Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-07-29
GREAT ENGINEERING PROJECT.
Later Details of the Proposed Railway
Up the Jungfrau.

in June, 1889, the Mount Pilatus railway was
opened for traffic il seemed that a climax had
been reached, and that future projects would
hardly dare to take higher flights and pene-
trate further into the secret hiding places Of
nature to lay open to public gaze the ice-bound
secrecy of the Alpine world. Those, however.
who hold this opinion are doomed to grievous
disappointment, for there now appears a plan
for railroad up the very summit of the jung
frau, perhaps the grandest and most majestic
OF the whole chain of Bernese Alps.
From the valley of the Lauterbrunuen the
mountain rises a vast mass OF snow and glacier
abruptly, as it seems, almost perpendicularly
to a height of 1850 feet. Although not the
highest point of the range. the Junfrau. by
reason OF Its colossal ragged mass seems to
form the center of attraction. and is not I'M
frequently assembled during the summer months
by good mountainous attended by the most
sklii1n; guides. But as the charges for such an
expedltlon are enormous, and as il requires
that at least one night shall be passed on the
mountain, and further great danger ia in
Cured by the sudden changes in the weather,
SO common In the Alps, it is no wonder that
the Virgin" mountain has maintained her
maiden purity, and her icy realms are. even at
the end OF the nineteenth century almost un-
trodden by the foot of man.
For railway running to so great a height,
far above the level of perpetual snow the cir
!
neither by storm nor tempest, avalanche nor
landslide and this renders the task doubly diff
ficult. On this account. therefore, il is abso-
lutely necessary that the operations be con-
fined to the interior of the mountain. for as
long as the work is shut in by the rocks it can
go ahead regardless of the weather. The
profile of the mountain is in many respects
most favorable to this plan. for being eteep the
tunnels are not Unfortunately long and several
sections can be begun at the same time, greatly
shortening the work OF construction.
-Four sections are proposed. having a total
length OF Il, 400 feet the steepest rising at an
angle of almost As degrees. The entire Jour
ney at speed of &c yards per minute will re-
Quire about two hours and it is proposed run
ming trains every half hour day and mig MT, the
latter with the idea of getting the passengers
to the summit in time to enjoy the sunrise.
The work will require about five years. az
with the exception of the first tunnel it must
be confined to the summer months. With re-
gard to the trouble the workmen and after wards
the sghtseers may experience from the differ
ence in barometric pressure between the valley
and the summit, it only amounts to four five
pounds per square inch al the most, and the sys-
tenn has two hours in which to become accus-
toned to the change, so that il is thought that
even the most delicate constitutions will find
no serious Inconvenience. The matter of tenn
perature is thought to be far more serious
one. Yet as all the work is underground, it il
not expected that this will offer any great draw
back to the construction. and when the line is
in running order stations will be warmed and
the lighting throughout will be by means of
electricity.
Steam m otors being out of the question re-
course must be had to the cable traction, but
as the ordinary steep incline systems of allow
ing two carriages moving in opposite directions
to balance each other by means of water
ballast are impracticable. owing to the
tremendous head against which pumps must
work in order to force water up to the summit.
some new device was sought 1t is proposed
erecting alr-compresslng plants, which have
the great advantage at the start that they can
be used for the boring and yentlating. From
the compressors mains will be laid to the
upper station of each tunnel section, and the
air there employed to rotate a hosting drum
in the usual way.
Special safety brakes, both for ordinary use
and IN case of accident, are always questions of
Importance and II is absolutely necessary that
they shall be instantaneous in their action. To
this end it is proposed that the carriage shall
form piston and the tunnel take the part Of a
cylinder, and, as this cylinder is to be closed
at each end by air-tight doors. it can readily
be comprehended that by regulating the flow
of air or leakage past the piston the speed of
the carriage can be controlled. To further in
crease this resistance on each side Of the car
riage there are to be side wings moving on
hinges. On these wings are secured flexible
plates of leather. india rubber or some other
material. SO that they almost entirely fill the
space between the carriage and the masonry
At the roof and floor are similar attachments
secured to the carriage framing. The wings
are at first adjusted by the guard but should
the speed begin to increase. through the
breaking of the rope or other unforeseen cause.
then the air forces the wings still further open
until the acceleration ceases.
OF the whole length of the railway tits antici-
pated that about one-quarter will have to be
hand bored and the remainder excavated with
boring machines During the first summer
operations will begin by four auxiliary shafts
being driven from points easily accessible from
the valley. In the interval the air compressors
will be built and rope tramways constructed to
facilitate the carriage of material. As soon as
each section is completed the rails will be laid
and traffic started. so that the pub ic will grad
ually become accustomed to the system which
when the time comes for opening throughout
its entire length, will be thoroughly perfected
in every detail. The utility Of the road is quite
generally admitted and the scheme. though a
daring one, seems accepted by engineers as
possible, and when carried ont will be a great
triumph OF mind over matter and will place
Herr Irautwelle'. the moving technical spirit
in the foremost ranks of the engineers of the
day.