The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-04-05
The Channel Tunnel.
Progress of the work on the French Coast.

Progress of the Work on the French Coast.
On the French coast the company
which obtained a concession from the
French government in 1875 to construct
the southern half of the proposed chan
mel tunnel have made considerable and,
SO far, satisfactory progress IN the ex-
animation of the chalk cliffs near Calais,
which are believed to be the outcrop of
a continuous bed of homogeneous chalk
running beneath the sea between the two
shores, and by invitation of the Paris
committee the engineers and officials OF
the English Channel Tunnel company
and some others yesterday visited the
works. The behring's are near the little
village of Sangatte, which, according to
Murray, is about six miles from Calais.
The buildings are not merely temporary
sheds such as might suffice to protect
the workers during the prosecution OF
experimental borings, but substantial
erections of brick, with concrete floors,
high brick chimney shaft. and tram
ways running distance of perhaps one
hundred yards, TO the edge of the cliff,
over which the excavated chalk is thrown,
the cliffs at this point rising precipitously
from the beach to height of over one
hundred feet In one large building is
the machinery, designed by Mr.. Colladon,
boring machines. This will be super
intended by MIR. Welker, the engineer
who. was in charge of the air-compress-
ing machinery used in the St. Gothard
tunnel, Two shafts have been sunk at
distance of 40 or so yards apart, and
by the larger of these the visitors descend
to examine a horizontal cutting. About
20 feet below the surface the borers have
found the craie de Roaten, strata cores
ponding to the lower portion of that
homogeneous gray chalk which some of
our biologists have called the chalk
without fints. At depth of Is feet
| the brick lining of the pit ceases and the
employment of wooden s'tubing'' be-
gins this being carried down to a depth
of 204 feet, when the chalk becomes so
dry and hard that lining is no longer
required The depth of the shaft is about
$50 feet, and going about feet lower
down by ladder through hole at one
side of gallery feet high and of the
same width as entered. This opens into
one of equal diameter running nearly at
right angles, which, with slightly up
ward inclination, to provide for drain
age, runs in a northeasterly direction,
| but tending to the northward-that is,
| toward the sea-with curve having a
| radius of one kilometer, 1t is to be
| 1850 yards long. Artificial ventilation
has not been found necessary so far, the
| two shafts, with both of which it is in
connection, providing for an up and
down current of air. This gallery is
about 10 feet below low-water mark,
but no portions of these workings have
vet been pushed out under the sea. M.
| Alexandra Lavalley, the contractor for
| the Suez canal, who has offered to un-
| dertake the construction OF the tunnel
| far. the French cosacessiondired, is to
drive another gallery Of equal length in
the same direction as. but not mme-
| diately over. the one already begun; lie
will employ Brunton's cutting machin l
while in the lower gallery Beaumont's
machine will be used. both machines
being driven by compressed air. Il Is
| found in the lower gallery that there Is
| but little pefeolation of water, and that
| such as runs in comes from springs Ia
assures. What does flow in is pumped