The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-01-22

time, however contracts for the build
ing Of this tunnel have been entered
into and all preliminary arrangements
have been completed, and 1T is now
expected that work will be commenced
Immediately A large force of men will
be employed and the work will be car
ried forward to completion as rapidly
as possible, as it is the intention Of the
company to have the tunnel ready for
service early in 1898.
The Cascade tunnel will be one Of
the greatest engineering featS Of its
kind ever known in railroad history,
and the cost Of it's construction has
been estimated at 100000. 1t is to
be run in a straight line, a few de-
grees south of west, and will have a
grade of ninety feet to the mile, slop-
ing to the west. The tunnel will be
1928 feet in length, eighteen feet in
width and twenty-three feet high. A
very large portion Of this length will
be driven through solid rock, and such
portions, Of course. will require no
lining, but wherever necessary it is
to be lined with brick or stone.
The elevation of the tunnel, at it's
eastern portal, at Tunnel City, will be
$3.50 feet, while at the western portal,
at Wellington, the elevation will be
only $3.50 feet. This Is considerably
less than the greatest elevation of the
present road, known as the switchback,
which, at it's summit, is 4,055 feet above
sea level. }53The highest point under
which the tunnel will pass will be about
a mile FROM the western portal, the
peak having an elevation of $3.50 feet
A little further east and north of the
tunnel two mountain peaks stand near
ly side by side, the western peak having
an altitude of $500 feet, and the east
ern peak Of 500 feet. A short distance
south of these mountains and of the
tunnel is Skylight lake, beautiful
little sheet of water, lying at an alti-
tude of 5,140 feet.
But by far the most important consid-
Grafton with the Great Northern COM
pt,ny in the construction Of the tunnel
is the economy of space and time as
the distance compared with the present
route will be reduced a number of
miles and the time will be shortened
by an hour. The famous switchback
OF the Great Northern, which has been
III operation since 1892 and which ex-
tends from the town of Cascade on the
east to Wellington on the west, is one
of the most beautiful scenic routes ON
the American continent, giving a view
of both sides of the Cascade noun
tains.
At the center extremity the switch
back, after darling three spurs in as
many different directions, and then, by
it's windings forming loop and Y,
at last takes q nearly direct course
south to the summit, near Stevens
pass. AT the western extremity, how
ever, it is forced by the mountains and
ravines into most remarkable course,
running toward every point of the com
pass, doubling on itself again and
again and forming a perfect labyrinth.
before it succeeds in finding an exit
from the Cascade range This unioue
route has in all eight switches and
crosses the line Of the proposed tunnel
five times. The scenery is wild and
beautiful beyond description-peaks
canyons and ravines passing in an
ever-changing panorama, while here
and there the track at long intervals
crosses one solitary trail, winding along
the course of the rivers.
But the long pull Of the switchback