Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 89.djvu/341

How the Stone and Old Concrete Were Removed from the Basin by the Improved Cableway

Releasing the Hoisting Line at the "Two-Block" Position Lowered the Wheel-Barrow

A Substantial Cableway Built from Scrap Material

N removing a quantity of stone and old concrete from the interior of a fifteen-million-gallon reservoir under con- struction in Omaha, Nebraska, the cable- way illustrated was built from scrap material in a short time by the black- smith on the job.

The "A" frame was built with an old 10-in. sheave at the top, over which passed the carrying cable. This was a piece of ordinary galvanized strand such as is used for guy wire, and the hoisting line was ¾↗-in. manilla rope. The carrier was built of ⅜-'in 1½-in. flat iron, using sheaves from old pulley blocks for the running and hoisting sheaves. The movable block, to which was attached the hook for suspending the load, was an 8-in. block with a long pin through the sheave to engage the stop on the carrier when the tackle was at "two-block." The wheel-barrows were attached by a three-chain grab.

With the cableway in operation, the wheel-barrows were loaded inside the basin, wheeled under the lower stop of the cableway and the grab chain attached. The load was raised by a hoisting line to the "two-block" position, and then hauled up on the carrier line. Upon reaching the head frame the long hook was dropped to engage a pin in the top member of the carrier. When the hoisting line was released the wheel-barrow was lowered to the ground. The grab chains were released and the load wheeled to the dump. An empty wheel-barrow was then attached, hoisted to the carrier, the hook released and the load sent to the floor of the basin. On this work a small hoisting engine was used.