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Show America' Longest Tunnel "TNIE recently opened, elglit -mile- long tunnel through the granit backbone of Ihe Casiade mountains 100 miles fast of Seattle. Is the longest long-est tunnel In America. Huilt at a cost of about JH.OOO.IKJO. by the Great Northern railway, this tunnel and Its approaches clips nine miles from the old route, permits the rail road to penetrate the range at a reduced re-duced grade of about MX) feet and. of course, saves that amount of climb, eliminates curvature equivalent toap proximately ten complete circles, dis places several miles of snow sheds, reduces the cost and work of keeping j the mad open during the wdnter sea-i sea-i son. does away with delays due tn I snow slides nnd brings the North Pa- cllic coast closer to the balance of the I country In point of time and Is, there-j there-j fore, a Datlonal asset of do mean I importance. This Cascade tunnel Is a remark-. remark-. able engineering achievement. So accurately ac-curately were the calculations made that when the two ends met 3.000 feet under the cresl of the range and four miles from the western entrance, the j difference In elevation was but nine I Inches, while the difference between estimated and actual distance was i only 12 Inches. Work was pursued day. night and Sunday not a single shift was lost. At one time, 1.7'.I3 men were employed. The entire job was completed within three years. The walls throughout are lined with 1 concrete two feet thick. Lnormous electric locomotives will be used to haul both freight and passenger trains through this bore. |