to the 
 first case, but its primary object will be to 
 store up sufficient water to last over periods 
 of dry weather. An engineer accustomed to 
 this class of work would pay his strictest at- 
 tention to the foundation upon which the dam 
 sets, and would personally see that his direc- 
 tions were carried out. The kind of dam used, 
 whether a concrete, steel, or an earth embank- 
 
 34 
 
HYDRAULIC POWER SYSTEMS 
 
 ment, is one to be decided upon when the 
 different natural conditions have been care- 
 fully looked into. 
 
 It may be of interest to know that no mat- 
 ter what kind of a dam is built it is always 
 advisable to have in it what is called a spill- 
 way. A spillway is a wall, the top of which 
 is lower than the top of the dam. If the water 
 rises too high, as it would in times of ex- 
 tremely wet weather, it will flow over this 
 spillway and away from the dam. This 
 method of getting rid of a sudden rise of 
 water prevents any injurious action to a dam 
 by directing the waste into channels which are 
 made especially for that purpose. 
 
 The question of the amount of energy or 
 power to be derived from any stream or water 
 shed can only be decided by an engineer. It 
 may be of service to others, however, to have 
 a general idea of what his duties would be in 
 this case. In the first place he would be ex- 
 pected to collect all data available in reference 
 to the rain fall of that region and to note care- 
 fully the length of periods of drought that oc- 
 curred in the past. He must then visit the site 
 of the proposed plant and make careful sur- 
 veys. These surveys would include all the 
 topographical features encountered and as 
 much data as possible of a geological nature. 
 
 35 
 
HYDRAULIC POWER SYSTEMS 
 
 Further, this survey must include a series of 
 stream discharge measurements covering a 
 reasonable length of time. That is, he must 
 not only know how much water is flowing 
 through that stream, but he must have a rea- 
 sonable knowledge of the average quantity of 
 water which that stream is capable of dis- 
 charging over a long period. In addition to 
 that it is absolutely necessary to have careful 
 systems of levels run along the banks of the 
 stream in order to find out how much available 
 head he will be able to obtain. The available 
 head of a hydraulic plant is the difference in 
 height between the point where the water is 
 taken from, and from the point where the 
 actual turbines, or water wheels from which 
 the power is derived, are located. The actual 
 amount of energy that is possible to be derived 
 from any one power plant is dependent chiefly 
 on the amount of water available and on this 
 so-called head. 
 
 An engineer can calculate the amount of 
 power to be obtained in any case and can de- 
 sign and estimate the first cost and cost of 
 maintenance on any water system. In his 
 estimate and design of a system it is part of 
 his work to see that the kind of power ma- 
 chinery is used that will give the most efficient 
 results consistent with the conditions which 
 36 
 
HYDRAULIC POWER SYSTEMS 
 
 meet him. That is, if he can obtain a high 
 head or a low available head of water, he must 
 design the water wheels in proportion, and in 
 doing so obtain the greatest amount of energy 
 possible to be derived from the amount of 
 water that can be obtained. 
 
 It has been found best to use a form of 
 water wheel, known as an undershot wheel, 
 wherever the actual fall of the water is under 
 four or five feet. It may be interesting to 
 note that this is the original kind of water 
 wheel used when water power was first in 
 use. From available heads of five feet to four 
 or five hundred, turbines have been found to 
 be the most efficient. They would be designed, 
 however, especially for the available head to be 
 used in each case, and it should be remembered 
 that they are not bought and sold like mer- 
 chandise, but are subject to the design of an 
 engineer. Any height of water over this 
 makes it necessary to use a new type of wheel 
 known as an impulse wheel. Its power is de- 
 rived entirely from the striking force of the 
 water instead of its weight. It is possible for 
 an engineer to foretell with accuracy whether 
 the proposed company will be a success finan- 
 cially as far as the amount of power and the 
 cost of it is concerned. 
 
 Its market is either governed by an indi- 
 
 37 
 
HYDRAULIC POWER SYSTEMS 
 
 vidual as in the first case mentioned at the 
 start of this article, or is sold to a community. 
 In the latter case the promoter and financiers 
 would be the ones to decide whether the 
 amount of available energy could be disposed 
 of at a profit. 
 
 To an investor considering a water power 
 problem four points are of the greatest im- 
 portance. The first one is the quantity of 
 power to be derived and actually found at the 
 point of consumption, which is, of course a 
 matter to be decided by an engineer. The 
 second point is the fact that the bonds repre- 
 sent actual values put in construction. The 
 third point is the question of water rights. It 
 should be known that the proper authorities 
 have authorized and given their consent to the 
 water rights of any proposed power plant. 
 The fourth point, market, is decided mostly by 
 that rare quality known as common sense. By 
 this is meant the ability to know that after 
 having generated a certain quantity of power, 
 that it is possible to sell that power at a profit- 
 able rate. The interest on the first cost added 
 to the maintenance cost, as derived by the en- 
 gineer in charge, will give the expenses to be 
 expected by any company. The probable in- 
 come would be the total quantity of energy 
 derived, taking into account the rates favored 
 38 
 
HYDRAULIC POWER SYSTEMS f 
 
 by competitors that may be operating in that 
 vicinity. As has been said before, the question 
 of the competitor's prices for power, and of 
 finding a suitable market, would not interest 
 the owner of an industrial plant, as he would 
 probably undertake this proposition for the 
 sole purpose of effecting an economy in an in- 
 dustrial plant already erected. 
 
 Hydraulic power companies have the advant- 
 age as an investment that the original capital is 
 represented by an actual property of intrinsic 
 worth. The water rights, franchises, machin- 
 ery and other equipment, all represent a value 
 that would not deteriorate in the future. If 
 the consumption of the power generated has 
 been established, it will be found that the 
 fundamental value behind the capital will in- 
 crease in value. This increase is due to the 
 fact that a reduction of power cost in 
 any vicinity will tend to increase industry. 
 
 39 
 
Drainage of Lands Partly 
 Inundated 
 
 THE first question that would rise in 
 a drainage problem, the nature of 
 which is to drain water from a 
 marsh and to make it productive, 
 is to note whether there is an outlet for the 
 water that is to be drained off. In almost 
 every case a marsh or partly inundated stretch 
 of land will be situated near a water course 
 in such a way that this question of outlet will 
 not be serious. It must be borne in mind, 
 however, that, in certain cases such as in sink 
 holes which occur in Florida, these marshes 
 will not be so situated, and then the question 
 of outlet must be carefully considered. There- 
 fore, the drainage of the usual type of marsh, 
 that is, a marsh situated near a river or lake, 
 can generally be made a successful and profit- 
 paying improvement. 
 
 The actual methods of drainage itself -can 
 be divided into two classes. The most com- 
 mon and advantageous one is that in which 
 natural drainage will carry away the flow of 
 water by gravity. The second case is one in 
 which pumps are used to pump this water 
 41 
 
DRAINAGE 
 
 away and is financially successful only in 
 large areas and in special cases. The drainage 
 of Holland was accomplished almost wholly 
 by this second method. It is obvious that any 
 system which drains land solely by the natural 
 flow of water costs less to maintain than one 
 in which that flow must be assisted by the 
 action of pumps. In a pumping system there 
 is not only the first cost of the pumps and 
 their installation, but the cost of maintaining 
 them at their proper state of efficiency. The 
 cost of maintenance would consist of the fuel 
 and the lubricating oils used, and finally the 
 cost of the men themselves who operate these 
 pumps. In small plants the fuel used may 
 profitably be gasolene, and in some special 
 cases gasolene or steam could be assisted by 
 wind mills. The latter, however, should not 
 be counted on to do the work alone, as they 
 are unreliable in times of excessive rainfall, 
 when the pumps would be required immedi- 
 ately. It is obvious that the salaries of men 
 employed in operating the pumps would be 
 less in gasolene than in steam. This whole 
 cost of maintenance becomes less and less per 
 acre as the size of the area to be improved is 
 increased. That is, a large area can maintain 
 a pumping outfit at a comparatively small cost 
 per acre. 
 
DRAINAGE 
 
 On the other hand, the maintenance of a 
 gravity system is practically nothing with the 
 exception of occasional repairing of ditches 
 and dikes. It is possible for a drainage engi- 
 neer to economize in his design and arrange- 
 ment of a system. He is able through his 
 knowledge of waterflow and seepage through 
 soils of different nature, to obtain the utmost 
 efficiency out of the size and location of the 
 drains which he lays out. 
 
 Up to the present date there are two gen- 
 eral systems in use. The open system is com- 
 posed of open drains traversing the field in 
 question in such a manner that the maximum 
 amount of water will be carried away with 
 the least amount of expense in digging these 
 ditches. The other system has for its drain, 
 pipes, generally of vitrified clay, which are laid 
 down a few feet beneath the surface and are 
 then covered up. Any water held in suspen- 
 sion by the soil above gradually enters the 
 joints between the ends of the pipe and is then 
 carried away to the outlet. This latter system 
 is more expensive than the first, but hcfs the 
 advantage that the top soil is left undisturbed 
 for cultivation. In general the aim of the en- 
 gineer in laying out drains is to form them in 
 straight lines perpendicular to the natural flow 
 of the water, in nearly every case this will 
 
 43 
 
DRAINAGE 
 
 result in a gridiron effect in which the various 
 branches will end into a main drain, which in 
 itself will carry the water into the outlet. 
 
 The area that can be made useful by proper 
 draining is greater than would be supposed. 
 Almost every river or lake of any size has at 
 its edge big areas of land which can be im- 
 proved and raised from a condition of useless- 
 ness to one of equality with the best farm 
 lands surrounding. Lakes and streams located 
 in flat countries are specially liable to have 
 a big percentage of the acreage surrounding 
 them in the form of a marsh. In general a 
 farm which has the advantage of a pond or 
 water frontage on a river, will also have the 
 disadvantage of a considerable amount of use- 
 less land included in its area. 
 
 Part of these marshes can be readily re- 
 claimed and made useful by the simple method 
 of building a dike or embankment of earth 
 between the water course in question and the 
 marsh. If possible a channel could then be 
 dug from the marsh itself to a point down 
 stream which would then permit drainage by 
 the natural flow of water. To explain this 
 further, it should be borne in mind that the 
 part of the water course immediately adjacent 
 to the marsh under consideration would be at 
 the same level as the water in the marsh itself. 
 
 44 
 
DRAINAGE 
 
 But every stream tends to flow down hill, and 
 therefore, if it is possible to connect the marsh 
 by a separate channel to that point down 
 stream, and in the meantime protect it by 
 an embankment from the water in the stream 
 near it, it will prove a convenient method of 
 drying the land in question without the use of 
 pumps. If this is not possible, direct pumping 
 would have to be resorted to and could be 
 made profitable on a large enough area. 
 
 The usual condition for hilly country 
 through which a stream passes, is that the part 
 of the slope of the hills nearest the stream is 
 in a perpetually wet state. Drainage from the 
 hills in that vicinity sometimes have the effect 
 of making a marsh of the land adjacent to the 
 water course, although it may be a few feet 
 above water. A case of this kind is the least 
 difficult of all to drain. The fact that the 
 land in question is located above the natural 
 water level for that vicinity makes it possible 
 to use the natural flow of the water itself in 
 drying the land so that it may be made pro- 
 ductive. The productivity here is made sure 
 by the fact that the roots of all plants, except 
 the largest trees, will be above the natural 
 level of the water held in that stream and will, 
 therefore, be unharmed by too much moisture. 
 
 45 
 
DRAINAGE 
 
 Land of this kind cannot be subject to floods 
 if properly drained. 
 
 Florida and a great many Southern states 
 that are not mountainous have marshes with- 
 out any apparent outlet. They are sometimes 
 dry part of the year but seldom dry enough 
 for cultivation. A considerable amount of this 
 waste land can be saved by applying the proper 
 methods suitable to each case. If possible a 
 drain would be dug from one of these sink 
 holes to a stream or outlet nearby and would 
 in this way obtain good results without any 
 mechanical assistance. If this is not pos- 
 sible a pipe line would extend from the lowest 
 point in that marsh to the nearest outlet in 
 that vicinity and drainage would be obtained 
 by pumping. Drains radiating from the low- 
 est point in the marsh would serve to collect 
 the water and bring it to the pumps. One 
 point will always be taken into account and 
 that is to provide a sufficient reservoir by ex- 
 cavation if necessary at that point of lowest 
 depression in order to provide for any sudden 
 rainfall. The water collected can then be 
 pumped out slowly and the danger of flooding 
 avoided. 
 
 It must be borne in mind that an engineer 
 would always attempt to use the gravity sys- 
 tem where the natural conditions would allow. 
 46 
 
DRAINAGE 
 
 The forced system, however, can be made 
 profitable when the area to be drained is large, 
 and where the outlet is not at too great a dis- 
 tance. The land uncovered after a sink hole 
 has been drained, is at least as good as the 
 surrounding land and can usually be counted 
 upon to raise better crops, due to the fact that 
 the water held in suspension seems to collect 
 fertilizing elements. 
 
 An engineer accustomed to drainage work 
 can pick out the best method that will ac- 
 complish the result required by making use of 
 all natural facilities at hand. He can obtain, 
 both in the methods employed and in seeing 
 that his method and ideas are properly carried 
 out, the strictest economy for the benefit of 
 those interested in any improvement of this 
 nature, and in that way assist in making it a 
 financial success. 
 
 The financial end of an improvement of this 
 kind would be of interest to two classes of 
 people. It often happens that a company will 
 be formed by men of means to buy a large 
 acreage of marshland with the intentiofl of im- 
 proving it by the use of drainage and then 
 sell the land improved at prices under which 
 farm lands in that vicinity are usually sold. 
 A financial venture of this kind can be made 
 a profitable one entailing a minimum amount 
 of risk. 
 
 47 
 
DRAINAGE 
 
 The first thing that anyone interested in 
 such a company must take up, is whether the 
 title for the land in question is good, both 
 before improvements and after the nature of 
 the land has been changed. The question of 
 title of lands under water that border on a 
 navigable stream, is one that should be care- 
 fully considered. The simple fact that it 
 borders on the property of the company or 
 individual installing an improvement of this 
 nature will not necessarily establish the owner- 
 ship of any land that may be reclaimed from 
 under water. 
 
 It is of the greatest importance to know that 
 after having made these improvements that the 
 resulting property can be used for the purpose 
 of growing crops. Any land that is not com- 
 posed of stony ground, and which is not under 
 the influence of salt water, can be made to 
 produce the usual crops found in that vicinity. 
 Fortunately it is possible for a prospective 
 buyer to tell whether any particular land can 
 be made productive by seeing it and noting 
 whether it has the same consistency as that 
 surrounding it. The amount grown per acre 
 on improved lands is practically always greater 
 than that grown near at hand. This seems to 
 be due to the fact that it collects by virtue of 
 the extra amount of water held in suspension 
 48 
 
DRAINAGE 
 
 the various elements which tend to make the 
 soil productive. The old bed of marsh, which 
 has had time to thoroughly dry out, would 
 support a more luxuriant growth than any- 
 where in the immediate vicinity. 
 
 A company that has the proper title to the 
 property, and the knowledge that the property 
 after being drained can be made productive, has 
 next to go into the question as to whether the 
 proper authorities will permit the improve- 
 ments under consideration. This point should 
 be carefully looked into, as it is fully as im- 
 portant as the title itself. 
 
 The financial status of a company under- 
 taking this class of work, would be seriously 
 affected through the selling end if the property 
 under improvement is not situated so that the 
 produce grown upon it can be easily trans- 
 ported to the nearest market. Good trans- 
 portation as used for farm produce consists 
 usually of good roads leading to the point of 
 production, and a railroad or boat line a few 
 miles away, which in turn leads directly to the 
 market. It cannot be expected, of courSe, that 
 agricultural property can be so located that its 
 produce can be loaded into a railroad or boat 
 without the use of wagons. 
 
 To any one interested in a company of this 
 nature it is well to note that the cost of the 
 
 49 
 
DRAINAGE 
 
 land as bought unimproved, plus the cost of 
 improvements as estimated by the engineer in 
 charge, is well under the usual price paid for 
 good farm lands in that vicinity. In other words, 
 it is necessary to know that the engineer's esti- 
 mate of improvement cost is enough under the 
 increased value of the land as improved to 
 give a good profit. 
 
 A land owner in considering an improve- 
 ment of this nature, should consider whether 
 he has obtained the right authority to improve 
 his property if any would be required. It is 
 of the greatest importance to him to know be- 
 fore expending any sum on it, whether he can 
 make use of the property in question and drain 
 it into good farm land. As was mentioned 
 before, any land out of the influence of salt 
 water, and not of stony nature, can be con- 
 sidered a good proposition. He will know 
 from his past experience how much he can 
 obtain per acre as a profit on the rest of his 
 property, and by using the cost of improve- 
 ment as estimated by the engineer, can easily 
 find whether the property in question will be 
 a financial success to him. For example, the 
 interest on the first cost added to the amount 
 necessary to keep the system in good order, 
 can be considered a yearly expense item. If 
 the profit derived by the owner on an area 
 
DRAINAGE 
 
 equivalent to the one improved, is greater than 
 this yearly cost, he can be satisfied that his 
 improvement will be a financial success. It can 
 be borne in mind that land of this kind can be 
 safely counted on to produce larger crops than 
 that which has been under cultivation for any 
 length of time. 
 
Irrigation of Arid Lands 
 
 THE primary object in an irrigation 
 system is to buy land at rates con- 
 sistent with the fact that it is arid, 
 to improve it by watering and to 
 finally sell or cultivate the property irrigated 
 at a profit above the cost of the improvements 
 themselves. In selling property resulting from 
 the operation of an irrigating project it is nec- 
 essary to guarantee to the future owners a 
 permanent supply of water. That is, while the 
 land itself can be sold outright the continuous 
 operation oi the water system itself must be 
 counted upon. The general methods are either 
 to sell the water at a guaranteed rate inserted 
 in the bill of sale for the land, or to make up 
 for the cost of maintenance and operation by 
 assessing the land at so much per acre. 
 
 There is a considerable amount of land in 
 the Western part of the United States that at 
 the present is practically useless and* which 
 can be bought at an exceptionally low price. 
 Records seem to show that the total amount of 
 acreage irrigated in 1910 is 19,300,000, which 
 has been improved by a total cost of $304,- 
 700,000. These figures compare very favor- 
 
 53 
 
IRRIGATION 
 
 ably with the total of 7,500,000 acres irrigated 
 at the end of 1899 in showing the tremendous 
 increase in this class of improvement. These 
 figures show that the first cost per acre of in- 
 stalling an improvement of this nature is not 
 excessive. The cost of operation and main- 
 tenance for a year has been given as $1.07 per 
 acre, which is considerably under the usual 
 profit derived from farming operations. If 
 it should happen that arid lands are so situated 
 that they can be irrigated, it would prove prof- 
 itable to buy them and then sell them after 
 the improvement in question had been done. 
 It is necessary in order to irrigate any land 
 successfully, to have a sufficient water shed 
 near at hand and at a higher level if possible 
 than the property to be improved. 
 
 In considering the quantity of water needed 
 to irrigate any stretch of land, it is necessary 
 to know the crops raised in that region and 
 which may be expected to be grown there 
 when improved. When this is decided upon 
 it can be definitely known how much water 
 will be required for any certain kind of pro- 
 duce. Suppose, for instance, that a certain 
 property was located in a region which would 
 be suitable for fruit growing, and especially 
 for apples. In that case the amount of water 
 required for that particular crop would be 
 
 54 
 
IRRIGATION 
 
 carefully considered and would be used as the 
 amount needed to successfully carry through 
 that irrigation. It must be borne in mind that 
 considerable surplus would be required by an 
 engineer in order to make allowance for the 
 production of many other crops that may be 
 suitable for that climate. The engineer in 
 charge would make a careful survey of the 
 water shed from which this water is obtained 
 and find out whether this required amount 
 can be obtained. This survey must of course, 
 take into account long periods of time. 
 
 The rain fall is of the greatest importance 
 in showing whether there is any likelihood of 
 having long sustained drought on the water 
 shed in question. The effect of a drought on 
 any land would mean the positive failure of 
 any crops and a considerable loss to the own- 
 ers. It is very important then that the past 
 records of the water shed, from which this 
 supply of water is to be taken, should be care- 
 fully noted. It can generally be assumed that 
 if no droughts have occurred in the last five 
 or six years that there will be none in the fu- 
 ture. Almost any stream, however, has an 
 annual variation of flow which may be suf- 
 ficient to cause serious inconvenience. That is, 
 a stream running through a mountainous coun- 
 try, and through regions accustomed to snow 
 
 55 
 
IRRIGATION 
 
 in the Winter time, will usually have a heavy 
 discharge in the Spring and a light one during 
 the late Summer. 
 
 Under conditions in which the supply of 
 water is varied to such an extent that it may 
 cause temporary drought, it will prove ex- 
 pedient for the engineer to design a dam that 
 will impound a sufficient quantity to guarantee 
 a continuous supply of water. That is, if he 
 should build a dam across a stream he will 
 cause the water in that stream to form into a 
 lake, the size of which depends on the topo- 
 graphical nature of the country. This lake 
 will act as a reservoir from which the water 
 can be drawn at will. It is pertinent to add 
 that a sufficient surplus of water would be on 
 hand to make up for the loss by evaporation, 
 and that through seepage at the bottom of the 
 ditches and reservoir. 
 
 At present there are two systems of trans- 
 mission to carry water from the reservoir to 
 the land to be irrigated, which are open to the 
 choice of the engineer in charge. The system 
 of open ditches is, of course, the least expensive 
 one to follow. It requires, however, ideal con- 
 ditions in which the reservoir must be practi- 
 cally at the same level as the land to be im- 
 proved, and furthermore, the country between 
 them should be nearly at that level. This 
 56 
 
IRRIGATION 
 
 would make an inexpensive system and one 
 which is more efficient than a pipe system. 
 The use of pipes would be necessary where the 
 water would cross a valley or run over a 
 ridge of hills too wide to permit economical 
 tunneling or bridging. In a case of this kind 
 the line laid would be away from the natural 
 level which would be taken by the water if 
 permitted to flow freely. A pipe line of this 
 kind would be called a siphon. 
 
 The other method of carrying water over a 
 valley is, of course, by building a viaduct or 
 bridge, so that it may flow freely through a 
 pipe or open trough placed on the top of this 
 bridge. When passing a hill which is very 
 high and narrow at the bottom, it may prove 
 more economical to tunnel through it than to 
 build a pipe line over the top. In the siphon 
 mentioned before, as a method of going over 
 a hill or along the bottom of a depression, it 
 is not necessary to use pumps if the outlet 
 end of the pipe is lower than the end near the 
 reservoir. This is due to the fact that water 
 will tend to flow down hill, and if in a closed 
 pipe with one end lower than the other, it will 
 actually flow up hill a short distance and then 
 down hill on the other side a greater distance, 
 in this way making its total flow in a down 
 hill direction. 
 
 57 
 
IRRIGATION 
 
 The customary method at present of spread- 
 ing water over the land to be improved, is by 
 using open ditches. They are arranged in a 
 gridiron formation and are spaced according 
 to the amount of water required per acre on 
 the land to be irrigated. The main branch of 
 these ditches will lead directly from the line 
 which comes from the reservoir, and will in 
 turn empty into various branches which act as 
 distributors. The actual distribution is as- 
 sisted by the fact that any soil will tend to 
 absorb water, and in doing so will spread it 
 uniformly between the ditches. 
 
 The design of any system of irrigation as 
 done by an engineer, can be considered of the 
 greatest importance. By the proper layout of 
 his work he can create the greatest economy 
 consistent with the successful carrying out of 
 the enterprise. He can also foretell with ac- 
 curacy th6 amount of water to be obtained from 
 any water shed as well as the loss in transmis- 
 sion from the point of supply to the land to be 
 improved. He would investigate the question of 
 drought in its influence on the future produc- 
 tive value there. The question of whether a res- 
 ervoir is necessary or not must be decided by 
 him, and in doing so he will be able to guar- 
 antee a continuous supply of water. Through 
 his knowledge of costs of construction he is 
 58 
 
IRRIGATION 
 
 able to decide whether it will be better to use 
 the siphons mentioned before in this article, 
 or whether to tunnel or bridge in overcoming 
 the natural difficulties in transmission. 
 
 The financial end of an irrigation system, 
 in which land is bought at a low value and im- 
 proved in order to be sold at a considerable in- 
 crease, would interest the promotor and the 
 investor as far as the financial outcome is con- 
 cerned, and the buyer as far as the future pro- 
 ductivity of the land in question. 
 
 In an improvement of this kind it is neces- 
 essary to know that the water rights have been 
 given by the right authorities. Further, they 
 should have been drawn up so that they cover 
 the right to draw away water from the water 
 shed in question, to transmit the water to the 
 place where it is used, and finally to make use 
 of that water in the property to be improved. 
 The title of the irrigated land is of interest to 
 all parties concerned and must be to the satis- 
 faction of any legal authority liable to investi- 
 gate it in the future. A prospective buyer 
 should pay the greatest attention to the water 
 contract which is given with his land title. He 
 should see that he is getting water at a reason- 
 able price and must be careful to note that 
 that rate will be a permanent one and stated 
 as such in his deed of sale. If the method of 
 
 59 
 
IRRIGATION 
 
 payment for water is in the nature of an as- 
 sessment it would be advantageous for him to 
 know whether he will obtain a vote on any 
 committee which would fix assessment rates. 
 In any case he should guard against any raise 
 in the cost of his water in the future. 
 
 It is of interest to an investor, placing his 
 money on a project of this kind, to know that 
 the stocks or bonds issued do not exceed the 
 cost of the land plus the engineer's estimate 
 of the cost of improvement. A slight addition 
 to this, however, is necessary in order to cover 
 carrying charges for selling property and va- 
 rious other incidentals not included in the 
 engineering side. 
 
 Transportation facilities near at hand are 
 of the utmost importance in determining the 
 selling value of this property. In lands in- 
 tended for farming, good transportation con- 
 sists generally of good roads in the immediate 
 vicinity and a railroad or boat line a few miles 
 away which will lead directly to a large mar- 
 ket. It is not necessary to have a railroad in 
 the immediate vicinity as it is generally under- 
 stood that farm produce would be loaded into 
 wagons and by them driven to the nearest 
 station and there loaded into cars. In order 
 to do this, however, good roads having mini- 
 mum grades are essential. 
 60 
 
IRRIGATION 
 
 All parties interested are also governed by 
 the nature of the land itself. That is, it is 
 not always true that land will grow farm 
 produce just because it is watered. It is true, 
 however, that practically any land that is 
 not too full of stones to cultivate, or is not 
 formed entirely of sand, can be made to grow 
 crops according to the latitude and climate 
 in which the property is situated. Those in- 
 terested in a matter of this kind should be 
 cautioned to look out for soils of an unusual 
 nature which may contain mineral elements 
 detrimental to the growth of plants, such as 
 too much salt. 
 
 An improvement of this kind has an ad- 
 vantage that may not be necessarily considered 
 as a financial gain, but should influence any 
 parties interested. They will have the satis- 
 faction of knowing that a system of this kind 
 is one of actual improvement. That is, it 
 takes up useless land and transforms it into 
 a permanent and productive part of the sur- 
 rounding country which will add to the gen- 
 eral value of all transportation and industrial 
 projects in that vicinity. 
 
 61 
 
Bridges and Viaducts 
 
 BRIDGES and viaducts are terms 
 which are very often misapplied. 
 A viaduct is generally considered as 
 a kind of bridge which is unusually 
 long and composed of a great number of 
 spans, each span being considered as that part 
 of a bridge between any two piers. In addi- 
 tion, any bridge of any length for the purpose 
 of carrying street traffic or an aqueduct for 
 water, and which may have some claim to 
 architectural beauty, would be considered as a 
 viaduct. In general the term viaduct is ac- 
 cepted as meaning a bridge which can be 
 considered a feat in architecture. This mean- 
 ing has since been broadened to include a 
 structure of any great length and composed of 
 a number of small bridges or spans as was 
 stated before. This would leave to be classed 
 as a bridge the various kinds of railroad and 
 highway structures of medium size which have 
 been erected solely for a commercial use and 
 having very little attention paid to its archi- 
 tectural side. 
 
 Bridges and viaducts can be divided into 
 three classes according to the kind of material 
 63 
 
BRIDGES AND VIADUCTS 
 
 used in their construction. These classes are 
 steel, reinforced concrete, and timber bridges. 
 In the discussion following, the word bridge 
 will be used to include both bridges and via- 
 ducts in their various forms. The judgment 
 of an engineer is important, first of all in 
 the choice of materials used, secondly in the 
 choice of form in which the bridge will be 
 built, and finally in the economical design of 
 the bridge that will be finally constructed. 
 
 The various forms in use at present and 
 which are subject to the choice of the engineer 
 in his design, are suspension, lift or swing 
 bridges, cantilever, arch, and what is known 
 as a simple bridge. The distinctive points 
 governing the various forms stated above, 
 would be helpful in assisting any one to under- 
 stand how the judgment of an engineer guides 
 him in his choice of type to be used. The 
 suspension bridge has two uprights which are 
 usually called towers, from which are sus- 
 pended cables or chains that in turn hold up 
 the bridge. In other words, the word suspen- 
 sion itself explains the method of support 
 used in this type. The cantilever system is 
 based on the principal of a rigid arm held so 
 firmly at one end that it will support the re- 
 quired load resting on the outer end. This is 
 brought out in actual practice by having one 
 64 
 
BRIDGES AND VIADUCTS 
 
 part of the bridge rigid enough to hold in 
 place that part considered as the cantilever, 
 which is the part jutting out beyond the pier 
 and unsupported at the outer end. An arch 
 type bridge supports itself by the well-known 
 principle of an arch. Any weight placed on 
 the top will be carried to the end by a ring 
 of material known as the arch itself, and which 
 is usually in the form of a vertical circle or 
 ellipse. This form of bridge has the tendency 
 to push apart the piers at each end. A bridge 
 of the simple type acts in the same way as 
 any beam which may be placed on two sup- 
 ports with the weight in the middle. This is 
 the commonest form of bridge in use for short 
 spans. 
 
 If a railroad should approach any navigable 
 river, the banks of which are low and would 
 not permit a crossing at any considerable 
 height, it would be found necessary to leave a 
 portion of that bridge so that it may be opened 
 for traffic on the river. This is accomplished 
 by several different forms of lift or swing 
 bridges. One form is similar to a structure 
 swinging around on a pivot. Another form 
 is what is known in the profession as a 
 "bascule" bridge. This type lifts up at one 
 end until when open it will be in an almost 
 vertical position. There is another class that 
 65 
 
BRIDGES AND VIADUCTS 
 
 has come into favor which is formed by slid- 
 ing a portion of the bridge in question along 
 an oblique direction with respect to the water 
 course. In general these types of bridges can 
 be classed among the most difficult of any 
 form and must be fabricated with the greatest 
 skill and accuracy in order to ensure a perfect 
 fit when closed. 
 
 The choice between these six general types 
 of bridge construction is generally made in 
 accordance with the natural features encoun- 
 tered, due attention being paid, of course, to 
 the harmony between the bridge itself and its 
 environs. An important point which governs 
 the choice of type is rigidity of foundation. 
 The arch type makes it necessary that they 
 should be stiff under the varying conditions of 
 traffic. Further, swing or lift bridges should 
 be erected on rigid foundations because of the 
 fact that when closed they must fit tight, and 
 any variation such as would not be noticeable 
 in some classes of bridges would have a seri- 
 ous effect in this case. 
 
 Steel bridges are expensive to make, or to 
 use the professional term, to fabricate. This 
 fabrication itself is carried on in the bridge 
 shops. It consists of taking the various shapes 
 rolled by the steel mills and riveting them to- 
 gether to form the various members or parts 
 
 66 
 
BRIDGES AND VIADUCTS 
 
 that compose a bridge. These parts are then 
 temporarily put together in order to make sure 
 that they will fit in place when the structure 
 is actually being erected. The work in the 
 shops is carried on as far as possible as it is 
 more economical to do that class of work in 
 a shop than out on the field. All sections are, 
 therefore, made as large as can be conveniently 
 transported and erected. 
 
 When a bridge is short it is often possible 
 to make all of it in two or three pieces and 
 obtain the greatest economy in erection. All 
 girder bridges are made in this way, even 
 though the span may be as long as one hun- 
 dred and twenty feet. The erection of the 
 bridge itself after these sections have been 
 brought to the site, usually takes a short time 
 if they are in only a few pieces. 
 
 A long bridge, however, may take as much 
 as a year or two to erect, due in part to the 
 fact that there must be some means of sup- 
 port during erection, before the bridge is able 
 to support itself. A common method of erect- 
 ing a very long bridge is to erect a temporary 
 wooden one that is strong enough to hold the 
 weight of the permanent structure to be* placed 
 on top of it. When the final steel work is all 
 built up the wooden parts are taken down and 
 carried away. Two types of bridge, namely, 
 67 
 
BRIDGES AND VIADUCTS 
 
 suspension and cantilever, admit of erection 
 without any wooden supports. These systems 
 are generally in use when the bottom under 
 any structure will not admit of any false work. 
 False work is the professional name for a tem- 
 porary structure generally of wood which is 
 intended to support a permanent bridge only 
 during its erection. It may happen that the 
 structure in question may be so high above 
 the bottom of a valley that it would be im- 
 practical to build the false work to such a 
 great height. One case when its use may be 
 impractical is when the bridge in question 
 would span a stream which must be kept open 
 for water traffic during erection and which 
 may be so deep that the foundation for this 
 false work would be too expensive. It must 
 be remembered in any case that to compare 
 the cost of one bridge with another, they 
 must be of the same length and under the 
 same general conditions. 
 
 Unfortunately, steel bridges as a rule lack 
 beauty. Usually a railway bridge crossing a 
 stream in the country can be remembered by 
 its ugliness more than by any other thing. 
 There are a few exceptions to this where a 
 bridge is intended for street traffic near a city. 
 One exception which stands out by itself Is 
 the bridge over the Harlem River in New 
 
 68 
 
BRIDGES AND VIADUCTS 
 
 York City, called the Washington Bridge. 
 This bridge is a steel arch supporting a ma- 
 sonry superstructure. 
 
 A reinforced concrete bridge is adaptable 
 to a design of great beauty. The fact that 
 concrete can be made into any shape desired 
 and can afterwards be finished to a smooth 
 white surface, makes it possible to class rein- 
 forced concrete bridges among structures hav- 
 ing the greatest architectural possibilities. 
 This fact places this kind of material as the 
 best for use in parks, highways, and large 
 estates. Another point which makes the use 
 of reinforced concrete advisable, is the fact 
 that the older the structure is the stronger 
 will be the concrete itself. It is known that 
 concrete will steadily increase in strength for 
 at least five years and will never deteriorate 
 except under the influence of the strongest 
 chemical action. Unfortunately, bridges of 
 reinforced concrete have not been made, up to 
 the present date, of any great length. About 
 four hundred feet is still considered a safe 
 limit for any one span. As the facts govern- 
 ing the action of reinforced concrete gradu- 
 ally become more and more known, this pres- 
 ent length of span is almost certain to become 
 increased. The transportation cost of the 
 material, for this kind of material is exception- 
 69 
 
BRIDGES AND VIADUCTS 
 
 ally low, due chiefly to the fact that it can 
 be transported in the most convenient sizes 
 and weights. 
 
 The cost of erection, however, is usually 
 high for a long span. A concrete bridge needs 
 a more stable support during erection than one 
 of steel. Further, this support must remain 
 steadily in place during the time which it 
 takes concrete to harden. It must be remem- 
 bered that when concrete is ready to be placed 
 in position it is in a semi-liquid state, and 
 must, therefore, be enclosed in watertight 
 boxes and left undisturbed until it hardens. 
 This increases the cost of erection and is the 
 only objectionable feature to concrete bridges. 
 
 It often happens, especially in railroad 
 work, that a temporary bridge is required 
 which must not only be inexpensive, but must 
 be quickly put in place. For a case of this 
 kind an engineer would invariably suggest 
 one made of wood. The low cost of a wooden 
 bridge makes it attractive to a railroad pass- 
 ing through an untried section of the country, 
 where the earnings would not justify any 
 great outlay in construction. This would apply 
 especially to a railroad leading to a mine 
 which could not be considered permanent. 
 
 The value of the speed of erection is best 
 appreciated in cases of emergency. Any per- 
 
 70 
 
BRIDGES AND VIADUCTS 
 
 manent structure that has been disabled can 
 most quickly be replaced by timber work. Any 
 railroad which has had its traffic held up by 
 an accident happening to one of its bridges, 
 would readily appreciate the importance of a 
 quick substitution of the previous one, and 
 the consequent resumption of its old schedule. 
 Unfortunately, a bridge of timber can not 
 be considered permanent in the sense that 
 it will last twenty or thirty years. At best 
 its life is much shorter, but can be prolonged 
 by careful painting and by keeping its traffic 
 within well defined limits. 
 
 A type of viaduct has been in use for some 
 years which is a combination of a steel bridge 
 and a concrete bridge. It is supported by 
 regular columns made of steel and consists at 
 the top of reinforced concrete beams and floor- 
 ing. This has been used with great success 
 by railroads going through cities. Its chief 
 advantage is the fact that it gives a solid 
 floor on top and is open underneath. A solid 
 floor on the top of any bridge has the great 
 advantage that railroad tracks or platforms 
 can be arranged anywhere at will and can be 
 rearranged again at any time later. The fact 
 that this viaduct would be supported by steel 
 columns instead of heavy masonry piers, 
 would permit the free use of the street under- 
 
BRIDGES AND VIADUCTS 
 
 neath. It has an advantage over a structure 
 composed entirely of steel in the fact that it 
 gives a neat appearance due to the concrete 
 work on top and to its symmetry. 
 
 It can be seen that there is a considerable 
 variety of materials and types from which to 
 pick a bridge most suited to the purpose and 
 surroundings in any case in question. An 
 engineer in charge of work of this nature 
 would select the type most suitable, taking 
 into consideration the natural features en- 
 countered, and the purpose for which the 
 bridge is intended. Through his designs, 
 based on his previous knowledge gained by 
 actual experience, he can economize in the 
 cost and yet insure absolute safety. 
 
 It should be of interest to every citizen who 
 pays taxes, to know that he is getting the best 
 bridge possible. A bridge in a park or on 
 a highway is directly used by him, and it is 
 to his own interest to be satisfied that a just 
 balance has been struck by the engineer in 
 charge, between the natural conditions found, 
 the cost, and architectural beauty. It will 
 generally prove expedient to increase the first 
 cost of a bridge to be erected on public prop- 
 erty such as in parks or highways in order 
 to obtain architectural beauty. It is obvious 
 that in a beautiful park or street having many 
 72 
 
BRIDGES AND VIADUCTS 
 
 handsome buildings on it that it would not 
 be advisable to produce an unharmonious 
 effect by the erection of an ugly bridge. 
 
 Any one with a knowledge of railroads 
 must know that bridges and viaducts enter 
 strongly into their economical maintenance. 
 Those passing through cities have bridges 
 over the various streets, and those traversing 
 hilly country have bridges over valleys and 
 streams which they may encounter. These 
 structures can be considered the greatest sin- 
 gle item which enters in the actual construc- 
 tion of a railroad. It is evident then that 
 they are of the greatest importance to a 
 railroad man on account of their effect on the 
 general economy of any system. 
 
 73 
 
Miscellaneous Steel and 
 
 Reinforced Concrete Structures 
 
 Except Bridges and Viaducts 
 
 THIS chapter is intended to cover the 
 various structures made of either 
 structural steel or reinforced con- 
 crete that would not cover any 
 great amount of space in pointing out the es- 
 sential facts which govern their financial value. 
 In any of the following subjects the various 
 kinds of steel used are subject to the choice 
 of the engineer in charge. As a whole they 
 would be considered under the general and 
 broad classification of structural steel. 
 
 The first structure or class of structures 
 to come under consideration is steel buildings. 
 It must be borne in mind that the primary 
 objects in using steel in the construction of a 
 building is either to make it fireproof or to 
 increase its height to make the rental space 
 consistent with the cost of the real estate 
 upon which the building is to be erected. The 
 chief value of using steel buildings is the fact 
 of its great supporting strength in proportion 
 to the size of a column used. Formerly eight 
 
 75 
 
MISCELLANEOUS STRUCTURES 
 
 stories has been the practical limit of any build- 
 ing made of bricks or stone, because in order to 
 support the great weight at the top the walls 
 at the bottom floor would be so thick as to 
 use up all the space to be rented. There is 
 at present a steel building in New York City 
 with a total height of fifty-one stories, the 
 largest column of which is under three feet 
 square at the bottom. 
 
 Any steel building is usually designed by 
 an engineer and an architect working in har- 
 mony with each other. The work done by 
 an engineer would include all steel work. That 
 is, the modern skyscraper is the product of 
 the combination of the brains and skill of 
 both professions. In discussing a topic of this 
 kind it would be well to give a general idea 
 of the manner in which an engineer would 
 approach a contract of this kind. He would 
 at first draw up the plans of the steel work 
 while acting in conjunction with an architect. 
 From these designs the cost of the work as 
 completed would be derived and an estimate 
 given of the financial outcome in an under- 
 taking of this kind. 
 
 The construction of the steel part of any 
 building is done as far as possible in steel shops. 
 The various columns and girders and beams 
 are riveted together and made ready for put- 
 
 7* 
 
MISCELLANEOUS STRUCTURES 
 
 ting together in the field. The primary object 
 to be attained would be to do as little work 
 in the field as possible. The use of steel in 
 buildings has become so common that there 
 are several specially rolled shapes which are 
 in use for that purpose only. In almost every 
 case the work of the engineer includes only 
 the design and inspection of the steel frame. 
 A property owner that would be interested 
 in the erection of a building on his land, should 
 be influenced by several facts. In general it 
 would not pay him to erect a tall building 
 on property of small value. The primary idea 
 of a high building, as has been stated before, 
 is to make up for the high price of real estate 
 in congested districts by increasing the rent- 
 able area due to the height of the structure 
 erected. The height to be attained by any 
 building should be established by taking into 
 consideration the price of the real estate to 
 be used ; the engineer and architect's estimate 
 of the cost, as well as their estimate of the 
 amount of rentable area. By using the rental 
 rate per square foot in the vicinity an esti- 
 mate can be made on the probable earnings 
 of the building, taking into account, of course, 
 the fact that a new one can usually command 
 a higher rental than those surrounding it. It 
 is pertinent to add here that steel alone is 
 
 77 
 
MISCELLANEOUS STRUCTURES 
 
 not considered fireproof. It must in every 
 case be covered by a thin layer of concrete 
 or some other fireproof material. 
 
 It would be of interest to any one consider- 
 ing the erection of a reinforced concrete 
 structure to know why reinforcement is used 
 in concrete. It has been proved by actual 
 experiment that concrete can not be made to 
 withstand any force in tension. By force in 
 tension is meant a tendency to be pulled apart. 
 That is, concrete is able to hold up heavy 
 weights tending to crush it together, but will 
 easily break when pulled apart. It has been 
 found that steel bars imbedded in this material 
 can be made to take up this tension if placed 
 in a correct position in the concrete. Girders 
 and beams of reinforced concrete have in this 
 way been able to give entire satisfaction. 
 
 A considerable impetus has been given 
 lately to the construction of reinforced con- 
 crete buildings. They have the advantage 
 over other types in that they are absolutely 
 permanent and fireproof, and for small build- 
 ings are cheaper than steel work that would 
 reach the same degree of resistance to fire. 
 Similarly to steel buildings the design and 
 superintendence of construction of a rein- 
 forced concrete building would be under the 
 charge of an architect and an engineer. 
 78 
 
MISCELLANEOUS STRUCTURES 
 
 The engineer would have under his con- 
 sideration its strength and all arrangements 
 that would be influenced by the industrial 
 work for which this building would be in- 
 tended. He would also have charge of the 
 actual placing of the concrete and of the rein- 
 forcement as placed in it. The position which 
 the reinforcement takes in each particular part 
 of a concrete structure is of the greatest im- 
 portance. Further, it is necessary to have a 
 conscientious inspection while under erection 
 in order to see that the concrete itself is put 
 in the building in the right manner. Proper 
 inspection of any reinforced concrete struc- 
 ture is absolutely essential in obtaining the 
 maximum amount of strength consistent with 
 the material placed in it 
 
 It has become a custom also, due to an engi- 
 neer's knowledge of the strength and proper- 
 ties of steel, for him to specify the kind of 
 steel used as well as the type of reinforce- 
 ment system to be put in that building itself. 
 The owner of a structure of this kind would 
 be chiefly interested in the advantages ob- 
 tained in any class of material used. It has 
 the advantages that have been mentioned be- 
 fore, of being absolutely fireproof and dur- 
 able. 
 
 79 
 
MISCELLANEOUS STRUCTURES 
 
 The ideal situation for a building of this 
 type is in the country, where land is inexpen- 
 sive, and which will permit a low building 
 covering a large area. The fact that concrete 
 and the reinforcement used in it can be 
 shipped in convenient sizes makes it possible 
 to save in the transportation charges from 
 the point of shipment. Not only that, but 
 the fact that it is fireproof is of greater ad- 
 vantage in the country than in the city, where 
 modern fire-fighting apparatus is in use. Fac- 
 tories and industrial plants for all purposes, 
 when made of reinforced concrete have given 
 excellent results. 
 
 There is a class of reinforced concrete struc- 
 tures which cannot be considered as an engi- 
 neering property in itself, but would be used 
 in connection with one, and will, therefore, 
 come under this heading. Concrete re- 
 taining walls and piers have been in use 
 for a considerable number of years and 
 have given excellent satisfaction. They have 
 the advantage that all concrete structures have, 
 in that the materials used can be transported 
 in any sizes or weights that may be convenient. 
 Furthermore, it has been found less expensive 
 to use concrete in the foundations, and espe- 
 cially so at the point where the foundations 
 actually touch the rock upon which it rests. 
 80 
 
MISCELLANEOUS STRUCTURES 
 
 Concrete can be considered at its best in all 
 foundations resting upon any solid material. 
 This advantage is gained chiefly through the 
 fact that it will flow into and fill every crevice 
 in the rough surface upon which it lays, and in 
 doing so, it will distribute evenly over its sur- 
 face any pressure which has been placed up- 
 on it. 
 
 Reinforced concrete has been put, within 
 the last few years, to another use, and has 
 proved to be successful. This use is in small 
 reservoirs. It has been found to be advan- 
 tageous in the floors and walls of a great 
 many reservoirs for both pure water and 
 chemicals used in industrial plants. One 
 strong point in favor of concrete is the fact 
 that very few chemicals can have any ef- 
 fect upon it. Steel has been found to 
 be useless in the presence of acids. Formerly 
 various alloys of copper have been used in con- 
 nection with chemical plants, but have been 
 found to be very expensive. Reinforced con- 
 crete has now taken its place in reservoir con- 
 struction of this kind and has been found to be 
 more economical and yet give the same results. 
 It would be pertinent to say here, that it has 
 been found by experiment that concrete can be 
 made watertight and even under a considerable 
 water pressure. 
 
 81 
 
MISCELLANEOUS STRUCTURES 
 
 A further use of steel which is subject to 
 the design of an engineer, is roof trusses. Any 
 industrial plant which requires an open floor 
 space of any considerable width or length in 
 which there are not to be any columns, would 
 require roof trusses to support its roof over 
 this usually large space. This roof would have 
 to be designed in accordance with the formulas 
 in use by engineers that take into account wind 
 pressure and snow pressure as well as the 
 weight of the roof itself. The cost of a roof 
 truss would be considerably above the sup- 
 porting system of a roof as supported by the 
 usual method, but it is often to the advantage 
 of an owner of an industrial plant, and espe- 
 cially so in an exhibition building, to have a 
 clear space of large area which does not con- 
 tain any columns or other obstructions due to 
 the arrangement of the building. 
 
 An important use of steel is in making reser- 
 voirs for water systems of various descriptions. 
 Steel has the advantage that it can be rolled 
 into plates and then riveted together. It also 
 can be made to withstand heavy pressures. 
 The edges of these plates after being placed 
 together can be made watertight. A customary 
 method of making a reservoir of steel would 
 be to fabricate it in as large sections as pos- 
 sible and to set up the whole in the field on a 
 82 
 
MISCELLANEOUS STRUCTURES 
 
 secure concrete foundation. It is necessary, 
 however, that pure water must be used. Pres- 
 sures considerably in excess of that conveni- 
 ently withstood by reinforced concrete can be 
 safely used with steel. In general a high pres- 
 sure steel reservoir would be cheaper than a 
 high pressure one made of concrete. 
 
 Conveying machinery in all its different 
 forms is an important use for structural steel 
 that would come entirely under the attention 
 and supervision of an engineer. An owner of 
 an industrial plant can often reduce his ex- 
 penses considerably by adding a traveling crane 
 to his equipment. They are made now so that 
 they can be run upon tracks overhead and can 
 lift any reasonable weight and convey it to any 
 spot within the limits in which the crane op- 
 erates. Practically all of the machine shops 
 which would be apt to handle heavy castings 
 or shafts, sometimes weighing as much as 
 twenty tons, would be equipped with this class 
 of machinery. It must be borne in mind that 
 of machinery. It must be borne in mind that in 
 ery, that the power required for a crane is 
 already on hand. They are made to be run by 
 electricity and operated by a single operator. 
 The owner of any industrial plant that has to 
 handle heavy weights, would find it to his ad- 
 vantage to investigate whether it would pay to 
 install an apparatus of this kind. 
 
 83 
 
MISCELLANEOUS STRUCTURES 
 
 Another class of handling device that comes 
 under the attention of an engineer, is conveyor 
 machinery intended to convey materials such 
 as coal and ore within certain limited dis- 
 tances. The various types in use consist of 
 either a belt of some kind running on pulleys, 
 or an endless chain of buckets. In both cases 
 material is dumped into the belt or buckets and 
 is by them carried to the other end of the ap- 
 paratus and dumped off there. It is well to 
 add that the horizontal conveyor is simply 
 known as a conveyor while an inclined one 
 which carries materials from a lower to a 
 greater height, is known as an elevator. These 
 two can be arranged in such a way that almost 
 any desired direction can be obtained. Any in- 
 dustrial plant that has need of the services of 
 a great many men carrying small weights be- 
 tween any two points, can find it profitable to 
 install a system of this nature. It must be re- 
 membered that conveyors have been brought 
 up to such a state of usefulness that they are 
 now made to handle almost any kind of ma- 
 terial. 
 
 Still another class of conveying machinery 
 which may be properly placed in this article as 
 it comes directly under the charge of an en- 
 gineer, would be steel towers which are used 
 for unloading boats or cars of their cargo. An 
 
MISCELLANEOUS STRUCTURES 
 
 instance of this kind is in common practice by 
 a great many power companies having dock 
 facilities. They erect a steel tower at the dock 
 and install in it machinery which unloads the 
 coal. This same tower is connected by a bridge 
 to the top of the coal bunkers over the boilers 
 and coal is dumped directly into these bunkers 
 without any extra handling whatever. Ore is 
 loaded or unloaded as the case may be by the 
 use of conveying systems much in the same 
 manner as coal. In fact, every mine or ore 
 handling property should have a thorougly 
 equipped conveying system which would be of 
 the greatest value in reducing maintenance 
 costs. 
 
 Telpherage systems or aerial cableways have 
 the advantage that they can carry considerable 
 loads over the top of any obstacles which may 
 be on the ground. They have the further ad- 
 vantage in the fact that they are inexpensive 
 when it is considered that they are often made 
 to carry material three thousand feet or more. 
 An illustration of this kind is where materials 
 have to be carried over a wide stream. They 
 have been found useful in conveying materials 
 such as logs or ore up the sides of mountains 
 too steep for railroad building. 
 
 Another condition in which aerial cableways 
 cculd be used advantageously is where there 
 85 
 
MISCELLANEOUS STRUCTURES 
 
 must be some method of transportation in an 
 industrial plant in which the materials carried 
 would have to be carried through streets or 
 yards in which space is valuable. Telpherage 
 systems in this case can be of advantage by 
 transporting its load out of the way of the 
 work going on underneath. In considering 
 any transportation system within the length of 
 reach used by a telpherage system, an engineer 
 would consider the materials to be handled and 
 place his decision according to the conditions 
 found. In general telpherage systems may be 
 considered an inexpensive and advantageous 
 method of transporting materials within a re- 
 stricted area. 
 
 Another use of steel and reinforced concrete 
 has lately come under the attention of the engi- 
 neering profession and has proved itself to be 
 entirely practical. In many of the larger cities 
 the traffic on the street level has compelled 
 traction companies who wish to make any 
 speed to go below the street level. This makes 
 necessary a strong construction to hold up the 
 roof with its street traffic upon it and keep 
 the sides of these underground railroads from 
 caving in, due to the pressure of the buildings 
 along side. It has been found profitable to 
 use reinforced concrete almost entirely in the 
 roof and sides of these underground railroads. 
 
 86 
 
MISCELLANEOUS STRUCTURES 
 
 There is now being built in Brooklyn and on 
 Lexington Avenue in New York City, two 
 subways which are constructed entirely of re- 
 inforced concrete as the result of experience 
 gained by an underground railway in that same 
 city. It was found necessary, however, to use 
 structural steel for stations where the roof 
 would be unsupported for too great a width 
 to allow for the convenient use of reinforced 
 concrete. The design and estimate upon a work 
 of this kind is done solely by engineers and is 
 carried out by them. It is to the interest of 
 every taxpayer and every citizen within reach 
 of one of these systems to know that that work 
 will be carried out successfully. 
 
 There are many other uses to which rein- 
 forced concrete and structural steel have been 
 put and have proved their worth. They are in 
 isolated cases, however, and will not be con- 
 sidered here. It is sufficient to say, therefore, 
 that each of these engineering properties would 
 be considered as a separate problem by itself 
 and would always be designed with the proper 
 regard to economy and results obtained. 
 
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