Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 January 1875 — Ballroads in the Andes. [ARTICLE]

Ballroads in the Andes.

The Callao, Lima & Oroyo Railroad has no equal in the world for skillful engineering and cost of construction. The commencing point is at the city of Callao, on the coast of Peru, whence it runs north and east and terminates at the town, of Oroyo, on the east side of the Andes Mountains, there making close connections with the headwaters of the Amazon River, thereby making speedy conveyance and cheap transportation for commerce and the traveling public across the continent of South America, ana avoiding the long and perilous trip around Cape Horn. This gigantic project of scaling the mighty Andes by rail was first projected and is now being carried out by Henry Meiggs, the railroad king of South America, tunneling mountains of solid granite and spanning streams and passes at heights from thir-ty-five to 252 feet above their beds, almost irrespective of the cost. Some idea may be formed of the cost of construction where operations were commenced on a level with the sea and in a distance of 104 A miles of the road has attained the unparalleled height of 15,645 feet above the level of the sea, and in that distance passing through fifty-eight tunnels measuring from 200 feet to 3,737 feet in length. The entire length of the road is only 136 miles, but it cost $37,350,000 in American gold coin. A second great reason for the enormous cost of constructing roads in this country is the scarcity of material, all of which is brought here from the United States. The first bridge of importance is that which spans the Agua de Verruga. The central pier of three that support this grand piece of superstructure is 252 feet in height, resting on solid masonry 70 feet square, and spanning a space of 575 feet. Proceeding over a perilous portion of the road, winding around spurs of mountains, through long tunnels, some of which are arched only by their mother rock, others more artistically faced by first-class masonry, the bed of the road forming long and sounding turns, so that at times there may be seen three lines of rails lying one above the other, .

At this place also, which is situate between two thriving little towns called Surco and Matucana, may be seen the same mountain tunneled twice, one tunnel being directly over the other, at a distance of 90 or 100 feet. Passing this romantic place, still ascending a grade of 105 to 211 feet to the mile for a distance of twenty-three miles, and we reach that picturesque spot termed in Spanish “ La Infernilia,” meaning in our language “The Gates of Hell,” a place where nature has formed an opening through the mountains through which passes the swift waters of the river Rimae, walled up by solid rock to a height of over 2,000 feet above the bed of the river, presenting a face as smooth as if cut so .by the hands of skilled workmen. Here may be seen a display of masterly engineering in order to overcome this colossal obstruction. In many other places, where the maximum grade brings the bed of the road to a point utterly impassable, an opportunity always presents itself for an outlet by forming a V and retracing the already passed-over portion of road alongside of the mountain until an elevation is obtained whereby a pass may be effected. But at La Infernilia no such opportunity presents itself; consequently there was no alternative but to tunnel the mountains of volcanic rock or abandon the projected route. The work was at once commenced on the south side of the river, and in order to push it more rapidly an entrance was commenced on the river side, which was done only by letting men down from the tops of the smooth-faced wall by ropes, thereby supporting themselves until they drilled and blasted a foothold and entrance. This done, the work proceeded rapidly with the aid of the celebrated diamond drill. And on the opposite side of the river a repetition of the same labor was soon commenced. The tunnels being completed, the fearful chasm was soon spanned by a magnificent iron bridge. It connects the two tunnels, viz., Nos. 31 and 32, at a height of 200 feet above the bed of the river, with either end resting on natural

masonry. ~ ; t '- Again, on emerging from the opposite side of the tunnel 32, another great obstacle presents itself. On the entrance of the same tunnel the bed of the track is 200 feet below that of the road and only a few yards from the outlet of the

tunnel the road bed falls several feet below the river; thus ah idea may be formed of the tremendous fall and with what rapidity the waters of the Klmac force their way through these mountain passes. In order to overcome ! £, reat °* >Btac l® • tunnel is now being built large enough for a double team ann ca lP? ge J° b? driven through, in which will be placed 500 barrels of powder at a single blast, for the purpose of blowing down the mountain, thereby making a W river to pass and leaving the oldjbed with a small amount of excavation ready for the bed of the road. One other of 1,000 barrels of powder was used, creating a sensation similar to that of an earthquake for many miles around its vicinity. Here we leave La Inf ernilia, that stupendous work of nature, utilized and still more beautiful in art, and wend our way through already completed tunnels, over mountains and through river valleys, until we at last reach the summit of the Andes, at a place called Gallera, the highest point of the road, viz. 15,645 feet above the sea. This altitude is the bed of the road, not to speak of the many hundred feet of rock still towering above the tunnel through which pass the iron rails. Doubtless a good many people living in North America are under the impression that there is little or no snow in this part of the globe, but such is not the case, as at this altitude we have perpetual snow. , At thisppinLthelqngest tunnel on the road is being built, being 1,150 metres, or 8,737 feet (English) in length, which has been under course of construction for about twenty-six months. We expect to complete it in about eight or ten months more, when the entire line will be ready for the rails. The greatest obstacle with which the laborers have to contend is the rarity of the atmosphere, the pr< -sure being only eight pounds to the square inch. The state of affairs is endured only by men of iron constitutions, so to speak. With the aid of the diamond drill, which considerably lightens the work, we hope soon to See the tunnel ready for the rails. From this point commences a gradual descent down the east side of the Andes Mountains to the town of Oroyo. The work here, being comparatively light, is already completed. From Oroyo other important lines of road are soon to be built, thereby opening up one of the richest and most fertile countries of the globe—a country heretofore without an oiftlet, except by mule-back.— Henry J. Schenck, Engineer C., L. & 0. R. R., in Miners' Journal.

—h. minister in Kansas received only fifty cents for his first quarter’s salary. Ana, strange to say, he did for his next quarter's allowance, but fled to some spot where the laborer is worthy of higher.