FALL OF A 60-TON WHEEL HUB.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13453, 1 June 1907, Page 2 (Supplement)

FALL OF A 60-TON WHEEL HUB.

—: ■ ■<* — • [ TRAINS HELD UP. • At the close of the Austrian Exhibition, a • Earl's Court, London, last October, it wa 1 decided to demolish the "great wheel,' . which for many years had formed a clue . feature of the different exhibitions given a i that West End place of entertainment even » summer. The. work was at once put ii ' hand, and in April the only parts of tin ' structure remaining were the shears - anc - the huge hub, weighing 60 tons. This 01 >, April 18 was thrown to the ground fron ', a height of 180 ft, ; 1 The immense cylinder came down witl ; such a thud as to cause an earthquake &' - Earl's Court, and the crowd of onlooker! > enjoyed the strange sensation of feeling > the earth lifting them as the " wave" pass I ed along the ground. i Incidentally, the work necessitated tin I " holding up" of trains every now and thei • ou the District Railway between Earl'i > Court and West Kensington stations. 1 As a spectacle it was far more exciting : |than the launch of a ship. A crowd of in jvitcd guest* waited from eleven o'clock ii ijthe morning until «ix o'clock in the even ling to see the fall. Then thev wer< '! thrilled. Each end of the hub rested in its U j shaped cradle at the top of four great rec iron legs, reaching 180 ft down to tin ground. But the cradles had been raisec by means of eight 20-ton jacks, and si: iron rollers had been inserted between tin bottom of each cradle and the iron plat form at the top of the legs. The 60-ton iron cylinder was thus fre< to be rolled off the* summit of the legs where it could be seen from all round Lon don. But it was the rolling that took sever - i hours. • . ij A rope was fastened to each cradle, anc .jpassed over a pulley, and the end whicl | reached to the ground was pulled by 50 o: ■ 60 men. ' The two gangs nulled together, but at tin » first pull one cradle moved forward a litth further than the other, with the result tha ; the rollers went askew, and that causec t the trouble. i The- rollers would not roll straight, anc ) the strain on the ropes and pulleys vrtu ; such that one or other gave way nine or tei f times, and each break meant a' wait of hal an hour or more. Thus, a little before sb >o'clock. Earl's Court was a Sahara of weari > ness to the onlookers, who had begun U i believe that the hub would never fall. J- MOVED AT LAST. ■ Suddenly, just before six o'clock, there i was a cry of " It's moving!" The cradle; were seen gliding forward. In a momenl the weary watchers became alert. A mo- • ment later the cradles were on the point ol ; overbalancing. The onlookers were now ir . a state of excitement which they never anticipated. i Suddenly the long-waited second arrived. > The cradles tipped up and slid from theii ! place. The hub fell out of them and came • smashing to the ground. It fell with a tremendous crash on a bed of wooden block; • covered with tarpaulins, and bounced ir » the- air again. A cloud of dust rose in the . air. The earth trembled. ; The onlookers and workmen rushed for [ ward as if they were charging an enemy. • and plunged into the dust cloud, yelling with excitement. > The sight was surprising in its dramatic i suddenness, and people shook hands anc 1 congratulated each other on having waited seven hours to see it. Here are some strik i ing facts about- it: — The fall occupied ex ; actly 3.365. The velocity of the hub ir • the last second was 74 miles an hour. II struck the ground with the " striking force' : of 10,860 tons. - ! The wheel took much longer to take tc pieces than was anticipated, as not a singW nut could be turned owing to rust, and 70C , rods as thick as a man'-? arm had lube leut through. This used up 500 saws.