Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1900-10-09
RAILWAYS IN THE AIR.
Remarkable Progress Made in Construc-
tion Of Mountain Lines.

| aDly made suct Tapid SiIQes NlJlllh
the last quarter Of a century as the
construction of mountain railways.
Indeed, many of them could be de-
scribed as new wonders of the world.
The railway built over the famous
White pass, the gateway to the Klon-
dixie, during the summer Of 1898, was
a marvel of engineering skill. IL is
known as the White Pass & Yukon
railway, and commences at Skaguay.
There is a railway journey Of 20 miles
till the summit Of The pass is reached,
over 1850 feet above the level of the
sea. An interesting fact about this
unique railway was the quick time in
which it was built. During the lat-
ter part of the summer Of 1898 two
shifts of men were employed on the
line, and on February 20, 1899, the
first passenger train steamed into the
little station at summit, which was
almost buried in snow. The track for
20 miles is hewn out of the solid rock.
The cost of this short line is estimated
to have been about S1,250,000. A
few weeks ago a sensation was caused
in Skaguay by the foolhardy feat Of
miner, who rode down the railway
on one Of the buffers Of the engine.
The railway constructed up the
famous Pixies peak in Colorado, is an
other marvellous engineering feat.
The railway itself reaches a height of
14,134 feet. On the top Of this noun
tain a unique paper is brought out by
journalist and his wife during the
summer months. 1t is called the
Pixies Peak Daily, and is nothing
more or less than a record Of the num-
Der of visitors who ascend the noun
tain by the railway, together with
their names and addresses. The edi-
torial office is in the open air. 1t is
undoubtedly the highest newspaper
office in the world, being over 1900
feet above the sea.
There is a unique rope railway in
Hong-Kong which virtually carries
passengers through the air. The
ropes are carried up a mountain by
tall trestles set a great distance apart.
The carriages, which are suspended
from the wire ropes carry six men. At
one place this unique railway passes
over a reservoir. The object Of the
line is to transfer European workner
at the end of their days work to a SAN
atorium, at a high level above the sea.
to escape fever. The speed obtained
is eight miles an hour. The line hus
been in use for several years, and has
given complete satisfaction There
is another marvellous aerial rope rail
way in Spain used for transporting
building material and workmen up O.
mountain. The incline is exceeding
ly steep, being one in one and a half
and the longest span is 1,1OO feet IL
is a novel sight to watch the cars on
these rope railways running up the
sides Of the mountain, suspended
from an unseen wire or rope.
The recent construction Of a rail
way from Mollendo, port on the Pa
cifc side Of South America. to Puno,
on Lake Titicaca, is regarded as a
most wonderful engineering feat.
Lake Titicaca is the highest known
navigable lake in the world, being
about 1900 feet above the level Of
the sea, among the stupendous Andes
in Peru. From a geological point
of view it is the most marvellous lake
yet discovered.
The line, known as the Southrn
railway of Peru, is carried in a most
wonderful manner among precipices,
chasms, valleys, etc. The yiaducts
are magnificent constructions, and
the heavy cuttings are considered to
be great achievements of engineering
skill, AT one place the track, which
is a single one, winds across a dreary
sandy plain From the railway pas
sengers can see the great burning
mountain, Misti, 1860 feet high. |
1t is here that the highest point
reached by the modern locomotive is
attained, viz, at Galeria, 1865 feet
above the level Of the sea. A steamer
built by a firm of shipbuilders in
Scotland, Of over 500 tonnage, was
recently transported in parts over