The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-06-05
BORING THROUGH
HEART /. / o. THE 4: !. Alps |:
Tunnel to Pass from Italy Into
Switzerland.
/ ST so i. E ]. /: 4 G CT GANTic
Six Million Pounds is Estimate Rock
Through Which the Boring is
Made is Not Very
Hard.
o ST rs. SOMETHING G eANTIc
(From the London Expressly

= go
(From the London Expressly
A huge boring twelve miles through
the heart Of the great Alps is the Sim
plon Railway tunnel, which is to pass
between Switzerland and Italy. 1t is the
biggest engineering feat of its kind eve.
attempted. A quarter Of century ago
engineers would have withdrawn aghast
from such an undertaking., but now
prosaic Swiss and Italian workmen are
boring the great hole one mile down
beneath the Alps under definite and we'll
regulated conditions.
Work was commenced simultaneously
at both ends in August, 1898, and it has
been calculat ted that the tunnel will be
completed about the middle of 1905 When
finished this great tunnel will be several
miles longer than the Gothard, and will
be nearly double the length of the Gents
and Alberg.
Unlike these three other Alpine engi-
neering achievements. the Simplon tun-
mel is being made at a very low level;
In fact, it is only a little over 1000 feet
above the sea level whereas the others
range from 5000 to 5000 feet. This low
elevation, besides doing away with the
fear of avaIanches and snow blocks, also
avoids the gradients which are neccs-
sarily met with on the higher lines.
HIGH TEMPERATURE.
One of the great difficulties met with
in the prosecution OF tunelli1g operations
is the height of the temperature In the
borings. Had the work been at higher
altitude the temperature woulu rot have
been such difficulty, but low down as
the Smplon working is, the full effects
of the heat are felt.
When it is remembered that there are
$500 workmen toilns away beneath the
Alps In a temperature approaching ldt
degrees Fair, and that the l:r is viti'ted
by their civilizations and the smoke and
sulphur of explosives. it will be realized
under what difficulties the work Is car
ried on. Even 104 degrees is a favorable
estimate. and to enable the work to be
carried on for any considerable time the
air in the Simp1on tunnel has to be kept
as pure as POSSIBLE by means of ven
tilating pumps of 50o-horse power. fur
nishing $500 cubic feet of air per sec.
ond.
Like the tube railways in London and
Paris, the tunnel is being constructed
on the two single tracks system. The
two tunnels will be about 60 feet apart.
Traffic will not necessitate the use of
both these for some time. so. although
they are both being bored at once. only
the larger will be completed and lined.
Afterward when the traffic increases.
the secondary tunnel, which in the nlean-
time will be used merely as an auxiliary
line, will be finished. and likewise put
into order for regular traffic.
MIDWAY STATION.
Owing to the decision of the railway
company to use only one track for some
time to come. it has been necessary to
arrange matters so that two trains may
meet and pass In the tunnel. The two
tunnels are united at distance of every
200 yards by transverse gallery, and
it has been decided that the center one
of these galleries shall be made into a
station. where the waiting passengers
may console themselves with thoughts
of what would happen to them If the
mile of mountain above them were 10
collapse. Fancy eating refreshments IN
q room the ceil1ng of which was over a
mile thick!
Progress in the boring operations
might seem to the uninitiated painfully
slow. Huge hydraulic drills, working
AT pressures of from seventy to 10 or
binary atmospheres, whirr away at the
rock in the bowels of the earth Aor
hour upon hour every day. and 1t is
conslucred a good days work If the tun-
mel has progressed five or six yards. Be-
sides 10 drills. powerful jets of water
are employed to wash away the deoris
after each blast. This use of water IS
great factor in the saving OF time. lor
it does away w.t. the necessity or NOV
ing the drills in oruer to clear lie way.
Another very important effect mas
too-it lowers the temperature ana IN
creases the humidity.
The cost OF constructing this vast tun-
mel will run we'll into So. oo0, GOO. rms IS
at a considerably cheaper rate than tne
construction of the Mount Ss1ais o .t i,'si
half as much again. Work in the iunn eef
can only be carried on for perioo Oh
eight hours out of every tWeney.i,oul ,i as
nended in order to allow of the purlf1ca.-
ton of the air. During the making OF
the Gothard tunnel, where the fempera-
ture was only lightweight, degrees. the
men could work only five hours day.
and had every third day Oft This speaks
very highly for the Improvement IN up
to,date ventilation s'stems TO
the interior of the tunnel BY. trains of
cars drawn by locomotives Whlcn enter
the smaller tunnel traverse the con- n,,
hy the larger tunnel. With this excep-
lion all the work Is done by water de-
rived from the Rhone on the swiss side
and the pysra on the ana Italian ths The f95
horse mower. and in the future these
rivers VIII furnish the power which, con-
verted into electrical energy. will operate
The Yock through which the drills have
to force their way is not of a very hard
kind. being principally that known as
gneiss and soft schists- Owing to the
Man of working at both ends of the tun-
mel at once. the making of the Sirnplon
tunnel may be said to be now more than
half completed. the italian end having
reac hed length Of nearly 5000 metres
and the Swiss 5000 metres. The total
length of the tunnel will be 1881 metres
or a distance. as we said before. OF over
twelve miles.
About Public Men.