Gaining the river-bank, the line sweeps across the waterway by a majestic lofty iron bridge 656 feet in length. Gaining the opposite bank, it plunges among the well-wooded slopes of the Karawanken belt of mountains, effecting a good climb up and down towards the Rosenbach valley, which is crossed by means of a long viaduct, consisting of four arched masonry spans each 24 feet and three steel spans of 177 feet apiece, at a height of 170 feet. The ascent is heavy, as the objective is the northern entrance to the Karawanken tunnel, which burrows through the range for a distance of five miles. The piercing of this subterranean passage excited considerable attention. The Austrian engineers who had achieved such a triumph in the rapid boring of the Arlberg upheld their reputation as accomplished masters in this phase of railway-building, notwithstanding the fact that the rocky mass was found to be of such unstable character that the tunnel had to be lined from end to end. The task was taken in hand shortly after the Austrian Government sanctioned these railways in 1901. Boring was carried out simultaneously from each end. The ground around each portal was quickly cleared, and when the work was in full swing 6000 men found employment. The first step was to secure power to furnish the energy to operate the variety of mechanical appliances that were necessary to dislodge and transport the rock, as well as to dispel the Cimmerian gloom in the heart of the mountain. There was a small waterfall six miles from the proposed southern mouth of the tunnel, with a drop of 35 feet, and capable of furnishing some 900 horse-power. This picturesque Alpine cascade was harnessed and compelled to drive turbines and dynamos to generate electricity, which was transmitted by overhead wires for six miles to the boring works at the tunnel entrance. Here the current was pressed into a multitude of services, not the least important of which was the driving of the huge fans, whereby a great volume of clean, pure, cool air was swept in a steady stream through the shaft to strike against the wall of rock upon which the drillers were concentrating their energies, displacing the atmosphere contaminated by the fumes of the dynamite blasting, grime and dust. Moreover, the temperature, which rapidly rose as the heart of the mountain was penetrated, was tempered pleasantly by the incoming currents, so that the fatigue of toiling in the blackness and confined space was reduced. [Illustration: THE TAUERN RAILWAY, SHOWING WINDING CHARACTER OF THE LINE] [Illustration: THE ENTRANCE TO THE TAUERN TUNNEL, Five and a quarter miles in length, which occupied five years to bore through the range RAILWAY BUILDING IN THE TYROL]