Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1870-02-24
Remarkable Railroad Engineering.

Mr. Charles Ackenheil now of ,ha
Pit .sburgh e. Connellsville Railroad bnt
formerly employed as an engineer in tba
construction of the Black Forest Railroad
in the Ducly of Baden, contributes to tbs
american Halliday Times a description Of
ten heavy grades, at the town of Horn.
berg, from which we take the following
One hundred and eighty feet above the
town is the railway station, 1887 feet
above sea level the railway summit il
5000 feet One of the main tributaries Of
the Danube river has its source here, Nv
tunnelling the summit, this height has
been reduced to 1850 feet. The air line
between these two points being only
seven miles; that gives for every mile Of
this line 213 feet elevation. 1t was hard
task for the engineers to establish line
with a suitable grade, bringing in account
the adverse influence OF climate. The
winter in those climates Is very severe
subjectng the road to heavy snow drifts
However, by the most careful study of
the ground, by the most stillful supervis.
ion of the surveys of Robe, Gerwig,
Chief Engineer, one of the ablest en-.
gineers in Europe; by investigating al.
most every inch of the Typographical
features, the engineers succeeded in estab-
fishing, after several years work, a line
answering, in the highest degree, every
requirement in location, grade, and all
other features of first-class railway.
1t was stipulated that the grade should
not exceed two feet per hundred, or one
hundred and five per mile no radius
should be less than five hundred feet, a
five degree and fortyfve minute curve
rules which have been strictly followed.
The air line of seven miles was heightened
into fifteen and half miles by entering
in side valleys; by going up for instance
on the north side of the main valley and
returning for two miles on the side then
making turn again towards the north;
higher and higher on IT, 5ldes of the
mountains the road climbs to the summit,
in numberless bends One tunnel follows
another in quick succession. About half
way looking down into the valley, you
are at least six hundred feet above its level;
two hundred feet below you-nearly per.
pendicular-you see the railway two
hundred feet further you see the road
again, and at last, over two hundred feet
further, you see the waves of the creek
like small silver thread between the
rocks. From Hornberg to the summit
there are twenty-nine tunnels, the total
length of which is 2S,5OO feet. The long
est is the "Summit or "Sommerau
tunnel, $500 feet long; the next is
the Gremmelsbach tunnel, 1900
feet long. The most remarkable is the
"Triberg," so-called rs" tunnel, 2,700 feet
long, having the shape OF an IS" the
most difficult work for construction on the
whole road, because no shaft could be used.
The heading of this tunnel was COM
pleted last November, after three years
work. The lengths of the other tunl ely
vary from 500 to 2,400 feet. One yiaduct
is to be constructed about eight hundred
feet long and eighty feet high, all of cut
stone. The geological formation is entirely
granite, which renders tunnelling very
hard and tedious work. The construction
of the road was commenced in 1867 and
is rapidly progressing; on the average
they do from two to three feet of tunnel
ling on one heading in twenty-four hours
The road will be finished in 1873, and
be one of the greatest works of engineer
ing in Europe. The cost of these fifteen
IulltS Is ABOUT i've ulllIlOHS Ol uOlldIS anu
must be considered very high, the wages
for labor being very low, from sixty cents
to one dollar a day. Only nitro -glycerine
mixed with sand, is used for blasting; it
has been proved the most effective ma
terial, and if worked with care it is not at
all dangerous-not more than common
powder The track will be of steel rails,
which are now adopted in Europe on all
important railways