The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1900-08-10
GIANT BORE in THE Alps.
Under the Slmplon to Be
Longest In the World.

Longest In the World.
A few weeks ago LIE Tour du Monde
Of Paris said 1t is believed in Italy that
the digging Of the simplon tunnel In
the Alps would double the commerce
Of Genoa, and make that city, instead
Of Marseilles, the first among the Med
iterranean ports. Genoese merchants
have been a good deal elated in recent
years by the fact that the shipping
bushes Of their port has gradually been
approaching that Of Marseilles in vol
ume. In 1897 the rival ports were about
equal In the amount of tonnage enter
ing and leaving their harbors, the
shipping tributary to each being about
s, 900, 900 tons. Genoa says that before
long she expects to double the amount
of shipping required in her business,
and that the Simplon railroad will give
her trade great impetus.
1t will be at least five and half
years before this tunnel, the longest in
the world, will be completed. The rail-
road company which has the enter
prise in hand has every incentive to
push the work through in the stipulated
time. II 1t completes its work earlier
than the time, agreed upon it will re-
ceive 81. 1000 extra for every day it saves.
II the work is prolonged beyond the
time the amount of $1,000 will be de-
Quoted from the, price paid. for; the tun-
mel for every day OF delay. In the cir
cumstances. the company probably
won't let any grass grow under its feet.
In.April last year the Swiss govern
ment guaranteed. the amount Of money
required to build one of the two tun-
nels and partly build the other. which
will not be completed, however, until
1t is demanded by the growing business
Of the railroad. The total cost of the
two tunnels. not including the interest
on money during the years Of construc-
ton. is estimated at $15.O08,O00. The
cost Of one tunnel and the gallery
through the second will be $11, 764 900.
The guarantee of the Swiss government
amounts to $12, 200, 900! The tunnels for
a little more than half their length will
be across the frontier in italy and the
arrangements made with that coun-
try have not fully been made public in
Switzerland It was announced, how
ever, in Rome by General Pefloux, pres
ident of the council and minister Of the
Interior. in August last year. that all
arrangements with Switzerland rela-
tive to the enterprise had been COM
pleted. and that q few days later the
work Of construction would begin near
Brieg, north of the Simplon pass in
Switzerland, and at Iselle, in Italy.
TWELVE AND A HALF MILES LONG
The tunnel is to be twelve and half
miles long. SURPRISING In this respect
the three other great Alpine tunnels,
Arlberg, which joins the Austrian with
the Swiss railroads. being six and a
half miles long; Mont Gents, which con-
meets Italy and France; seven and a
quarter. and st. Gothard. which unites
Italian and Swiss and German rail-
roads. nine and a quarter miles. The
experienced gained In the earlier works
has resulted, however, in better meth
DDS Of tunneling, and greatly Improved
machinery. so that the time and money
now required will not commensurate
with the greater length Of the simp1on
excavations. It took thirteen years to
dig the Mont Cents tunnel, nine years
and three months for st. Gothard. and
six years and half for Arlberg.
SHORTEST ROUTE To- BRINDISI.
It remains for Switzerland to reach
Domo d'Ossola and Milan from the
Rhone valley by the Simplon, and in the
same way to pass from the Rhine VAL
ley to Milan, the greatest center Of Ital-
ian trade and the third largest city In
the. kingdom. Furthermore. the Simp-
lon offers the SHORTEST route from
Northern Europe to Brindisf. the I'M
portant place Of transshipment between
Europe, Egypt and the Orient.
Another great advantage the Simplon
route offers is that, ID Is practically a
level one To Brieg;. the Swiss starting
point Of the tunnel, the ascent from the
lake Of Geneva up,tile Rhone valley is
almost imperceptihle, and the same is
the case with Domo. d'Ossola, near the
Italian end Of the tunnel. to which 9
railroad, opened about ten years ago,
runs from the nago Maggiore. This
absence Of heavy gradients win make
1t cheap and easy to work the railroad.
as compared with the 81. Gothard. and
1t certainly will not want for traffic. &
The entrance. to the tunnel on the
Swiss side L. little north Of Brieg.
only 1900 feet above sea level, and the
exit on the Italian, side Is at Iselle. 100
feet. The grade. Of the railroad bed on
the Swiss side is seven feet TO the 1000.
Starting az q far lower altitude. the
difficulties which snow often presents
winter On tha approach to the other
Alpine tunnels win be largely obviated
and the nearly level tracks throug the
tunnel will make haulage an easy prob-
lem. The tunnel gradients, in fact,
will be Just sufficient to secure ade-
QuAte drainage. -
High above the tunnel passes the
famous Napoleon road. which was built
BY the Emperor Of France between 1900
and 1896; the nrst Of the great routes to
be traced across the Alps. and still one
OF the finest roads In the world. At tt
illuminating point It u about s,Soo feet
above the sea.
| The central portions Of the tunnel
win be about 10000 Rect below the
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