Hoosac Tunnel

“ The era of modern rock tunneling was thus launched by Sommeiller’s insight in initially applying pneumatic power to a machine drill, by Doane’s persistence in searching for a thoroughly practical drill, and by Burleigh’s mechanical talent in producing one. The desperate need to complete the Hoosac Tunnel may reasonably be considered the greatest single spur to the development of a successful drill. ”

“ Let the intelligent man who forms opinions and conclusions for himself, compare the statistics which have been given in the course of this writing in relation to tunneling in Europe and in this country, and then, taking into consideration the inadequate means which have, until recently, been applied to the Hoosac enterprise, and surveying the progress which has been made whenever the work was prosecuted with vigor, let him judge how soon, and at what cost, the Tunnel may be completed, even without the aid of machine drills. ”

“ In tunneling as in no other branch of civil engineering did empiricism so long resist the advance of scientific theory; in no other did the “practical engineer” remain to such an extent the key figure in establishing the success or failure of a project. The Hoosac Tunnel, after 25 years of legislative, financial, and technical difficulties, in 1875 was finally driven to successful completion only by the efforts of a group who, while in the majority were trained civil engineers, were to an even greater extent men of vast practical ability, more at home in field than office. ”

“ Many of the greatest works of civil engineering have been those concerned directly with transport, and hence are the product of the present era, beginning in the early 19th century. The development of the ancient arts of route location, bridge construction, and tunnel driving received a powerful stimulation after 1800 under the impetus of the modern canal, highway, and, especially, the railroad.
The Hoosac Tunnel, driven through Hoosac Mountain in the very northwest corner of Massachusetts between 1851 and 1875, was the first major tunneling work in the United States. ”

“ But, at last, perseverance and a good cause prevailed, and in 1854, the Legislature authorized a loan of the State credit to the amount of two millions of dollars, to the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, "for the purpose of enabling said company to construct a tunnel and railroad under and through the Hoosac Mountain, in some place between the 'Great Bend,' in Deerfield river, and the town of Florida, at the base of the Hoosac Mountain on the East, and the base of the Western side of the mountain, near the East end of the village of North Adams, on the West." ”

“ That it is possible to tunnel the Hoosac Mountain cannot be doubted by any sane person who has inspected the half mile already excavated. All of the eminent engineers, whose reports upon the enterprise have been published, say it can be done; nor do any of its opponents pretend to question its practicability. But in order to estimate properly the magnitude of the work, its possible and probable cost, and the time within which it can be done, it is necessary to know what has been accomplished in this department of civil engineering. ”

“ To an outsider the whole trip into the upper valley of the Deerfield River is a delight. At Hoosac Tunnel the big train gets tired of the long climb and plunges into the very heart of the mountain. But the little narrow-gauge road takes up the ascent most determinedly. ”

“ According to the average rate of increase, the population along the Tunnel line, would be more than doubled in twenty-three years. Were the mountain barrier pierced, and communication opened with the West, and the magnificent water power of the Deerfield made available, who doubts that this population would be increased fourfold in that space of time: or that more than one town would spring up between Greenfield and the Hoosac, in a few years, which would rival North Adams in growth and prosperity ”

“ Their Use in Reducing Grades—The Hoosac Tunnel—The Use Of Shafts—Tunnelling Under Water—The Detroit River Tunnel.
Sometimes the construction engineer of the railroad brings his new line face to face with a mountain too steep to be easily mounted. Then he may prepare to pierce it. Tunnels are not pleasant things through which to ride. They are, moreover, expensive to construct, and when once constructed are an unending care, necessitating expensive and constant inspection. ”

“ The "Box Tunnel" between Chippenham and Bath is more than a mile and three quarters in length. Nearly one half its length passes through a kind of limestone rock, and the other through clay, the clay end being lined with masonry. Five shafts were sunk, the deepest being about three hundred feet. "During the construction of this tunnel, great difficulties were encountered from the excessive quantity of water which inundated the works, sometimes even occasioning their partial suspension, and powerful means were required to overcome the obstacles. ”

“ Figure 14.—West portal of Hoosac Tunnel before completion, 1868, showing six rings of lining brick. (Photo courtesy of State Library, Commonwealth of Massachusetts.)
When the Shanleys took the work over in 1868, following political difficulties attending operation by the State, the period of experimentation was over. The tunnel was being advanced by totally modern methods, and to the present day the overall concepts have remained fundamentally unaltered: the Burleigh piston drill has been replaced by the lighter hammer drill ”

“ The road to be opened for travel to Shelburne Falls by the 15th of November, 1867, and to the tunnel by the 15th of July, 1868. A lease of the same has been executed to the Fitchburg and the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad Companies, at a rent of $30,000 per year, to expire on the completion of the tunnel, or whenever the work on the same shall be stopped, by competent authority.
Mr. Farren commenced work under his contract about the 20th of October. At this time there were about four miles of track,—exclusive of that which had to be removed with the trestle-bridges,—built by Mr. Haupt. ”

“ All, however, agreed in the opinion that, under proper management it was destined to become, at no very distant day, perhaps, the great avenue for trade between the East and West. The eagerness with which various railroad corporations seek its control by "ways and means," if honest, should be convincing proof of the great importance of the Tunnel to the public, and if not honest, it should merit the condemnation of every honest man in the community. ”

“ She will certainly go as far as she safely can, to develop and increase her growth." Such appeals could not but prevail with fair minded men, and these twenty-five members, with a spirit of liberality and almost of self sacrifice, which should put to shame the narrow minded and selfish policy of the Western Railroad Company in regard to the Tunnel line, gave their voices and votes in favor of an enterprise, the commencement of which would otherwise have been deferred for years. ”

“ We are fully convinced that to secure to the people the full advantages to be derived from the construction of this new avenue to the West, and to secure equal lights to all parties desiring to use it, the State must not part with the control of the tunnel. We are equally convinced that to secure efficiency in the lines working through the tunnel, consolidation is necessary, and that the tunnel itself [7] must be worked and managed for all parties using it, by one head. ”

“ Here his real ability showed itself, and he made such progress that when he was twenty-three he was inspector of masonry on the New York Central tunnel. Here he made his first bid for a sub-contract, and it was accepted. The first work he ever did as a builder was the big arch at Ninety-Sixth Street. He got other big contracts on the Boston and Hoosac Tunnel, the building of the Lackawanna road from Binghamton to Buffalo, the Georgian Bay branch of the Canadian Pacific, and a dozen other roads in various parts of the country. ”

“ The theoretical capacity of the Western Railroad is a fruitful subject for speculations and array of figures, but facts and demonstrated truths are what practical men wish to deal with. A comparison of the Tunnel and Western lines is of no significance, when both are urgently needed. In 1847, when the Western Road was opened to Albany, it transported from Albany to Boston 88,438 tons of freight, and last year, only 87,254 tons, 1184 tons less. Yet in 1847 it had no double track, and in 1865 it had 116 miles of double track. ”

“ The size of the present excavation next engages the attention of our observer, and he calls the commissioners to account because they have not followed their own recommendation to excavate the Tunnel to its full dimensions as the work proceeds. Since their recommendation was made in the winter of 1863, the commissioners have had much experience, and the price of labor has doubled. Only a small number of men can work on a heading, but when a heading has been advanced a large number of workmen can follow rapidly in enlarging the excavation, and will soon overtake those engaged on the heading. ”

“ Of course the tunnel must be continually supplied with fresh air along its whole length, as well as at the heading. This is easily done from the compressed air tube in the covered drain.
The whole length of the Mt. Cenis tunnel is through rock varying in hardness, and veined throughout with quartz. In many parts it is liable to flake off, and in some places considerable masses have broken away during the construction. ”

“ If the benefit of this increase in business can be secured to the people who furnish the traffic, instead of to the corporations who provide the capital, an immense public benefit will follow. The most valuable experiment to be tried at the present day is to ascertain how cheaply railroad transportation can be afforded. Corporations formed to make money for their stockholders, can hardly be expected to fairly try this experiment. The greatest need of this Commonwealth is cheap transportation. To secure this the Hoosac Tunnel has been constructed at a cost of $12,000,000 of public money. ”

“ This can only result from a reduction in the transportation tax which will make such productions relatively cheaper in Boston than in New York. In the profits of such a result the remotest corner of the State will directly share. Transportation cannot be reduced to Boston without a corresponding reduction upon every line of railroad leading to or from this city. It was with a hope of such a result that the State entered upon the project of building the Hoosac Tunnel, and it rests with us to say, now that this great enterprise is so near completion, whether this hope can be realized. ”

“ The rock to be removed from an area of eight feet by fifteen. The labor is done by contract. The first price was $40 per foot; increased July 1, 1866, to $50 per foot. The State furnishes all the materials for construction, and the power to raise the stone and water from the shaft. The depth of the shaft will be 277 feet when open to grade. On the first day of December, the miners working down had progressed 180 feet, and those working from the tunnel up 45 feet. It was then calculated that the shaft would be excavated in two months. Plans for permanent pumps had been prepared ”

“ Cenis drills can be used.
The operation of this drill has already been witnessed by hundreds of persons, among them machinists, engineers, and stone masons, and not one of them entertains a doubt that it will do all which is claimed for it by the inventors. But the carriages are nearly ready, and these little machines will shortly be put to their work. The friends of the Tunnel have no fears of the result.
Massachusetts has always led her sister States. At the call to arms, her sons have been first in the field, and first to [54] die for the common good. ”

“ Sometimes the work would be interrupted and temporarily abandoned in consequence of an inundation of water, sometimes enormous masses of gravel and sand would work through into a shaft or tunnel, with disastrous and, in two instances, with fatal consequences. ”

“ He says, "no intelligent man puts the slightest confidence in the successful working of any borer, or drill, in the rock of the Hoosac Mountain, unless operated by hand. In a strictly homogeneous rock, machine drills might work, but in a rock like the Hoosac, where the drills, working generally in a comparatively soft material, are liable at any moment to strike veins of quartz, and where a part of the hole will be in the slate and the rest in quartz, no machine drill has yet been found to stand." ”

“ Bird can produce, is that he did not, at once execute his purpose, lay the rails and put the road in operation from Greenfield to the mountain. The additional facilities which the completion of this road would have afforded for expediting the work, and reducing its cost, are too obvious to be enumerated. ”

“ Storrow visited and examined several other French tunnels, and his reports upon them are full of interest; but the abstracts given are sufficient to show the various obstacles and difficulties encountered by the English and French engineers in the prosecution of their work, as well as the cost, and the success which rewarded their skill and perseverance. We now come to the great tunnel under the Alps, the most remarkable and gigantic enterprise ever attempted in civil engineering. ”