FALL OF A 60-TON WHEEL HUB.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 8833, 8 June 1907, Page 4

FALL OF A 60-TON WHEEL HUB.

At the close of the- Austrian Ex hibition at Earl's Com't, L-ndon, last October, it -was decided to• uemolish the "great wheel" winch for ir aay years had formed a enm 'feature of the different exhibitions given at the West End place of entertainment every summer. Tte ■work was at once put in hand, ana in April the only parts of the sfcructare remaining were the shears ana the huge hnb, weighing 60 tons. This on April 18 was thrown to the ground from a height of 180 ft. The immense cylinder came down witu such a thud as to . cause an earthquake at- Earl's Court, and the crowd of onlookers ensoyed the strange sensation of feeling the earth lifting them, as the 'wave ; passing along the ground. Incidentally, the work necessitated tne "holding up" of trains every now I and thenjon tlielDistrictJßailway.be--1 tween Earl's Court and West Ken- \ sington stations. As a spectacle it was far more exciting than the launch of a ship. A crowd of invited guests waited from eleven o'olock in the morning until six I o'clock in the evening to. see the fall. Then they were thrilled, kadi end of the hub rested in its U-shaped cradle at the top of four great red iron legs, reaching 180 ft down to the ground. But the cradles had been raised by means of eight 20-ton jacks, and six iron rollers had been inserted between the bottom of each cradle and the iron platform at th e top of the less. The 60-ton iron cylinder was thus free to be rolled off the summit of the legs, where it could be seen from all round London. But it was the rolling that took seven hours. A rope was passed over each cradle, and passed over a pulley, and the end which reached to the ground was pulled by 50 or 60 men. The two gangs pulled together, but at the first pull one cradle moved forward a little further than the other, with the result that the rollers went askew, and that caused the trouble. The rollers would not roll straight, and the strain on the ropes and pulleys was >uch that one or other gave way nine or ton times, and each break meant a wait of half an hour or more. Thus, a little before six o'clock, Earl's Court was a Sahara of weariness to the onlookers, who had begun to believe that the hub would never fall. Suddenly, just before six o'clock there was a cry of "t's moving!" Three cradles were seen gliding forward. In a moment the weary watchers became alert. A Tmoment lr.'er ;the cradles were on the point of overbalancing. The onlookers were now in a state of excitement which they never anticipated. Suddenly the'long-waited second arrived. The cradles tipped up and slid from their place. The ,hub fell out of them and came smashing to the ground. It fell with a tremendous crash on a bed of wooden f blocks, cover 3d with tarpaulins, and bounced in the air again. A cloud of dust rose in the air. The earth trombled. | The onlookers and workmen rushed forward as if they were charging an enemy, and plunged into the .dust cloud, yelling with excitement. The sight was surprising in its dramatic suddenness, and people shook hands and congratulated each other on having waited seven hours to see it. Here are some striking facts about it:—The fall occupied exactly 3.36 sees. The velocity of the hub in the last second was 74 miles an hour. It struck the ground with the "striking force" of 10.860 tons The wheel took much longer to take to 'pieces than was anticipated, as not a single nut could be turned owing to rust, and 700 rods as thick as a man's arm had to be cut through. This used up 500 saws.