Morning journal and courier., 1880-05-19


 The great railway tunnel under the Thames river, at London, 1,6OO feet long, is justly considered very remarkable piece of engi- neering work, but the tunnel now in process of construction under the Hudson river will leave the Thames tunnel far behind, for it will be $500 feet long. This tunnel was be- gun from the New Jersey side under authori- ty of law of that State without waiting for the sanction of the New York Legislature, which, however, will not long be wanting, for a bill authorizing it has already passed the Sen ate of that State and has encountered no serious opposition in it's early stages in the House. Upon it's final passage the site of the New York terminus will be selected and op- erations upon the eastern end of the tunnel will be begun. It's completion is expected in about three years. The necessary capital ($1O, COG, ,000) has already been secured, and the work has so far been carried to consid- erable distance under the bed of the river.
 The process of making tunnels is much more effective now than it was when Brunei met with so many difficulties and discourage ments in constructing the Thames tunnel, and the workers in the Hudson river tunnel make rapid progress. At the foot of Eff teenth street, Jersey City, shaft has been sunk, 30 feet in diameter, 60 feet deep and lined with brickwork four feet thick. The diggers have already got about 175 feet from this shaft, and at last accounts three feet of finished tunnel day was made. The digging so far has been easy and the mixture of blue clay and sand is puddled hr1 the pressure of air through a six-inch pipe. As the New York side of the Hudson is ap- preached however, solid bed of rock will confront the excavators. An orig ginal feature of the work upon this tunnel is the use of compressed air to keep out water and help uphold the earth An air-lock closes the mouth of the tunnel, and pressure of from IT to 20 pounds to the square inch is main tained inside the gates With some precau- tion in making the change from the outside air laborers find no difficulty in breathing and working under this increase of the ordinary atmospheric pressure the electric light illn- mines with monday brightness their subter- ranean tasks, and the telephone serves for communication with the managers above ground. Foot by foot the work is ad- vanced the tunnel is pretectively enclosed with bolted sheets of thick boiler iron, making a huge iron cylinder; this in turn is lined completely around with hard brick wall two feet in thickness, presenting a substantial arch capable of withstanding great pressure at the sides as well as upon top. Three gangs of forty men each labor eight hours, so that the work proceeds day and night without interruption.
 The tunnel now building is only one-half of what is to make the completed work as the design is to have two tunnels side by side under the river which will be carried into one large tunnel at the shore ends. When the great work is completed it is estis mated that four hundred trains a day can pass through it. The different railroad lines terminating in Jersey City will, it is supposed, make common use of the tunnel on some such plan as that by which the several roads now use the Grand Central depot, each paying pro rata, according to a scheme to be agreed upon with the tunnel company The terminus on the New Jersey shore will be about half 8 mile from the water, and that on the New York side has not been fully fixed on, though there is plan to have it on the west side of the city, below Bleecker street, where it is proposed to take two whole blocks for station for all the roads which approach the city from the west and south, which will thus land their passengers in the very center of the city, avoiding all the delays and incon- veniences that are now incident to the ferry crossing. It is proposed also to continue the tunnel to the postofice, so that postal cars may be received and despatch d there, and branch to the Grand Central depot at Forty second street is also contemplated by which direct connection will be made with all the roads entering the city from the north and east, and a continuation of the tunnel under the East river to Brooklyn will complete the scheme as it is now outlined, and connect both New York and Long Island with the main land The gain to commerce and travel by such system will be immense.