Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1905-03-31
SYMPTOM TUNNEL WORK
Scene When the Great Under
taking Was Finished.
LABOREIs YELLED LIKE DEM0Es.
starting From Opposite points
Twelve Miles Apart. Bored Toward
Common Center. the Tunnels
side walls United Exactly over
Two billion Gallon. OF Water
Flowed Uut.

\ Condo switzerland correspondent /
OF tile Chicago News thus describes the /
scene when the great simplou tunnel .
was cut through TO Italy;
outside the tunnel mouth at lseIle, /
near the Telephone in the workshops. an 4
excited crowd had gathered tie Ia ]
Dor OF six and one-haif Years was I
reaching an end. The Simplpu tunnel .
was about To ice pierced through. There I
was II babel Of questions. mixture of I
German. French, Italian and English.
How many feet more: WHAT'S ;he I
news nuwi' "WilI there be an acct .
. dent?''
Every one knew the danger to hs eX-
pected from the suddenly released
mass of water in the north section
when the narrow wall dividing il from
the south ,uunel should he broken open.
Dams had been erected TO break its
force. ami wooden canal had been
built In the parallel tunnel 10 receive
it.
The strain of nights vigil was be
ginning to show its effects. With tense
faces engineers, officials anu correspond
ents waited. 1t was now 81 O'Clock.
! 4 train was ready to take leading en-
I gineers and press men into the tunnel.
/ At Il some one had tclcpuDued that a
material train had been derailed ana
ten cars were lying III heap Men
walked rcstlessly 10 and fro, impa-
! tlent nj the delay.
Suddenly the telephone bell rang
furIously. Some one jumped for the
receiver. \ voice, scarcely audible Oh
account of the tunult, was shouting Ia
triumph from far in the interior.
mile or more under the summit of the
mountain.
"rraforo. Traforo!' C'ThroughrD
: Like Il flash the news spread, Work
men waved their hats and yelled like
demons 4 flag was hosted over one
of the buildings The locomotive
Shrieked discordantly. The big steam
siren al the boiler house hootcd The
noise was deafening
There was rush for the telegraph
office. and then the telephone was be-
sicged with questioners asking for de-
tails. SulZer. one of the leaders of the
undertaking. and BeSsne., chief en-
.gincer, We're fallen upon by IA mob and
congratulated until their arms achcd.
BcisSner seemed disappointed, for the
last blast had been fired before he and
the others could reach the scene of ac-
ton. In the meantime the locomotive
had been decorated there was Il hur-
ried scramble for places. a few last
words of instructions TO the inukeeper
and the train pulled into the Simplon.
Inside the tunnel Engineer karpf had
taken charge of the last shift at > in
the morning. The boring was directed
obliquey upward, n miner named
Bedassa, the same man who had drill
ed the very first hole over six years
ago placed the last dynamite cartridge
Five hundred yards back We're work
men and engineers.
The signal was given \ sharp re
port, defamation, a gasp for breath,
: aud then suddenly there sprang from
what had been the solid wall of rock Il
flood Of hot, muddy. turbulent water
, that rushed down through the gaping
hole and, vaulting madly over the first
dam turned aside at the second and
/ third and raced away through the
wooden canal toward the mouth of the
tunnel, seven miles away.
Starting from opposite points twelve
, miles apart. one In Switzerland and
one IN Italy, bored toward COMMON
center, the side walls of tile tunnel had
: united exactly. The giant work is fin
ished.
/, over 100000 cubic yards of mate
4 rial has been removed, great part of
it carted several miles from the i'll
/ terror There We're 100000 blasting
holes bored by machinery with total
. length of 100000 feet, but the num-
. Der Of holes bored by hand was much
: larger, 100000. 1t required 26,o0o,00o
9 bore points to drill them, representing
: an enormous amount of tempered steel,
;, Over 1000 tons of dynamite were eN-
| ploded by 5000 miles OF fuse and 1000
4 COO percussion caps.
| Much has been written concerning
| the difficulties caused by water. 1t is
estimated that from the time the first
q spring was piped from the south sec
f ton in September. 1901, over 100000,
+ 600 gallons of water has flowed out OF
+ the tunnel-at the rate of 100000 gal
!, Ions daily for 1.242 days.
When the train bearing SulEer
O BeiSsner and the rest arrived the heat
q was unbearable. Professor RoSenmund
1 and his assistants stood it for ten
) minutes while making measurements
h For some unknown reason the air cool.
|. Ing machine ceased working at this
critical moment, It.was sitting. Oh.
4 jects appeared to waver, RessneI
h warned Sulzer and those who accom-,
panied him to turn back. There was
not moment to lose. Suddenly
Grassi. representative of the Simplon
4 company in Domodossola. sank to the
ground. 4 few who could do so car.
ried him to the first train. already
T filled with workmen. When the outer
- air was reached he was hurried to the
a hospital. but diei from heart failure
q shortly after. Engineer Blanche was
also overcome, and during transporta
:. ton artificial respiration had to be re
q sorted to in order to keep him alive
= The others recovered as soon as they
were taken from the heated atm ~