Australian Science Illustrated – Issue 51 2017

56 | SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED

Construction killed

the initiator

Favre was not an engineer by training and had very little experience with tunnel

construction. Nevertheless, he believed that he could build the St. Gotthard

tunnel in record time, but the project killed him and cost his family a fortune.

T

he man who agreed to build the

world’s longest tunnel had neither

studied maths nor geology or logistics,

he had only attended brief courses of the

subjects. Louis Favre of Switzerland was

born in 1826 in Chene-Bourg near Geneva

as the son of a carpenter. When he was

young, he travelled about France,

carrying out different construction

projects, and before tendering for the St.

Gotthard tunnel, his major engineer-ing

project was a 1-km-long tunnel.

Favre was a hearty, energetic, and

optimistic man, and he expected to be

able to build the 15-km-long railway

tunnel so quickly and cheaply that he

would earn an impressive bonus.

However, new problems emerged all the

time, so the deadline could not be made.

On 19 July 1879, he had a stroke and died

inside the dark tunnel at the age of 53.

The work was not completed as quickly as

he had hoped, and the resulting penalties

were a costly affair for his family.

moved into the St. Gotthard Massif – up to

30 degrees at the centre of the tunnel.

On 28 July 1875, an Italian worker had

had enough of the unbearable working

conditions. He refused to enter the smoke-

filled, reeking tunnel, and soon, a strike was

on. The workers blocked the entrance and

demanded a raise of 1 franc per day.

Louise Favre telegraphed for help, and

the next day, lots of policemen arrived. The

striking workers were defeated, and four

were killed. The news of the bloody

operation triggered a debate in Switzerland

concerning safety. It was dangerous to work

in the tunnel, and the four dead workers

were not the only ones. According to official

data, a total of 199 workers lost their lives,

and almost all reports said the same: The

careless worker was hit by a falling rock,

killed in an explosion, or caught between the

wagons which carried rocks out of the

tunnel. There were also accidents outside

the tunnel. In September 1877, a dynamite

storehouse in Airolo exploded, causing a

major fire in the village.

Strike and accidents slowed down the

progress of the tunnel, and Louis Favre had

1900

About 1 million t of goods

pass through the tunnel.

(^1908)
The Swiss Railways take
over train services.
1885-94
The railway is secured
by the military.
1882
Grandiose inauguration of
the world's longest tunnel.
JUPITER IMAGES
LOUIS FAVRE
(1826-79)
TECHNOLOGY TUNNELS