May 1924 saw steady progress at the Moffat Tunnel, the introduction of worker bonuses, and tragic accidents at the Continental Divide and East Portal.
Moffat Tunnel Construction Happenings from 100 Years Ago
May 1924 found work at the Moffat Tunnel progressing quite nicely. Hitchcock and Tinkler announced payment of a bonus effective May 1st (comprehensive details on the bonus at the end of this post.) The hope was that the bonus would speed up tunnel work, as there were still serious discussions being had that the date ‘1926’ would and could still be placed on the concrete entrances on both West Portal and East Portal. It’s easy to see why they were so optimistic: by approximately mid-May, one mile of the water tunnel had been completed, and that’s close to one-sixth of the entire distance. The railroad tunnel at the east end was expanded to full size for 400 feet, also in early May.
Progress brought two unfortunate accidents this month: one atop the Continental Divide and the other within the East Portal of the tunnel.
Numerous sources mentioned, “A high wire fence will soon be erected around the tunnel grounds to prevent visitors from running into high voltage wires and from interfering with the work, although permits can be secured at the office, allowing visitors to inspect the progress.” Unfortunately, the high voltage lines running up, across, and down the Continental Divide resulted in an odd death as detailed in the May 2, 1924 Routt County Sentinel, “The body of a man burned to a crisp was found last week on the mountainside above the [E]ast [P]ortal of the Moffat [T]unnel. It was finally identified as the remains of Juan Valquez, who had been working on the section force of the Moffat [R]oad on the western slope of the range. He had started to walk over the mountains, carrying a satchel on a stick over his shoulder. The snow was very high and it is believed that his grip struck against a high tension line, carrying 40,000 volts of electricity, as he tried to pass under it.”
Clifford Allen Betts wrote in a paper for the American Society of Civil Engineers discussing the completion of the Moffat Tunnel and not only described the electrical infrastructure but also the same accident, “Comparatively few power interruptions occurred on the power line to East Portal, but the 7-mile line between portals, over the Continental Divide, required considerable maintenance during winter months. Tubes of ice formed on the wires by snowdrifts and sleet storms and then, swayed by the high gales, broke off insulators or poles. This usually occurred at the highest part of the line where iron wire replaced copper for strength. On one occasion a Mexican laborer tripped across a section of the power line that was buried in snowdrifts and was burned beyond recognition.”
On May 22, 1924, a heartbreaking story of Rade Lekich, a “foreigner without friends in America” was run over by a switch car in the East Portal of the Moffat Tunnel. Lekich was a 40-year-old Serbian laborer according to the Rocky Mountain News. Lekich “had been employed for about four months as a trackman at the tunnel.” (Note: some sources say Mike, instead of Rade.)
From R. H. Keays’ writings on the Workmen’s Bonus implemented this month:
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“The principal requirement in all this work was speed. To this end a bonus program for the workmen was early considered. In tunnel work it is very hard to devise a plan that will obtain results and at the same time be fair. On the adoption of the alternating system of working the two headings it was apparent that operations would become so systematized and methods so standardized that a bonus plan could safely be tried. After considerable discussion the following plan was adopted applicable only to the heading crews at the East Portal. (Later this was used at the West Portal when ground permitted the alternating method.) Quoting from the statement announcing the bonus plan, which was started May 1, 1924:
The number of crews employed and their organization are to remain as they are at present. No changes are to be made in the distances required due to changes in the character of the rock or for other reasons. The base rate above which the bonus is to be paid is for an average of 17 ft. per day in both the water tunnel and main headings or 34 feet total. Should the above crews, as they will at times, do work in the cross-cuts, credit will be allowed for work done there but for no other reason such as enlargements for plant.
The bonus will be paid at semi-monthly periods corresponding to the pay roll periods on the total footage accomplished in these periods, which means that in a 15-day period at 17 feet per day per heading, the total footage above which a bonus will be paid is 510 feet and in a 16-day period 544 feet. Furthermore the bonus will be paid only to men who work every shift during the period except when excused by the superintendent on account of injury in which case a bonus will be paid proportion to the number of shifts worked. (Soon afterward the superintendent also was authorized to issue excuses on account of illness.)
In case a man is promoted from a lower to a higher group or vice versa, as shown below, his bonus will be based on the number of shifts worked in each group.
The bonus will be a fixed amount to be paid to each man in proportion to the number of feet excavated in excess of the minimum as stated above. The fixed amount, however, is not the same for all men in the crews but varies according to the importance of their duties. For this purpose the men are divided into three groups.
Group No. 1 will consist of: Assistant Superintendents, Shifters (Foremen), Scalers, Miners (Drill Runners), Helpers (Drill Helpers or Chuck Tenders, and Nippers.)
Group No. 2 will consist of: Mucking Machine Operators and the Muckers in the crew of the Mucking Machine.
Group No. 3 will consist of: Tunnel Motormen and Brakemen, engaged in hauling from headings only.
There will be no others than those stated above to be entitled to a bonus.
The bonuses to be paid to members of the different groups for each additional foot of advance will also vary in that it increases with the distance gained as stated below, it being understood that for a 16-day period all distances given below are increased by 34 feet.
For members of Group No. 1 there will be paid: For every foot advanced above 510 feet up to and including 600 feet the amount of 15 cents per foot, which we will call rate ‘A’. For every foot advanced above 600 feet up to an including 675 feet, the amount of 20 cents per foot, which we will call rate ‘B’. For every foot advance above 675 feet, the amount of 30 cents per foot which we will call rate ‘C’.
For the members of Group No. 2, the distances are the same but the bonus paid is 10 cents, 12 cents, and 18 cents, respectively.
For Group No. 3, the bonus paid is 5 cents, 7 cents, and 10 cents, respectively.
Judged by the high rates of progress later attained, these rates appear too high. No attempt was made to apply a bonus to the other operations at the East Portal. The enlargement operation could easily progress faster than the headings by working two shifts per day, and as for the other work, extra progress required only the addition of more men or equipment.” —Keays
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B. Travis Wright, MPS | Preserve Rollins Pass | May 31, 2024
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