The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1905-04-13
.SiMPL ON TUNNEL WORK
Scene When the Great Under
taking Was Finished.
LABORERS YELLED LIKE DEMONS.

Twelve Miles Apart, bored Toward
Common Center, the Tunnels
Side walls United Exactly - Over
Two BiEiion Gallons of Water
Flowed O1t.
\ Condo (SWit2crland) correspondent
OF the Chicago News thus describes the
scene When the great Simplon tunnel
was cut through to Italy:
Outside. tie tunnel mouth at Iselle,
ncar tie telephone in the workshop, an
excited croWa had gathered. The Ia
boz OF SIX ana one-half years was
reachin. al end. The Simplon tunnel
was about to be pierced through. There
was Il label Of questions, mixture OF
German, French, Italian and English.
How RAINY feet more?" whats The
news now?" will there be an acct
deht?"
| livery one knew the danger to be ex-
| pected from the suddenly released
| mass of water in the north section
when the narrow wall dividing it from
the south tunnel should be broken open.
| Dams had been erected to break it's
/ force, and a wooden canal had been
built in the parallel tunnel to receive
! it.
The strain of nights vigil was be-
| ginning to show it's effects. With tense
| faces engineers, officials and correspond
ents waited. 1t was now 7:30 o'clock.
A train was ready to take leading en-
gineers and press men into the tunnel.
AT some one had telephoned that
material train had been derailed and
ten cars were lying IN a heap. Men
| walked restlessly to and fro, impa-
! tient at the delay.
/ Suddenly the telephone bell rang
furiously. Some one jumped for the
/ receiver. A voice, scarcely audible on
J account of the tumult, was shouting in
! triumph from far in the interior a
mile or more under the summit Of the
! mountain.
"Traforo! Traforo!'' ('"ThroughnD
/ Like flash the news spread. Work
men waved their hats and yelled like
| demons. A flag was hoisted over one
Of the buildings. The locomotive
shrieked discordantly. The big steam
siren at the boiler house booted The
noise was deafeDing
| There was rush for the telegraph
office, and then the telephone was be-
sieged with questioners asking for de-
tails. Sulzer. one of the leaders of the
undertaking, and Beissner, chief en-
g1neer, were fallen upon by mob and
congratulated until their arms ached.
Beissner 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 a hur-
ried scramble for places, a few last
words Of instructions to the innkeeper
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
obliquely upward. A 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 were work
men and engineers.
The signal was given. A sharp re-
port, detonation, d gasp for breath,
and then suddenly there sprang from
what had been the solid wall of rock a
food 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 the tunnel had
united exactly. The giant work Is fin
ished. --"-'.' -,---'--- %
Over 100000 cubic yards Of mate
rial has been removed, a great part OF
it carted several miles from the in |
terror. There were 255,000 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 26000,0O0
bore points to drill them, representing
an enormous amount Of tempered steel. !
Over 1000 tons of dynamite were ex-
ploded by 1900 miles OF fuse and 4,0O0,-
600 percussion caps.
Much has been written concerning
the difficulties caused by water. 1t IS /
estimated that from the time the first
spring was piped from the south sec
ton in September, 1901, over 1900, 000,-,
600 gallons of water has flowed out Of
the tunnel-at the rate Of 2,OOO, 900 gal
Ions daily for 1,242 days.
When the train bearing Sulzer,
Beissner and the rest arrived the heat
was unbearable. Professor Rosenmund
and his assistants stood 1t for ten
while making measurements.
For some unknown reason the air cool
ing machine ceased working at this
critical moment. 1t was sitting. OBJ
tects appeared to waver. Beissner
warned Sulzer and those who accom-
panied him to turn back. There was