Show SUNDAY MORNING- MARCH 22 1931 - THE OGDEN STANDARD - EXAMINEE ¥ & K V Two Amazing Engineering ' 'lV li Feats Which Saved Half ’ A i '$£? ss r 1 - J S -- "I-- X’ y Vs-- i a Steamship and Shifted a ” “ Central Bodily Busy 1 wt v sS i fs r ' ' 4 ? Ss4 y X - ' vy y' jf & J0y&6y &¥ x ss y- y jsy - aa'y' 2 Without Losing a Phone Call i f J i the stern half of the big ocean liner Nurtureton broken up on the Dungenes sands off the coast of England was being towed to Gravesend — a feat of even more gigantic proportions was being performed in Indianapolis Indiana Both tasks were undertaken only a few weeks ago in the midst of this great engineering age Yet they were both "impossible’ before they were done Of the two the Indianapolis undertaking is probably the closer to the hearts and understanding of most readers And the purpose of this article is to make dear just how the eight-stor- y eleven thousand ton tele- of Indianapolis was building fhone turned around and moved a whole block to face north instead of east without the imposition of a single six hundred emhandicap on either the I or the public ployes Other more or less sizable buildings have been moved in different cities But from time to time to be sure this building besides being a moderately high skyscraper happened to house apparatus controlling all local telephonic communications within a radius of many miles as well as five hundred and twenty-fou- r long distance AS 4 jk X 4A i P 5 N 'X y V s " £“ 4' ' 4 ia V 5 '' ' - U V y- -- y r ¥ X ta V l?V I a 3 W Uv4 f' Z 4r v X J ’ '" ’ f vX s ’ g V '"4 f i V$ vVA'VA &' V y VS- ' J y a ' v 4 y ’ ' r - " "1 i v — v While the Building W Being Moved Across the Indianapolis Block the Six Hundred Switch' " ::4rw v board Operators and Other Employe Were Unable to Detect Either Motion or Disturbance Girls Routed All Calls Through Promptly Not Only for Local Stations but on More Than Five Hundred Long Distance Cables !!S: tj 7 f - 1'jLr”- ' - sjr’ er £4'AA 45 ' w On Its Way Without Losing a Telephone The Big Indianapolis Connection! Central’ Formerly Faced East Toward the Camera But Was A Swung About to Face North Temporary Walk ' for the Convenience of the Public Wa Maintained Throughout the Operations as Were All Wire Water Heat Light Power Sewerage and Other At Right a Connections Mass of the Telephone Wire-End- s Signifying Chaos to the Untrained Eye but an Orderly System to the Expert X 4 !l fw ' XA J a V nv- i As to the moving itself ls here briefly are the of the plan followed: V A concrete mat was laid at basement level over the entire area over which the building was to be moved Over this were timbers and on fir placed steel timbers railroad rails of the top inches five about laid apart It (were was in this surface that the building de-tai- W (££'f itFvil xv ’ r V J A I six-by-eig- ht was moved View at fifty-nin- e column The average number of rollers under each shoe was nine — and a total of some 4000 All were used of the columns were tied together with or latticed trusses and diagonally braced so circuits While the building was being moved across the block service went Elevators were uninterrupted heat water steam kept running gas facilities and on sewerage electric power —all functioned and those who were within the structure during the course of its journey were able to perceive no motion In commenting on the project Vance Cathout chief engineer of the telephone company said: “The move may seem spectacular wras from a layman’s standpoint but itbuilda to the common sense answer Large economies have ing problem The resulted from the action taken full service life from the present investment in buildings and equipment le has been assured Space has been available for the initial portion of a d new building which will give u Our new additional space building may be added to in an orderly manner as the company needs require without disturbing present investments a amounting to more than three and movcost The of dollars million half ing the present building was about three hundred thousand dollars” But how you may ask could the etructure the size of which is apparent be after merely one look at this page new shifted from old foundations to without disturbing somebody? Surely the telephone wires intricate as they are must have been strained! But the engineers had an answer to -- that Flexible objection — in advance connections of the proper length took care of the electric power for elevators and lighting of the gas steam heat water and sewerage facilities as well as of the great network of cables and smaller wires for telephonic communication These flexible connections were taken care of by submarine type cables containing more than two hundred feet of slack On each of the steel columns supporting the building there were riveted to carry the load of each column to the rollers The rollers were placed under two steel rail shoes on each side of the of the Stern Half of the Being Towed to Steamship Nurtureton She Broke After Gravesend England At Off Sands the Dungeness on Up Half-BoBight a Side View of the Same With Accompanying Tugs Head-O- n i ' A that the columns could not shift posi- tions in relation to each other Some 500 tons of structural steel was neces- sary for this reinforcement The “big push” on the move south was accomplished by eighteen 100-to- n n ratchet screw jacks placed and construe- the between laterally tion on the columns and the north re- taining wall and part of the extreme outside basement wall left standing As the building moved the base on which the jacks rested was built up with timber After each foot of movement the jacks were reset Incredible though it may seem eighteen men working the handles of the jacks eleven thousand moved the eight-stor- y ton structure with ease! To permit the public to come Into the building to transact business and take a little ride quite elaborate arrangements were made A curved steel and concrete sidewalk was constructed 75-to- and connected to the main entrance by a “drawbridge” affair which pivoted as the building moved: After the new location had been reached the first thing done was the burning out of the steel rails and the cutting of the timbers directly beneath the columns Four 100-tb- n jacks were then placed under the needle beams of each column and the pressure relieved so that the rollers could be taken out The central used to face north j now million it faces east I A twenty-tw- o pound skyscraper moved without disturbing anyone Not all of us have had opportunity to watch salvage operations on a ship Very few have seen large liners aground on a sandbar But those who witnessed the fight of a handful of ) engineers to save the steamer Nurture-to- n in the English Channel a few weeks ago would probably testify that they had witnessed a bigger Job than the spectators who saw the moving of the Indianapolis skyscraper A storm drove the Nurtureton out of her course and low tide found Hie seagoing giant helpless on the sands Heavy seas roared and pounded against her sides A breeches buoy was rigged up to take off the crew In case of - emer- Meanwhile mariners worked rantically in smaller boats seeking their chance to float the crippled liner Waves drove them Wither and yon making each moment a precarious one Toward morning just as It seemed that the seas might abate a series of lashing mountains of water hit the y she Nurtureton amidships started to crack up And shortly she broke her back and fell apart The bow was lost But the experienced marine engineers saw a chance to save the stern half In a lull In the storm they hurriedly planked up the ship’s middle calked her roughly and attached a cable Tugboats towed her up the Thames to the shipyards at Gravesend A half a ship presumably Is better than none Besides the saving of the stem half of the Nurtureton was truly a brilliant chapter in engineering his- A new forward half is to be tory added to the salvaged rear half and then the ship will be as good as ever j Vi Dun-gene- ss l badly-neede- End-heav- Tb Hi Ju Staging on Telephone Exchange al Indinapoli Around lh Journey to Its New Location Note the Improvised Entrance lu Corner Epoch-Maki- ng The Same Building Nestled on Trip Across the Block newspaper Feature Service Foundations After It Some of the Uncut Cables Are Visible $300000 1 1331 fr 1 |