River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1873-07-25
CROSSING THE ANDES.
Trial Trip Of the CaIIao and Drown
Railroad.


Star and Herald, writing from Lima
under date of June 3, gives an inter-
estlng account OF trial trip on the
Callao and Oroyn Railroad, which
took place June l. Ii will be remem.
bered that the contract for building the
road, intended to vanquish the Andes
by steam, was signed between the
Peruvian Government and Mr.. Henry
Meiggs in the year 1869, and that the
! first earth was turned on Jan. /. 1870
The road was TO be delivered complete
to the Government Jan. I, 1876. al the
cost OF about $25, 900, 600, or q, 900.
900 soles. 1t was at first estimated
that there would be 1000, 900 cubic
yards of filling and excavation. and
there are many difficult cuts through
solid rock, four viaducts of iron, meas
urlng IN the aggregate 1890 metres !;
thirty eight bridges over the Rimac,
and forty two tunnels through live
rock, covering distance OF nearly
10000 metres. The following descrip
ton of the trip is condensed from the
correspondents letter TO the Star and
/ Herald:
The fog clouds lay thick over Lima
when the expedition left for the capital
Of the viceroys of Spain, to perform a
feat never dreamed of by even those
daring governors. The idea of van
gushing the obstacles presented by
the Andes was TO be tested. The little
locomotive Favorite, built i'm New Jer-
sey, drawing an elegant carriage, capa-
BILE OF holding ten persons, and i'm all
weighing about ten tons. set forth NJ
"a. NJ. from the Lima Station of the
Caliao and Oroya railway, commonly
called the Trans -Andean line, to greet
the rocks at the Cordillera with the
sound of her steam whistle The Iii.
rector of the wonderful works over
which the fairy engine was TO take it's
way, Mr.. John G.. Meiggs, had very
cautiously invited Mr.. w. Henry
Hubert, an associate editor of the New
York World, to make his first journey
to the rocky mountains of South
America, and the invitation was ex-
tended to several others.
At the Indian village of San Barto-
lone the real journey began. 1t is
situated thirty nine miles from Lima.
at the foot of the Andes. The stone
IN the middle of the sixteenth century,
the Balta Bridge, in strange contrast
with 1.-THE one a midiRval work, the
other after the model of the Thames
Bridge at Twickenham-and the great
breakwater erected by Mr.. Meiggs.
have been passed. The party is thirty.
nine miles from the capital, and more
than 1000 feet above the sea level
Now comes the toiling mp the noun.
/ tain.
Running along the valley of the
/ tortuous Rimac for a mile or two, our
/ little engine turned on V, and rapid
/ ~ rushing toward its natural enemies.
the Andes, began the ascent. To say
that the locomotive vas like a fly seal
ing plate of glass, would not be an
exaggeratlOn. Double, double, toll.
but no trouble; as easily as a bird
files through the air did the Favorita'
surmount the stupendous sleeps. At
many points the winding path OF the
railway is so marked that the voyager,
looking from the ear window, can per
ceiye at the distance of quarter of a
mile beneath the line over which he
passed five minutes before, but sepa.
rated from him by length of two or
three miles of road. This extraordinary.
and Well may it be called triumphant,
progress continued until the height OF
1000 feet is attained from the valley,
and the starting point of St.
Bartolome then level for a
short time is struck along the mountain
side, but while the difficulties of the
ascent are forgotten, the cuts and till
ing call for even greater astCnlshment.
Cuts of considerable length aud height,
blasted out from the solid granite,
frown down on the engine as If in anger
Mt their defeat; long filings, made up
from the remnants of the volcanic rocks
found or blasted on the spot tunnels
blown with powder from the reluctant
mountains; one beautiful of masonry.
of 300 feet another rooted in by its
mother rock, bringing to mind the
Mammoth Cave with the stalactites de-
pendent on every side, but through
which grand engines of forty tons
weight pass daily four times. dragging
huge construction trains behind them.
All along this section the work of the
unfortunate aborigines may be seen at
every moment; the hills are terraced
with the ridges.
An iron pier viaduct of huge proper
tons now presents itself. The central
pier, 2j2 feet in highth, rests on solid
masonry over 20 feet square; from end
to eud the bridge measures SIS Eng
lish feet, and the width is from IL To
10 teet, (your correspondent had not
the courage to venture on sure footed
examination, he preferred safer view
from the locomotive carriage.) This
Is the famed Nerrugas Viaduct. The
scene Is more than impressive. il
strikes the beholder with awe. Look
ing down through the open sleepers
, YOU see the dwellings of the laborers
! reduced to mere card houses the fig.
ures OF the workmen engaged in pre-
T, serving the structure intact, appear as
dolls, the immense net work of iron
road glrders aud binders is like n
! spiders web.
, The railway proceeds from this last
bridge to the point known a the
: Oroya, an insignificant village about
thirty miles from the pass of the last OF
! the Andes to bc trayersed by the loco.
- motive but "a il hprpnftor ox,,Iat,,.J