SWISS TUNNELS AND SEATTLE’S BERTHA
I had this crazy idea to entertain myself by counting the tunnels I drove through. To make it easier, I would not attempt the rail ones, just the drive through ones. Ha. That did not last long. OK, maybe I should have limited my counting to only those of greater than one mile in length? That would have been tough as well. So, let’s say, in two weeks, hundreds. That is the best that I can do. Probably close to 600 if we add all of the rail tunnels.
I have seen normal rail tunnels, some over 6 miles long. I have seen rail ferry sort of things where cars drive onto flat rail cars and are taken through a given tunnel and then they drive off after exiting. I have seen freeways with full interchanges inside tunnels. I have seen a one lane tunnel that was a mile long with no obvious way to determine who should be in it. I did not have the courage to try, but I assume there were periodic turnouts? I have even seen a pedestrian tunnel. When a city is approached, the freeway essentially goes underneath it in long tunnels.
So, knowing all of this skill exists, why didn’t Seattle hire the Swiss to do the Bertha tunnel?
| This Landwasser viaduct and tunnel are over 110 years old. |
| Such a lonely road that I just stooped here in the tunnel to take the shot |
| This is the entrance to the long single lane tunnel to some mountain village, their only access. There does not seem to be any obvious way to know if the tunnel is clear before starting into it. I cannot image that backing out of a tunnel would be fun or easy, so I did not test it. |
 |
| Here it is, clearly one lane. |
| A typical snow shed tunnel |
| This is the cream de la cream. A rail tunnel (A train came through minutes later.) To the right is the pedestrian tunnel. Further to the right, out of the picture is the highway tunnel. And, known only due to Heidi and the navigation system, far below is a massive new highway tunnel that will curt through and under this entire gorge area. |
 |
| The tunnel at the Passo del San Berenadino, somewhat in the clouds. |
| Descending from the Sustenpass, probably my favorite of the passes that I did. |
| Sustenpass again. A pair of rugged tunnels on either side of a switchback. |
| As we are talking tunnels, I added this one from the Jungfraujoch railway. A tunnel for people to see out a window while deep inside Eiger mountain. |
| Also from the jungfraujoch. A bit klitchy, but a long ice tunnel to walk/slip-slide through. |
| Lastly, a cog railway tunnel on the Pilatus line, the steepest cog railway in the world at 48 degrees. And, yes, that is a sheer drop off of thousands of feet to the left,and the railway is 124 years old. But, fortunately, it still works, as going up or down at that gradient is a bit unnerving. This is not a funicular. It is a regular train but with cogs to grip in the center. |