Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-02-19
AN ENGINEERING WONDER.
The Tunnel the Arlberg Railroad
Nearly Seven Miles Long.


The tunnels gate is imposing. Like
the whole of the tunnel it is eight me-
tiers broad and seven meters high, and
framed in light gray granite, upon
which is carved an Austrian imperial
eagle and the emperor's name. For the
first hundred meters the tunnel forms q
curve, but afterwards it pursues its
course in one straight line as far as
Langen. 1t is best to take a seat at
the right side of the railway car, and
then the window may be opened and a
reflector lantern will show all the pecu-
liarities of the interesting construction.
We were at first startled by the Kissing
noise made by the train in the narrow
vault. The smoke winds in dark vol
umes along the roofs of the cars, and
sinks behind the train, suddenly shut
ting out the light which had hitherto
shown the walls of the tunnel, or had
been visible as a convex lentil.
The engine works with so much
steam power that it emits large drops
of condensed steam and even ashes.
Large white figures mark the distance
at every twenty meters. At a height of
two meters runs the alarm bell cable.
After fifty meters the walls begin to be
damp. AT every one hundred meters
there is a niche for the guard-the niche
at three hundred meters contains a sig
nal lantern which can be managed by
means of a cable reaching from the sta
tons at either end of the tunnel At
every kilometer, that is every one thou
sand meters distance, there is q niche
twice as deep rs the signal-light inches,
containing a signal bell, of which the
whole tunnel contains eleven. There is
also a marble slab commemOrating the
emperor's first visit to the tunnel Be-
tween the fifteenth and sixteenth hun
dred meters the rain falling uninter-
ruptedly is louder than the noise of the
engine. The rain is caught in pipes
and conducted into q canal under the
tunnel, which has six fountains
Of delicious water, whose cool waves re-
duce the temperature of the tunnel to
- degrees Reaumur.
When the wind comes from the west
and the day is clear, it is possible to see
the light of day on the western side,
called the "Star of Langen," immedi-
ately after the fourth kilOmeter. 1t is,
indeed, but a small star, viewed at the
distance of six thousand meters. The
highest point of the tunnel is now
reached, and the time for ecOnOmizing
steam has come. Later, on when the
descent is rapid, the steam is used to
prevent the engine from going too fast
From the highest point the trains rap
idity increases in an alarming manner
and were it not for the never-failing
vacuum brake it would not be safe to
l. A y
meters slab commentaries the day
when the two halves of the tunnel met,
and the thin partition which separated
them was knocked through in the pres
ence of several members of the govern
ment.
Three kilometers before Langen the
walls are again damp and the water
falling from the roof of the vault is
sometimes SO abundant that curiosity is
rewarded by a shOwer-bath. We now
begin to feel the magic influence of the
light of day. The wall and the ground
beneath us catch it in stripes and cir
cles and we are under the mistaken
impression that the snow surrounds us
on all sides. At last we clearly see the
round opening of the tunnel gate
across which runs the dark blue of the
Atfienz bridge. A shrill sound of the
whistle, and we have finished our Jour
ney through tunnel measuring 1882
meters, which we should take two hours
to walk through, and which the train
trayersed in twenty-four minutes. We
all drew a breath and felt happy to be
on the surface of the earth once more.
As we view the bright scene at Longer
station, we cannot help pitying the
guards of the tunnel, doomed to live a
life in place where no ray of the sun
ever penetrates. in gloom and heat and
bad air. Happily nature herself venti-
lates the tunnel, so that no artificial
ventilation is necessary.
The tunnel was commenced in No
Der, 1880, and completed exactly three
years afterwards, on the 10Th of No
yember, 1888, when the thin partition
in the center was knocked through,
and the brave hands that had tOiled at
so hard task met in a hearty grasp.
The tunnel workers were all dismissed
long ago, and only very few privilege
ed ones witnessed the opening Of the
line of traffic which their combined la
Dor completed in such an astonishingly
short space of time Even the dwell
lngS winch they lnhablted ana made
merry with their noisy southern fun,
are beginning to decay and fall asunder.
At the Inauguration banquet, however,
their labors were not forgotten, and
those who had lent their brains to the
work reminded their grateful guests of
the hands which had realized what
must to the traveller for many years to
come seem a dream.-C0r. London
NeaOS.