Perhaps this article would only be surpassed by the CPR's own records - if one wanted to know exactly how the Connaught Tunnel was built. Although it is quite technical and detailed, it provides valuable insights into the construction techniques used a century ago.
A tunnel is a work of architecture in which the natural environment provides most of the structure. As often occurs with tunnels, the engineers had to provide supplementary support to the natural features in some areas.
You can picture the 'human experience' of working inside a mountain and travelling to and from work in all seasons of the year. With a bonus system in place for some of the work, the types of risks taken and accidents which might have occurred can also be imagined. 'Tertiary level' hospital care would not been have available to injured workers.
As always, I've tried to work with some of the images in order to better present some of the historical details within the photos and diagrams which people might be interested in.
This article was found as I scrolled along from one of Jim Christie's journal references. That being said, I'm sure (without checking) that he also provided me with the precise links to this reference because he has done a lot of research all through these journals and he certainly would have marked this one!
