The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-11
CAPITALIST WILL BUILD NOVEL ROAD Canyon of Colorado River to Be
 Entered By Rail GREAT ENGINEERING FEAT A Descent Will Be Made to Depth of One Mile and It Will consti-
 tute the Supreme Wonder
 of the World.
GREAT ENGINEERING FEAT
From the St. Louis Globe Democrat.

busy with the preliminaries of what Is unquestionably the most novel and daS- ing railroad construction project ever un- dertalxen. This is nothing less than an inclined railroad from the rim to the bot tom of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado river-the supreme natural wonder of the world When 1t is taken into con sideration that the monster chasm in Arizona is thirteen miles wide and mile deep at the point where the road is to descend, and that the rock walls are very precipitous in many places, 1t willfoe better appreciated what daredevil feat Is proposed
 The descent by rail to the bottom or the deepest and most picturesque cleft in the surface of the earth will round out a cam paign of railroad construction designed to make easy of access to the American people their greatest natural curiosity. Only a few years ago the Grand canyon could be visited only by those sight seers who had the time and money to make a seventy-mile trip by stage from the nearest railroad station. Latterly the Santa Fe railroad has built branch line that carries tourists to the very brlnK or the tremendous abyss, and now the new incline road will provide an easy anu comfortable means of descent to the banks of the river, mile beioW-a Joui ney which now involves an all-day trip
 
 tuols trail where one misstep by horse would send his rider hurling Into space.
 The almost perpendicular railroad that will penetrate the depths of the famous freak of nature in the southwest Will pc in technical characteristics, very near the counterpart of the ingenious cog railroad which now enables the twentieth century globe trotter to climb Pike Peak by steam power. The Grand canyon railroad will use the rail rack seen on the Pikes Peak road, and whlch lorihs A continuous double ladder Into when the toothed wheels of the locomotive work The maximum grade of 70 per cent on the famous railroad Tn the Rockles will be exceeded on the line of this mover new carrier in Arizona. The Plke Feah road in a length of less than nine hiles, overcomes an elevation of 7ol8 rect aho ranks to this day as one of the most won derfui achievements In railroad pullulhs in this or any other country
 TO prevent the moving or sliding of the track of one of these cog railways owing to it's enormous weight and the erect or varying temperature upon the iron anu steel scores of anchors are Hmpeuueu II. the solid rock or masonry at distances ol from, POO to 400 feet apart, according to the grade The common ' ralls' Welgh inc forty pounds per yard, are used' ana thev are laid to standard gauge. The or ece of these rails Is to carry the Weight and guide the train, all the pushlhs lorce heinz exerted upon the racS ralls 1hese latter are made from the best besseiilei steel the teeth having bean cut rom tnV solid niece by means of special machines. ,rho rack rails are 80 inches in length and vary in weight from twenty to thirty wounds pc1 foot the heaviest ones pelhS used on the steepest grades lhe raSN ladder (set in the middle Of the track' is formed by two rack rails set about two inches apart. The rails, are laid so as 10 break joints and the locomotives nave practically an even bearing at al! tiIhes,
 The locomotives are each provided with two double steel cog wheels, through which the power is applied. EXtenulhs from the sides of these wheels are loui corrugated surfaces, upon which the pow erful steam and hand brakes uo thei' work. Either of these brakes is sufficient lv nowerful to stop the locomotive ana the train. The steam cylinders Of the lo- comotives are also fitted with water brakes and are utilized on the downwaru tourney to regulate the speed or the tram The locomotive pushes the car Tn ascend inc and rrecedes 1t when descending, thus giving perfect control over the car, wnlch' because of not being coupled to the loco- motive, can be let down independently.
 Whereas the Pikes Peak railway and the new marvel projected for the Grand Canyon arc perhaps the most spectacular of all the feats of modern railroad ehgl- neering. they are by no means the only masterpieces of steel-tracked highway Construction to be found In the empire between the Mississippi and the Paclhc coast. Indeed, the entire region abounds in miracles of railroad building. Great mountains have been tunneled ana chasnis hrIdoed after a fashion deemed foolhardy. not to say impossible. before they were accomplished Such achievements as the bu,,dinp of the Cascade Mountains tun- nel, two miles In length, In @ months, have resulted in the selection Of 1ankee railroad engineers and contractors TOT the moat difficult tasks in all parts of the world.