Leading Articles in the Reviews. 



66 1 



THE FIRST COAST-TO-COAST 



RAILWAY IN SOUTH AMERICA. 



The first railway in South America from the Atlantic 

 to the Pacific is now an accomplished fact ; and the 

 Scientific American considers the engineering feat as 

 ■■ one which will rank among the most remarkable 

 achievements of the world." The Scientific American 

 furnishes some interesting details of the work of con- 

 iruction, which all tend to show the enormous diffi- 

 rulties of the undertaking. On the Argentine section of 

 the line, from Mendoza to Uspallata, " natural obstacles 

 and other defects intervened so continually that, in 

 the opinion of several eminent engineers, the further 

 progress of the railway was considered to be very 

 improbable."' On the Chilean side — 



The construction was divided into three sections, the first of 

 which, from Los .Vngeles to Juncal, was opened for traffic in 

 I'ebruary, 1906. Ueyond Rio Blanco the grade becomes in- 

 creasingly severe, running as high as 8 per cent. Between Kio 

 Ulanco and Juncal there are three avalanche sheds, lo protect 



in line 2jin. only. The maximum number of men 

 employed on the Chilean side was about 640, and on 

 the Argentine side from 800 to 900 were usually at 

 work. 



The physical difficulties to be surmounted were 

 often great : — 



The rock on the Chilean side was of a much more uniform 

 character than that on the Argentine side. Froni the tunnel 

 entrance to about 200 feet from the boundary line the rock on 

 the Chilean side was a hard volcanic sandstone, very much 

 fissured with veins of feldspar. .Xear the boundary line the 

 rock changed to a reddish claystone, which was comparatively 

 soft, but which gr.idually hardened for a distance of about 

 400 meters and again gradually become softer. Through it ran 

 numerous veins of conglomerate ironstone and almost pure 

 feldspar. The rock, with the exception of the red clayslone, 

 proved very difficult to drill, the large number of joint planks 

 lending to make the drill-bits skid and jam and causing endless 

 trouble. 



Many will wonder where the traffic to pay the 

 interest on the undertaking is to come from. In this 

 connection the Scientific American writer, Mr, F, C. 



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the trains from the cnuriuous masses of snow which collect upon 

 ihe side and arc frequently precipitated upon the line. . . . 

 Section 2 is that between Juncal and I'orlillo in an exception- 

 ally mountainous and wild district. This second section was 

 opened in June, 190S, well within the specified time. 



It was in the last part of the third section, that from 

 Los Andes to La Cumbre, that the most noteworthy 

 engineering feat was accomplished. This was : — 

 the great spiral tunnel, perhaps one of the longest of its 

 kind and mu^t difficult of construction in the world. The 

 summit tuuii' ! Ii.i' i li nuth of 9,906 feit, and in addition there 

 arc short Icni; !. 1 irljlicial tunnel at e.ich end, viz., 105 feet 

 on ihe Cliilc.ui .1 Ic .ind 338 feet on the .\rgcnliiic side. The 

 Transandinc tunnel lies at an elevation of aljout lo,5cx3 feel, 

 nearly 1,500 feet higher than the highest carriage ro.id in 

 F.uropc, that over llic Slelvio Pois, and more than 3,500 feet 

 higher than Mont Ccni», St. Gothard and Simplon I'asscs, In 

 cross-scctiun the tunnel \s a replica of the .Simplon tunnel, the 

 internal area iusi<lc the lining being 273 square feet. 



The skill with wliich the work of boring was carried 

 out is seen in the fact that wlun the two forces, working 

 from oppo-ile ends, junctioned on .November 27. looo, 

 the dillerente in level was but Jin., and the dilfercntc 



[/'V ** Sciemti^v .-tmi-ruiin." 



Colctnan, points out that Chile is " more important 

 than the Pacific slope was before the completion of 

 the first transcontinental railwa)s of North .America," 

 and that " the first and for some time to come the only 

 link between two such countries as Chile and Argentina 

 must necessarily find considerable traffic ' : — 



.\s Buenos .\ircs is the main gale on the .Atlantic coast t : 

 this highway, so is Valparaiso the gate on the Pacific side 

 From this fine port steamers sail lo all parts of the world. Th< 

 distance to Panama is 2,610 miles, and from Colon lo Plymouil^ 

 4,520 miles— a total of 7,130 milc-s. From \alparaiso to New 

 < >rlcans, viii Panama, the distance is 3,070 miles by rxislin;: 

 lines of sleamcrs. This brings New York very close to Bueno- 

 Aires. The west coast of South America, the Central Amciicaii 

 Stales, the I'nitcd Stales of Notlh .\merica, Canada, and .\us 

 tralia, have all been brought closer logcther by the opening of 

 thi.s new iransconlinental route. 



As regards passenger traffic, and particularly touri>i 

 tratTic— 



much can be done with such remarkable scenery lo »ttr.-icl 

 visitors, no! only from Argentina, but from the United Slates 

 nml Kurope. The globe-lruilcr, tiie.l of India, Kliartum, and lli' 

 Victoria Falls "tn fii'' lomclhing iiuite new in the Cordillerni. 



