Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1917-08-23
FAMOUS TUNNELS
The SimpIon Is the Greatest and
CoStIieSt of Them All.
LONGEST HOLE EVER BORED.

This Road Through the Alps Is More
Than Twelve Miles In Length and Its
Cost Exceeded Fifteen Miilions-our
Own Hoosac Tunnel.
The costliest as well as the biggest
railroad tunnel in the world is the long
hole burrowed below the Alps betTeen
Brigue, Switzerland, and Iselle, Italy.
This tremendous tunnel, the Simplon,
Is II miles 537 yards in length and cost
more than $15,OOO,OOO Several mil
lions more will be spent in completing
the second chamber Work was begun
on it in 1898, and traffic began to move
| through in 1906
The SimplOn Is about three miles
longer than the st. Gothard and the
Loetschberg tunnels and more than
four miles longer than the Mont Gents,
the three next longest Of the worlds
railway tunnels.
The Mont Cents was the first OF these
big bores. 1t was completed in 1871
and at once diverted passenger and
freight transportation away from Swift
zerland, as it furnished direct route
to Italy from southeastern France.
The Swiss determined to win back
their lost traffic, and in 1871 work was
started ON the st. Gothard, which was
not finished until eleven years later
The st. Gothard is about nine and one
third miles in length and cost $11 $780,
900.
In it's toll of lives it was the costliest
of ALL Faulty ventilation, the terrific
heat and the lack of care in keeping
down the dust caused the deaths of 800
laborers. This tunnel is wholly in
Swiss territory, and eight years ago 1t
was bought from the owners by the
government
The Si1nplOn, located about halfway
between the Mont Gents and the St
Gothard, is double tunnel, although
only one chamber has been wholly eX-
cavated. The other will be enlarged
and put into service when the first be-
comes OvertaXed. Better arrangements
for ventilation kept the death roll
down to sixty, twenty-five cubic feet
Of fresh air being supplied to the labor
ers for every one blown into the st.
Gothard.
The difficulties conquered were ire
mendous. The Simplon is not only the
longest, but the lowest Of the Alpine
tunnels, and the rock temperature
sometimes reached 1873 degrees.
When the WOrkmen from the Swiss
side reached the center of the great
bore they were halted by an enormous
spring of hot water. Then the Italians
were stopped, and for some time 1t
looked as though the whole work might
have to be abandoned. But the engi-
neers refused to be daunted, although
six months were required to dig out
the last 300 yards of the tunnel
SO slight were the errors made in
the digging that the headings from Ell
Their side met with deviatiOnS of but
eight inches internally and three and
one-half inches vertically. The total
length of the tunnel was thirty-six
inches less than had been calculated.
Trains are pulled through the tunnel
in eighteen minutes, at the rate of
forty-two miles an hour, by powerful
electric locomotives
The Loetschberg is the latest Of the
big Swiss tunnels. This is about the
same length as the st. GOthard and
is also wholly in Swiss territory, being
located to the north of the SimplOn.
1t is a part of the Bernese Alps rail
way. which has thirty-four tunnels in
it's forty eight miles between Thun and
Brigue.
The SimplOn will apparently remain
the biGgeCt of railway tunnels until a
submarine one is driven under the Eng
lish channel or perhaps under Bering
sea. At present the longest projected
mountain tunnel in Europe is q French
undertaking, which is planned to pass
directly under Mont Blanc, the high
est mountain in Europe, and to form
another highway between France and
Italy. But this tunnel will be only
little over eleven miles long, so that
it will be merely second in rank If it
is carried out.
The Hoosac tunnel, in western Mas
sachusetts, was the first really big tun-
mel in the United States. Begin in
1855, it was not finished until 1876.
Air drills and nitroglycerin were used
In this work for the first time on a
big scale in any American engineering
work. The Hoosac tunnel is four and
three-quarters miles in length.-Boston
Post.