146
MESSRS. SCHNEIDER AND CO.’S WORKS.
it to be moved along the inclines of the banks ; the central
part, embodying step girders with rails, forms the railway
line. The principal dimensions are the following :
ni. ft. in.
Length ... 36 118 0
Width ... 6.300 20 8
Depth ... 1.520 5 0
Draught, empty .450 1 5?
,, with a load of 54 tons .750 2 54
„ ,, 64 „ .800 2 7i
| fluctuations of the river, or the differences in the loads
carried ; it can also be perfectly regulated on a horizontal
। plane, so that the rails of the two banks can always
be made to correspond exactly with tliose of the floating
bridge.
3. Two 3-ton steam winches with Boilers, used to
raise and lower the loads over the inclined banks of the
river.
4. A 7-ton portable crâne for lifting the bridge
The Marcille System of Military Bridges.
The bridge is fitted with bitts, pulleys, cleats, rings,
screw-jacks, drain pump, &c. ; in short, with ail the
varions accessories necessary to its working (see Figs.
470 to 476, Plate XCIIL).
2. Two junction trucks, wedge-shaped, serve to estab-
lish a communication between the rails on the bank and
those that are afloat, by travelling on a rack incline,
previously laid upon the banks of the river to be crossed.
A special arrangement enables the adjusting of the
apparatus to the varions levels which result from the
sections, the junction trucks, the guide-rope, &c., in short,
for handling all the parts that are transported on trucks.
When it is proposée! to use this method of Crossing
a river, the ends of the railway line are first set in order,
and the banks are prepared for the operations that have
to be effected.
Preliminary operations include the repair of quays ;
the laying of tracks to the main portion of the line that
has not been tampered with ; and fixing the lifting gear,
which must be calculated for raising to the level of the