USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > Pennsylvania lines west of Pittsburgh : a history of the flood of March, 1913 > Part 7
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Outside of the damage to telegraph lines by wind and sleet the Chicago Terminal Division was not affected by the flood.
99
Auglaize, Ohio, west of.
March 26, 1913.
Western Division Bridge 182, view looking east, 8:00 A. M. Abutment of former bridge at left of track. This bridge was filled in in 1895, after a 24" C. I. pipe had been placed.
Auglaize, Ohio, west of.
March 26, 1913.
Bridge 183, six foot arch damaged, and approach washed away.
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CHAPTER 16. CLEVELAND AND PITTSBURGH DIVISION.
The C. & P. Division main line, from Alliance to Cleveland, was not out of service except for about three hours on the 25th, and was used as a detour route for all the Pittsburgh-Chicago and general western business during the entire flood period.
The main line along the Ohio River and the various branches, however, did not fare so well. Service was first interrupted on the Tuscarawas Branch, by a landslide near Zoar, on the 25th of March. This had not been cleared, when the Tuscarawas River covered the Branch for five or six miles. After the water went down, work was resumed, and a track made ready for service around the slide on the 29th, and service on the Branch resumed. Similar landslides occurred at many points on the Division on the 25th and 26th, but it was managed to keep the rest of the road open for operation until the Ohio River overflowed the tracks all along its valley on the night of the 26th and on the 27th.
As the river went down, it was found that comparatively little damage had been done, and tracks were repaired for service without much delay. At Brilliant, two bents of a trestle had been carried away, with considerable fill. A pile driver could not be had; a land driver mounted on a flat car was tried ineffectually, and finally a pile driver was improvised of a locomotive crane and a steam hammer. This answered the purpose, but it worked slowly, and the break was not cleared until the afternoon of April 2d.
In the meantime, the balance of the Division had been put in fair shape, and ser- vice was resumed throughout.
While the Ohio River submerged the tracks, and the Cleveland-Pittsburgh trains were all routed via the Eastern Division, shuttle service was performed between Alli- ance and Wellsville, and between Yellow Creek and Mingo Junction.
At Steubenville the Ohio rose 10.4 feet over the tracks of the C. & P. Division, at Mingo Junction 6.7 feet, at Bellaire 9.8 feet, and at Powhatan 12.0 feet. At inter- mediate points the tracks were not submerged so far, and at many points they were above the highest stage, but over most of the River Division there was a thick deposit of mud, slime and debris. Some idea of the conditions during the period of high water can be had from the photographs shown in chapters 4 and 5.
101
Zoar, Ohio, west of.
March 31, 1913.
Land slide at Eagle Hill, Tuscarawas Branch.
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CHAPTER 17. ERIE AND ASHTABULA DIVISION.
The E. & A. Division, situated in the valleys of the Beaver, Mahoning and Shenango Rivers, on the south of the divide between the basins of the Ohio River and the Great Lakes, was pretty well submerged, but as this is a district in which floods may be expected at any time, the track construction is such that little damage was done. In fact, the only point where the line was really broken was Bridge 68, on the New Castle Branch, over the Shenango River, which was destroyed.
On March 25th, the tracks were under water at Niles and Warren early in the morning, six and seven feet respectively. These are the low spots where high water first interrupts service at every flood. At numerous other points the water was up to or over the tracks, and traffic was stopped.
On the 26th and 27th, the water rose to heights far above all previous records and submerged everything in the valleys, from Kenwood to Warren and Jamestown. An idea of the height of the water may be gained from the photographs included in chapters 3, 4 and 5, the maximum depth over the tracks being 18.8 feet. On the morning of the 27th an old covered wagon bridge, up stream from Bridge 68, floated down stream and lodged against the railroad bridge. This choked the stream until the water, in forcing its way underneath, undermined the piers of Bridge 68, and let it down into the water, with a load of cars which had been placed on it to hold the track in position. This did not interrupt traffic, as a roundabout route was avail- able over which trains could be run with slight delay. The bridge was replaced with a temporary pile trestle, completed on May 2d. Later the girders were raised and will be used in rebuilding permanently.
As fast as the water went down, service was resumed, and on the night of March 29th, the entire Division was restored to service, all schedules being filled normally on the 31st. The yards and enginehouses were covered with mud, slime and debris, how- ever, and the task of cleaning up took weeks of work.
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Mahoningtown, Pa.
March 27, 1913.
View of shop and engine yard, 2:00 p. m., from roof of enginehouse, looking north.
New Castle, Pa.
March 29, 1913.
"Franklin" Bridge No. 68, over Shenango River, showing position of girders and cars after water had receded.
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CHAPTER 18. PITTSBURGH DIVISION.
The Pittsburgh Division, while not itself lying in the belt of greatest rainfall, is located in the valleys of the Muskingum and its tributaries, the Tuscarawas River and Wakatomika Creek, from Dennison westwardly fifty-four miles to Black Run. The railroad lies low in the valleys, and is crossed and recrossed by these streams. Just south of Trinway, where Wakatomika Creek joins the river, the Muskingum turns abruptly south through a narrow pass in the hill forming the southern limit of the broad glacial valley, or flood plain, of the streams uniting there. The quantity of water brought to this narrow pass by these streams exceeded its capacity, and the excess accumulated in the valley until its height far exceeded all previous records. For many miles this valley became practically a lake, not exactly of back water, but moving toward the outlet in the main stream, with sluggish back water in the over- flowed territory on either side, all full of buildings, trees, animals, crossties and all sorts of debris. The tracks of the Pittsburgh Division were under water for most of this distance, and as the water was always higher on one side of the tracks than the other, the fill acted as a dam, with sluiceways where there were culverts. At these culverts the water usually succeeded in cutting out the embankment on either side, and the fill being once broken it was quickly destroyed, often for long distances, the track being washed away and twisted beyond any possibility of replacement except by completely rebuilding it.
On Monday evening, March 24th, the Eastern Division having been washed out at Lucas, and all day on the 25th, the Northwest System passenger trains were handled between Columbus and Pittsburgh, together with the regular schedules. By Tuesday evening, March 25th, the streams got so high from the heavy rainfall above that they began to do serious damage on the Pittsburgh Division. Passenger trains were annulled west of Dennison and arrangements made for detouring through trains via some route north of the flooded district.
The first actual break in the line was at Bridge 101, a stone cattle-pass east of Conesville, where the water washed away the fill all around the stonework, and destroyed most of the bridge. This occurred about nine-thirty o'clock in the evening, and a track walker who discovered the washout, while enroute to Bridge No. 100, over the Muskingum River, about a mile east of there, flagged a Big Four passenger train being detoured from Columbus to Pittsburgh, stopping them clear of the damaged track. The train was returned to Columbus.
At 10:15 P. M., Bridge 100, over the Muskingum, was washed away at the west end, two spans going into the river, and the Division was effectually put out of service. Later Bridge 104 went out, and the roadbed was destroyed at numerous places between Black Run and Tuscarawas, fifty miles.
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For a few hours, water covered the tracks at Collier and west of there in the valley of Harmon Creek where a flood in the previous September had wrought wholesale destruc- tion, but went down without doing any considerable damage.
On Wednesday the 26th, the streams continued to rise, and every hour of the day brought reports of further damage. During the night, the telegraph lines were put out of commission between Coshocton and Newark, and reports of conditions there ceased.
Only three trains had been marooned on the Division, No. 74, a local passenger train, at Trinway; a mixed local, on the Franklin Branch, at Tyndall; and a work train at Gna- denhutten. Neither of these trains was damaged. The telegraph operator at "DG" Tower, west of Port Washington, was marooned in his tower.
On the morning of the 27th an attempt was made to start repairs at the east end of the section where the greatest damage had occurred, by filling in a washout at Romig's crossing, just west of Tuscarawas, but on account of the force of the current through the break it was impossible to make any headway. The worktrain returned to Den- nison and was utilized at other points to put things in better shape and a pile driver outfit sent there instead. A pile driver at the west end of the damaged section was useless for lack of material, but arrangements were made for the cutting of piling in the surrounding country, and such repair work as could be done without piling was proceeded with. In the afternoon, the pile driver arrived at Romig's crossing, and the work of piling across the break was commenced, and completed before night.
A motor boat was secured at Dennison, brought to Romig's crossing by train, and started down the river with an engineer and others to ascertain exact conditions, material needed for repairs, etc. They reported on Thursday the 27th serious damage all along the line as far as they were able to get,-they had to lay over for the night at Gnadenhutten, and they were not heard from again until Sunday the 30th, when they arrived at Coshocton.
On Friday the 28th, very little repair work could be accomplished, owing to the high water everywhere, but on the 29th, the water went down enough to permit inspection of conditions over a good part of the Division.
At Bridge 100, over the Muskingum River, at Tyndall, it was definitely ascer- tained that the two west spans had been swept clear away, the west pier having dis- appeared. The center pier had been undermined on the north, or up-stream side, so that the northwest corner of one span had dropped some six feet. The remaining span, at the east end, was in place and apparently undamaged. East of the bridge, for several hundred feet, the embankment had held, but for nearly half a mile east of this piece of undamaged track, the high fill on which the tracks had been carried had been entirely swept away. Still east of this, for nearly the entire four miles to Coshocton, the track and roadbed had been practically destroyed. Here, and at many other places in the fifty miles between Black Run and Tuscarawas, the tracks hung in festoons, unsup- ported except by rail couplings, over long and deep gaps-temporary rivers of back water rushing to regain the river channels from which they had been dammed by the railway embankment. For miles the telegraph poles and lines were completely sub- merged and practically destroyed in many places by the washing away of poles or the. breaking of wires by debris in the water.
It was found that the portion of the Division that would take longest to repair was between Morgans Run and Conesville, including Bridge 100 and its approach.
106
Gnadenhutten, Ohio.
March 28, 1913.
Culvert 9172, one-half mile east of Station. Water had fallen 10 inches.
Gnadenhutten, Ohio, east of.
March 28, 1913.
Water had fallen one foot.
107
Gnadenhutten, Ohio.
March 28, 1913.
Bridge 92, over Tuscarawas River. Water had fallen 18 inches.
Lock 17, west of.
March 28, 1913.
Motor boat starting down Tuscarawas River for Bridge 100, over Muskingum River, to ascertain conditions in intervening territory.
108
Port Washington, Ohio, east of.
March 28, 1913.
Culvert 14 mile east of Station, view east. Water had fallen a foot or more.
Port Washington, Ohio, west of.
March 28, 1913.
View east from "DG" Tower. Water had fallen 16 inches.
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1
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Port Washington, Ohio, west of.
March 28, 1913.
View west from "DG" Tower. Water had fallen 16 inches.
Port Washington, Ohio, west of.
March 28, 1913.
Water had fallen 14 inches. Water over tracks is back-water returning to river channel.
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Port Washington, Ohio, west of.
March 29, 1913.
View east, 134 miles west of Station.
Port Washington, Ohio, west of.
March 29, 1913.
View east, at point 214 miles west of Station.
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New Comerstown, Ohio, east of.
March 29, 1913.
View east, over washout at Culvert 92-G.
March 29, 1913.
New Comerstown, Ohio, west of.
Looking east toward Bridge 94, over Tuscarawas River, two miles west of New Comerstown.
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24100
Coshocton, Ohio, east of.
March 29, 1913.
Looking east at "Clow."
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Coshocton, Ohio, west of.
March 29, 1913.
Bridge 100, from west bank of Muskingum River; two spans gone, one span dropped on one corner, and one span uninjured.
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Trinway, Ohio, east of.
March 29, 1913.
View west at site of Bridge 104, carrying an overflow from the Ohio Canal; 10 foot stone arch washed out.
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Trinway, Ohio.
March 29, 1913.
Passenger Station and surroundings. Water had fallen about 10 or 12 feet.
114
Between these points the Wheeling & Lake Erie has a single track road, and it was suggested that it might be possible to repair the damage done it, and put in connections at either end, and so provide a route sooner than the Pan Handle could be opened. Inspection revealed their condition to be equally as bad or worse than that of the Pan Handle and the scheme had to be dropped.
It was also found that many new cross ties that had been stored along the right of way for this year's renewals had been carried away by the flood, and that where the track had been torn up many of the ties had been carried away, the total being some- where in the neighborhood of 50,000. Those that were found lodged where they could be gotten by track men were used in rebuilding work, but most of them were washed so far away that they could not be recovered except by team and wagons. An offer was made to farmers and the public of 10 cents for each cross tie returned, and under this offer a total of 3,750 was so returned during the succeeding weeks.
Sunday, March 30th, the stage of water now permitting, the work of repair was begun in earnest. The force of track men was augmented by two hundred men from Dennison Shop, and a hundred and seventy-five laborers from New York. Bridge timber and piling were arriving in quantity. The force working at the east end of the washed out district finished up in the vicinity of Port Washington and Glasgow Curve, and late at night moved to the west approach of Bridge 94 over the Tuscarawas River, west of New Comerstown. The force that had been organized at the west end began the driving of piling at Bridge 104, where a 10 foot stone arch and the embankment had been washed away, requiring a trestle three hundred feet long.
On Monday the 31st, the pile driver began work west of Bridge 94 about 9:00 A. M. At 6:00 P. M. about fifty feet of trestle had been driven, toward closing a gap of 804 feet, 15 to 20 feet deep. Arrangements were made to build trestle bents at the east side, float them across the break and set then up at the west side.
Work trains with large gangs, and whatever filling material could be secured, followed in the wake of the pile driver outfits, and put the track in shape for service as rapidly as possible.
The P. W. & K. road was opened to Wheeling, the first train arriving there at 11:10 A. M.
On April 1st, the force at the east end continued to drive piles and build trestle west of Bridge 94, and to repair the tracks over which the driver had been brought. The force at the west end continued to drive trestle over the gap at Bridge 104, while one track was being put in shape for use as far east as Trinway. In the evening the New Cumberland Branch was opened for service.
On the 2d, work was begun on cribbing up the track and making it ready for work trains, between the point where the driver was working, near Bridge 94, and Coshocton, so that when the driving of piling was finished the plant might be moved to the latter point promptly.
Contractor's men, who had been engaged to lift one corner of the second span of Bridge 100, at Tyndall, arrived there on the 2d, taking their heavy tools and material by wagon overland, and began work of cribbing up the leaning span, which was to be straightened and repaired for temporary service, leaving only two spans to be replaced by trestle.
It rained nearly all day, and the rivers began to rise again during the night. Bridge 92, over the Tuscarawas, at Gnadenhutten, which had not previously been in
115
trouble, now had its west abutment undermined sufficiently to cause some settlement. Arrangements were at once made to protect it from further damage by dumping rip-rap around it, and although it was safe for slow speed only, it was not put out of commis- sion entirely.
On April 3d, early in the morning, the work of trestling just west of Bridge 94 was completed, and the driver and outfit was moved west toward the break west of Coshocton, where it arrived in the evening. Conditions in the intervening territory were such that it took the whole day to move fifteen miles. The best track had been cribbed up at each "festoon," and by placing temporary crossovers, one track had been pro- vided through the whole distance, but it was at many places a series of "shoot the chutes," rather than a track.
The force at the west end completed the trestling for one track at Bridge 104, and cribbed up one track at Bridge 101, permitting the movement of the driver to the west end of Bridge 100, over the Muskingum, during the evening. Another pile driver arrived from the west, and started driving for a second track at Bridge 104.
Local passenger service, which had been so far performed only from Pittsburgh to Dennison, was today extended to New Comerstown. On the west end trains con- tinued to run between Pittsburgh and Trinway only, until the following day, when one train was run to Conesville.
With the arrival of the driver and supply trains at the break east of Bridge 100, work was commenced in the evening on driving westwardly from the east end, and on the construction of a track on the low level, toward the west end of the break, to pro- vide a way of sending another driver to that side, and permit trestling from both ends.
On the morning of Friday the 4th, the driving of piling commenced at the west bank of the Muskingum River at Bridge 100. When the second bent was started, the channel was found to be too deep for the 50 foot piling. A few 60 and 70 foot piles were found on the east side of the river, and arrangements were made to float them across, but night came on before this could be accomplished, and the swift current made it necessary to wait for daylight before attempting it.
Gangs of men with work trains continued to put the tracks in shape for service as rapidly as possible, and local freight service was extended to Coshocton. Frequent heavy showers considerably hampered the work everywhere, but good progress was made. The Muskingum rose about two feet during the day and night, but did not seriously interfere with repair work .. The motor boat which had been sent down from Dennison was used as a means of communication across the stream, and to assist in rafting piling and material across for the work at the west side, and this and row boats were used to transfer workmen from one side to the other.
On Saturday the 5th, the driver advancing on the low level toward the west end of the break passed the first deep hole and advanced to the second. The driver on the permanent grade at the east side made good progress, but the one on the west side of the river could work only as fast as long piling could be gotten across the river, and up the very steep bank.
On Sunday the 6th, a driver better suited to the work replaced the one on the perma- nent grade at the east end, and the driver released was sent back to the break west of Bridge 94 to trestle for a second track. A wreck train removed the overturned and damaged cars from the sidings at Clow and the gravel pit. Other drivers arriving,
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New Comerstown, Ohio, west of.
April 3, 1913.
Looking west, about one-half mile west of Bridge 94, and showing temporary trestle for one track over washout.
Coshocton, Ohio, west of.
April 4, 1913.
Looking west, west of "Clow." Work trains have passed over the track on which men are working, and are proceeding toward Bridge 100.
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Coshocton, Ohio, west of.
April 4, 1913.
Passing tracks, etc., at "Clow " undermined, and equipment more or less damaged.
April 4, 1913.
Coshocton, Ohio, west of.
Condition of tracks at "Clow " after one track had been sufficiently repaired to permit passage of work trains, en route west to Bridge 100.
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Coshocton, Ohio, west of.
April 4, 1913.
Fill east of Bridge 100 washed away, exposing piling driven in repairing damage done by flood of 1898, but not in condition for use.
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Coshocton, Ohio, west of.
April 4, 1913.
Driving piling at deepest hole washed in approach to Bridge 100, over Muskingum River, driver working on "lower level."
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Coshocton, Ohio, west of.
April 4, 1913.
Bridge 100, looking west, where first piling is being driven in channel of river at west side.
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PL 599336
VASTIVANIA
PENNSYLVANIA LISES 314567
Trinway, Ohio.
April 5, 1913.
View west at south side of yard, showing tracks undermined and equipment more or less damaged.
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one was started on a second track on the permanent grade at the east side of the break, following in the wake of the one working toward Bridge 100.
The supply of very long piling having been exhausted, a seventy foot spruce pile having broken in the driving, and the high wind shaking the driver and trestle, it was necessary to stop driving at the west side of the river until the trestle was strengthened and arrangements could be made to cut long piling of hard wood in the surrounding territory. These were difficult to find of suitable length and straightness, but enough were procured to permit advancing slowly with the work, while requests for long hardwood piles were sent out it all directions. A driver was secured which could drive further below the track level, but at that it was found that seventy foot piles would be needed.
On Monday the 7th, the driver on the lower level reached the west side of the break, just east of Bridge 100, and was started at work on the permanent grade at the west end. This low level track provided a means of reaching the bridge with tools and material, and a derrick was taken there to assist in repairing the second span. On the 8th, the cribbing under this span was completed and the raising of the steel work started.
The work proceeded without much variation until Saturday the 12th, when one track across the break east of Bridge 100 was completed, and a second track over the break west of Bridge 94.
On Sunday morning, the 13th of April, the trestle was completed across the river at Bridge 100. The damaged span having already been put in shape for use, a heavy engine was sent across the river at 6:50 A. M., and passenger service was resumed over the Pittsburgh Division, eighteen and a half days after Bridge 101 and 100 went down. Freight service was resumed on Sunday night.
Two tracks had been provided everywhere but at Bridge 100 and across the break just east of it, and the work of providing a second track through this district was not completed until June 11th. Instead of trestling the river with the second track, cluster pile towers were driven, and girders laid on them, to prevent too great interference with the stream flow until such time as a permanent bridge could be built. When this second track was completed, traffic was sent over it while the first track was rebuilt in the same way, and a double track road was not available over the Muskingum River until the middle of August.
To give an idea of the extent of the damage done on the Pittsburgh Division, and its distribution over the whole Division, the points of damage have been listed in detail.
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PITTSBURGH DIVISION. DETAILED LIST OF DAMAGE DONE BY FLOOD OF MARCH, 1913.
from Mile Post Pittsburgh
+Ft.
LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION
1st Track
2nd Track
1st Track Track
Collier, W. Va.
3-27
200
3-26
3-26
360
Embankment washed out under No. 3 track east of "MN" Tower, 300' long.
3-26
300
100
37
3000
Three tracks washed out 8'deep, 30' long; 1000 sacks of Portland cement in shed destroyed at Bridge No. 38. ..
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