The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1873-11-24
History Of the BEoosnc tunnel.
THE CENTRAL SHAFT.

THE CENTRAL SHAFT.
The central shaft was located and worl;
begun upon it in December 1868 The
lToosac mountain has two peaks, and be-
tween them to a wide valley; the shaft was
located at the most available but not the
most depressed spot between the peaks. 1t
was expected that the shaft would serve TO
ventilatc the tunnel, and it was hoped that
it would be completed in time to be Of SER
vice in cxpediting the actual work on the
tunnel. In September, 1861, the commits
sioners reported that the total distance
pierced was 2,G77 feet, and that the central
shaft had been sunk to the depth of seventy
four feet. Years afterward, when the open
ing of the Mount Gents tunnel proved that
there was no necessity for shaft to clear
the tunnel of the smoke and foul air the
secondary purpose in the sinking of the cen
trail shaft became the primary advantage.
The shaft was opened in the form of an
cllipse with its major axis coincidcnt with
the line of the tunnel The dimensions
are twenty seven feet along the line of the
tunnel and fifteen feet across.
HAND DRILLING ABANDONED.
Up to 1866 all the drilling within the
present tunnel had been done by hand pow
or. The commissioners become Interested
in compressed air as motor, after its use
tulncss had been fully demonstrated ut
Mount Gents. 1t wa, some time before Il
practical mode of supplying power to com
press air was obtained and still longer be-
tore satisfactory machine was constructed
The first difficulty was surmountcd when
The Deerficld river, was damned at II point
three-quartcrs of mile from the EASTERN
portal, and the water brought by Il canal
with Il fall of thirty feet, to point within
q few rods of the tunnel 1t was at first
supposed that by carrying the air in pipes
over the mountain to the central shaft and
west end that power to work the machinery
at those points could be obtained this
was an erroneous notion. The dam furn-
shed sufficient power at the east end, and
only there. On the lst of December, / SGj,
the commissioners reported that 1855 feet
ut tunnel had been made since the COM
meuccment of the work The central shaft
was sunk to "A total depth of two hundred
and one feet in 1866. 'Dcmoralizcd rock"
was reached this year at the west end. The
heading commenced to cave in and ultimate
~ caused a temporary suspension of the
work. | have been unable to learn the
exact year the west shaft was opened; it was
probably in 1850. 1t was about 1900 feet
IRON the west end OF the tunnel, and three
ing gronnd at thn vost cnd ,ras li,n;tod a,id
this shaft was opened in order that the de-
hri bn min hn Il IL.
posed Of
rvrxr,.,., wan
The year 1866 was eventful, New ma
chine drills, worked by compressed air.
were introduced; ut first they worked slow
or than hand power, but were subsequently
greatly improved. At the west shaft sue
cessfui experiments were made with nitro
giycerne, and this powerful agent was in
trodnced INTO all the workings with the eX-
ception OF the east end, where, am told, it
was never used: Inc west en- OF the tun-
hel was put under contract To- IL. n. tarren,
VINO was 10 construct an archway one null
urea ana seventy-four feet In length from
the portal to where the tunnel entered the
mountain, and then two hundred feet fun
mel were to be bricked. The commission
ers TINS year were James Nj. Shutc, Alvah
Croker and Charles Hudson. In their
annual report they urged the legislature to
take steps to put the remainder OF the work
uhier contract.
Al 'he west shait'tnc water proved II Sc
rious 0ps'acie' causing me work there to
nc party suspended from DECEMBER IS66'
10 June Vi inc ensuing year.
TERRIBLE ACCIDENT.
,oc-
Mr. Farron for the work on the west end
,lsn rnoJo ,y;,L Mi r,o o ~ ~
work during the months of September and
October at the east end and central shaft.
The most terrible accident and the tunnel
has been the scene of numerous fatalities,
that has occurred during the whole period
of construction, took place on the 10Th of
October, 1867, at the central shaft.
At half-past one O'Clock two men entered
the room containing the machine used for
making naptha gas for illuminating the
shaft, when the gas instantly took fire.
Thirteen men had Just gone down the shaft,
and three others were about to descend.
Rescue was impossible. All the buildings
and materials about were consumed. The
money loss was $4,000 Whether the I'M
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