THE ANDES PIERCED.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 785, 7 April 1910, Page 5

THE ANDES PIERCED.

FIRST TRAIN. A TUNNEL AT AN ALTITUDE OP 10,500 FEET, ' By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright Buenos Ayres, April 5. The first Trans-Andine tunnel train, connecting Chile and Argentina, was run to-day.

WORK OF BRITISH ENGINEERS, MANY.' DIFFICULTIES. Briton 3 have accomplished in. South America perhaps the.most marvellous of all. tho wonderful engineering feats _of modem ' times.' By the engineering genius of a British firm, the "apparently impenetrable harrier of the Andes, separating the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America, has been pierced. A tunnel has been completed through the very heart of the mountain range at a height of 10,500 ft. For a distance of 3250 yards a man may now walk through the range, with 8000 ft; of mountain over his head and 10,500 ft. beneath him. 'Trains are now running through the tunnel, and it'will bo possible to travel direct from ]?uenos Ayres to Valparaiso, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This stupendous task hns been carried on" almost' entirely by Messrs. C. H. Walker and Co., of London, a firm of which Sir Robert Perks is a member. Tho work has been begun by the Chilean Trans-Andino Construction Company, but had ■ riot proceeded far before it was taken over by the British firm, whoso engineers' are" Messrs. Livesey, Sons, and Henderson,'of London. \ Compressed Air Engines. The new tunnel runs below the pass of Cumbra from Las Cnevas, in Argentina,, to Caracoles, in-Chile'. Enqrmous almost unprecedented, difficulties faced, the tunnel makers, but, despite all, obstacles, the work lias .. been carried through quickly and well. In tho first place there was the great height of the tunnel—it is. 10.500 ft. above sea level, }500 ft. higher than tho loftiest carriage road in Europe, 3500 ft. higher than the Mont Cenis Tunnel. At this altitude the $ir was extremely rarefied, and when the tunnel had penetrated some distance it was found impossible to use steam-engines to drag out the excavated rock. The steam and Smoke made the air almost unbreathable. So compressed air engines were used; '

Then the strata of the mountains were in. many cases almost vertical and full of faults—hence to. avoid falls the tunnel had to be lined throughout with concrete arphes. Moreover, constant percolations of water from the snow-clad peaks rendered/the work more than ever difficult—the men had sometimes to labour Up to their waists in water—but still, the work was pushed doggedly on. Day and night, jn eight-hour shiftß, gangß of men have burrowed into the heart of the mountains from: either end. . In all, despite the. difficulties of; getting labour since the earthquake of 190G,' which .raised wages very much,., 1500 men have been constantly employed. Even on Sundays and on the feast days and holidays so, dear' to .the hearts of the Argentine, Italian, Spanish, and Chilean labourers employed, the work has been carried on without intermission.

All the . engineers. and foremen' were British, and they turned to good account, in' burrowing through the mountains, tho experience' gained in similar work in tubes aiidi. tunnels beneath , the London •streets. "../V. ' ■'•' ' Advantages of tho .Tunnel. ;■ How immensely useful this tunnel will be will bo seen from . the fact, that now passengers must leave the train at Lm Cuevas, and, climbing on mules over. zig : ?ag mountain roads,, proceed to Caracoles, the Chilean railhead, a journey of two hours' duration -Even this tojlsome'and inconvenient route is open*, during . the summer months only. The winter snows close the pass, and passengers must perforcc go round by "sea, a .tiv.ejvp days' journey. . .. . ; •' ■ j How' is it that this, huge work,-far, off in South America, was entrusted to a British .firm?. .This question was put to a member of a large firm ;of engineers and contractors in London; ."The reason is," he said, "that our big firms, if they undertake a work, state at once when it ■will bo completed, and what it will ,cost. They.complete.it on tho day named and for the price, named. : ... . ,

"If the work is entrusted to a Government Department,, especially in South American Republicsl no exact estimate of the cost can be obtained, and the work is often looked on as a means of providing remunerative employment -for friends. and supporters 'of *tlio' Government."

Thjs js not the only great engineering work upon which a British.firm is busy at the present time. Three great firms ar,e now carrying out huge contracts in connection with the Singapore harbour works, .while, to ; another firm has been entrusted—not at all to the satisfaction of Spanish contractors—a great part of the work of .reconstructing the Spanish Navy and building'new docks for it.