Tunnel 6

In 1866, Chinese workers cut Tunnel 6, the longest tunnel of the Sierra Crossing, through 1659 feet of solid granite. One worker held a star bit and turned it a quarter turn while two others struck it with 18 lb. sledges, as four teams worked at four separate faces and advanced only inches a day. After a hole was drilled, it was filled with black powder, the fuse was lit, and the workers ran before returning to clear the rubble by hand, without machines. Because tunneling through the granite was too slow, a shaft was blasted straight down above the middle to open two more faces, and a steam engine was brought in to lift out debris. When all four faces finally met after two years, they were off by only two inches. The workers also endured avalanches and heavy snow, including 40 feet in the first winter, and sometimes moved from their living sheds to the work faces through tunnels dug into the snow. Nitroglycerine helped speed the work, but construction still lagged, so the railroad carried track, railroad cars, and a steam engine over the pass, over the snow, between Donner Peak and Mt. Judah, to continue building on the eastern side, race across Nevada, earn pay by the mile, and outpace the Union Pacific coming from the east.

California · United States