The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-12-28

Our heavy train, drawn by only one engine,
did not make more than twelve miles an hour
was quite satisfied. hor the scenery, II not
equal TO the Via Mala or the gorge Of Condo,
was very grand Where the valley OF Stubay
enters that Of the Wip, at the village of Schon-
fields closes It's vista, the view was so incompa-
rably finer than that from the post-road tnat
Exclamation S9feI Of the Alps by railways. AS we
advanced further, past the little villages Of
Matrey and 5teinsch, It became evident that
this advantage characterizes the whole course
of the road. The opposite side of the gorge IL
less rude there are here and there cultivated
slopes, hanging shelves of grain among the
rocks, dark sweeps of pine forest, and more
frequent CLEANS of the high Alps. All these
gave the scenery of the Breuner a variety a
beauty, and a majesty which IL certainly did
not possess to such degree in the pictures of
At the end OF an hour the difference In tenn
peiatere was very percepti0le. The banks of
freshly dug earth were smoking from the
evaporation Of frost, and there was still grey
rime in the shade. The gorge became wilder
and ruder, twisting in abrupt turns as it forced
its way into the heart of the mountains The
slope below was frequently so steep, that
foundation walls were started on the very
brink OF the stream and carried up hundreds
of feet to prevent the track from crumbling
away. Yet there was no sense of Insecurity;
the work was admirable and thorough every
where
nearer TO us. Icicles hung from the rocks on
the upper side OF the track, and the air had n
ley forks. That on the left is called the ober-
berg, and into IL the track turns for the purpose
of making an i'm mense return curve like that
at Kittanning Point, on the Pennsylvania Gen.
tral. A projecting spur OF the mountains is
pierced by curved tunnel, and the road climbs
back into the main valley along the nearly per-
pendicular scarp of tremendous face of rock.
This is the most daring and successful piece of
work on the line. The grade is so heavy that
the locomotive dragged us with an exertion
which was felt throughout the whole train. II
was like tired horse on steep hillside. A
man on foot could easily have kept pace with
the painting and groaning monster.
When the return curve had been made we
saw the postroad like white thread far below
us. All difficulties were now at an end, The
grade became gentler and the sides the valley
less abrupt. The short mountain grass, the
stream diminished almost to nothing, and the
falling apart of the mountains in front, showed
that the summit was at hand. Soon dark little
lake appeared, with a low collar or saddle of
pasture beyond, upon which, when we reached
The Breuner." Two or three hundTed Yards fur. r.
ther the train stopped at the old Breuner Post
House, and we were all allowed to get out for
The distance from Innsbruck to the summit
is TIVE nty-one miles by the post-road, and the
feet above the sea, so that the elevation be-
tween the two points is 2I70 feet, or an average
OF l3l feet to the mile. This considerably sur
passes both the Semmeripg and the Baltimore
and Ohio road, while the difficulties of construc-
tion are much greater. These facts may be of
interest at home, now that we are about to cross
two Alpine chains OF much greater elevation
Sierra Nevada has already reached point 1900
feet higher, but without any such extreme
grades being required.
From the summit sOuthWard, the road has
been finished for some time, but was opened
to travel until the whole line was completed.
1t seems now as IL all The communication be-
tween Germany and Italy were crowding over
this route. Every day the trains are delayed
by the rush of travellers. six weeks ago the
last diligence from Botzen drove into Inns
bruck, horses and coachman badged with Grape,
the coach hung with wreaths of weeping willow,
and the position blowing dead-march on his
trumpet. Now, instead of one coach with a
with two hundred
The southern approach to the pass is more
gradual, and offers much greater facilities for
She construction of the road. The valley of
Eisach is broad. compared with the Wtpthal,
the bases OF the mountains are more shelving
and the tremendous emban kments of the north.
ern side are no longer needed. II is about forty
# ct above the sea level, making an average of
a little less than 100 feet per mile for the whole
distance. At demonstrating and below AtZ
wang, the valley contracts to a gorge, and the
track is carried through with much labor and
expense: elsewhere, it appears TO have been
easily built
on the very summit of the Breuner saw
some patches of oats and barley. For ten miles
there is not much change in the vegetation;
then chesnuts begin to appear, and vineyards
terrace the sunward sides of the mountains.
AS the train rushes downwards with rejoicing
speed, the landscapes become warmer with
every mile. Fig trees hang over the garden
wall, and dark Italian Expresses guard the
churchyards, until as you emerge from the
of the Adige at Botzen, it is Italy, in form and
! feature and color, which is before you. b. t.