Hutchinson gazette., 1900-04-19
LARGEST TUNNML N TllE woMLN
IL Begins IN switzerland nnd LndS IN
ItnIy some Ol the Methods Used

on the plllplon tunnel, feluleb ht
Springfield Republican. The contract
calls Ior the completion In five and
one'half years and the price to be pad
Ii 00,6OO,OO0 francs (Sl3,4l3,6O0). II
will have u length OF twenty kilomet'
ers (twelye ana four-tenths miles) aud
will be the longest tunnel In the world
When completed " will be- the third
one connecting Italy WIN ouIymg
countries by direct rail and wal uc-
complish saving OF seNenty-seyen
kilometers (forty-three and hye-lentha
miles,, or from Z to per cent on
travel from Paris TO Milan as compar-
ed with the Mont Gents or 81. Gothard
tunnels. The Mont Gents tunnel has a
length OF thirteen Mlometers (eight
miles) md the ST, Gothard length OF
fifteen kilometers (nine and three.
tenths miles,.
When, In the sos, the wonderful
project Of drilling the Mont Cents tun.
mel was undertaken, fathered by the
courageous Italian minister OF state,
Cnyour, no machines for drilling were
In existence and II was calculated that
Il period OF twenty years would be
necessary tor every five kllometers
(three and one-tenth mlles) OF tunnel
drilled, Then Engineer Sommellier,
In chNrge OF the work, constructed the
first drilling machine, and, although
crude, IT was satisfactory enough TO ac-
compllsh ten times the work uone by
manual labor and enabled him to finish
the tunnel IN eleven years. The 81,
uOthnrd tunnel was hnlshed la from
eight to nlne years.
Ihe slmpon tunnel begins in Swift
zerlNnd near the little town OF lirlg,
in the valley OF the lihone, Canton
Wallis, ana ends III the yuiiry ut Dl-
Yeria, ON the italian side near lsellu.
1t VIII he per1ccuy straight, except for
u small curve nt tnelngrtss and cgress,
The contract for the tunnel provides
for me OF 5000 francs (SOjJJ day
ii the time limit Is exceeded, while u
gratWty of the same amount per day
is to be given il it is finished before
the stipulated period, \ little compu.
tation will show how DISASTROUS striKes
will be. \ strike of ten days has just
ended.
The fundamental principle Of tun-
neling always has been to drive the
hole, eNcayute and follow IL up with
the finishing masonry, making proyis-
ion, of course, for ventilation, which
is generally sufficient az first, but
which becomes Insufficient when the
work progresses toward the center,
when the incoming fresh mir mikes
with the outgoing gasses, The method
employed by Engineer Brandt, who
has reen in charge OF the undertaking,
Ia to drive two holes parallel within
the radius of the excavations, leaving
about seven mcters UiIty-tive and
three-fourths feet) in advance of the
other. These are built for u single
track, and later ON the dividing wall
can be broken through for double
tracks If necessary. At distances OF
about 200 meters (GjG fce) trans
verse connections between THE
tunnels are made through the dividing
wall and are provided with doors. 70
obtain sufficient ventilation powerful
air blasts are blown into one side of
the tunnel, which return through the
other side of the divide and thereby
conduct outward all foul air and bad
gases.
When the air in the interior increas-
es in heat II is cooled by showers of
cold water, which has been led from
the exterior of the mountain under
high pressure, Through practical ex-
periments IN the mines of Spain, En-
gineer Brandt has proved thar air at
90 degrees {, (l2l degrees F.) by this
means can be reduced to 10 degrees c.
900 degrees ~. These same streams
furnish 1000 horsepower for driving
drills. The miners, therefore, always
work In an artificial atmosphere of
cool, fresh air.
Engineer Brandt's invention is a
hydraulic rotary drilling machine, by
which II is hoped to complete the tun-
mel in less than contract time. II is
used singly and in battery form.
Prominent engineers come from far
and near TO examine this powerful
mechanism. Another Of Mr. Brandt's
inventions Is Il machine for loosenhg
and removing the debris after the eX-
plosions aud blasts II throws pow
erfuI stream in a lerky manner into
the stones loosened by the force of the
blast, thereby washing away the dirt.
| This makes the excavation easier.
These machines run on rails and when
In use follow each other in rotation.
The historical museum of the Kaiser
Itch and Koniglich state railroads in
Vienna possesses TIE first hydraulic
rotary machine invented by Brandt.
which he used in tunueling through
the Nrlbcrg in Austria in 1857
During November, in which ten GAYS
were lost on account of the strike
there was drilled nt the south side ~
meters (i72 feeD and at the north side
1913 meters (4o4 feet). The total since
the commencement of the work is
3,jTi meters (about two and one-ffth
milcs) l,l4s meters Tone and one.
third niles at the north side and /, ,42G
meters mnc-tenths Of mile) at the
south side. November 30 1890. the
telegraph brought the news of the
death Of Mr.. Brandt