=Details of Tunnels.=--In cross-section, tunnel No. 1 is 13 ft. 7 ins.
wide at formation level, increasing to 16 ft. 5 ins., with a total
height of 18 ft. above rail-level, and a cross-sectional area of about
250 sq. ft. This large section will allow of small repairs being
executed in the roof without interruption of the traffic, and will also
allow of strengthening the walls by additional masonry on the inside.
The thickness of the lining, never wholly absent, and the material of
which it is composed, depend upon the pressure to be resisted, and only
in the worst case is an invert resorted to. The side drain, to which the
rock floor is made to slope, will be composed of half-pipes of 7 to 1
cement concrete. The roof is constructed of radial stones.
Tunnel No. 2, being left as a heading, is driven on that side nearest to
No. 1, to minimize the length of the cross-headings, and measures 10 ft.
2 ins. wide by 6 ft. 7 ins. high. Masonry is used only where necessary,
and in that case is so built as to form part of the lining of the tunnel
when eventually completed. Concrete is put in to form a foundation for
the side wall, and a water channel. The cross-headings, connecting the
two parallel headings, occur every 220 yds., and are placed at an angle
of 56° to the axis of the tunnel, to avoid sharp curves in the
contractors’ railway lines. They will eventually be used as much as
possible for refuges, chambers for storing the tools and equipment of
the platelayers, and signal-cabins. The refuges, 6 ft. 7 ins. wide by 6
ft. 7 ins. high and 3 ft. 3 ins. deep, occur every 110 yards, every
tenth being enlarged to 9 ft. 10 ins. wide by 9 ft. 10 ins. deep and 10
ft. 2 ins. high, still larger chambers being constructed at greater
intervals.
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