The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1879-01-30
The HOOsac Tunnel.


The Hoosac Tunnel Company was
chartered in ls4s. They commenced
operations in 1851, and finished the
last part of 1875, being twenty-five
years in completing 1t. The length
excavated was 25,O43 feet, with the
west end arching, before getting to
the solid rock, 1000 feet; making
about five miles underground. The
tunnel is twenty-four feet wide and
twenty high. The highest point Of
land above the tunnel is 1928 feet.
About the centre of the tunnel there
was shaft sunk, or a great well
dug down to the bed on the line of
the tunnel. This shaft or we'll was
p by Is feet, and 1923 feet deet.
1t enabled two extra sets OF men to
work, making four sets of hands in
all; i. e., one at each end and two at
the shaft; one going east, and the
other west. The stone at the centre
shaft was drawn up by steam power,
and carried off one-Eal. mile Oh cars
and dumped. 1t covered some TWEEN.
ty-tive acres OF land. There ~ere
one million and nil.e hundred thous-
and tons taken out. 1t cost Tour
teen million dollars, and one hun
dred and ninety-tive lives were lost
out of the eight thousand and five
hundred men employed. But few
worked through the Job.
The road is UP e, AIDE from each
end about twenc, 1--we leet to the
mile to the centre Shat, winch
serves good purrose is chimney
in drawing a carrent OF air from
each end and taking off the smoke
and steam and foul air fio.n the en-
gines. I am told that the draft IS
SO great that it will take up a great
coat, or hat, or basket, it they are
left near the bottom. If suitable
screw wheel were placed inside, the
up current would be sufficient to
produce two hundred hoise power,
at least, without water Or steam,
night and day. Such an arrange
ment would BE- the nearest to per-
petual motion that any man will
ever get. This up grade from each
end served two purposes; first, to let
the carloads OF stone 60 down
grade, and second, it lets the water
that dlips continually pass of.
There Is now running out of the
east end inc hundred gallons per
minute, and cut OF the west end six
hundred gallons per minute. This
water is cold and pure. There are
some twenty hands employed to
keep watch Of the track aud pulling
stone from overhead that were loos-
ened by the nitroglycerine used for
blasting, which is thirteen times the
strength of powder Great caution
is used to make it safe, and no acct
dent has yet occurred Men are kept
going through the tunnel night and
day. Every train is signalled by
torpedoes at entering and At differ
ent points, so the engineer knows At
each point, when his engine causes .
torpedo the explode, what it signi-
'fies. If all is right the train goes
through in about twenty minutes.
The sensation in going through is
like being down in . dark, damp
cellar. For twenty minutes you can
see nothing only occasionally light
on the side of the tunnel a. you pass,
and. that very dim, as the atmos-
phere is SO very damp, being from
one thousand to seventeen hundred
feet under ground. The artIis much
better by the draft of the great shaft
or chimney which is in the centre of
the tunnel There have been twen-
ty-five trains of freight 60 through
daily. and from thirty to forty at
this. time, and more are expected. an
other year. 1t is one hundred and
thirty-six miles from Boston, and
thirty miles nearer North Adams
than by the other road, and less
grade.