The Washington times., 1901-10-06
THE LARGEST TUNNEL.
Boring Through Twelve Miles of
Rock in the Alps

Brig, an Alpine village mas long peen
the terminus of the Jura-Simplon railway
system. Only twenty kilometres away.
twelve miles and a half, lies Italy. But
these are twenty kilometres of tower
ing. tumbling mass of mountain rock. For
many years men have been figuring how
to do away with this twelve and a half
miles of mountain. Some wanted to go
right on up the Simplon Pass with the
rails Others would have gone half way
up and then dug. Thefe We're several
scores of plans. but finally the most
costly and most daring, and yet the
simplest, was chosen-namely, to go right
through So this last and permanent plan
is an evolution from fifty years of sur
veying, drafting. calculating, correcting.
The men who did it are lost in the power
full corporation for which they worked
the Jura- -Smplon. In 1891 the plan was
submitted to the Swiss Government, and
the Swiss Government talked it over with
the Italian Government Both accepted
the proposition, granted concessions, and
in 1896 ratified the treaty for having the
tunnel between them. Next came the
question of money. The cost of single
track tunnel with a parallel ventilating
tunnel would be 100000 francs (about
S14, 900 O00. Sixty millions of this was
loaned by a syndicate of Canton banks on
3ls per cent bonds guaranteed by the
Swiss Confederation. The Confederation
also gave a subsidy of 4,5Oo.000 francs, and
Italy granted an annual subsidy of 6s,0o0
Iires (S12,5i0). Swiss parties subscribed
10, 800 600 francs more, and Italian parties
100000 lires.
At once the Jura-simplon let out the
contract for building The tunnel to
Brandt Brandau ct Gle. who are known
as the Enterprise du Tunnel du Simplon.
Only a war involving Switzerland or
Italy, or an epidemic. or strike not the
fault of the enterprise can affect the time
limit of the bargain. All other Unforeseen
difficulties and catastrophes whatsoever
do not count The gigantic hole must be
delivered five and half years after COM
mencing. The penalty for delay will be
81, 600 a day. with a bonus of as much for
each day ahead of time. The tunnel is to
be 1870 metres long twelve and one
quarter miles,. and there must be small
er tunnel for ventilation parallel to the
first at a distance of seventeen metres (or
eighteen and a half YARDS. Under a fu-
ture contract the enterprise will make the
second tunnel the same size as the first
for return track. Work began in No
l3, 1904.
1t is quite apparent that TO dig a tunnel
from two sides and make both ends meet
is a delicate problem. Should they hap
pen not to meet it would be an expensive
wandering In the mountain to find them
and get them together. But fortunately
there Is guide as true and unbendabe
as mathematics. This is an imaginary
straight line between the two points One
point is a little observatory shed on the
bank of the Rhone. with a spy-glass
pointing horizontally toward Italy. The
other 9oint is a similar little observatory
on the bank of the Doveria in Italy. with
a glass toward Switzerland. Between the
two points rises the Simplon mountain
mass But the straight line goes through
just the same. for it is only an maginary
straight line. 1t is, however. steadily
turning into reality-that is. the tunnel.
And If Il were not for the grade of the
tunnel, then some day the observatory in
Switzerland could look through the noun
tain at the observatory in Italy. 1t will
be objected. however that we went
around a curve q the tunnel. In fact,
there are two curves. but they do not af-
feet the straight-line proposition.
There is a small tunnel which joins the
main tunnel some hundred metres or 100
yards inside. 1t Is called the locating tun-
mel, and faithfully follows the imaginary,
straight line. The main tunnel finishes it's
curve at this hundred metre point and
thence continues along the straight line to
the corresponding curve at the other end,
where again the straight line is complet-
ed by a second locating tunnel.-Every
C Tlc