Alfred BrandtBorn 3 Sep 1846; died 29 Nov 1899 at age 53.German civil engineer whose major achievement was enabling construction of the 12.5 mile (20-km) Simplon Tunnel, a major tunnel through the Alps between Italy and Switzerland. As a young engineer working onboring the St. Gotthard Tunnel between Italy and Switzerland, he learned about the difficulties involved, and the use of pneumatic drills and blasting. A hydraulic drill of his own design was used to drive theArlberg Tunnel between Austria and Switzerland. To dig the Simplon Tunnel, he innovated by driving two separate tunnels 55-ft (17-m) apart, connected by crosshatches to provide for ventilation, temperature control and a circuit for debris-removal trains. He died early in the project, from the strain of overworking himself.«[Image: Simplon Tunnel during construction, model] |
