The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1880-01-08
st Gothard Tunnel.

The st. Gothard tunnel begins at
Goeschenen, in a savage defie where the
river Reuss dashes beneath the famous
Devils Bridge, and ends at Airolo,
where it overlooks the pleasant pastoral
valley of the Ticino. It's length is nine
and third miles--4S, 1856 feet, to be
exact it is 49, feet high and 2G feet in
maximum width. Twentv-six hundred
men have been employed-Italians, with
few exceptions. They work night and
day in shifts of eight hours each, and
their work is terribly severe. The heat
is so great that they must 60 to their
toll naked. They return to the mouth
of the tunnel streaming with perspira-
ton, their faces are yellow and CHASTITY,
they cannot bear the light of the sun,
they walk with bent shoulders, and
stagger as if carrying burdens too heavy
for their strength. The rock, which has
varied from hard granite gneiss on the
Swiss side, to gravel, sand and pebbles
on the Italian, has been operated upon
in similar way to that followed in the
Gents tunnel, dynamite being used in
blasting operations. Owing to the
greater homogeneity and the absence of
water, more rapid progress has been
made In tunneling through the harder
rocks than in dealing with the softer
material, when the excessive infltration
of water necessitated special drainage ar
rangements. besides. retarding more or
less all branches of the work Thus in
piercing bed of schist, water was dis
charged in torrents, and often the work
! had to be carried on under liquid lets
| descending with the force of those from
a fre-engine pump. In spite of impedi-
| ments of this sort, the st. Gothard tun.
mel has progressed much more rapidly
| than that of the Gents, where the natural
conditions would appear to have been
more favorable, the yearly progress in the
former being almost double. On each
side of the TUNE! there are sixteen air
compressors in action, serving both for
aeration and for boring operations. They
send into the tunnel air under a pres
sure of eight atmospheres, sufficient to
drive eighteen to twenty drills, and eff
feet good ventilation of the part already
bored. The compressors are found to
suffice for good ventilation, rendering
unnecessary two large suction vessels
placed two years ago at either mouth of
the tunnel for drawing off smoke and
vitiated air. The transport of mater
ials is effected by horses in the more adj
vanced part of the tunnel and by COM
pressed air locomotives in the portions
near the mouths. To feed these loco
motives eight compressors are placed at
Airolo, and Goschenen. They draw air
from the ventilating pipe and force it
under pressure of twelve or fourteen
atmospheres into a pipe which passes
along the pert traversed by locomotives.
A great variety of rock drills have been
used Each year brings new improve
ments
The st. Gothard tunnel is only one
section of a railroad running from Lake
Lucerne in Switzerland to Lake Maggi-
ore in Italy. Besides the big tunnel
are twelve Others the shortest of which,
Warren, is l,l06 yards long, while the
longest, the Olberg, reaches 2,027 yards.
The total length OF these twelve tunnels
is very nearly ten miles-l5,j7S metres.
Then there are five tunnels between 220
and $50, and twenty-five between 10
and 220 yards, making in all ffty-two
subsidiary tunnels, of an aggregate
length of sixteen miles. Between I'M
mensee and Goschenen there will be
thirty three tunnels, between Airolo and
Giubiasco seventeen. The highest part
of the line above sea level is the big tun
mel, 1907 feet; the lowest point between
Cadenaz2o and Magazine, 615 feet. The
line will be carried over sixty four
bridges and viaducts, the longest of
which, that of Codenazzo, in Tessin, will
consist of five arches each having i span
of 50 yards The total length of the
Gothard line will be Isl miles, II per
cent. of it being tunnels and per cent
bridges and viaducts.-N. y. World