Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1873-12-05

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met on Thanksgiving morning in its vitals,
and in the afternoon monster blast of i55
pounds of nitro-glycerinei blew out the
midriff of rock. and allowed free passage
through There was no ceremony over the
opening, and bat few persons were present
A small party of students from Williams
College, two or three members of the Legs
lature, dozen citizens of Adams, and
| handful Of journalists had descended the
central shaft, or gone in from the west
/ end, to witness. or hear, rather, the hnai e1-
| plosion, and to be the first mortals 10
pass through the breach. Mr.. STANLEY, the
contractor, would have been the first man 10
pass through. had he not accorded that
honor to Mr.. johnson, the chairman oil the
tunnel committee Of the Massachusetts
| Senate. 1t was found that the centres oil
/ the headings from either side varied bat an
inch OF two, verifying with astonish ing
e1actness the calculations Of the engineers.
As this great triumph Of patience and
mechanical skill approaches completion
J the interest OF the public in it reYives' and
the following details, compiled from several
! sources, will he Of interest 10 our readers.
The Hoosac tunnel is about five miles
long. and is second in length only to the
famous Mont Gems tunnel under the Alps.
The Hoosae mountain has two crests,
with an intermediate valley the Deerfeld
river washes the eastern base, and the
Hoosae the western Most tunnels are
built on an ascending grade. as some de-
scent Is necessary 10 carry oil the water /;
but these two rivers being at precisely the
/ same height above tide water. the mountain
| had t. be entered at the same point at both
ends. 50 that the only way 10 secure drain
/ age was to have a summit at the centre,
| from which the grade descends about
! twenty-six feet in the mile to either portal.
! This provides for the free flow of wa ter,
| which percolates through the seams and in
| ter=tices of the rock, and also saves the gen
| Grafton and escape of steam and smoke for
! half the distance through the tunnel as
cars will run each way, from this point, by
! their own gravity. At the east end it com
menees at the base OF perpendicular cliff,
only few rods distant from the Deerfeld
river. At the west end the debris and soil
I at the base IT the mountain necessitated the
! extension of brick arch about 1000
! feet in length from the entrance. With
/ this exception the entire distance Is through
] solid rock The rock Is mainly mica slate.
easy 10 bore, but tough TO blast, changing
! largely 10 quartz at the west end. The
I drilling machine is an automatic device
- h. srh ri No
of simple steam cylinder, with the drill
attached to the piston rod, which is driven
to and fro by compressed air. The drills
are placed on frame run up on truck to
the face Of the rock, and are 80 arranged
that the holes can be bored in any diree-
| ton, while the air which drives the machine
is compressed al pressure Of sixty pounds
to the square inch, being conducted to the
drills bY means of iron pipes. One of the
advantages Of the system is, that, after it
has done its work. the air serves for breath
inc purposes and ventilation.
Al the west end, and al the central shaft,
the compressors were driven by steam 4; al
the east end by water power from the
famous Deerfield dam The elastic power
Of the air is communicated, almost undi
mini shed, to a great distance. In the eight
inch pipe leading from the east end to the
7
pressure diminishe7 only sixty pounds from
the sixtv-fve pounds pressure in the com
pressing work Each Of these drills, more
than a mile from the place where the in
visible force that drives them is generated,
strikes two hundred blows per minute, with
a power equal to two hundred and twenty
i've pounds to each blow.
The tannel has a length of 81, O30 feet
/ 1t dimensions are tweaty-four feet in width
and twenty feet in height above the railroad
track when laid, with 4 central covered
drain two feet square. Its form is a rough
-emi-circle higher AT the side than true
semi-circle There Is n shaft l., s37 feet
from the east, and IL, 1874 feet from the west
end. with a diameter of twenty-seyen feet,
and transverse diameter Of fifteen feet,
this shaft being l,03O feet in depth. The
total amount of rock removed by blasting
in the entire work will be not very far from
4I2 900 cubic yards. or sufficient TO make
cubic pile of perfectly solid masonry with
side of 30 feet. Ii has cost, principal and
interest, more than ten million dollars. Not
less than 7.000. 600 bricks will have been
used in arching The contractors, Messrs
Shanly, have us5d in the five years they
have been At work, 275 GOO pounds ofnitro-
glycerine. 322 200 pounds of common
powder. 4S 800 pounds of giant powder,
and $500 pounds of dualin, making in all
nearly $50 900 pounds of explosives. Forty
three persons have been killed in and about
the tunnel Of whom twenty-One met their
deaths by premature explosions, four by ex-
plosions of nitro glycerine magazines, nine
hv falling down the central shaft, eight by
rock falling from the roof and similar acct
dents. and one by drowning.
The railroad ofwhich this tunnel forms 4
part was chartered in 1913. The first ap-
plication for State aid was made in 1851.
1t was granted in 1854. The first work done
on the tunnel was in 1858, contract hav-
ing been made between Herman Haupt 4
Co and the Troy and Greenfield Railroad
Company A dispute with the State En-
gineer put an end to work under this con-
tract in July, 1861. In 1862 the Legislature
appointed commissioners to examine the
whole question. On favorable report by
them, made to the Legislature of 1863, the
State in that year took possession of the road
and tunnel under breach of conditions
appropriated more money to carry on the
work, and directed the Commissioners to
proceed The enterprise was conducted by
the Commonwealth until 1865. when new
appropriation of s. 900 900 was made. and
tae Governor and Council were directed TO
contract with responsible parties for the
entire remaining portion. Under this act a
contract was made Walter and Francis !
Stanley, of Canada, who began operations
in the Spring of 1869, and have carried the |
word thus far nearly TO completion.
The railway track to the east of the |
tunnel, which has been under the manage |
ment, by lease of the Vermont and Aiassa
ehusett=, ends about twO-thirds of mile |
from the tunnel. An embankment of more
than 200 feet Is built easterly from the rail
l,-l - H. E..ll
very near the iio0sac tunnel. The work is
under contract, and will be rapidly pushed
forward. The railway between the west
end Of the tunnel and North Adams is also
building under 4 contract With the SIX
and two-thirds miles Of rail between North
Adams and the Vermont line, road under
the charge Of the Troy and Boston Com
pgnv, ends the jurisdiction of the State Of
Massachusetts over the Hoosac tunnel lire
A road not much talked Of because of its
shortneSs, called the Southern Vermont
Railway. runs along the valley of the
Hno=sc, acro.s the southwestern corner of
Vermont. completing the line to Troy.
This important link in the chain has its
title vested in the Commonwealth of MasSa-
chusettS, hut the immediate interest Of the
kate Is now confined to the receipt of an
ANIMAL rental for its use from the Troy and
Boston Company. which holds it under a
lease obtained from the Southern
ermont Railway, before the sale of its
ownership to the Troy and Greenfield Com
panY. hy which the State of Massachusetts,
obtained it A. the Troy and Boston Com
pany thus have the control If this line, the
State ownership plan, perhaps, necessitates
a new line from North Adams westward to
TROY or some other place.
The Lass OF the vile da Hayre.
The most horrible marine disaster since
.har arnl.,I 1nr- insE Anil that hrnnnht the |