The Columbus Commercial

THE GATUN LOCKS

A vessel passing through the locks of the Panama Canal will have all its movements controlled in much the same manner that the movements of a train are controlled in entering a complicated railroad terminal. At Gatun, Pedro Miguel and Miraflores, an operator standing before a control board will open and close the gates, fill and empty the lock chambers, and perform every other operation necessary for letting a ship through, simply by throwing a succession of switches, and will know at any instant just what is happening in the locks without ever having to look beyond the indications shown on the board before him. Furthermore, the mechanism is so interlocked that it will be impossible for him to set any machine in motion except in the proper order and at the proper time. The triple flight of locks at Gatun extends for a distance of 6,200 ft., while the operating machinery is scattered over about 400 sq. ft. of this distance. This is all controlled from a board, 64 ft. long, which is virtually a miniature of the locks and the operating machinery, and is located in an operating tower at the foot of the upper flight of locks. A picture of this wonderful control board appears in the June Popular Mechanics Magazine.