Los Angeles daily herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1884-1890, 1886-06-10
The Longest winter Tunnel I'm
Southern California.

Pasadenas watohword is, keep to
the front, and no lodging" She has
the Congressman, and also the member
of the Legislature, and only lacks few
rods Of having the Governor. She has
the historic John Brown family whose
soul is marching on" the stupendous
Raymond Hotel the only meuntain-top
caravansary, and now comes to the
front again with the longest water tunnel
ever attempted In Los Angeles county.
This tunnel is in the wash that forms
the outlet from three water bearing
cations, Las Flores, Rubio and Cry canon,
but there is no flowing water in the
wash except occasionally during the
raipy season. More than year ago a
prospecting shaft was dug by Dolben a
Watkins, forty feet deep, which yielded
Eve feet of water and kept to that
depth all summer. They then went
about 1850 feet down the wash and
started the tunnel in July, 1885, ct q
level of 100 feet lower than the bottom
OF their prospect shaft. The
work has gone steadily forward since
that time, and the tunnel is now
in about 1850 feet from its mouth in a
line so straight that man at the inner
end with q good rife could shoot a rab-
bit outside. The passage is three feet
wide at base by twenty inches at top,
and Eve and half feet high clear space
inside of arch posts. Three air-shafts
have already been dug to connect with
the tunnel from tho surface; but the
first one has been passed and closed; the
second one is now in use both for venti-
lation and to hoist out debris; the third
one has not been brought into use yet.
but will be entered in a week or so by
tunnelers, who will work from its bot
tom both ways, one gang excavating
towards the prospect shaft and the other
gang towards a junction with the pas
sage already made; and IL is calculated
hat probably two more air.shafts will
be necessary before they reach their
water limit. The whole passage has
been made through bed of boulders,
sand, gravel, with little yellow clay
mixed in, and many of the boulders are
so large that they cannot be got out at
all, but must be drilled and blasted in
order to clear passage.
The theory of this great enterprise is
that at or near their prospect shaft they
will strike the sloping bedrock Of the
mountain base, and thus undertap the
percolation Of the whole bearing
stratum above the bed of the tunnel,
which will be 100 feet below the surface
at that point. The prospect shaft al
ready penetrates 1--WE feet of the water.
bearing stratum, and how much thicker
that stratum is can only be determined
by the philosophy of pick and drill. II
they meet the bedrock ss anticipated,
then they have right-oi-way to cross-cut
for several hundred feet both east and
west, thus making literal catch.basins
that will turn flowing streams into the
outlet tunnel from both ways. The
whole scheme is in some sense an expert.
mant, based on few known facts and
some unknown theories, that look very
reasonable. But 1t costs mint Of money
and vast deal Of pluck to make such a
colossal experiment, and it Is to, be
hoped that 1t will prove even n greater
success than the projectors have reck'
oued on. The famous Bacon ranch tun.
mel near where the 3. @. v. Railroad
crosses Fair Oaks avenue, is 675 feel
long, but this new one will be more than
four times as long, counting it's lateral
feeders. Dolben & Watkins are the
msn who planned it, and have most
heroic faith in its fuvial and financial
success. Who the ''silent partuers' are
| is not made public. Valley Union.