The Gate city journal., July 30, 1936, Image 3

TH E G ATE C IT Y JO U RNAL, TH U R SD AY, JU L Y 30,1936
Local Engineer Writes Interesting
Article On The Construction Of
The Big Malheur River Siphon
The following
article by
Richard (Dick) Young of Nys-
sa, appeared in the July num­
ber of The Reclamation Era,
a
magazine
published
in
Washington
D. C. In the
article Mr. Young has made a
clear description of the M al­
heur River siphon, and the
methods used in constructing
this big feature of the pro­
ject's iirigation system.
MALHEUR RIVER
SIPHON
A view of the Mal-
neur Siphon being
laid. When com­
pleted it was nearly
miles long and
will Irrigate 17.000
Dead
of the railroad crossing.
The siphon can be drained
through one 18-inch needle valve
and one 12-inch gate valve installed
at the river crossing and four 4-
inch valves located at various points
of the line.
CONSTRUCTION
The construction of the siphon
was advertised under Specification
No. 598, which provided for alter­
native proposals on precast concerte
pipe to be buried under ground and
on plate steel pipe to be supported
M A L H E l'R R IV E R SIPHON
above the surface as above describ­
By Richard A. Young, Assistant ed. The work under each alterna­
tive was divided into two schedules,
Engineer
one including roughly the construc­
The Malheur River Siphon is a tion of inlet and oulet structures,
feature of the Owyhee project in piers, anchors, etc., and the second
eastern
Oregon and
carries the ( the furnishing and installing o f the
waters of the North Canal across pipe. Three hundred
and
thirty
the valley of the Malheur River j calendar days were allowed for corn-
near Ontario to
irrigate
17,000 pletion. Twelve bids were received
acres of bench lands on the Dead on November 26. 1934. The lowest
combination was on the steel pipe
Ox Flat division.
The structure consists mainly of design, as follows:
arc- welded
plate-steel pipe,
80
Parker-Schram Co., Portland, Ore.
inches in diameter, with compara­
Schedule No. 1
$64,764.50
tively short lengths of monolithic
reinforced
concrete
pipe on the Consolidated Steel Corporation, Lor,
Angeles, Calif.:
ends. The f maximum head on the
pipe is 268 feet and the total length I Schedule No. 2 ........... $522,457.00
Total ...................... $587,221.50
is 23,178 feet, or nearly 4tfe miles,
making it one of the longest siphons
The lowest bid on precast concrete
of its size and type in the country. I
pipe was submitted by the American
The carrying capacity of the siphon I
& stee, plpe C q Qf ^
is 325 cubic ieet per second.
$501334
for the pipe the ends of the siphon was poured position while the fitters completed
The pipe line crosses the John schedule, or about $40,000 more than in the warm weather of May and j entering the joint as the pipe came
Day Highway, the Burns branch o f ! steel.
The concrete type of con- June and in lengths of 48 feet. Cur- ! down.
ing was done with Hunt process | Rocker arms were set at correct
the Oregon Short Line Railroad, a structlon was also questioned on
market
road, three or four sm all, account of the low, flat. wet. heavily coating. Unseasonable cold weather location and the pin bearings grout-
the plers at night after
canals, and the channel of the Mai- aikalled land traversed by 1 mile in October found some of this pipe e(1 fast
heur River It is encased in concrete o f the siphon line. Award was made not yet covered and round-about m e temperature of the pipe
was
intervals of uniform on all sides so that the pipe
and buried in the ground under the | to the Parker-Schram Co. and the cracks developed at
highways and railroad and is sup- consolidated Steel Corporation on about 10 to 15 feet.
would occupy its normal position
The alinement, grade and spacing with a minimum of internal stresses.
p-ited across the river channel on December 28, 1934. The
Parker-
high concrete piers. Except for th e , Schram Co. sublet their excavation of the piers was very successfully
During hot weather a length of
undercrossings, and for several de- work to J. A. Terteling & Sons and managed, the supporting rings on pipe laying in the sun would be
pressons in the ground profile, the the concrete to John Klug.
The the steel pipe almost centering the noticeably longer on the sunny side
pipe is supported about 15 inches Consolidated Steel Corporation sub- piers throughout.
and, if placed with the free end on
above the ground surface on con- let the field erection of the pipe to F A B R IC IA T IO N OF STEEL PIPE true center line, would shift position
Crete piers, spaced, on the average. the Olson Manufacturing Co., of
The pipe was fabricated in the when the temperature of the sides
60 feet apart, with the anchors plac­ Boise, Idaho.
shops of the Consolidated Steel Cor­ became uniform if the end remained
ed at about 1,000-foot intervals and
There was much discussion among
poration at Los Angeles. Alternate free.
at each major bend in the pipe line. the bidders as to whether steel pipe
length of about 36 t® 24 feet were
In the erection of the pipe, all
Pin bearings grouted into the top of should be fabricated at the home
made up, the short lengtlis being of field joints were arc-welded in and
each concrete pier carry rocker arms shops and
shipped
made up or
heavier plate carrying stiffener j outside. Covered welding rod (Lln-
freight
should be kept
which in turn support brackets at­ whether
rings, which consist of two plates coin Fleetwood) was used through­
plates flat
tached to stiffener rings which are down by shipping the
4 inches high by seven-six-teenths out. A fter a long series of try-outs
welded to the shell of the pipe. The and fabricating in a temporary shop inch thick, 8 inches apart. Belland
rocker arms are usually 18 inches in set up on the project. The lowest and spigot-type joints were used. All
length but vary at depression in the bid was based on the fact that the shop welds were stress-relieved in an
between the
ground surface up to a maximum Union Pacific Lines
annealing furnace All pipe lengths
of 24 feet. The shell of the pipe shop at Los Angeles and the project were subjected to a hyrdostatic test
offered
clearance
enough
to
allow
varies from one-quarter to nine-
in the contractor's shop, which in­
fabricated
pipe two
sixteenths inch in thickness and is loading of
cluded a hammer test, the test
high
on
cars.
And
so
the
pipe
was
self-supporting
for the 60-foot
pressure used being
about 40 per
___ __ _
spans between piers. A design stress shipped, more than 400 carloads of cent above the working
pressure.
HELLO FRIEND S: Perhaps it
of 14.000 pounds per square inch it, on racks 14 feet high from the Pipe was given an inside coat of bit- ! would be, Just 88 wel1 not to count
was used in the pipe shell with an deck of the cars.
umous primer and an outside coat ^'our cb'r ^i ns untd they have re-
"
turned
' from scratching
’ ’ ’
up your
efficiency of 90 per cent in the
PIERS AND ANCHORS
of red lead before shipment.
neighbor’s garden.
sliop-welded longitudinal joint.
Excavation for piers and anchors
ERECTION OF PIPE
-K N O T S —
Expansion joints
are
provided was begun on March 10 and concrete
On delivery at Ontario, pipe was
Film star (using new toilet prep­
midway
between the
anchors. work followed within a week. All
Twenty-six expansion joints, each o f Schedule No. 1, including the unloaded in an extensive yard by aration) This is awful stuff. Why
In did you buy it?
packed with five rings of 5-8 inch siphon inlet and outlet and anchors means of a caterpillar crane.
this yard it was made up into 60-
Maid—I read an advertisement in
square lubricated flax packing, al­ was completed in July.
foot lengths and some inside paint­ which you praised it very highly.
low for a change in length of the
Some difficulty was experienced
ing
was
done
before
hauling
on
pipe line between anchors due to in securing suitable foundation for
—K N O TS—
contraction and expansion caused the piers across some of the low wet a truck and trailer to the location
T O BUILDERS: We have every­
of
the
siphon.
The
first
pipe
was
by temperature changes. Sixty-one bottom lands. A drain was dug par­
thing from cellar to roof for your
manholes, spaced to about 350-feet allel to the siphon to keep the received on May 19 and placed in new house. Let us figure your plans
intervals allow excess to the inside ground water below the surface and the highway undercrossing on May before you buy Building Material.
Pipelaying was completed in
o f the pipe. Six-inch air valves for several of the piers were overexca­ 22.
—K N O TS—
vacuum relief are provided at abrupt vated 8 to 12 feet in depth to reach October 1935.
Guo wants to know if its' proof of
An
erection
crew
of
eight
men
bends in the pipe and a 4-inch air shale, the overexcavation
being
evolution when a fellow turns turtle
with a caterpillar crane could easily
pressure and vacuum relief valve backfilled with coarse gravel.
after he’s been drinking like a fish!
was placed at the downstream end
The monolithic concrete pipe at place 200 to 300 linear feet of pipe
—K N O T S—
per 8-hour shift. The program of
Man—“ I want to get a present
erection was to place first a length
of pipe on an anchor pier and grout for my wife.”
Nice Clerk—"Would you like to see
the anchor. After allowing 3 or 4
days for the grout to set, the pipe something nice In silk things?”
Man—"W hy er-r yes.
But let’s
was then erected from each anchor
toward the
expansion joints and tend to the present first.”
—K N O T S —
final connection was accomplished
Don’t let the summer slip away
by telescoping the expansion closed
as far as possible, which allowed the before you get at that repair job.
last length o f pipe to be placed in j Time flies, and before you know it,
the opening freely, after which the winter will be here. Now is a good
connection was made by pull-jacks time to re-roof,
welded to the pipe.
I
-
The lengths of pipe were swung
into place by the crane with the pipe
hanging about 30 degrees from the
horizontal.
The top of the circle
at the low end of the pipe was then
entered into the end of the line and
Nyssa, Oregon
tacked by a welder. The pipe was
then lowered slowly to a horizontal |
W e are now contracting our F A L L LETTUCE
j A n g e !e s a t
| in an effort to qualify local men, or
at least Oregon residents as welders,
it was finally admitted that field
welding of pressure pipe is a special­
ized and difficult job in which not
many are experienced and a great
many could never become adapt.
Qualified men were then employed
wherever they could be found. For
the first two months, progress was
constantly retarded on account of
lack of welders. After this time, pro­
gress was rapid and well balanced.
Welding inside the pipe during the
hot summer days was punishment to
the welder and night-shift assign­
ments were in demand. As the pipe
shell varied in thickness,
from
two to three beads or passes by the
welder were required on the inside
and the outside of each girth joint,
two being sufficient for the one-
fourth inch and three for any great­
er thickness. The average good
welder could make six beads around
the 80-inch pipe in a shift and make
a joint that would not leak. Each
bead was thoroughly peened with an
air hammer before the next one
was applied.
Joints were tested for watertight­
ness by forcing soap suds under 50
pounds of pressure into the space
between the spigot and the
bell
after the Inside and outside girth
welds were completed. Very few
joints showed any
leakage.
The
bells were entered into the spigots
1H inches and the joints fitted so
tightly that much difficulty was ex­
perienced in getting the suds to cir­
culate around the Joint.
The Malheur siphon has not yet
been filled with water, but the Owy­
hee siphon, constructed similarly in
1934 with the same inspector and
several of the same welders and
under a head of 350 feet, did not
show a damp spot on the outside of
a field weld when filled with water.
Specifications provide for an inside
shop coat of primer and a second
coat of primer in the field followed
by a hot coat of bituminous enamel
not less than one-sixteenth inch in
thickness. The outside shop coat of
red lead is covered In the field by
a final coat of aluminum paste in
varnish. The bituminous primer and
the aluminum were sprayed on with
air brushes and the enamel applied
hot with hand daubers. Thickness of
the enamel coating and the pres­
ence o f pin holes or "holidays" were
checked by a spark tester adjusted
to spark through any coating of less
than the specified thickness.
It was first attempted to apply
the enamel coating Inside the pipe
in the yard where the pipe could be
rolled and all painting done down-
hand. This method requires much
less material and nukes a smoother Nyssa by her youngest daughter,
job because there is not splash and June.
waste from overhead work. However,
On a trip to Salt Lake City last
hot sunshine on the outside red lead week, Mrs Chase says there were
coat caused the enamel to sag and heat prostrations by the score, over
run. Experiments showed that an 300 being reported in Salt Lake City
aluminum outside coat would pro­ alone. T raffic officers were stationed
test the enamel up to 95 degrees F. along the road to advise motorists
and gloss white would protect up to to carry an Ice pack with them
110 degrees F. The latter was then through
some
of the hottest
used until a cool day in August stretches of the road.
showed that the enamel would crack
from handling at 45 degrees F.
Painting in the yard was then aban­ , Max Long who spent last week
doned and the pipe was painted helping his grandfather. J. T. Long,
after erection until a sharp cold
with his farm work Is spending this
snap around zero weather in late
October
showed that the enamel week with his other grandparents,
would crack and loosen from the Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bullard.
pipe in extremely cold weather.
Painting was then stopped for the
winter.
Aluminum in rather thick varnish
covered 325 square feet per gallon.
The bituminous primer covered 400
square feet per gallon.
The enamel required was 0.74
pound per square foot for painting
in the yard as compared with 1.15
pounds per square foot for painting
after erection.
Old and new settlers on the Dead
Ox Flat are beiginning to prepare
for irrigation and it is planned to
put the mlles-long siphon Into ser­
vice to carry water for fall seeding
this year.
CHASES TO LEAVE
ON EASTERN TRIP
Mrs. Florence Cha.ce and daughter
Cherl expect to leave tomorrow by
auto on an extended business trip
to the east. En route they will stop
for a few days at Denver, Kansas
City, Columbus. Washington. D. C.,
and New York City. Miss Cheri ex­
pects to stay In the east and Mrs.
Chase will be accompanied back to
•»IHIilllllHIIIIIllllllllmiim'MIjiiimiimr
S W A N BREAD makes
golden brown slices of
crispy toast for breakfast,
for savory toasted sand­
wiches, or for that lunch at
bedtime. The slices cut the
ideal size for toasting.
Watch the smile that goes
round the table when you
serve hot toast at any meal.
PHONE 20
S W A N B AK E R Y
NYSSA, OREGON
Attractive low prices,..R O M A
EIGH T-FORTY B R A N D Y
JiPt.
Pt.
5th
35 4
65 /
$ 1.10
Buttled by America's greatest winery—
ROMA WINE CO, Inc.
Lodi, California
ENJOY,
TOO
V E R M O U T H , . 9 0 f a bottle
2 type* — French & Italian
A ZESTFUL A F FET I ZI I — S I I V I ROMA VEEMOUTH OFTEN
ROMA
Knot Hole News
IGROWERS!
Fall Lettuce
than August 7th.
See Us For
•
DEPENDABLE, LOW PRICED
Our fieldman will contact you
and those interested call
or
Tom F.ldridge
Nyssa Phone 45
F.H. HOGUE
NYSSA.
O RE GON
OFFICE PHONE 17
Spent in the Past 12 Months
Jackson Lumber
Company
acreage. This must be planted not later
•
More Than *1,000,000
Hay Insurance
You can’t afford to take the risk of having your
hay burn and lose hundreds of dollars. Let us
take the risk. Don’t delay another day, see . . .
Denney R. Hogue
Nyssa Phone 48
Nyssa Insurance Agency
DON M. GRAHAM. Manager
by Idaho Power
with Local Business Firms
' I ' HE many different kinds of supplies,
Our expenditures helped stimulate local
materials and services required by our
business, increase employment and pay rolls,
business are
purchased
whenever
possible
build and maintain local business.
within the territory we serve.
Add to
them the past year’s expenditure of our em-
In the last 12 months alone, we paid to
p'oyees— wages and salaries of $1,182,000.00
local firms and individuals more than $1,000,-
—and our 1935 tax bUI
000.00. This huge sum of money was spent
you
for supplies, materials and services ranging
part of the communities In which we live.
in size and variety from the purchase of •
of
$020.000.90—and
a picture of how much we are a
This is only a part of Idaho Power's con­
bos of rubber bands to a carload of lumber.
i d a h o
get
tribution to the territory we serve.
V
p o w e r
€£ecPuciÛj..üot\ So MUCH-Co«t» So LITTLE!