A RAILWAY UP VESUVIUS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VII, Issue 1056, 30 June 1880, Page 2

A RAILWAY UP VESUVIUS.

Those terrible engineers, from whom nothing is sacred, it will be Been from our cable messages to-day, have at last completed a railway to the summit of Mount Vesuvius. While lovers of the picturesque may object to seeing these ingenious and irrepressible gentlemen disfiguring the lovely natural scenery on the eastern side of the Bay of Naples by iron rails, unhandsome locomotives, hideous embankments, and ugliness personified in the form of railway stations and goods sheds, still we must admit that the work is not without its counter-balancing advantages. Instead of laboriously climbing for two hours up the steep sides of that awe-inspiring, yet exquisitely beautiful mountain which rises so majestically out of the plain of Campania, the tourist now steps into the train, and in ten minutes finds himself on a level spot on the west side of the mountain, within half-an-hour's walk from the famous observatory on Mount Contarino, whence Signor Palmieri issues his periodical bulletins respecting the health of the caprioious monstor over whom he keeps such zealous watoh. As may be imagined, the incline by which an elevation of about 3000 feet is scaled in ten minutes must be exceedingly steep. The perils of the Rimutaka pale into insignificance by the side of this terrible asoent. The steepest grade of the former is 1 in Ift, while the Mount Vesuvius incline is in some places greater than 1 in 1 ! It commences in fact at 40 degrees, increasing to 63 degrees, and continuing at 50 degrees to the summit. Of course even Fell engines are of no use for such a prodigious climb as this, Consequently the American "double-iron, rope system "is usual. There are two lines of rails, each provided with a carriage, divided k into two compartments, and

capable of holding six persons. The motive power is supplied by a stationary traction engine, and the carriages are so arranged that the empty carriages coming down help to pull the full carriage which is coming up at the same time. To obtain the necessary supplies of water large reservoirs are erected, which in the winter will be filled with snow that falls on the mountain, and this will quickly be converted into liquid by the heat of the great natural furnace below. Above the entrance to the summit station an enchanting view is to be obtained, not only of the Gulf of Naples, but also of those of Baie and Gaeta, on the other Bide of the Peninsula, while away to the north stretches the fertile plain of Caserta, hemmed in by the lordly Apennines. Every care has been taken to reduce the perils of the accent to a minimum, and a very substantial wall has been erected to protect the line.