Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume III

304 ENGINEERING WONDERS OF THE WORLD. THE ITALIAN FLAG PRESENTED TO MR. J. B. FELL ON THE OCCASION OF THE FIRST TRAIN CROSSING THE MOUNTAIN, AUGUST 26, 1867. The words, translated, are : “ John Fell, who, by the power of his genius, was the first to overcome the Alpine passes with the locomotive.” vehicular traffic. As the curves at the bends were too sharp to allow the line to follow them, curved tunnels of two chains radius had to be driven to enable the track to step from one bend of the road to another. The road could not be widened, because one leg of a bend was almost vertically above the other ; consequently the permanent way ran in places along the very edge of the precipice, and the sides of the cars actually hung over space, so that passengers could look down vertically into the valley 1,000 feet below. No wonder that some of the more nervous travellers closed their eyes as the train sped swiftly from curve to curve, swaying omin- ously now to the right, now to the left. After crossing the frontier the line de- scended to the Italian zigzag, which it did not follow, as a disused road was found to give better gradients, though a route more subject to avalanches. From the zigzag to La Grande Croix the track was very exposed to storms, and if not so snowbound as the northern side, was equally difficult to work in winter. At Susa, 50 miles from St. Michel, was met the Haute Italie Railway, which runs down the valley of the Dora Riparia and terminates at Turin. By the end of 1866 good progress had been macle with the works ; but, unfortunately, the ensuing winter was very was extremely difficult, the cold even on thfe lower parts of the line being so intense severe. Work The Line completed. that earth-cuttings and the very holes for post and rail fencing had to be blasted. Next spring matters became still worse. Floods, the most serious that had occurred for more than two centuries, carried away over three kilo- metres of newly constructed line between St. Michel and Termignon, destroyed three bridges, and stopped work entirely on the French side. But despite all these misfortunes the last rail was laid on August 15, 1867, and the first train to cross the Alps ran from St. Michel to Susa on the 26th of the same month,, so establishing a record in mountain engineering. Difficulties were not at an end, however, for the French-built locomotives proved de- fective. The necessary alterations delayed the formal opening of the rail- way till the next year, when Sch<?r,t.^ut —on June 15—the ceremony was performed amidst great rejoicings. As already noticed, the railway served as the chief artery of east-bound traffic for the fol- lowing three years, carrying passengers, goods, and mails with great regularity, considering the altitude of the line and the consequent climatic difficulties to be overcome. The crossing of the mountain was performed in four and a half to five hours, including stop- pages for customs, etc., and on several occa- sions time lost by the Indian mail between Calais and St. Michel was made up on the summit railway. The safety of the centre rail system is attested sufficiently by the fact that not one of the 150,000 passengers who used this railway received the slightest in-