The Sun.
London, England, 1867-09-02 00:00:00

The Mont Cenis Summit Railway.

The line of railway which has been in the course
of construction for the last 18 months over this pass,
and which follows in the main the great road of the
First Napoleon, was successfully traversed on the
21st ult. over its whole length of 48 miles by a loco-
motive engine. A train, composed of an engine and
two carriages, left the St. Michael station at 6.30
a.m. There were present the Duke of Vallombrosa,
Mr. Fell, the inventor of the system ; Mr. Brogden-
den, a director of the company ; Mr. Brunlecs, the
engineer, and his assistant, Mr. Bell ; Mr. Blake,
the agent of the company ; Mr. Alexander and Mr.
Barnes, locomotive engineers ; Signor Copello, chief
engineer for the Modane section of the tunnel ;
Capt. Beaumont, RE., Mr. Jas. Brogden, Mr. Jop-
ling, Mr. Morris, and Capt. Tyler, RE., on the
part of the British Governmeht.
Mr. Fell's system consists of the application of a
central double-headed rail placed on its sile in the
middle of the way, and elevated about 14 inches
above the ordinary rails. There are four horizontal
driving wheels on the engine, under the control of
the engine driver, which can be made by pressure
to grasp the central rail so as to utilise the whole
power of the engine, and so enable it to work up
incredible gradients without slipping. The carriages
also have four horizontal wheels underneath, which,
with the central rail, form a complete safety guard.
In addition to the ordinary break there are breaks
upon the central rail. It would appear, therefore,
impossible for the engine or carriages to leave the
rails where the central one is laid.

The morning was admirably adapted for the trip,
the sun shining with great brilliancy upon the
Alpine peaks and the numerous glaciers which are
visible in different parts of the route. After leaving
the deep valley in which St. Michel is situated, the
line passes by a gradient of 1 in 30 to the Pont de
la Denise, where an iron bridge spans the River
Arcq, near the site of that which was carried away
by the inundations of last year. As the little train
passed the village of Fourncau, the workmen of the
Grand Tunnel of the Alps turned out en masse, and,
as at all other parts of the route, they were observed
stooping down and even endangering their lives for
the purpose of inspecting the unusual mechanism
of the engine for working on the central rail. The
first very steep gradient of 1 in 12 was seen in pass-
ing Modane, and, foreshortened to the view, ap-
peared on the approach as if impossible to sur-
mount ; but the engine, the second constructed on
this system, bad already proved equal to the task
on the experimental line, and, clutching the cen-
tral rail between its horizontal wheels, it glided
quickly up, under a pressure of steam not more
than 801 b. to the square inch, without apparent
effort. The progress was purposely slow, because
no engine or catriage had previously passed over
the line, and also to give opportunity for examining
the works. The damages to the road on which
the line was chiefly laid were found to be sub-
stantially repaired by the French Government. The
magnificent scenery around, and the waterfall near
Fort Sessaillon, were much admired, as the sharp
curves afforded different views while passing on the
edges of the deep ravines. The train entered Lan-
slebourg station under a triumphal arch, having
accomplished 24 miles of distance, and attained an
elevation of 2,100 feet above St. Michel.
From this point the zigzags of ascent commence,
and the gradients over a distance of four miles were
for the most part lin 12. Looking down from the
train near the summit, as if from a balloon, four of
the zigzags were visible at the same instant to a
depth of 2,000 feet. The power of the engine was
satisfactorily tested in this ascent, and the summit
was reached under salvoes of artillery from an im -
provised battery, and amid the cheers of French
and Italians who had gathered to welcome the
English on the frontier. The engine again came to
a stand under a triumphal arch, at an elevation of
6,700fc. above the sea. Flags of the three nations,
and a silk flag specially presented by Signor
Ginaoli to Mr. Fell, waved over a sumptuous break-
fast, also provided by that gentleman. The hos-
pice, the lake, the plateau of the summit, sur -
rounded by snow-clad peaks and glaciers, rising to
an elevation of from 10,000 ft. to 13,000 ft., were
passed, and the portion of the descent commenced
from the Grand Croix. The railway here follows
the old Napoleon road, which was abandoned long
since for diligence traffic on account of the dangers
from avalanches. Masonry-covered ways of extra-
ordinary strength had here been specially provided
for the railway.

The descent of Susa was a series of the sharpest
curves and steepiest gradients, on which the central
rail had been continuously laid. The Valley of the
Dora, with Susa and the convent of San Michel,
and even the Superga above Turin, visible for 30
miles in the distance, presented a magnificent pano_
rama, as the train wound through a clear atmo-
sphere round the mountain side. The confidence
of the party on a trip which would under ordinary
circumstances have been so dangerous was mani-
fested by their crowding round all parts of the en-
gine, from which, under a feeling of the security
afforded by the central rail, they thorougly en-
joyed the ever-changing scenes as they passed
round the edges of the various precipices. Susa was
entered amid the acclamations of multitudes of
spectators, and the party adjourned to dine at the
Hotel de France.

Thus was completed a journey unexampled in
its character both as respects the steepness of gra-
dients, the elevation of the summit level, and the
difficulty with which the curves and precipices were
overcome.