Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume III

TWO REMARKABLE ALPINE MOUNTAIN RAILWAYS. 311 terminus, cut in the south face of the Eiger. Its elevation of 10,368 feet makes it the highest railway station in Station1"' Europe and the highest of all tunnel stations. Here we find a large, comfortable room, parquet floored, containing a restaurant and a post-office. All heating and cooking is done here by electricity. In the outer wall are several windows commanding the broad slopes of the lower saddle of the Mönch. A long sloping gallery cut in the rock on a gradient of 3 in 10 leads down to the glaciers 130 feet below, and gives access to a great plain of eternal snow which affords a safe playground to devotees of winter sports. When it is finished, the Jungfrau Railway will represent a remarkable engineering achieve- ment. Never before has a tunnel on a gradient of 1 in 4 been constructed at such an altitude. The engineers were unable to profit by previous experience gained elsewhere, and so had to invent devices to meet their special needs. As the tourist glides easily up the steep acclivities of the mountain, he might well spare a thought for the men whose labour and perseverance have made easy for him the way to one of the noblest of Alpine peaks. [Note.—Thanks are due to Mr. G. Noble Fell, A.M.Inst.C.E., and to the Swiss Federal Railways, for assistance given in connection with the letter press and illustrations of this Article.']