36 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



the engineers encountered in the construction of this work were 

 something stupendous ; but as most of the ground over which the 

 line passes is now cleared of jungle and levelled, and the ail-but 

 inaccessible mountain scarps, along which the track has been laid, 

 have been well-nigh obliterated, the obstacles in many places are 

 scarcely apparent. 



The Bhore Ghaut incline, which is the larger of the two moun- 

 tain ways, is 15 miles and 68 chains long. The level of its base 

 is 196 feet above high-water mark at Bombay, and of its summit, 

 2,027 feet; so that the total elevation of the incline is 1,831 feet. 

 Its average gradient is 1 in 48 ; its least, 1 in 330, and its steepest, 

 1 in 37. Throughout its length are 26 tunnels, ranging from 49 

 to 437 yards long, and forming a total length of 3,985 yards, 

 or 2^ miles.. There are 8 viaducts, most of which consist of 

 arches of 50 feet span, varying in length from 52 yards to 168 

 yards, and from 45 feet to 139 feet high ; so that the total length 

 amounts to fully half a mile. 



The total quantity of cuttings amount to 1,623,102 cubic yards, 

 and the embankments to 1,849,834 cubic yards, the greatest depth 

 of cutting being 80 feet, and the maximum height of the largest 

 embankment being 74 feet. Besides this, there are 18 bridges of 

 various spans, from 7 to 30 feet, and 58 culverts, of from 2 to 6 

 feet span. The cost of the incline was 597,222, or 41,188 a 

 mile ; or, in other words, about $3,000,000. The -works were com- 

 menced in 1855, and were finished about 5 years afterwards. 



It is obvious that to make a train laden with freight, or full of 

 human beings, ascend a gradient of upward of 1,800 feet, must 

 require extraordinary locomotive power. Accordingly, when an 

 ordinary passenger train approaches a station at the foot of the 

 Ghauts, it is divided into two sections, and generally two exceed- 

 ingly powerful engines are attached to pull, and a third to push 

 each section up the ascent. Powerful brake vans are also attached, 

 so that in case of accidents the train may be stopped and prevented 

 from receding down the slope. In descending the Ghauts, similar 

 precautions are taken to prevent the train from going too fast, 

 and fewer locomotives and more brakes are despatched with each 

 train. Even then, it requires the utmost caution to prevent the 

 train getting too much headway, lest it run off the rails, and be 

 dashed to pieces over some of the yawning chasms with which 

 the mountains abound. Cincinnati Journal. 



MT. CENIS RAILROAD. 



This great engineering work is at last completed, the first en- 

 gine and train having passed from St. Michel on the French 

 side, to Susa on the Italian side, a distance of 48 English miles, 

 August 26, 1867. This will make the time between Paris and 

 Turin 22 hours. The initial point on the French side is 2,493 

 feet, and the summit of the pass 6,322 feet, above sea level. For 

 6 milss before reaching the summit the ascent must be on an 

 average gradient of 1 \\\ 14. From this point to the Italian ter- 

 minus of the road, there is a uniform gradient of 1 in 12. The 



