Page:Description of the Line and Works of the Sao Paulo Railway in the Empire of Brazil.pdf/3

Rh the summit level to be reduced by tunnelling, a locomotive line with gradients of 1 in 55 has been constructed. Had a similar line been laid out on the São Paulo Serra, a continuous incline of at least 26 miles in length would have been entailed, and taking the cost of the Dom Pedro Segundo mountain line as a basis, the outlay for overcoming the Serra alone would have reached £1,500,000.

Only those engineers who have made surveys through tropical forests can form a definite idea of the immense labour involved in the exploration and selection of a railway route in a country like Brazil, and especially on the precipitous and rugged sea face of the Serra do Mar. To add to the difficulties, the whole escarpment, from the deepest gorge to the loftiest peak, is covered with almost impenetrable primeval forests, through which the explorer has to drive narrow paths resembling 'headings.' The exploring party usually remained in the jungle three weeks at a time, living in huts covered with the leaves of the palmetto, exposed to tropical rains and hardships of which it is difficult to convey an adequate idea, and emerging from the woods blanched from want of sunlight, which rarely penetrates the thick gloom of a Brazilian forest. From the neighbourhood of São Paulo to Jundiahy, the plans and sections drawn in 1835 were verified and made use of, where practicable. The whole of these surveys were completed in about fifteen months, and the Author returned to England in September, 1857. At the close of that year Mr. Brunlees, the Engineer-in-Chief, presented his plans, sections, report, and estimates, which by Decree of the 11th March, 1858, were approved by the Imperial Government of Brazil, with such slight modifications, to insure uniformity with other Brazilian railways, as were proposed by the Government consulting Engineer, Mr. C. B. Lane, M. Inst. C.E.; and by Decree, dated the 13th of March, 1858, the period for the formation of the Company was prolonged for two years, or until the 26th of April, 1860, and the concession was altered in details relating to the guarantee. By Imperial Decree of the 30th of October, 1859, the guarantee was extended to the whole period of the concession, ninety years, and provision was made for interest paid during construction being treated as capital, to bear the guaranteed rate of interest. The Company was formally incorporated under memorandum and articles of association bearing date the 22nd of December, 1859, and in January, 1860, the Author, having been appointed by Mr. Brunlees as his principal resident Engineer, proceeded to São Paulo to take charge of the works, and was shortly followed by Mr. Aubertin, the Company’s superintendent, Mr. Bolland, M. Inst. C.E., Mr. John Henderson, Assoc. Inst. C.E. (the contractors' Engineer),and others. On the 8th of February, a contract between the Company and Messrs. Robert Sharpe and Sons was entered into, whereby the