The record-union., 1893-03-25
HIGHEST RAILROAD
South America Leads the World II
this ResDect

this Respect.
The highest point attained by a railroad
IL the United States is in the Rocky
Mountains, 9,027 feet above the sea.
Trains on the Callao-Oroya line in Peru
are now ascending to hight as far above
tnls great elevation as the total hight Of
Mount Washington. In other words,
Wnen tram on the Oroya line enters the
Galera tunnel TO cross from the western to
the eastern slope OF the Cordilleras it is
more than mile higher above the sea
| than the loftiest bit OF railroad track in
TINS country. Some stretches of track in
Mexico are also higher than any railroad
IL the United States.
AT present the Galera tunnel is the
highest elevation attained by any rail-
road IN the world. Some months ago the
sun reported that this wonderful Oroya
railroad had at last crossed the Andes. 1t
was on September 18th last that the tirst
train from Callao passed through the tun-
mel to the eastern side of the mountains.
twenty years elapsed after the line was
started at the sea before the Cordilleras
were conquered; and trains have scarcely
a foot OF level grade for lO6 miles until
they pull into the Galera tunnel l., ,63S
feet above the sea, and emerge upon the
eastern face of the Andes.
III TINS We're not the loftiest tunnel in
the world II would still be conspicuous as
a specimen of railroad construction.
1t was driven through the rock dis
tance of 1856 feet. If train happens
70 stop IN the tunnel, passengers can
hear water from the Vaulted roof
pattering on the car tops The
melting snow that crowns the mountain
summit above it filters through to the ex-
cavation. Two channels are cut in the
| rock to carry the water out of the tunnel.
One of them leads 10 the head stream of
an Amazon tributary and the Atlantic;
| 9TH to tt,a
Pacific
1t is doubtful if any other railroad for
general traffic will ever be carried to so
great an elevation. The surveys for the
! Pan-American Railroad do not thus far
indicate elevations at all approaching
that OF the Oroya line. 1t will be neces-
sary here and there to pass from one val
ley to another separated by mountain
| ranges, but the highest points along the
| line Will not be over 200 feet above the
sea, If the results of the preliminary sur
veys hold good.
South America will always beat the rest
OF the world in elevated railroads. The
South Peruvian line from Mollendo to
Lake Titicaca attains night Of II 64l feet,
only 997 feet lower than the Galera tun-
mel. The remarkable Chilean railroad.
now nearing completion, which, starting
| at AntotagaSta, runs hundreds of miles
| northeast into Bolivia, has its highest
point at Carocto, zoos feet above the sea;
and it is noteworthy coincidence that
the Trans-South American line from
| Buenos Ayres to Valparaiso is also said to
bejust Il, ,O0S feet above the sea at its high
est point. These results have been OBJ
| talned by trlangulation, but for ordinary
| purposes 1t may be as well to lop Off the
extra feet above 1900, just as some
geographers do in the case OF Mt. Ever
est. They say that the figure 29,O04 feet,
given as the hight of this lottiest OF
mountains. implies refinement of ac-
curacy in measurement TO which it is
| not entitled.-New York Sun.