Los Angeles herald., 1910-06-12
TUNNEL THROUGH ANDES }
CONNECTS TWO COASTS

A RGENTINA and Chile have just
u celebrated the completion of the
"A Andean tunnel, through which the
commissioners of the two countries
were carried for the first time on April
>. Thus Buenos Ayres and Valparaiso
are brought nearer together by rail
than they have ever been before.
In actual miles as the crow flies the
cities are about us miles apart, some
thing near the air line distance be-
tween New York and Chicago. Be
tween the two South American seaports
rises the huge wall of the Andes, with
peaks from $4,000 to $4,000 above sea
level.
For several years traffic between the
two cities has been carried on by way
of Cuembra or Uspallata pass, where
not long ago the republics erected a
huge statute of Christ to celebrate the
peaceful solution of their long boundary
dispute. This pass is nearly $4,000 feet
above sea level.
A railway from Buenos Ayres, touch
ing Mercedes, St. Louis and La Paz,
towns in the interior of Argentina, runs
to Mendoza at the eastern foot of the
Andes and climbs thence up river val
lev with one huge loop and many
curves a full hundred miles to the sum-
init of the pass. Thence the Chilean
end of the line descends by the San
Rosa River valley to Valparaiso.
Few railroads in the world have such
a climb and such a descent, says the
New York Sun. The line as a whole
between the two cities is about 1000
miles long. 1t is really the only line
from coast to coast in all South Amer
lea. though the famous Meigs lines in
Peru long ago scaled the Andes.
American methods and American ma
chinery were used in cutting the An
dean tunnel and the engineering prob
lens presented were of unusual interest.
In length the tunnel is not remarkable.
The great Alpine tunnels are much
longer. While the Andean tunnel is
about three miles in length the st.
Gothard is over nine, the Mont Gents
nearly eight and the Simplon about
twelve. The Arlburg, in Austria. is
nearly six and a half miles long, and
the Gravenholz of Norway is about
three and a third miles. The Hoosac
tunnel is four and threequarter miles
and the Tequixquiat drainage tunnel of
Mexico is six miles long.
None of these tunnels, however, is dug
at such an elevation as the Andean
tunnel, which is nearly 10000 feet above
sea level. The only railway tunnels at
such a height are some on the wonder
full line leading from the coast of Peru
across the crest of the Andes into
Brazil and Bolivia. The Oroya railway
from Lima crosses the Andes by pass
at an elevation of more than 1880 feet,
and the railway from Mollendo to Lake
Titicaca crosses the mountains at an
elevation of more than 14,700 feet, and
reaches the lake at an elevation of over
70 500 feet Both have many elevated
tunnels, though probably not one OF
them is of so great Importance as the
new Andean tunnel.
With the completion of the tunnel
that last terrific lift of more than 1000
feet will be saved to freight and pas
sengers between Argentina and Chile.
1t is expected that the effect will be to
stimulate the building of railway lines
in the western Argentine provinces of
Mendoza. San Juan, Rioja and Gaia
marca. which have an area of more
than 100000 square miles and about 50O,-
900 inhabitants.
These provinces are already con-
nected with the port of Buenos Ayres
by enormously long railway lines, for