i STEAM COAL - Clpdigital.org

40 THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN.
THE EAST BOSTON TUNNEL.
The recent opening of the East Boston tunnel,
connecting Boston and East Boston by a rapid
transit line, marked the completion of the great
Boston subway system. The tunnel is approximately
7,500 feet long and passes under Boston
harbor. Two-thirds of its construction vvas by
the shield method. The work on this portion
was divided into two sections, the first of which
was 4,400 feet long. It was driven by the pneumatic
shield method, almost the entire distance
being made under air pressure. The air locks
were three in number; the one near the top of
the tunnel section being used almost exclusively
by the men, the two lower ones giving exit to the
excavated material. The side walls of the tunnel
were built in advance of the shield in lateral headings.
The roof shield, a heavy structure of steel
work, was forced forward by powerful hydraulic
jacks, being supported on rollers resting on plates
on the walls. The air pressure required averaged
about 22 pounds; the maximum was sometimes
as high as 27 pounds. The volume of free air
delivered to the headings averaged about 20 cubic
feet per minute for each workman and it was
forced into both side drifts and above the shield,
as well as in front of it. The compressing plant
for this section included three Ingersoll-Sergeant
air compressors; two low-pressure straight-line
single-stage class "A" machines furnishing air
for the working chamber in the shield; and one
high-pressure straight-line two-stage class "AC"
machine delivering air at a pressure of about 115
pounds.
The method of tunneling the second section, 750
feet long, was in general that used in the first
section. The shield was manipulated in the same
manner. Three air locks gave access to the working
chambers. The air pressure in front of the
shield averaged about 18 pounds. The compressed
air for this section was supplied by four
Ingersoll-Sergeant steam-driven air compressors.
The total cost of the tunnel slightly exceeded
$3,000,000. The work was completed in the contemplated
time, about five years, and the methods
of construction were in every way satisfactory.
New Officers of Alabama Consolidated.
The new owners of control of the Alabama Consolidated
Coal & Iron Co. have moved the headquarters
from Baltimore to New York and have
elected the following board of directors: T. G.
Bush, J. H. Hoadley, William Hoagland, Richard
H. Edmonds, Erskine Hewitt, Atwood Violett, William
C. Seldon, I. G. Boissevain and Edward K.
Hill. T. G. Bush has been elected president, J. H.
Hoadley vice-president and William Hoagland
treasurer.
M RETAIL TRADE NOTES. j*j
The Lake Village Ice & Coal Co. has been organized
at Lake Village, N. Y., with a capital of
$35,000 by Jefferson Hicks, W. G. Street, R. D.
Chotard and W. M. Rankin.
*
A jury at Norristown, Pa., awarded $1,200 damages
to J. J. Nocton, a coal dealer, as the result
of the closing of an alleyway leading to his yard.
The board of aldermen of Milwaukee, Wis., is
considering the advisability of appropriating
$100,000 for a municipal coal yard.
*
A. G. Trickett & Son have purchased the coal
and lumber business of Van Doren Bros, at Bird
City. Kan.
*
Richard Armstrong has purchased a yard at
Terre Haute, Ind., and will enter the retail coal
trade.
*
Harman & Evans have succeeded to the fuel
business of George Jones, at Colorado City, Col.
Twyman Bros, have purchased the coal and feed
business of S. R. Rice, at Independence, Mo.
Shackelford & Dickey, coal and ice dealers of
Omaha, Neb., have sold their ice business.
*
N. Ogden has sold his coal and grain business
at Le Mars, la., to B. C. Ragen.
*
C. W. Hull & Co., of Omaha, are negotiating for
a site for a large coal yard.
The Eureka Fuel Press Mfg. Co. has been incorporated
at Bartlesville, I. T.
*
J. Price has sold his coal and wood business at
Pullman, Wash., to Klossmer & Myers.
CONNELLSVILLE COKE PRODUCTION.
The production of Connellsville coke in 1904 is
estimated at 11,000,000 tons, with an average price
at the furnace of $2.15 per ton. The high record
in production in the Connellsville region was in
1902, when the total was 14,138,740 tons. For the
last five years, with 1904 estimated, the production
and average price compares as follows:
Tons. Av. Price.
1904 11,000,000 $2.15
1903 13,345,230 3.00
1902 14,138,740 2.37
1901 12,609,949 1.95
1900 10,166,234 2.70