A GREAT TUNNEL.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1765, 1 April 1874, Page 2

A GREAT TUNNEL.

At last the much talked of tunnel, muchwritten about Hoosac Tunnel- — tne' v "great bore,", as people have long styled it— is complete: The last barrier separating the two ends was blown away on the afternoon, ot Thanksgiving Day , (2fth tfbVember.) Nitro-glycerine, exploded by electricity, effectually demolished, the thin partition of rock remaining between the two shaf b, opening a-passage sft high aud 4ft wide, , Through this • a .party.. ,headed»* by Mr Wa Uer Shahleyi ' tne * contraUo'r, and Mr Robt. Johnson, chairman, of the.MassaV chusetts Legislative Committee \ on rajl| roads, pawed, and tiie tunnel was declar $$ open. A great amount of work isyeito b^

accomplished, but it is thought the tunnel will be open for the railway trains by the 4th of July next. The Shanleys have till September 4th, however, in which to complete it. The work has been one of great labor,, expense, and time. The tunnel was commenced in 3855. There had been numerous failures in the contracts. The state of Massachusetts took it in hand as a state work in 1862, and in the midst of great discouragements has carried it to completion. It is the second tunnel in extent in the world, that through Mont Cenis only being larger. The' whole length of the tunnel is 25,031 ft, or 4f miles. It is 26ft wide- by a height varying from 23ft to 26ft, whereever a brick arch is used. Passing through solid rock excavation the section is reduced to 24 wide by 20 high. As originally projected, the tunnel was only 36ft wide, and made of course for a single track. The tunnel grade is 26ft to the mile for nearly the whole distance, rising from each end towards the central shaft, and leaving a short length of level immediately under the shaft. The height of the interior summit over the portal will be something over 60ft. This dip in the grade from the centre was made to secure good drainage. The tunnel has two shafts, one near the west end,"6hly 318 ft deep, and the other, or central shaft, nearly in the middle of the tunnel. This is 1028 ft in depth. The total expense of the tunnel alone is estimated at 12,000,000d01.