The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1873-05-03
The Baltimore Railroad Tunnel.

- t1-t-@AA~%~ f+thANt II A1t AAuo
been conducted 80 quietly, that there are
many persons living in the city not very
remote from the line Of operations who
would not have known that the work had
begun if it had not been for the newspa-
pers. Three years ago we announced that
the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad was
going to make connections with the Nor
thern Central by running under the city,
and indicated the route which would be
followed. Our cotemporaries were face
tiously incredulous, and not many Of our
readers were prepared to believe that such
a project could be successfully carried out.
One year afterwards their incredibly was
somewhat shaken by seeing long process
sion of carts turn into Charles street ave-
nue., and corps of sturdy laborers be-
ginning to make an excavation near the
intersection Of Cathedral street and North
avenue. Twenty-three months ago ground
was broken, and now the tunnel, over one
mile in length, passing under the streets
of the city, is within a few weeks of com
pletion.
No city in America can boast an under
ground railway that viii compare with the
Baltimore and Potomac tunnel. Taking
the Northern Central Railway as a base
line, double tracks diverge from it, the
first at Boundary avenue and the other
a few hundred yards further north. They
each enter tunnel and are lost sight Of
until they emerge into daylight at john
street where they unite and take the main
tunnel, following Boundary avenue to
Wilson street, and then turning into that
street, or rather under it, thirty-fve feet
from the surface, they keep a straight
course with the line of the street until the
open cut is reached near Fulton avenue.
Through trains southwark bound will take
what might be called the northern fork Of
the tunnel, and the passengers will see but
little of the city. Trains which leave the
Calvert Station, and also those that come
from the Philadelphia and Wilmington
Railroad by the Union Road, will take the
other fork. OF course northern bound
trains will take the fork branching to the
north at the John street cut, and the trains
for Baltimore and Philadelphia will take
the southern fork. The connection with
the Philadelphia and Wilmington Road
will be made by the Union Railroad and
tunnel which commences at Belvidere
bridge, and continues on through the cas-
tern section of the city to lower Canton
and tidewater.
We are not advised Of the cost Of this
magnificent improvement, but itmust have
been two, possibly three millions of dol
lars. So many conditions enter into the
estimate that it is almost impossible to
arrive at any correct result. One heavy
item has been the damage to buildings on
Wilson street and the streets intersecting.
Although the excavation did not come
near to the foundations of the houses, yet
it disturbed the normal condition of the
underlying ground, and, and many cracked
and sunken walls arc to be seen between
Madison avenue and Pennsylvania ave-
nue.. Another difficulty that required
much engineering skill to overcome was
the drainage. Little streams of water
came trickling down through the rocks at
frequent intervals, and to provide aque.
ducts for all these was no inconsiderable
matter A city sewer was tapped at the
intersection of McCulloh and Wilson
streets, which for time presented most
difficult problem to the engineers, and the
property owners of the neighborhood were
greatly alarmed lest the drainage should
be interrupted The joint committee on
Highways of the City Council was also
somewhat exercised over what seemed to
be " crisis" but happily the engineers
solved the difficulty The diameter of the
sewer was four and a-half feet, and the
fall nine inches in one hundred feet. The
question was how to get this sewer over OF
under the tunnel, and still preserve enough
Of fall to discharge the water. A new
section of sewer was constructed, six feet
in diameter, which was carried along on
the launches Of the tunnel, with fall Of
three inches to the hundred feet (the d.
ameter having been increased, the fall
could be proportionately lessened) until Il
reached the intersection Of Morris alley
and Wilson street. AT this point it had
reached an elevation which permitted il
to be carried across the top Of the tunnel
and thence eastward until the sewer was
reached at the intersection of McMechen
street and Morris alley. It viii be seen
from this that the railroad company did
considerable sewer building for the city.
In building the tunnel about fourteen
millions Of hard-burned brick were used in