Arizona republican., 1912-02-09
NEW SWISS TUNNEL

The competition or the great Con
 tirental railway lines for information al trade is increasingly keen. and en- eineerS are constantly studying the ! best mears Of shortening the jou< reyS between Southern and Central Europe and the north or the con tinert while financiers seem always ready to sink capital in a tunnel that has a reasonable prospect of sccur-
 ing the international traffic at pres ent running oyer other lines For example. the Lotschberg tunnel. nine and a quarter miles long. winch is to cost $9.7S2. .ooO. was not constructed for the convenience of few thou sand peasants in the Bernese Over land valleys. but to attract the traf-
 flee between Northern Europe anG Italy. which at present passes over the st. Gothard and the Simplon routes
 In l907 an international commission was appointed to study the best means of improving the connection between France and Italy and Cen tral Europe. and it was on -he basis of the conclusions of this commission that the French government carried on it's negotiations with the Swiss republic More than year later d conference met at Bernc. attended by the delegates of the two coun- tries. In 1909 another conference met. which drew up a convention con- corning the approaching lines to the Sinplon. This convention stipulated. first. for the building of the Frasne- Nallorbe line and the Mont dor tun- mel: secondly. for the construction of the MOutier-GrangeS line and tun- reI
 The new Frasne- -NallOrbc line will have fine tunnels. four being com paratively short. and only one. the Mont dor. which passes under the Jura. Of any considerable length three and three quarters miles The new line. which wlll have total length of fifteen and a half miles. will be the shortest possible route between Frasne and Vallorbe. the distance between which will be shortened by slightly more than ten and half miles
 The new lire and tunnels will cost about $7.200.000. Work was begun on September @ 1910. and it is hoped that the line will be ready for traffic in the spring of 1914 So far there do not appear to have been any particular difficulties encount- cred. For the first three months all the boring was done by hand. but since then compressed air machinery of the Meyer type has been used. as is the case on the north side of the Lotschbery. There are three air compressors at work. two of 800 horse power and one of loo horse power Near the French entrance of the tunnel q compressed air station has been erected; it is worked by electricity. the current being brought in from JouX by high tension aerial line. Ventilation in the Mont dor tunnel is by means of compressed air. as in the Lotschberg Italian workmen are employed. as is the case in all Alpine tunnels.
 Though the F'rasne-Nallorbe line will shorten the distance between Paris and Milan by ten and a half miles. it will not affect the distance between Calais and Milan. The new railway will he worked by electric traction. and double line will be laid in the tunnel By the time the Mont dor tunnel is ready it is eX- pected that Simplon will have to be fitted with a double line. thus bring ing it up to the standard of the other great Alpine lines.-London Times.