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Show Sandhogs go through pressure chamber to avoid occupational haiardthe "bends." Gaping cavern dwarfs men who made Deep inside, sandhogs lay new track flush against if, swallows them up in eerie darkness, mountain of earth that fletcsrs mist fed away. ' "N - - I . '-- , , , 1 - 1 17' ' I t I s - Ly 1 r , 1 , . - - ...... J u : . r toughest job 1 i Three Lions Photos ; I he sandhoc may wonder how he got his name He spends most of his working day half -- buried in mud, and the only thing he hogs is fresh air. There's no job muckier than sandhogging and few as dangerous. Hazards of collapse or seepage are constant, and, because tunnels are dug under pressure, the peculiar peril of accelerated decompression (the "bends") is always lurking. Modern machinery has improved tunnel construction since the days, but none has been found to replace the hardy sandhog who still sloughs around up to his hips in mud, digging his way to daylight pick-and-sho- vel ; 0 t :4 . 5 Working in mud and misty light, broad-shoulder- ed sandhogs dig their hole to sixe, then carefully lay sections of steel ring (foreground), lock them in place, and dig on. Family Weekly, October 13, 1957 25 |