Scientific American Supplement, No. 829, November 21, 1891 by Various
page 78 of 146 (53%)
page 78 of 146 (53%)
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The peculiar position of the hatches allows of loading the semi-vessels separately as well as when coupled together. If there is for the time being no necessity for using the vessels in their capacity of separate and duplex barges, any kind of cargo might be loaded that does not require large hatches. The vessels, on account of their more complicated construction, will be somewhat more expensive, but wherever the advantage offered by them outweighs the extra expenditure, they can be used with success. The innovation might be of particular importance where a new canal system is being constructed, since the latter might be subdivided into main canals and branch canals--similarly as in the case of ordinary and narrow gauge railways--the main canal being built of a larger section and with larger locks to suit the duplex barges, while the branch canals could be planned of smaller dimensions calculated to suit the semi-barge. Thus the first cost of such a canal system would be materially reduced as compared with a canal installation of one uniform section throughout. Likewise in mountainous districts with rock soil it would be an important consideration whether a canal had to be blasted out of the solid rock or a tunnel cut, in dimensions suitable for a vessel of 6 or of 14 square meters section below the water line. In this case, even in certain portions of a main canal--where rendered desirable by the rocky nature of the ground--a smaller section might be adopted, which would only be large enough for single semi-barges, |
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