Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 October 1891 — MOUNTAIN RAILROADS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

MOUNTAIN RAILROADS.

HOW THE NIMBLE LOCOMOTIVE CAN CLIMB. Wonderflil Progress of Railroading Since the Days of George Stephenson and the ••Jacket"—The Famous Road Up the Rlgl and the Cable Road to the Summit of Vesuvius. , Up the Alps and Andes. If George Stephenson, when he p’accd ♦he first locomotive on the track and yuaran eed it a speed of six miles an hour, co.ild have foreseen that In less than eghty \ears the sue essors of h s rude machine wou d be cl mb ng the jjides of moanta n ranges, p'erc ng gorges hitherto deemed inaccessib’e, ;ross ng ravines on bridges higher than **.ie dome of St. Paul's, and traversing •'he bowels of the earth by means of >unnels, no doubt h's big b'ue eyes would ?avo stood out with wonder and amazement. But he foresaw nothing of the #ind; the only prob.em presented to his jiind was how to get goods from the ;ea ports in Western Eng and to LonJon as easily and cheap y as poss be, to do th s he substituted for I orses, tyhich had for 150 years being drawing along wooden or iron track-, the *vond rful mach no which lias revolutionized the freight and passenger traffic sf the world. It was Indeed impossible lor any one to foresee the triumphs of •nvineering which have accompanied the advances in transportation. To the •ngineer of t' c present day there pro no imp issibilities. The engineer Is a utl/ard at wh.se command space pnd matter are annihi iated. The highest mounta’n, the deepest valley, lias no terrors for him: he can bridge the latter and encircle or tunnel the former. The only requisites which he demands are that something in his line ho needed, and that the money is forthcoming to defray the expense, and the thing will be done. But the railroad he is asked to construct must be necessary, and the necessity must be plainly Shown, or no funds will be advanced; #'id, although the theory does not in-

variably hold good, especially when a craze for railroad building is raging, as a rule no expense for the construction of a road will be incurred without a prospect of remuneration. Hence tho need of railroad communication has caused lines to be constructed through districts whero only a few years ago the thing would have boon deemed impossible. The Pacific roads of this country, says the Globe-Pemocrat, were a necessity long before their construction, and in face of difficulties almost insuperable were carried to successful completion. 8o also of

the railroads in the Andes of South America. The famous road from Callao through the heart of Peru Is one of the highest mountain roads in the world, as well as of the most difficult construction. The grades aro often 300 feet and piore to the mile, and when the mountains were reached so great were the difficulties the engineers were forced to confront that in some places laborers were lowered from cliffs by ropes, In order that, with toil and difficulty, they might carve a foothold in order to begin the cutting for the roadway. In some sections .turjwjls are more numerous than open cuts,' and so far as the road has gone tunnels, great and small, have been constructed, aggregating over 20,000 fce‘ In length. The road attains a height of 15,000 feet above the level of the sea, and at the highest point of the track, about as high as the topmost peak of Mont Blanc, it pierces the range above it by a tunnel 3,847 feet long. The stern necessities of business compelled the construction of this road, otherwise it never would have been begun. The tuunels of the Andes, however, do not bear comparison with the tunnels, bridges and snow sheds of the Union Pacific, nor do even these compare with the vast undertakings in the Alps, the three great tunnels of nine to eleven miles in length which have been prepared lor the traifs t of travelers and freight. The necessities of business hecess tated the pierciDg of the Alps, and as soon as the ne ess ty was shown funds In abundance were forthcoming for the enterprise. But tunneling a mountain is a different thing from climbing it Many years a;o the attention of inventors was directed to the practicability of constructing a railroad bp tho side of a mountain on grades which to an ordinary engine were quite impossible. The improvements in locomotives twenty-five and thirty years ago rendered them capable of climbing grades which in the early days of railroad engineering were deemed outfof the |uce«ton. These Improvements proved a serious stumbling-block in the way of inyentors, who fo-md

that an ordinary locomotive was able to climb a much tteeper grade than wag commonly supptsed. The first railroads were laid almost level, but It was soon discovered that a grade of a few feet to the mile was no impediment to progress, and gradually the grade was steepened The inventors of mountain railroad transportation might

have been discouraged by this discovery, but it is a characteristic of an inventor that he is not set back by opposition, which, in fact, only serves eo stimulate his zeal. The nrojectors of inclined roads and mounltnn engines kept steadily on, and in France, German, England and tho United States many experimental roads were constructed, each of a few hundred yards in length, and locomotive models were built and put in motion to the amazement of the general public, who jeered alike at the contrivances and the contrivers, deeming the former impracticable and the latter crazy. But the idea of building a road up the side of a hill was not to be dismissed. There

! was money In it for the successful man, so tho cranky inventors kept on at wor.< in spite of the jeers of the rabble and tho discouragements of capitalists loath to inv» st th -ir money in an uncertain scheme. To the energy and perseverance of railroad Inventors the success of the mountain railroad is due. as also Is the construction of the various mountain roads of which the road up Mount Washington, finished in 1868, was the first, and tho road up Pike’s Peak, completed the other day, was the last. Of all the mountain roads which have bpen (onstructed since the one up Mount Washington was finished, tho best known is that which a«cends the world-famous Kigi. With the exception of Mont Blanc, Rigi is perhaps the be-t known of any peak In the Alps, though it is by no means the highest, its summit being but 5,905 feet abnve the level of the sea. Although scarcely mor* than a third the height of some other mountains in the Alps, it seems much higher becausi of its isolated position. Standing as it does between lakes Lucerne, Zug, and Lowerz, it commands a series of fine views in every direction, and he who looks from the summit of Rigi, if he does no other traveling in Switzerland, can gain a fair idea of the Swiss mountain scenery. Many of the most noted peaks are in sight, and from the Rigi can be seen the tbreo lake-i beneath, the villages which hero and there dot their shores, and further on the mighty masses of the Alps, with their glaciers and eternal snow. Many years ago a hotel was built on the summit of the Rigi for tho benefit of the tourists who daily flocked to this remaikablo peak to enjoy the benefit of its wonderful scenery The mountain is densely wooded save where the trees have been cut away to clear the land for pastures The ease of its ascent by the six or eight mule paths which have been made, the gradual and almost regular slope, tho throngs of travelers who resorted to it, made it a favorable place for an experiment, and to Rigi w'e'nt the. the engineers in order to ascertain the practicability of such a road. The credit of the design is due to a German engineer named Reggenbach, who, about tho year 1861, designed the Idea of a mountain road, and drew up plans not only for the bod but also for the engine and cars. The scheme dragged. Capitalists were slow to invest their money in what they deemed a wild and impract cal undertaking, and even owners of land on the Rigi were reluctant for such an experiment to be tried. But Reggenbach persevered, and toward the close of the decade, the inhabitants of Vit nau, at the base of the Rigi, were astonished to see gangs of laborers begin the work of making a clearing through the forest on the mountain

slope. They inquired what it meant, ajd were told that a road up the Uigi was to be made. The Vitznauers were delighted, ior they had no roads and there was not a wheeled vehicle in the town nor a highway by which It could be brought thither. The Idea of a railroad in their desolate ; mountain region, and above all. a rai rfcad up the Rfgi, never entered their heeds, and a report which some time as t e r,dhj.aipedcurrency in the. town,'tbittnrHcofers were beginning the construction es a railroad was

greeted with a shout of derision. Nevertheless that was the beginning of the Rigi line, and in May, 1871, the road was opened lor traffic. It begins at Vitznau, on Lake Lucerne, and extends to the border of the canton and almost to the top of the mountain. It is IP,OOO feet long, and daring that distances rises 4,000 feet at an average grade

of one foot in four. Though steep, it is by no means so much so as the Mount Washington road, which rises 5.285 feet above the sea at an average of one foot in three. There are stretches of the Sigi road at which the grade is about one foot in two and onehalf, which l i believed to be the steepest in the world. The Rigi road has several special features aside from its terrific slopes, which entit’e it to be considered' a triumph of the engineer's skill. About midway up the mountain the builders came to a solid mass of rock, which presented a barrier that to a surface road was impassable. They determined to tunnel it, and, after an enormous expenditure of labor, finished an inclined tunnel 225 feet in length, of the same gradient as the road. A gorge in the side of the mountain where a small stream, the f»chnurtobel, had cut itself a passage, also hindered their way, and was crossed by a.bridge of lattice girder work in three spans, eighty-five feet long. The entire road-bed from beginning to end was cut in the solid rock. A channel was chiseled out to admit the centra! beam, which contains the cog% fitting the driving-wheel of the locomotive. The <n;ine is in ti e rear of the train, and presents the exceedingly curious feature of a boi'er great’y inclined, in order that at the steeper gradients it may remain a’most perpendicular. Tue coal and water are contained in boxes over the driv ng-whee s, so that all the weight of the engine is really concentra'ed on the cors—a precaution to prevent their slipping. The cost of the road, including three of -thesa sirangeiy constructed locomotives, three passenger coaches and three open wagons, was 8260,000, and-it is a good-pay-ing investm-nt. The fare demanded for the trip up the mountain is five lrancs, while half that sum is required for the downwaid passage, and tho road is annually traversed by from 20,060 to 50,000 passengers. Curious sensations are produced by a ride up this remarkable line. The seats of the cars are inclined like the boiler of the locomotive, and so long as the cars are on a level the seats tilt at an angle which renders it almost Impossible to use them. Rut when the start is made the frightful tilt places the body in an upright position, and with the engine iu the rear, the tiain starts off up tho hill with an easy, gliding motion, passing up

the ascent, somewhat steeper than the roof of a. house, without the slightest apparent effort But If the going up excites tremor, much more peculiar are the feelings aroused on the down grade. The trip begins with a gentle descent, and ail at once the' traveler-looking ahead-sees th<s"road apparently come to an end On a nearer approach he is undeceived, and observes before him a long decline which appears too steep even to walk down. Involuntarl y he c.atches at the seats, expecting a great acceleration of speed. Very' nervous are his feelings as the train approaches this terrible slope, but on coming to the incline the engine dips and goes on not a whit faster than before, and not more rapid y on the down than on the up grade. Many people are made sick by the sensation of falling experienced on the down run. Some faint, and a few years ago one traveler, supposed to be afflicted with heart disease, died of fright when the train was going over the Schnurtobel bridge. The danger is really very slight, there

not having been a serious accident since the road was opened. The attendants are watchful, the brakes, are strong, but, even with all these safeguards, men of the steadiest nerves cannot help wondering what would become of them in case anything went wrong. Bold as was the project of a railroad on the Rigi, a still bolder scheme was broacheQ ten years when a daring genius proposed a railroad _up Mount Vesuvius. A railroad up of an. ordinary mountain seemed hkwdoas enough, but

to build a line on the slope of a volcano which in ils eruptions had buried cities and every few years was subject to a violent spasm, seemed as hazardous as to trust the rails of an ordinary line to the rotten river ice in springtime. The proposal was not, however, so impracticable as it looked. While the summit of Vesuvius changes from time to time from tho frequent eruptions, and it varies iu height and in the size of the crater, the general slope and contour of the mountain are about the same to-day as when Vesuvius, a wooded hill, with a valley and a lake in the (enter of its quiescent crater, served as the stronghold of Spartacus and his rebel gladiators. There have been scores of eruptions since that in which Herculaneum and Pompeii were overthrown, but the sides of the mountain have never been seriously disturbed. A road on Vesuvius gave promise of good speculation. NapJe< and the other re orts of the neighborhood annually attracted many thousands of visitors, : and a considerable number of ! these every year ascended the volcano. • even when forced to contend with ail ; the difficulties of the way. Many, liow- ; ever, desiring to ascend, but being unable or unwilling to walk up, a chair service was established, a peculiar chair being slung on poles and borne by porters. In course of time the chair service proved inadequate for the numbers who desired to make the a cent, and the time was deemed fit for the establishment of a more speedy communication. tho necessity, the proposal to’ establish a railroad met with .general derision, but the scheme was soon shown to be perfectly practicable, and a beginning was made in 1879. The road is what is known as a cable load, there being a single sleeper with three rails, one on the top, which really bore the Weight, and one on each side near the bottom, which supported the wheels, which, coming out from the axle at a sharp angle, prevented the vehicle from being overturned. The road covers the last 4,000 feet of the ascent, and the power house is at the bottom, a steel cable running up, passing round a wheel at the top and returning to the engine in tho power house. The ascent to the lower terminus of the road is made on mules or donkeys; then in a comfortable car the t-aveler is carried to a point not far from the crater

The car is a combined grip and passenger car, similar in some points to the grip car of the present day, while the seats of the passenger portion are inclined as in the cars on the Rigi road. Rut tho angle of the road being from thirty-three to forty-five degrees, makes both ascent and descent seem fearfully perilous. Every precaution, however, is taken to insure the sa'ety of passengers; each car is provided with several strong and indep ‘ndent brakes, and thus far no accident worth recording has occurred. The road was opened in June, 1880, and although then have been several considerable eruptions since that date, none of d d any damage to the line but what was repaired in a few hours. The fashion thus set will no doubt be lollowed in many other quarters Whe ever there is sufficient travel to pay working expenses and a profit on a steep grade mountain road, it will probably bo built. Already there is talk of a road on Mont Rianc, of another up the Yungfrau, and several have been projected in the Schwartz and Hartz mountains. A route on Ren Nevis, in Scotland, is already surveyed, and it is said surveys have also been made up Snowden, with a view to the establishment of a road to the summit of the highest Welch peak. Sufficient travel is all that is needed, and, when that is guaranteed, whonevor a mountain - possesses sufficient interest to induce people to make Its ascent in considerable numbers, means of transportation safe and speedy will soon be provided. The modern engineer is able, willing, and ready to build a road to the top of Mount Everest, in tho Himalayas, if he is paid for doing so.

Sammy Short was a vain little boy; He pretended to be a man. But who ever saw a man hike this Since the time when the world began?

A REAVY GRADE UP THE ANDES.

THE BEGINNING Of THE RIGI LINE.

THE CABLE ROAD UP VESUVIUS.

A SUSPENSION BRIDGE ON THE RIGI.

THE SCHNURTOBEL BRIDGE AND TUNNEL.

THE VESUVIUS GRIP CAR