The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1905-03-01
SIMPLON TUNNEL BORED
One Of the Worlds MarveIs hi
Engineering.
TWELVE MILES Under THE ALpS'
Siupendous Obstacles Encountered and Over
eome-The Work at 0ue Time stopped
BY Hot Springs. Which Caused Such In
tense iiea, That the Men Could No, Work :
Tunnel TO BE Opened March 70.

Condo. Switzerland BY CABLE -
Piercing OF the Simpon Tunnel through
the Alps was completely al 40 o'clock
Friday morning The work was COM
menced in 1903
The meeting OF the Two boring par
tics (Swiss and fialian) was signaled
throughoui Switzerland BY ringing uf
church bells and saIu,cs b. cannon.
Many unexpected oh,,acles were en-
countcrcd. the most scrioas being hot
springs. which threatened to wreck the
whole enterprise. and temperature at
one TIME rose 10 i5I degree Fahr., max
ing continuance OF thc work impossi-
bic Until The engineers found means OF
cooling c atmosphere.
Now that the borcrs have me-, water
accumulated 80 the north gallery can BE-
drawn off
The work Of preparing the tunnel for
a permanent way will be pushed as rap
idly as possible, and it is hoped TO DC
gin IFS use abou, March 20.
The great Simplon Tunnel derives its
name from the celebrated Simplon Pas
built by Napoleon in 1901 1906. Thi.
pass, which is forty miles long -
composed Of magnificent grades, small
tunnels and bridges, and IS today used
rs stage road for passing over the
mountains The pass is from twenty
five 10 thirty feet broad and AZ miles
long. IT is carried across OH bridges,
over galleries cut OF solid rock and
through great tunnels.
( The scheme for the Simplon Tunnel was
4 put forward in 1891 by the Jura- Simplon
Railway and was the culmination OF
years Of planning to have railway
near the Simplon road pass. The plan
consisted broadly Of piercing the Alps
between Briga, which is situated in the
| Rhone Valley, and Ircle, Oh the lta.-
ian side, from which village the rail-
way dcsccnds 10 the southern terminus
al Domo d'Associa, q distance Of abous
( II miles.
From Briga the line, running gently
UP the valley, enters rhc tunnel on q
curve TO the right OF 1850 feet radius.
At distance OF Is3 yards from the en-
trance the straight section OF the tunnel
commences and extends IaA miles. Tho
line then curves to the left with radi-
us OF 1911 feet before emerging. Conf
mencing az The northern entrance, \
gradient of 7 TO 500 miles for length
OF 81 mics 10 level length OF $50
yards in the center and then gradient
OF III I43 dcscends 10 the Italian side
1t will be double tunnel; that is.
there will eventually be two parallel
tubes, each carrying one line Of Tailwa,.
Their centers will be so feet apart. Tho
tunnel, whose boring has just been conf,
plctcd, is known as No. I, No. 2 being
LETT, masonry lined where necessary, for
future developments.
In cross section tunnel No. is IJ
feet : inches wide at the bottom and
10 feet Z inches at the widest part, with
a total height OF I8 feet above the road
level. The material penetrated is rock.
Rotary drills, operated by hydraulic
pressure, were used there being an
elaborate water power plant at each end
of the tunnel
The cost Of the tunnel is about SIS
100000.
The successful outcome Of this engi-
neerng feat may have an importan,
bearing upon the project OF Chief Engi-
ncer Wallace, Of the Panama Canal, 10
make that waterway a sca-level canal
by driving tunnel four miles long
under a mountain 70 divert the surplus
waters of the Chagrcs rivers. Follow.
ing are some of the great tunnels Of ths
world:
Miles