The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-03-06


actual Mont C6nis, and is almost ciyht
miles in length. 1t was projected in
1867 by NM. Sommcillcr, Grlndis
and Grattoni, and was ut once com
mcnccd, all the mining being done bv
hand until 1861, when machine boring
was commenced. The blasting was
done entirely with gunpowdcr. On
December 2lg 1870, ut twenty-five past
past four p. m., Il steam periorator
Knocked bore hole twelve and q half
feet long through the diaphragm OF
rock separating France from Italy. A
number of others were bored, and on
Dcccmbcr 2G, 1870, at twenty, minutes
past pnst five p. M, tho curtain ofrock
was blown to pieces and the communi-
cation was 0pcucd. There was an
error OF only one foot in the calcllla-
tons Of the engineers as to the levels
at the meeting Of the two galleries.
There was no error in the direction
The work was rapidly finished, and is
now in full operation. The prclimi-
nary estimate of the cost was E2 600
600. IL is believed that the actual OK.
pcnditurc was 5000, 900, which was
equivalent to E22l for every linenl
yard OF its surface. The St. Gothard
tunnel, which is now SO nearly an.
pronching completion, was designed ia
effect connection between the Swiss
system of railroads and those of Uppc,
Italy. The work is located between
GocSchcnen on the north and Airolo on
the south. II is constructed for two
lines of rails on the four feet eight and
one half inch gauge, and viii be
straight throughout the greater part Of
n ~
ever, be formed at the south end. This
land will be nearly 47G feet long and
will be "A portion ofa curve, with q
radius Of 9Sl feet, which will lead from
tho station ut AirolO to the mouth
of the boring. The entire distance
from Gocschcncn to Airolo is
1885 feet, or nearly ten miles, and
the length of the tunnel will be 1925
yards, or about nine aud onc-fourtl
miles. For facility of obstruction
however, the tunrcl was cut straight
from end TO end, involving IN addition
al 6orofcNta!, ting abt ut 5ll feet At
The Italian extremity. Airolo station,
is about ,252 yards above the plane OF
the sea, and Gocschcncn 1,l03, making
Il ditlcrcnccbctwccn the levels of the
two places 1882 yards. The railroad
! Will be constructed to rise from both
to summit level within the tunnel of
about ,2GO yards above the sea. This
level will he situated almost midway
between the stations and will be 95C
feet in length. This plan will make
the northern gradient about one foot
in III, the southern in 1000, and the
purpose Of the elevation is to secure al,
outflow of all moisture that may make
its way into the tunnel.
| HISTORY OF TIE WORK.
Between the wears 1910 md 1850 the
project of constructing railroad
through tho st. Gotlar,l was first
mootcd, but it did not take permanent
form until the next decade, when the
Central Swiss Railroad Company as
Sulncd charge Of it. n commission
was then appointed by several neigh
boring cantons to make the necessary
surveys. In 1869 Germany, Switzcr-
land and Italy entered into treaty for
the construction Of the road, and, in
lSi2, company was formed and bids
for the work were called for. Seven
were made Of which two were finally
considered, and that OF NJ. Louis
tAvrc was accepted. The estimated
cost was nearly 4S,00O,000f. The con-
tract for the performance of tho work
Was awarded to him August I, 1872,
and after the railway company had
completed some preliminary clearing
operations he commenced work. break
ing ground at Airolo on September l3,
1872, and ut GroeSchcnen eleven
days later. The system ofconstructicn
adopted is that known rs the Belgium
or French system. y heading or adj
vanccd gallery is driven ut the upper
part of the tunnel from each end at
such height that its roof becomes Il
portion Of the roof of the final cxcava-
tion. The enlargement to the final di-
mcnSions is effected latsrally and
downward. Only hand labor was en-
loycd in the excavation during six
months, but since then rock drills
driven by compressed air have been
used. Until 1875 hand labor alone was
used in enlarging the opening, but
machine labor has now entirely supcr-
seeded it. The average rate of progress
made with hand boring was a feet
per day, while with the most improved
machines it approached feet per day.
According to the contract the tunnel
will be of n horseshoe form, and will
be 1861 100 feet high by 81. .93-lOO feet
wide at the level Of the slcepcrs and
23.24-l0O at tho springing Of the arch,
which will be about 81 feet above the
slccpcrs. The arch will be complete
scmicircle of 4 metres radius, the sides
being curved to n radius of 3a.l3-lOO
feet. The floor when of solid rock
will be slightly troughed. When the
Tunnel passes through solid rock it is
to be cut to the exact section without
any masonry; when tissurcs occur an
arch will be used varying in form ac-
cording to circumstances. When loose
rock is encountered the tunnel will be
lined with Ash,ar stone masonry nc
cording to the figures given above. A
cnlvert 3.2S-lO0 feet square will run
under the floor of the tunnel through
out its length. In order to calculate
exactly the direction of the passage,
observatorics have been established at
both terminal points. NJ. Favrc, the
contractor has not lived to see his
work brought toa successful conclu-
sion. He died suddenly in the tunnel
on July 10th last. He was taken to
Geneva for intermcnt and was follow
cd to his grave by n thouson6 rowrots