Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

THE GREAT VICTORIA BRIDGE. 211 and dangerous. On the 25th the ice began to move ; the riveting was not complete ; a dis- aster seemed imminent! Many A Disaster of men, seized by sud- threatened; . . den panic, commenced to run and a Scare. f°r ^ie sh°re J others, blessed with cooler heads, thought it wiser to remain on the tube. A few minutes later the ice ceased to push, and the men, half ashamed of their fears, resumed their work. On the following day the last of the rivets were driven, and some of the wedges supporting the tube were knocked out; then, without any warning, the overburdened screw- jacks gave way simultaneously, and a tre- mendous shock was felt as the staging, sud- denly released from its accustomed weight, sprang up a few inches. The first general impression was that the tube had been seri- ously damaged, but an examination revealed no signs of injury. The work was completed only just in time. On the 28th the ice broke up and shoved very heavily, moving the temporary piers a couple of feet down- stream. Had not each man toiled as though inspired with a belief that personal disgrace would attach to him if natural forces overtook the work, it is more than probable that the Tube completed just in Time. BUILDING A TUBE. The overhead “ traveller ” was carried on the upper chord of a strong timber truss.