Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1871-10-25

10 minutes. Eleven of these machines |
were placed on movable support, and |
could be worked at almost any angle
Three or four large holes were bored in
the center of the heading, and round
these other holes of the ordinary size,
in all so holes. The large holes were
only for the purpose of weakening the
rock. The other holes were filled with
explosive material, and were fired in
succession and in detachments, begin
ming with those nearest the center, and
working outward. The advanced head
ing was the only place where these ma
chimes were used the enlargement
&C., were all performed by manual la
Dor The space thus excavated In the
rocky sides of the Alps was 26 feet
inches wide, and so feet high, fully add
hitting of four separate lines of rails
to traverse the tunnel. The daily pro-
gress IN the work, after some time,
showed a gratifying improvement
From half a yard a day, at first, the
! progress increased to more than 10 feet
per day. Each yard bored cost not less
than 81, 900. The boring as described
was repeated, yard by yard, until the
entire eight miles was completed; the
work becoming more arduous as the
tunnel increased in length. Seventy
yards of rock were displaced for every
yard advanced, and this had to be re-
moved to the mouth, while 25 cubic
yards of masonry had to be built in the
same yard of tunnel, with materials
brought on the average more than ten
miles.
One half of the tunnel was completed
in nine years 1856, the third quarter
, by the end of 1868, and the whole
mountain mass, thickness of IL, 236
meters, or nearly eight miles, was
pierced through from end to end be-
fore Christmas day last year.
The constructing of the tunnel gave
constant employment to abont 2,00C
men, who were provided with dwelling
houses along the banks of the torrent
of Rochemolles. When at work in the
tunnel the men relieved each other
every eight hours; in the workshops
they did on the average ten hours work
daily.
All apprehensions of mephitic air III
the tunnel, if they ever had any founda,
ton, are by this time fully dispelled.
A correspondent of Lyons journal,
who recently went through the tunnel,
says "Ihes ventilation is excellent,
j., and the current of air perceptibly felt
I'D fact, the heat was so moderate thHt
an Overcoat was not to be disdained.
) all the Swiss stories about heat intense
enough to produce asphyxia are pure in
ventions." -
, The usefulness of the tunnel will be
retarded for while by the want OF
railroad communication between ot.
Michel and Fourneaux, distance OF
ten miles. The railroad now construct
ing will be completed in November,
and it will then be possible to make an
unbrokenz railroad journey between
Paris and Turin. Since British mails
have been sent to the East Indies via
Brindisi, the French have regarded the
opening of the tunnel as calculated 10
impair the commerce of Marseilles
This is the reason why the French
railway companies have lost their early
enthusiasm in regard to the tunnel, and
i allowed the ten miles of railroad to re-
main incompleted. When that short
line is constructed, passengers and
mails can be carried frem Calais to
Brindisi in something less than 60
hours The Italians have shown a bet
ter comprehension of their true inter
ests, and on their side everything is now
ready for the most extensive traffic.