Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 142, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 June 1920 — Electricity to Thaw Ground. [ARTICLE]

Electricity to Thaw Ground.

The electric ground-thawing device used in Alaskan railroad building has the form of a hollow steel pile. This has a sharpened steel point at one end and a solid steel driving head at the other, and the hollow body contains a suitable resistance coll. The pointed tube Is driven like any pile into the frozen ground to the required depth. Connection Is then made with a power transmission line through a portable transformer mounted on a sledge and a low-volt current of high amperage is passed through the coil. The heat soon thaws the surrounding ground sufficiently for driving a wooden pile.