The La Jara chronicle. (La Jara, Conejos County, Colo.) 1896-19??, 1905-05-05
GIANT TASK in RAILROAD BUILDING
Two Carloads of Powder in a Single Blast-S25O-
900 Paid for One Mile of Track-2.629 Men
Employed a Piece of Track Being
Built for the Wabash System.

| over fifty feet deep through solid rock
and some almost mile in length. and
that great portion of the road is
being cut out of the rocky sides of
mountain ranges. directly above the
canal. One of the most unusual diff
ficulties in railroad construction. and
yet the most troublesome on this line
has been disposition of the earth
and rock removed in making the road
bed, difficulty arising from the fact
that the Wabash follows closely the
canal route. While waiting for legal
| right to bridge the old waterway 1t
was necessary to push the construc-
| ton work and to do this the contrac-
tors employed some striking methods.
At Welton tunnel. mile south of
Cumberland. a large wheel was placed
on top of the mountain above the
| tunnel entrance. cables were run
from this across the river and canal to
the low land. where filling was neces-
sary, and the rock from the tunnel
was carried over in large iron buck
ct suspended from the cables The
laborers' camp was located on top OF
the mountain and the men construct
ed a 150-foot ladder leading up the
| PERCEPTIONS face of rocks from the
mouth of the tunnel, and this ladder
they assembled and descended many
| times a day.
| In the construction of the Indigo
tunnel, method never before employ
! ed in the East, and rarely elsewhere
is being employed. This is the great
est tunnel on the line, being A 400
feet in length. 1t passes through a
Siding Hill mountain range and
makes the Wabash straighter line
| and almost mile in three shorter
| than the Baltimore & Ohio 1t is being
made by drilling the heading (the full
width of the tunnel, twenty-four feet,
and nine feet high) through from the
bottom or at grade level, and the
rock will be blown down until the
required height is reached. Old con-
tractors. accustomed to driving the
beading through from the top, shake
their heads and pronounce this meth
cd costly experiment" but Nc
Arthur Bros. say the strata, Indigo
shale. is just right at this tunnel for
this method and are confident 1t will
be a success. The heading is being
| driven from both ends at the same
time and the men are within 100 feet
OF each other, nine feet day being
! the progress made from each end.
| The men working from the eastern
end have penetrated only eleven
inches further than those coming
from the western side.
The "stick Pile" Tunnel.
In order to cut roadbed through
the masses of rock that rise straight
up from the bed of the canal 1t was
necessary to wait until navigation
closed for the year. In the meantime
the holes for the blasts were all pre-
pared and when the water was with
drawn, about month later than ever
before, thousands of pounds of pow
der and dynamite were exploded in
these holes and the canal bed was
filled with earth and rock for many
miles which must be removed within
the next two months.
The only place where the Wabash
leaves the canal and river for any
considerable distance is at Bayard.
thirty-five miles east of Cumberland.
After crossing the Baltimore & Ohio
railroad, the river and canal, at a dir
zy height on a 1,370-foot bridge, five
| 150-foot channel spans with viaduct
approach, 1t strikes boldly into the
mountains. After running through
tremendous cuts, over deep ravines
and through the Stick Pile tunnel
1000 feet in length, it energies from
it's five-mile run through the heart of
the mountain at Orleans, w. Va. This
is considered one of the heaviest
pieces of work on the line. but here
as at many other places, a compare
lively straight line is secured with
moderate grades and with saving
of almost mile over the Baltimore
& Ohio route.
Tho first work was done on this
connecting link on July 81, 1908, and
in eighteen months. The delay and
extra work occasioned, by trouble
with the canal rendered its compile
ton within contract time an impossi-
bility. Now, October l, is the date
set for the opening of the road, but 1t
is claimed January l, 1906. would be
n nearer date.
From Cherry Run to Hancock, ten
miles. the road is completed and trains
are running on it. For ten miles east
of Cumberland the roadbed is ready
for the rails and the three bridges
are in course of erection. At numer-
Gus other places there are four and
five mile stretches completed. but
there remains great amount of
difficult work to be done. 1t is only
the fact that work is being rushed
day and night. regardless of weather
conditions and without regard to ex-
pense. that makes safe the prediction
that not later than January 1, 1906.
the Wabash will have this line open
for traffic.