| Show A Subway for Moscow By Frederic J. J H skin WASHINGTON In V In spite of soft ground subterranean water sater watercourses courses and lying low-lying country countr th the engineers of at th the soviet union have built a subway under the city of ot Moscow So difficult wasI was I the terrain that the first tunnels collapsed disastrously as aa fast as they were constructed but the workers kept at the job and tried tiled and tried again The result is that the subway today Is ing When the work started men were employed upon it but as M the difficulties of at construction increased more and more workers work work- ers era were vere required until finally an army of was WM toiling tolling away under the city Among these were no less than engineers and technicians Not all of at these were Russians Indeed a subway being so much of a novelty In Russia it was deemed necessary for tor the government to bring in American British German and French engineers The Now Your subways the London underground underground under under- ground the Paris Metro all have contributed as models for different different different differ differ- ent aspects of the work and en engineers engineers engineers en- en who worked on these thes fa famous famous famous fa- fa subterranean were commissioned to help with tho the work of at building the Moscow job Workers Ride on Passes This first stretch which has just been completed is about 10 miles long It starts at Sokol- Sokol niki park in the northeast section section sec sec- tion of ot the city and runs to the heart of ot the tho business theatrical I and hotel district On the line are arc 13 stations the principal one being called Three Stations be because because because be- be cause it Is there that tho the subway joins the termini of three trunk- trunk line railways entering the soviet capital This Tills mile 10 section Is but a apart apart apart part of an entire subway system on on which work Is 13 being pushed There will be In all some 80 miles of railway beneath the surface sur cur face faco of ot the city Since tho the revolution revolution revolution revo revo- lution of at 1917 when the soviet union came Into being the population population population lation of ot the Russian capital has doubled It must be remembered that in the soviet union things are not done as M they arc are in the United United United Unit Unit- ed States The workers of the communist state have passes to ride upon all state railways railways and and andall all railways in Russia are arc state- state owned The result is b that the tho traffic is heavier than it is for example in New Now York Everybody Everybody Everybody Every Every- body can ride and nearly everybody everybody every every- body docs does ride The system works both ways however A great deal of oC the Jabor la labor Ja- Ja bor was performed by volunteer workers delving without pay into the bowels of oC Moscow earth to create this subway There are in Russia a number of what arc called youth organizations organizations- young men and women who gladly glad glad- ly give their labor to develop their newly discovered country A Moscow subway first was dis- dis as early as 1902 under unde the czarist regime Nothing came of that proposal and it was not until 1931 that tho the soviet officials decided de de- de- de to proceed with the under under- taking The work progressed vcr very slowly vly at f first r t because of the difficulties encountered but year by year It was speeded up until In 1934 1 the tunneling shields were being advanced from 3 to 4 meters every day This meant the removal of nn an enormous mass massof massof massot of ot material In the single year of 1934 1034 some cubic meters meters meters me me- were excavated and taken above tho the surface and carted away Chemists Play Their Part The engineers u used ea several types of construction suiting each to the nature of ot tho the ground being beIng- tunneled The British shield system system tem tern was tho one most in use This provides for a shield against the bank to be excavated which is moved forward stop by step as the work advances Tho The French caisson system also was employed and too the Belgian double pas pas- sage An extraordinary experiment was vas tried and found to work worle with conspicuous success It was a n system of employing ing chemicals to have an effect on tho the walls of the newly delved tunnel which would hold them in place While the tho chemical kept back the soft earth from tumbling into the passageway passageway passageway passage passage- way the lining of was brought into place to make mako a permanent permanent permanent per per- manent wall wali This lining of ot this portion of the tunnel Is of at concrete concrete concrete con con- crete although other parts have steel cylinders The cylinders were wore produced in plants of the soviet union by tho the shock chock workers who according to Moscow statements statements state state- ments talce take exceptional pride in their work S Russians are aro a curious people There is a n certain childishness about them and this enables them to make mako of much of at their work a sort of oC game Thus each gang of workmen tried to exceed every other one Driving the subway became a sort of contest which showed an accelerating tempo as the tho work progressed In this first stretch cubic meters of concrete had to be poured and so fast became the tempo that of that total cubic meters were poured in the last year Stations Aro Are Works of ot Art The Russians today feel that they have the eyes of tho the world upon them and their heir experiment and must achieve great things to justify themselves and their communistic communistic com corn system So it is that tho the Moscow subway has tunnels wider than those of any other subway system in the world Also the platforms aro arc wider than those of ot New Now York Berlin Paris or London subways There are in addition to the 13 stations underground 17 surface vestibules at nt points where the railway rises near to the surface These stations might well be called works of ot art No two stations stations stations sta sta- arc alike in design This was done not alone to produce a sort of museum of oC underground architecture but to assist passengers passengers gers In identifying the several stops The passenger can glance out of the and window if at all familiar with the the line can Instantly in instantly instantly In- In tell from tho design of oC the station which one it Is Twenty one thousand square meters of marble were used in inthe inthe inthe the facing of ot the stations and this would be enough to face a five five- story building nearly three miles |
