Construction Brothers Finding a Way: The Panama Canal
Apr 3, 2024
38:04
We start out today with some swag talk and a chat about some recent opportunities to meet listeners.
(Note: Of course historicity is a word. Dictionary.com’s definition is “historical authenticity.”)
03:50 - The Panama Canal
There’s so much to discuss on this massive construction project. First, though, we insist on a deep dive on our Keurig machine.
Then we get to some specs:
By 1881, France decided that indeed it was possible, so they began construction. That attempt led to more than 20,000 deaths–mostly from Caribbean islands such as Antigua, Barbados and Jamaica.
13:06 - Lock History and the Labor Force
Eddie runs us through the history of locks, which started in China and included some input from Leonardo DaVinci.
Approximately 60,000 people were involved in the American construction project. White workers got the best jobs and the best lodging. Workers died at the incomprehensible rate of 500 for every mile of construction. Many of these deaths were due to disease, but many were also due to mudslides and a range of other predictable types of accidents.
19:09 - New Tools and Chief Engineers
We discuss a couple of innovations that made this project possible:
The track-shifter (Watch a video clip): huge crane-like machine could hoist a whole section of track–rails and ties–and swing it in either direction, to relocate it as much as 3 m at a time. It took less than a dozen men operating one day to move 1.6 km of track, a task requiring not less than 600 men.
The dirt-spreader (See a pic): A car operated by compressed air, the dirt-spreader had steel "wings" on each side that could be raised and lowered to level off material left along the track by the unloader. Did the work of approximately 6000 men working by hand.
Eddie lists the men who worked in the chief engineer role and the big money that they earned–more than any other public employee other than the president. The one who finally stuck around to finish the project was George Washington Goethals, who had no choice because he was assigned to this role as an Army general.
27:30 - Economic Impact and Other Takeaways
We explore the economic impact of the canal. Shipping costs for goods that would have needed to pass south of South America immediately dropped by 31%. This leads to a discussion of the drought that has caused complications in the canal since last year. We touch on the huge impact caused when shipping lanes are shut down, including the recent bridge collapse in Baltimore.
Tyler mentions the fact that automation has been in the works since even this era and we discuss the efforts that were made in regard to personnel management–allowing families to stay near the work sites and providing some of the workers with generous vacation time.
Check out the partners that make our show possible.
Find Us Online: BrosPodcast.com - LinkedIn - Youtube - Instagram - Facebook - TikTok - Eddie's LinkedIn - Tyler's LinkedIn
If you enjoy the podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to us! Thanks for listening!
(Note: Of course historicity is a word. Dictionary.com’s definition is “historical authenticity.”)
03:50 - The Panama Canal
There’s so much to discuss on this massive construction project. First, though, we insist on a deep dive on our Keurig machine.
Then we get to some specs:
- Parcel of land: 10 miles wide and 50 miles long
- 85 feet elevation change from sea level to highest point
- Avg. ship transit time: 8-10 hrs
- 300,000,000 cubic yards of earth moved in project
- 52 million gallons of water displaced for each transit (That’s about 742,857 bathtubfuls–roughly the amount of water that passes through Hoover Dam every 14 minutes)
- Cut the ocean-going distance from NY to LA from 13,000 miles to 5,200 miles
- Some calculations put the total construction fatalities at 500 lives for each mile of canal. (Total of around 25,600).
By 1881, France decided that indeed it was possible, so they began construction. That attempt led to more than 20,000 deaths–mostly from Caribbean islands such as Antigua, Barbados and Jamaica.
13:06 - Lock History and the Labor Force
Eddie runs us through the history of locks, which started in China and included some input from Leonardo DaVinci.
Approximately 60,000 people were involved in the American construction project. White workers got the best jobs and the best lodging. Workers died at the incomprehensible rate of 500 for every mile of construction. Many of these deaths were due to disease, but many were also due to mudslides and a range of other predictable types of accidents.
19:09 - New Tools and Chief Engineers
We discuss a couple of innovations that made this project possible:
The track-shifter (Watch a video clip): huge crane-like machine could hoist a whole section of track–rails and ties–and swing it in either direction, to relocate it as much as 3 m at a time. It took less than a dozen men operating one day to move 1.6 km of track, a task requiring not less than 600 men.
The dirt-spreader (See a pic): A car operated by compressed air, the dirt-spreader had steel "wings" on each side that could be raised and lowered to level off material left along the track by the unloader. Did the work of approximately 6000 men working by hand.
Eddie lists the men who worked in the chief engineer role and the big money that they earned–more than any other public employee other than the president. The one who finally stuck around to finish the project was George Washington Goethals, who had no choice because he was assigned to this role as an Army general.
27:30 - Economic Impact and Other Takeaways
We explore the economic impact of the canal. Shipping costs for goods that would have needed to pass south of South America immediately dropped by 31%. This leads to a discussion of the drought that has caused complications in the canal since last year. We touch on the huge impact caused when shipping lanes are shut down, including the recent bridge collapse in Baltimore.
Tyler mentions the fact that automation has been in the works since even this era and we discuss the efforts that were made in regard to personnel management–allowing families to stay near the work sites and providing some of the workers with generous vacation time.
Check out the partners that make our show possible.
Find Us Online: BrosPodcast.com - LinkedIn - Youtube - Instagram - Facebook - TikTok - Eddie's LinkedIn - Tyler's LinkedIn
If you enjoy the podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to us! Thanks for listening!