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Builds Huge Caisson for Mid-town Tunnel The huge steel caisson for the Manhattan lock of the long planned mid-town Manhattan-Weehawken ve- hicular tunnel under the Hudson river was towed up the river to its position at the foot of Thirty-ninth street, New York city, arriving about noon July 17. This 675-ton steel structure, box-like in form, was built by the Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N. J., and was towed from the builder’s yard to its position on the New York side of the Hudson river without mishap of any kind by the builder’s tug Fed- eral No. 1 in charge of Capt. Eric Iverson. The delicate operation of moving the great steel cube started on the evening of July 16. An over- night stop was made at Pier 1, Staten Island because of the tide. From this point it required 3% hours the next morning for the tow to Thirty-ninth street, Manhattan. It was made fast at the bulkhead line in about 4 minutes. The launching of the caisson took place without ceremony in_ early July, at the Kearny plant of the Fed- eral Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., on the Hackensack river. A watertight wooden bottom was built into the caisson at its cutting edge, for launching purposes. The caisson then was drydocked, the wooden bottom removed and the necessary finishing touches given it in preparation for its trip down the Hackensack river to Newark bay and thence via the Kill Yan Kull to the Hudson river. The caisson, designed as a ‘box within a box,’’ is now 80 feet high, standing about 12 feet above the water line, and measures approxi- mately 52-feet by 42-feet. Its out- Stcel caisson for Manhattan lock of Federal Shipbuilding € Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N. J. 26 side wall plates are %-inch thick and its inner walls ‘%-inch thick; the space between, which will later be filled with concrete to sink it, is rein- forced with structural steel. The cais- son is of all-riveted construction, thor- oughly caulked. Ultimate over-all. height, from cutting edge to top, will be 100 feet. Workmen already have begun add- ing eight feet of additional plate to the sidewall height; when this is completed, about Aug. 1, the work of sinking the caisson to a depth of 100 feet will begin, its first resting place being on the bottom in about 30 feet of water. As the caisson, sinks deeper with the removal of silt, course after course of plate will be added to the side walls until the eaisson finally contains 1300 tons of steel and is securely sealed on rock bottom, 98-feet below mean high water. The circular plates for the lower half of the tunnel (which will pass through the caisson near its lower end) may be seen in the il- lustration. The bottom of the eais- son is shaped much like the false bottom of a wine bottle. The Hudson Midtown tunnel, is a project of the Port of New York au- thority, financed by a _ $37,500,000 public works loan. The Mason & Hanger Co. is the contractor. When completed, several years hence, it will carry vehicular traffic between Manhattan, at the foot of West Thirty-Ninth street, and Weehaw- ken, N. J. It will be the third great bore under the Hudson. George F. Kelble, who has been as- sociated with the Jarka Corp. for the past 14 years, has resigned and or- ganized the Kelble Operating Corp., general stevedores and contractors. Office of the new company will be located at 95 Broad street, New York. midtown Hudson tunnel, launched at the MARINE REVIEw—August, 1934 I. M. M. Increases Holdings in United States Lines According to an official statement by P. A. S. Franklin, president, the International Mercantile Marine Co., on July 5 acquired by purchase all of the Dollar interests in the United States lines and associated com- panies, With the acquisition of the Dollar interests the International Mercantile Marine Co, now owns the controlling interest in both common and preferred stock of the United States Lines Co. This is one more definite indication of the expressed determination of the International Mercantile Marine Co. to develop un- der the American flag and devote its energies exclusively to the expansion of the American merchant marine. The company appreciates the con- tinued relationship and co-operation with the Dollar interests in other directions. Pacific coast shipping in- terests will continue to be represent- ed in the United States Lines Co. by the Dawson and Dant interests of Portland, Oreg. The International Marine Co. is determined to continue the devel- opment and expansion of the Unit- ed States lines services both pas- senger and freight to the _ point where they will eventually be sec- ond to none in the North Atlantic trade and continue to maintain the traditionally high standards of American shipping. The com- pany’s plans for new tonnage are maturing and an announcement of progress in that direction is ex- pected in the near future, It is the earnest desire of the Unit- ed States lines to place in its vari- ous trades tonnage that will equal or surpass that of our foreign competi- tors and the well known interest of President Roosevelt and other high government officials in the develop- ment of the American merchant ma- rine will undoubtedly result in con- tinued co-operation in a program of development and expansion that will insure an adequate fleet under the American flag. New regulations of the iron and steel code, effective June 21, permit reductions in delivered prices of iron and steel products sold for delivery, wholly or in part, by water in the South Atlantic, Gulf or Pacific coast states, as well as_ transportation charges on products sold for delivery in the Canal Zone or at Alaskan ports. The establishment of these new dif- ferentials is important to water car- riers as the tendency should be to route products in this manner where- ever possible in order to take ad- vantage of the more favorable prices thus made possible.