The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1886-11-18
THE SEVERN TUNNEL.
Great Difficulties Over Which tho
Engineers Have Trfumphcd.


This remarkable tunnel, which, with
it's connecting links and necessary de-
tails has cost the Great Western Rail
way company about f2,000,000 ster-
ling, and has been in construction be-
tween thirteen and fourteen years, has
been opened for goods traffic. The
passenger traffic will be delayed a
couple of months, owing to the heavy
work on portion of the connecting
lines on the Gloucestershire side of the
Severn. The tunnel, which was origi-
nally designed by Mr.. Charles Richard
son, C. E. afterwards associated
with Sir John Hawkshaw as chief in
stead of consulting engineer), was
commenced by the Great Western Rail-
way company in March, 1873, they
having obtained three acts of parlia-
ment in 1872. 1t was at first intended
to be Al miles in length, but this length
was afterward reduced by 13 chains,
and of this distance 2f miles are below
the rapidly flowing estuary of the Sew
ern, at point half mile below the new
passage where the passengers now cross
from the Bristol and South Wales Union
railway, on the Gloucestershire side OF
the river, to Portskwet, on the Mon
mouth side. From the point at which
the tunnel line leaves the Bristol and
South Wales Union line between Patch
way and Pilning to Rogiett, the juno
ton station where it joins the South
Wales section, the distance altogether
is miles furlongs, including the
deep cuttings to the tunnel entrances
on either side. The Great Western
Railway company carried on the
work themselves till 1879, and
drove the preliminary heading from
either side of the river to within 12O
yards, when they tapped handspring
on the Monmouthshire side, and in less
than a day the whole workings were
flooded. 1t was then that Sir John
Hawkshaw was appointed chief engi-
neer, in conjunction with Mr.. Richard
son. and Mr.. T. A. Walker undertook
the contract, under the most discourag-
ing circumstances; and the works were
not clear of water till November, 1880.
The junction of the headings was made
in September, 1881; the level of the
rails having been lowered, at the sug-
gestion of Sir John Hawkshaw, Is feet
in order to get more thickness under
the river-bed. That this was absolute
ly necessary was clear from the fact
that hole 10 feet long was found in
the mari of the river-bed at depres-
sion known as the Salmon pool; and
the river. coming through this, flooded
the work on the Gloucestershire side.
This difficulty was surmounted by fill
ing in the place with clay-puddle and
clay-puddle bags, and the works were
then pumped out. In October, 1888,
the old spring on the Monmouthshire
side was again tapped. and in such
| volume that the water rushed in at the
rate of $4,000 gallons per minute. and
rising at the rate of four feet per hour,
it flooded considerable section of the
| completed work. Divers had to be
employed to descend the flooded works
and shut and iron door 500 feet from
the bottom of the shaft, and again were
the works pumped dry, by the aid OF
more powerful pumps. During this
process tidal wave breaking in over
the marsh between Sunbrook and
| Caldecott, on the Monmouthshire side,
| descended the shaft, and flooded an
other section of the tunnel works
inland, but this was easily dealt
with. Thus battling with unexampled
difficulties the engineers have tri-
umphed over disasters which constantly
threatened to swamp the whole scheme
and render all the work futile. During
| the past twelve months great attention
has been paid to the increase of the
pumping power. and duplicate sets of
pumps VIII Oh have now been erected
are capable of discharging at the rate
of 26,OOO,OO gallons of water per day.
A new shaft $50 feet deep has been sunk
on the Monmouthshire side for six OF
these pumps, and there are in all eight
94-inch pumps, one 37-inch, one &C.
inch, two 3O-inch, and two 2S-inch
pumps. The tunnel is rs feet wide and
20 feet high, and has been excavated
through hard Pennaul sandstone, and
coal measures, the conglomerate over
lying the coal measures, and shale. red
mari, and new red sandstone. In the
mid-channel of the river there is de-
preston 55 feet deep and $50 yards
wide, known to miners as ''the shoots" "
where there is 55 feet of water at low
tide. and about 96 feet at spring high
tides, so that there is this depth Of
water over the tunnel head. The tunnel
has been lined with Stafordshire vitri-
fed brick set in cement, and varying
from 2 feet to feet in thickness. At
present nine trains will run per night
each way. When the connecting lines
for the passenger traffic are completed
all this traffic from the southwest of
England and Southampton will come
through Bristol and the Severn tunnel
10 South Wales instead of round
Gloucester, thus lessening the journey
materially; and Clifton and Bristol will
be brought within sixty minutes ride
to Newport and Cardiff. London Nescs
Not a Mandatory.
A stranger who had. upon arriving
in Little Rock, met a friend, was walk