Pile Driving Equipment
In reading accounts of early western railroad construction, my impression is that the work of earth moving and preparation of the roadbed could take weeks to accomplish, whereas rail laying was done quite quickly, often at the rate of a mile or more per day. A question arises about trestle building, which inevitably required the driving of piles. If pile driving depended on railcar-mounted equipment would this not have brought track-laying to a halt every time a watercourse or canyon had to be crossed? The alternative is that pile drivers were brought forward ahead of track laying by wagon – something difficult for me to imagine. Any help with this would be appreciated.
—Larry
posted from CPRR Discussion Group at 8:30 AM
4 Comments:
From: "John Snyder" johnsnyder@onetel.com
It is quite possible that pile drivers on timber frames could have been skidded into place using the prepared roadbed, prior to the laying of rails.
This method was often used in early 20th century highway building.
—John Snyder
From: KyleWyatt@aol.com
In original Central Pacific construction I don't recall any examples of pile trestles. Most of the trestles were of fabricated construction – a little more easily done in advance of track. Also, pile drivers depend on small portable boilers, engines and winches, and my sense is out West (at least) these didn't become common until the 1880s (note the development of the Dolbeer donkey in the 1880s for logging).
—Kyle
From: "Wendell Huffman" wendellhuffman@hotmail.com
A pile driver was used in construction of the CP bridge across the American River in 1863 (it actually was in operation on that project prior to "ground breaking"). Also, driven piles were used in various bridges across the Sacramento River at Sacramento – I believe used as early as the very first bridge at that location, well before railroad. And, the foundations for the various railroad shop buildings at Sacramento were laid on top of driven piles. Clearly construction on river bottom land (read "swamp") required an approach different to that taken in the mountains. I do agree with Kyle that the CP's railroad trestles in the mountains were not built using driven piles. The bents seem to have been erected on stone foundations. The sweeping curve that ran from Front and I around to the north levee (replacing the original line out I street) was undoubtedly laid on a pile trestle.
I would expect that pile drives were in use very early in San Francisco in extending the city waterfront out into the bay. There was a steam excavator in use there in 1850 and I'd venture that pile drivers were already there by that date.
It seems to me that there were likely animal-driven pile drivers, though I admit to complete ignorance on that score. I woud think that steam was applied to pile drivers sometime in the early 19th century. But I'm guessing ...
—Wendell
From: "Larry Mullaly" lmullaly@jeffnet.org
This evening I came across a reference that suggests that brige building preceded track laying. Central Pacific Superintendent of Bridges, Arthur Brown was "Known for having bridges built in such a timely fashion as to never delay the grading and track laying work of the road. Pp. 86, 90-91 of John D. Galloway’s "The First Transcontinental Railroad." I found this in notes taken from the overview of the small collection of Arthur Brown papers at CSRM.
—Larry
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