THE BANKS OF ROCK CREEK-Continued. 5. Ah, there on the banks, where the waters are deep, 6. How sweet on the green, mossy bank there to rest, And brought Eden's bowers to the banks of Rock Creek. 7. The joys of our youth seem so far, far away, When life like our thin locks of hair has grown gray; But there is a stream in a far-away land, And by it bright forms are extending a hand- For dear ones no more on the banks of Rock Creek. T HE new passenger station for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at Wheeling, W. Va., for which plans are prepared and bids received, will be one of the handsomest new structures of its kind in the country. The extensive improvements being made include, besides the new station, the elevation of tracks, bridges across Market and Chaplin Streets and Wheeling Creek; retaining walls, new freight yards, power plant, etc., all of which will involve an expenditure of something like $2,000,000. The new station will be a fireproof structure 200 ft. long by 90 ft. wide and will have three stories and an attic. There will be no basement, because of the proximity of the building to Wheeling Creek, which would probably result in flooding it during high water. For this reason it is deemed best to erect a separate building for a power plant for heating, lighting and other power. The design of the station will be American Renaissance," and, while the building will be for both station and office use, the station design will be preserved through the three great arched openings of the central pavilion. 66 The exterior walls of the building will be of a dark semi-vitrified rough brick, laid in flemish bond. The base up to the window-sill course will be faced with light gray granite and the remainder of the first story walls with Bedford limestone. Above NEW BALTIMORE & OHIO PASSENGE the first story all cornices and trimmings will be of white terra cotta, of color to match limestone. The interior framing of the building, including the roof, will be of steel, with terra cotta tile floor arches and partitions and cinder concrete roof slabs, covered with green rooffing tile. The first floor construction will consist of a system of reinforced concrete beams, girders and floor slabs, and the entire structure will be carried on concrete foundations of an average depth of eight feet. In plan the building will consist of a grand central pavilion, with two side aisles connecting it to two smaller end pavilions to the east and west central pavilion. The principal or street front of the building will be to the north and to the south will be the tracks and elevated concourse, which appear at both ends of the station in the accompanying illustration. The tracks will pass the station on a level with the second floor. From the north three large doors, protected by a bronze marquise, will give entrance to the general waiting-room, in the central pavilion. This room will be about 54 ft. wide by 82 ft. long and have a ceiling height of about 30 ft. Its size will be indicated on the interior of the building by the great arched windows. At either side of this large room will be the ticket and telegraph offices. This room will lead under the elevated concourse, which will be reached by four stairways of concrete construction, In the west portion of the first floor will Two passenger elevators will serve the three floors, and All waiting-rooms and halls on the first All wood finish throughout the building will be quarter-sawed white oak. The grand waiting-room will have a heavily beamed ceiling decorated with architectural In detail, and laid off in fifteen deep panels, in the center of each of which will be set an electric light of 500-candle power. addition to these lights, to each large pilaster at the sides of the room will be attached an electric torch of the same candle power. The lighting of this room will be one of the attractive features of the building. The building will have two fireproof safety vaults. It will be heated by a vacuum system of exhaust steam. The plumbing fixtures will be of vitreous porcelain similar to those now in use in the public comfort stations in New York City and Brooklyn. The power plant is to be located across the street, to the east of the station, and, while the design has been kept subservient to that of the station proper, the same character has been adhered to. A large pit will be provided for the accumulation of ashes from the boilers and a small pneumatic crane will load ashes into cars by means of steel hopper buckets. The coal bins for the power house will be located under the elevated tracks and can be filled directly from bottom-dump cars. The power plant will be laid out for a boiler capacity of 1,000 h. p. Over the engineroom will be a small machine shop, storage, locker and toilet rooms, with shower baths for workmen. The chimney for the boilers will be 125 ft. high. |