Please see the Transcriber’s Notes at the end of this text.
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BY
CHARLES PRELINI, C. E.
AUTHOR OF “EARTH AND ROCK EXCAVATION,” “DREDGES AND DREDGING,”
“EARTH SLOPES, RETAINING WALLS AND DAMS,” ETC. PROFESSOR
OF CIVIL ENGINEERING IN MANHATTAN COLLEGE,
NEW YORK
167 ILLUSTRATIONS
SIXTH EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED
NEW YORK
D. VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY
Twenty-five Park Place
1912
Copyright, 1912,
BY
D. VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY
NEW YORK
Stanhope Press
F. H. GILSON COMPANY
BOSTON, U.S.A.
[iii]
During the few years that have elapsed since the publicationof the first edition of this work, the art of tunnelingthrough different soils and especially under large bodies ofwater, has made considerable progress. During the lastten years, no less than eight subaqueous tunnels involvingthe construction of sixteen tubes have been constructed forthe service of the city of New York alone. The reader will,no doubt, also recall the tunnels under the Boston Harbor,the St. Clair, the Charles and Detroit Rivers in our owncountry as well as the tunnels under the Thames and theSeine in Europe. Engineers, contractors and workmen haveacquired such experience in these difficult underground andunder-river construction that the work is now undertakenwithout any of the fear and hesitation that were associatedwith the earlier enterprises.
As entirely new methods have been introduced by professionalmen, it was found necessary to arrange the presentationof the subject in this sixth edition so as to givedue prominence to these recent methods.
Besides this, other changes have been made in order togive greater attention to American method of excavatingtunnels through rock and loose soil. This will explain thetreatment of the crown-bar and also the extensive illustrationof the heading and bench method as well as the driftmethod of driving tunnels which is followed in the UnitedStates.
Space has also been given to important tunnels recentlybuilt mainly for the purpose of illustrating the various[iv]methods discussed in the text and also to bring out moreclearly the characteristics of the different methods of tunnelexcavation.
The author hopes that these added features will meet thepresent requirements of engineers and students.
Charles Prelini.