The First Transandine Railway Author(s): W. S. Barclay Source: The Geographical Journal, Vol. 36, No. 5 (Nov., 1910), pp. 553-562 Published by: geographicalj Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1777343 Accessed: 15-06-2016 22:53 UTC

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Carboniferous and Pleistocene glaciation has been proved. There is not sufficient evidence to show whether or not the Australian, Tasmanian, and New Zealand Pleistocene glaciation is due solely to local meteorological conditions. In reply to Mr. Finlayson: I am pleased to know that the question of glacia- tion in the south island of New Zealand is receiving the special attention of dis- tinguished New Zealand geologists, and I shall look forward with interest to the publication of the results of their work. Mr. THIELE: Mr. Kitson has fully expressed my views, and I may just empha- size what he has said with regard to glacial action. I cannot accept the extreme glacial corrosion that has been brought forward by some writers to explain the origin of the fjord region. Prof. Kendall referred to the relative quantity of rock carried by a glacier in any given cross-section. From what I have seen of the New Zealand glaciers, there was undoubtedly a considerably greater amount of rock material on the lower portions than in the middle section. Thereis a large amount of concentration of rock going on in the last few miles of the lower portion on account of the melting away of the ice, and that seemed to be a particular feature of the present glaciers, providing just the conditions for the formation of a lake in a similar way to what happened on the larger scale in the case of the old Tasman glacier. Dr. STRAHAN: This paper has presented problems, many of them surpassing interest. It only remains for me to ask you to record a vote of thanks to the authors for their communication.

THE FIRST TRANSANDINE RAILWAY. By W. S. BAROLAY. AFTER difficulties which have delayed its construction for close upon forty years, the railroad across the Andes uniting Buenos Aires to Val- paraiso was opened to traffic on the Centenary of Argentine Independence, May 25, 1910. " The tumult and the shouting dies, The captains and the kings depart."

Inaugural and centenary festivities and speeches are over now, and an important new factor in the world's transport has been made over in perpetuity to public service. It is worth while summarizing the work which has brought about this result, and the new conditions it has brought into being. For communications throughout the world are ever growing closer, and the tightening of any one thread in the gigantic web affects the whole in ways formerly unknown.

Geographical Advantages. The Transandine railroad crosses the Andes at the Uspallata pass, in lat. 33? S. In most of the cross-sections of the Andes from this point northward, a triple cordon, consisting of the coast range, the main Cor- dillera, and an inland parallel range, have in turn to be surmounted. But the headwaters of the Mendoza river flowing eastward, and those of the

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Aconcagua river flowing west, form a divertio aquarum which has eroded on either hand a fairly straight pathway to within measurable distance of the pass at 21,000 feet above sea-level. Towering immediately above the pass is Aconcagua, 23,393 feet, the highest peak in the western hemisphere, while near at hand are Tupungato, 22,329 feet, Juncal, 19,358 feet, and Tolorsa (round which the old mule road runs), 20,140 feet. The Uspallata route has been in constant use since the early days of

lNat. Scale 1: 20. OO0.OOOor ! nch. 315-60 StatuteMiles 00oo o loo 00 ? 200i I 300Ml~1Mles. Miles.

THE TRANSANDINE RAILWAY AND ITS CONNECTIONS.

Spanish possession, when it was used by messengers carrying dispatches from the Pampas to the Pacific coast. The easy guide afforded by a river's bed on plains which rise so slowly to the confused foothills, and the landmark of lofty peaks clustered at this point, would have out- weighed the advantages of another pass to those early travellers even had such a one been available. But although half a dozen surveys have been run, either as variants upon the present route, or within measurable distance of it, the local location adopted by the Transandine railroad has been substantially that followed by every traveller here since pre-Inca

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SECTION OF THE CORDIIE3IRA OF TItE A2NDES Latitude 23" S. L. 3 (d V)

c (d -o Feeb 'W a u E c nt 20, o000 v - - 3 - (

Ro a *5S^ 12.000

8000

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m Latitude 33 S.

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A rchean Rocks: :Granites and Igneous Sch.iss ..,J, Limestone ShaJes and Slates conta/ning recent Fossil She/Is _.SS / 'ecent6 Eruptive Rocfs . Porphyries ~fe Sandstone a.nd Conglomerates .- LaZe Alluvium,s iJ.

le 250.00 Horizontal Scale ,2 50,00O...... ?1, , 20 30 40 57 Statute Miles Vertical Sc< ale 250.000

This content downloaded from 144.82.108.120 on Wed, 15 Jun 2016 22:53:07 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 556 THE FIRST TRANSANDINE RAILWAY. days. This choice of the obvious is a wise one. So long as extra capital cost and operating expenses involved are not excessive, the location of a railroad among picturesque or historic surroundings has a very positive bearing upon its earnings. The tracks which span the Niagara gorge and the Victoria falls at the Zambesi are notable instances. There is no more interesting cross-section of South America than that viewed on this trip. The management rightly lay stress upon that fact, for the cumu- lative value of educational travel in inducing future passenger traffic is now increasingly recognized.

Some Geological Features. The tunnel bore (see section) disclosed a rock-mass of highly calcified limestone, with occasional pockets of almost pure gypsum. On being immersed in water, or exposed to wet weather, this rock in a few weeks decomposed into soft mud, for which reason it was found necessary to line the whole tunnel with a 20-inch facing of concrete. The limestones are interstratified with bands of slate and shale, yielding in turn to gravel conglomerates, whose waterworn pebbles show a common origin with the porphyrtic and eruptive rocks now massed at levels far below these higher ridges. Here, as at other points. in the long chain, the Cordillera shows evidence of being the outcome of successive pressure ridges acting from west to east. The older range, prior to its last elevation, has suffered degradation on or near the sea surface, as is shown by accompanying fossil shells, and has cast its spoil upon a floor since converted into younger and now loftier ridges. The great height to which these sedimentary rocks have been raised in the final formation, has tilted their strata at every conceivable angle, from a few degrees only to the sheer verticals shown by the Penitentes cliffs, under which the tunnel passes. Cleavage lines imparted to the rock under enormous pressure combine with the porous nature of the stone to make it peculiarly liable to weathering under the glacial conditions now at work in the higher slopes, and formerly obtaining at much lower altitudes. The resulting slopes of talus which line the base and flanks of the ranges have proved as awkward an obstacle to the constructing engineer as they doubtless will later to the mountaineer and sportsman. The whole surface of the limestone is treacherous and rotten, and within the tunnel wet patches were found, which could only be accounted for by the infiltration of surface snows through 2000 feet of overlying rock. At Inca Bridge, on the Argentine approach, the sulphurous and car- bonated springs which are responsible for that somewhat over-rated phenomenon break out at a high temperature, as is also the case at Cacheuta, 16 miles west of Mendoza city. On these lower levels the oxides released by the intrusive lavas which form the main axis of the chain, transform the cliffs exposed along the Mendoza river into a gorgeous panorama of colour. Banancas of conglomerates ranging from 200 to 500

This content downloaded from 144.82.108.120 on Wed, 15 Jun 2016 22:53:07 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms iV!d aCCS ::|::: : :: : : f: :ff0SX ::: f : :::::::::0:: :: : :: f :? f f :: :

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TALUS FORMED BY WEATHERING OF LIMESTONE.

This content downloaded from 144.82.108.120 on Wed, 15 Jun 2016 22:53:07 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms CONGLOMERATE CLIFFS IN THE LAS CUEVAS VALLEY (ARGENTINE APPROACH) BEING UNDER- MINED BY MOUNTAIN TORRENT.

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feet high show on what vast scale denudation has taken place, almost commensurate with the opposing forces which have thrust the hills upward. On a clear day the view over the plains seen from the higher slopes, either on the Chilian or Argentine side is most impressive. It is as though the skeleton of the continent were laid before one, stripped of disguise, giving the key to its inmost structure. Some sense of its vast intimacy comes home to every traveller, even as it did to Charles Darwin when he made, in the early thirties, the journey across the Andes from Valparaiso to Mendoza and back. Unfortunately, certain of the deductions Darwin drew as he viewed the outstretched Argentine plains were based on insufficient geographical data. He rightly confirmed the impression, confirmed by his travels in Patagonia, of an immense line of raised sea- beaches, stretching from the Straits of Magellan northward to the hills of Catamarca. But he imagined the banks of the Santa Cruz river in Patagnia had yielded him a true cross-section of the continent at that point. The expedition directed by Captain Fitzroy from H.M.S. Beagle up the Santa Cruz failed, as we now know, to reach that intricate chain of rivers and glacial lakes which lie in the longitudinal valleys just east of the Patagonian Andes. To any one who knows their deceitful levels, it is no wonder that Darwin should have imagined the Patagonian tablelands ran right up to the snows of the southern range, in the same way that the sterile plains enclosing the Mendoza river rise towards Uspallata. Thus, arguing from analogy in his diary, still the standard text-book on southern South America, Patagonia was condemned as barren and useless, and was so judged by the public, chiefly I think on this account, for some sixty years after his visit. The corollary to Darwin's error, that the Patagonian hinterlands resembled those lying behind the Buenos Aires pampas, was that the Andean water-parting followed the line of its highest peaks throughout. This error was later perpetuated by local treaty-makers who had not Darwin's excuse for lacking geographical data, with the consequence that the settlement of the Chilian-Argentine boundary has only taken place within the last decade.

Construction Details. The summit tunnel lies between the stations of Las Cuevas on the Argentine, and Caracoles on the Chilian side, passing under the Pequenes ridge some 3000 feet below its crest. The length of the tunnel is 3'165 metres, including approaches. The bore is of the horseshoe shape used in the Simplon, 16 feet 5 inches at its greatest width, with a clearance of 18 feet 3 inches from rail-level to roof. The tunnel is straight, save for a slight curve near the Chilian end, and offers no problems in ventilation. During construction, however, the rarity of the atmosphere, combined with the fumes from blasting and from engines removing the spoil, caused much distress to the workmen. A Porter engine was introduced for the latter work, operated by compressed air, and afforded some relief.

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When going through patches of conglomerate, the drills constantly slipped sideways from the smooth, waterworn pebbles with which it was set, and jarring sideways broke. But the real difficulty lay in keeping a sufficient supply of workmen in the tunnel, especially during the winter months, when the gangs are practically isolated. The Chilian peon, the native " roto," proved himself the best workman on the construction, superior even to the Italian. The proof he has afforded here of his exceptional worth may lead to future recruiting of labour from this source for constructions outside of Chili. The real problems of the Transandine railway lay not in the summit

TRA~SANDINTE SUMMIT TULNNEL.

l Puequenes Ridge t3124 f'

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- Total Length of Tunnel 10.365f.t(caJcu/ated) .....

tunnel, on which so much publicity has been centred, but in making the approaches to it on either hand, and especially from the Chilian side. Mountain railroads at their best are an unsatisfactory compromise between long and winding routes on the one hand, and impossible gradients on the other. From 22 to 3^ per cent. is about the limit of economical working for trains run on the ordinary adhesion plan, and with this it is possibIe for a train to kick its load up the face of a very steep hill, employing in the last resort a series of ungraceful dead-ends and back-shunts. But usually, when passing the above grades, a section of rack or cable line must be introduced. One of the best examples of a cable line i-n South America is the Santos-Sao Paulo section which operates up the face of

This content downloaded from 144.82.108.120 on Wed, 15 Jun 2016 22:53:07 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms SECTION OF RACK-RAILROAD AT INCA STATION, ARGENTINE SIDE. (INCA HOTEL IN DISTANCE.)

PABAMILLO. ACONCAGUA IN THE DISTANCE. THE MORAINIC DEPOSITS IN THE FOREGROUND SHOW RETREAT. OF GLACIERS OWING TO ELEVATION OF THE ANDEAN CHAIN.

This content downloaded from 144.82.108.120 on Wed, 15 Jun 2016 22:53:07 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms UPPER GORGES OF THE ANDES ON CHILIAN APPROACH. THIS WAS THE IiOST DIFFICULT PART OF THE RAILWAY TO SURVEY.

INCA LAKE (CHILIAN SIDE) IN WINTER. THE PRECIPITATION IS GREATER ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE.

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the Serra do Mar. On the Transandine a combined rack and adhesion system was adopted for use with 8-cylinder " Kitson" engines. An ingenious feature is the tongue guide at the beginning and end of the rack rail, which serves to engage and release the pinions. There are nine separate sections of rack laid in the last 25 miles of the Argentine approach to the summit, ranging from 3 of a mile to 3 miles in length, and overcoming a maximum grade of 6 per cent. On the Chili side there are seven rack-sections in only 15 miles, of which one section is nearly 10 miles long with an average grade of 71 per cent. In this way the valley approaches eroded by mountain torrents have been taken full advantage of, without fear of the inevitable cul-de-sac at their head awaiting the engineer whose survey is limited to ordinary adhesion grades. The train load across the mountain section of the Transandine road is limited to 120 tons for one engine, i.e. three passenger coaches, and a baggage car, or 10 small-size cattle trucks. The annual snowfall near the summit is about 10 feet per annum, the precipitation being naturally greater on the Chilian side, where the westerly winds strike laden with moisture from the Pacific ocean. This is a small matter compared with the 30-foot fall which the Northern Pacific and Canadian Pacific railways have to contend with in the Rockies. Snow causes less trouble than mud-slides, where the treacherous rock decom- poses into slime in springtime and shifts the whole track bodily down the side of a hill. But most of all the permanent way engineers on the Trans- andine dislike the vagaries of the Mendoza river, whose tendency, like that of most rivers fed by mountain torrents and running through dry country, is to disregard at each melting of the spring snows the costly structures erected to its flow, carving out irresponsible channels through the soft conglomerates massed upon its banks. The cost of the Argentine section of the Transandine railway has been, roughly, ?2,000,000 for 100 miles, while the Chilian Government guaranteed interest on a sum not to exceed ?1,500,000 for the construction of the 45 miles of the Chilian section. The total cost of the 145 miles of the Transandine railway after ten years, when the permanent- way engineers have corrected and dressed the line to their liking, will probably not be far short of ?4,000,000. These figures, although their total has been unreasonably swelled by delays of construction and other financial difficulties, are enlightening as a guide to those seeking da'a to justify other Transandine projects. Their chief use lies in showing the danger of under-estimating costs of construction and the necessity of making large provision for " unforeseen emergencies " in dealing with a giant range like the Andes.

Operation. Unlike the self-contained, transcontinental lines crossing from ocean to ocean in North America, the Transandine railway has only been rendered

This content downloaded from 144.82.108.120 on Wed, 15 Jun 2016 22:53:07 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 560 THE FIRST TRANSANDINE RAILWAY. possible by the combination of five separate undertakings. These lines are-

****** Buenos Aires and Pacific, section to Villa Mercedes, 428 miles. ****** Argentine Great Western, Villa Mercedes to Mendoza, 220 miles. = = Argentine Transandine, Mendoza to the Frontier (summit), 99 miles. = = = Chilian Transandine, Frontier (summit) to Los Andes, 45 miles. ****** Chilian State Railway, Los Andes to Valparaiso, 83 miles. The Transcontinental service over the first four lines is worked under agreement by the Buenos Aires and Pacific railway, the final section to Valparaiso being operated by the Chilian State Railways. The cost of a through ticket from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso, first class, is about ?13 10s. including sleeping accommodation, and the time occupied in making the 888 miles from coast to coast is scheduled at 36 hours. In the foregoing list the asterisks ****** indicate the broad gauge, i.e. 5 feet 6 inches lines; while the parallels = = = mark the narrow gauge, one- metre (8'28 feet) lines. The Transandine railway, therefore, besides being subject to the laws of two different political states, has its full share of the operating difficulties inseparable from a through service over mixed gauges. The first of these adverse factors will lessen as the neighbouring Republics see and appreciate the advantage of harmonious working. The second difficulty, the problem of the gauges, is destined to increase with the years. Railroads are built nowadays at a rate hitherto undreamed of. In 1909, in Argentina alone 1098 miles of new railroad were opened to traffic. The permission given by Argentina-and the same remark applies to every South American republic-to cripple the lines of communication within its borders by building railroads to different gauges is an economic blunder which has cost them more than any revolution. Disturbed political conditions, a depreciated paper currency, or vexed frontier questions are all capable of adjustment. But the task of rebuilding the railroads to a standard gauge throughout South America is to-day financially impossible. Meanwhile, the waste, friction, and rivalry between the contending lines, their inability to grant running rights or to assist each other with rolling stock at critical seasons, and the expense of needless transfers, are per- petuated with each fresh construction. New Routes and Old. From Buenos Aires to Valparaiso round the Horn involves a sea journey of some 3500 miles. The actual saving by the Transandine railway between these two points in distance is 2700 miles, in time eleven days, and in cash about ?20 for each first-class passenger. The immediate effect of the opening of the line has been, therefore, to kill all first-class

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LJ passenger traffic by sea to Valparaiso and to Chilian ports which have a local service with Valparaiso. This has resulted in the amalgamation of the Pacific Steam Navigation Co., which served the Chilian seaboard, with the Royal Mail Steam Packet o Company, whose interests, being closely allied with those of the Buenos cn o Aires and Pacific Railway, benefited O

in proportion as those of their com- ou petitors suffered. Thus we have tlhe premier passenger and freight service Q1 to Buenos Aires and Valparaiso by a cn sea from England, as well as the t3 transcontinental land service, prac- tically under the control of a single 0 -

corporation. It requires no very far cr vision to foresee that the manage- s V; :oc N3 w ment will ultimately be obliged to O-

put a regular service across the South cV ell Pacific from Valparaiso to Auckland, eF >ele3u- 03 1/ o in the same way that the Canadian s n,. ~e) 0 Pacific Railway have placed liners SOl 0- S0|| ^A. od ?o on the North Pacific to Japan, in U E-i 4_ order to feed their Pacific terminals. M op In o: The passage from Valparaiso to Auckland is 380 miles, which could cn I1 e.e!ted o be covered by 16-knot boats in 10 7 ? CI? days. At present a line of steamers 801 '?! O running direct from Chili to Aus- o Q 0 =C0 tralasia is the more necessary since o: ue(g o!t1 0 E- 61 o!JewU;J uoFueXS (^ for a voyage from Valparaiso to o

Auckland or Sidney to-day by mail SeO!t und in (J steamer it is first necessary to go to San Francisco or Vancouver ! eTul lxu3lnjy N searp sBe1l We have already noted that the | T?;2J f completion of the pioneer line across sal|3eje ) the Andes has given-a marked stimu- 0)lli^ d^ |e un( lus to other Transcontinental projects. era l, e!p,jenr The scheme is revived for a railroad osue|g o!t1\ crossing from Salta, in northern Argentina, to Antafogasta, in Chili, e?nol!A\ s?:pusl i\ the Andes being surmounted about > 00000 C 1 latitude 23?. The formidable nature goo0o000 ? o o og o o o o o. pr(uooo6 0 (D

No. V -NOVEMBER, 1910.]

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of the range at this point will be seen by the cross-section taken from the geological section of the last Argentine census. The total mountain sec- tion here would extend over some 400 kilometres, while the height of the most practicable pass as yet surveyed is 17,000 feet above sea-level. A more practical project is that put forward by the Buenos Aires Great Southern railway, for a line from present railhead on their Patagonian branch, at the confluence of the Limay and Neuquen rivers with the Rio Negro, to the frontier line, some 335 kilometres west of the confluence. As surveyed at present, the crossing aimed at will probably be in the neighbourhood of the Pino Hachado pass, where it is hoped that the Andes may be surmounted at an altitude of only 6000 feet. This survey, with which the railroad has been dallying for a long time, will be pushed to a definite conclusion within the year. This line will then join up with the south Chilian State railway system, and by uniting the ports of Bahia Blanca and Talcahuano will make a second effective short circuit to the Cape Horn passage. The opening of the Transandine road has already resulted in " speeding- up " mail service and transit in South America. With the new route it is now possible to get from Hamburg to Valparaiso in 20 days, as follows :-

Hlamburg to Genoa, by rail, 2 days. Genoa to Buenos Aires, by Italian mail, 16 days. Buenos Aires to Valparaiso, 11 days. Total 19~ days.

It is a legitimate complaint on the part of the travelling public that whereas twenty years ago it was possible to make the passage from England to the River Plate in 20 days, the leading mail boats sailing from South- ampton now take 21 days to land their passengers. A short time back a bill in the Argentine Congress proposing a subsidy for vessels doing the round trip from Lisbon to Buenos Aires within 30 days, elicited the interesting statement from the leading mail steamers, English, French, and German, that they need not build any new vessel to their fleet in order to earn the bonus. A general quickening of timetables from northern Europe to southern South America is imminent. On land the completed and projected Transandine railroads will tend indirectly to stimulate also the building of lines from north to south, to intersect the numerous tracks which already radiate, like the spokes of a wheel with Buenos Aires as their hub, into the interior of Argentina. Already these cross-country services are becoming more frequent to serve the important traffic springing up in mid-Argentina and Patagonia where the pampa emerge into the foothills of the Andes. Eventually we may look to see a parallel, on the Atlantic side of that splendid barrier, to the great longitudinal railroad which is being pushed to the confines of Chili.

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