New-York tribune., 1890-05-31
ALONG A RAINLESS COAST.
VII.
DOWN THE ANDES IN A HAND-CAR.


MEIGGs's AMBlTION-FUTuRE OF
YIs GREATEST ENTEEPRlsL
yroN .sr,rF CORRESPONDENT or IHE TRIBUNE
Chosica February 26.
~ho socrets of the Andes cannot he snatchcu
l.; . ar,e of blipdmans s-buff on railway 'ralh'
Tho traveller who goes TO Chicla with an lmpfeS-
sion that he can see grand mountain scenery "S
shifting his seat from one side oil the car 10 "c
other and by occasionally venturlng OUTSIDE Oh
the platform is doomed 10 disappointment Hc
can see very little from the WINDOWS oi ,no "a"
and the platform is rendered untcnable ny 'he
smoke and cinders from the engine Hah h"'oo
is in the centre of valley of enhancing beauty
br, orIv a faint idea of it's rugged scenery can
no formed from the interior Of car fuehtc
InGernillo is one of the wei;dcst scenes OF desoa
tiop in the Andes but the bridge IS passed Ill an
instant and one barely has time I" glance up
ward at the towering rock masses before the tr'ii
has dashed into a tunnel. Puente dc Ahchi anu
Rio Blanco are famous for their cascades an"
nrecipitous mountain walls but the Traveller
who attempts to look out of the windows amer
natev on opposite sides Of the car. or blinds ms
eyes with smoke while standing on the front plat
form will end by wishing himself on the nacN VI
n mule OF the Oroya railway, 1t is also true
that the more theoretically one strives to eaten
will be his feeling of disappointment lis won
derful feats of engineering are not revealed III
flashes of openng tunnels, spider-work bridges
terrace-cuttinc on the mountain fankS, concentrlc
spirals and ascending 2io2Ggs. Here ana 'herc
rlimnSes are obtained of successive changes ol
grade with tunnels far above or far below "'
level of the train: and there are rapidly chah8-
ing vistas of the Rimac, which is now hlShcr ana
again lower than the roadway. Ihese, at bcS''
are crude hints OF the wonderful CONSTRUCTION ol
the Oroya. The Andes are not 10 be Woocd py
vacant stare from the windows Of a rallWay
train.
OF nv Journey to Chicla have nothing to say,
although there was an experienced mountan-guiie
in the scat with me. Mr. Johnston, wae-awaiie
American from New-Hampshire, who eNertcd him
self 10 point ont the most remarkable features oi
scenery and railway construction. Mr. HuhoeH
superintendent of the railway, 10 whom had been
introduced through the courtesy of genial William
Eyre, of Grace Brothers. had promised that
should return by hand-car without a clnder-
putting engine in front. Mr.. Ellis the efiiceh'
roadmaster, guaranteed the fuliillnent OF tha'
promise before we reached Chica by naming the
hour when the gravity-car should begin lis n|lhg
descent of the Andes. ! waited until there was
clear sky above me and then saw the oro'"
railway. Mr.. Ellis sent for me at II O'Clock
and told me that the carriage was waiting 1t
was a narrow box, with two seats over io1r wheels
A brake worked by small hand-leNer was the
only appliance for controlling II. This suhced
for stopping the hand-car in the course OF a ieW
yards even when the motion WAS as high as thirty
miles an hour Six passengers with the road-
master made full load, but gravity Is steed
which is at its best when il has something 10 pull
The wheels We're oiled aud critically examined
the baggage was resdinSted 50 as TO Inconvenience
the passengers as little rs possible, and then the
grip of the brake was released. in IN instant tne
car was in rapid motion down the Cordiileras
from an elevation of l2,2?O feet In few min
uteS more it was running at the rate OF twenty
miles an hour and if Mr.. Ellis had been anxious
to put his pony through its best PAGES speed of
thirty-hve miles might have been attained on the
safer Levels.
The simplicity OF the engineering methods Of
this railway was now revealed. Projecting Ter
races or buttresses along the valley of the Rmac
have been utilized for the construction OF series
OF ascending zigzaaS. There are 30 spiral curves
above Matucana- but there is continuous
cession of grades ore above another The
runs down steep dcc.ivity 70 a tunnel al tie
base Of projecting mass Of rock. The road
master jumps OFF, reaGjuats switch AMI tncn
starts the car in the opposite direction The Ri
mac, which before ioamng torrent long
q
Ger. The tunnel through which we passed re-
cedeS from view ard at last disappears altogether
The rosdmaster again alishts TO switch the car
upon a third grade. Now the first direction is
resumed and before long the tunnel through which
we had plunged the first grade Is again SEEM
this time high above Us. As one looks down an
other tunnel he deserted at a lower level
This will he reached by backward run on an
intermediate grade. and then by an advance
in the opposite direction The lines Of ascent
and descent are distinctly traced as we pass
from one level 10 another. There is mountain
mass which is approached many Is five times on
successive grades. and then a tunnel pcrces il and
sends the car trmndng down the precipices On tine
other side.
MAGNIFICENT MOUNTAIN SCENERY.
From Chicla TO Rio Blanco with ts reaches
OF white water, there is descent of 677 feet in
3 l-2 miles and thence 10 Puente de Anchi there
is one Of 243 feet in two miles The gradients
are uniform from the base Of the CorderaS and
In no instance DO they exceed one in twcnty-siX,
the average being considerably lower The Rrnlc
and other streams aTe crossed and recrosse1 by
bridges and viaducts Of slender construction and
ingenious design. At Puentc Inhcrnilo there are
double tunnels, with the river pouring out OF "a
subterranc2n cleft, and the mountains towering in
desolate majesty to a great height 4 bridge
spans roaring torrent al TIE bottom OF the
ravine On the mountain sides, which are here
nearly vertical, there evidences of the stupcn-
dous forces by which nature has followed out
this Internal chamber in the Cordcra. Rock
masses have been riVen apart and shattered The
foaming torrent has undermined the base Of the
mountain. chaSui, which seemed 10 defy human
approach has been walled in on every side By
prccipitous buttresses; yet at the bottom Of the
ravine trains pass over light railway bridge, and
appear and disappear al the mouths Of companion
tunnels. From Pucnte de Anchi TO San Aloteo
there is descent of 10 feet in 3s miles, the
railway following winding pathway along the
verges of precpices. Tunnels frequent and
yiaducts seem TO be suspended like cObyyebs in