The year just closed has witnessed a great change 'in the face of nature' at this place, and for miles below and above Yale. The Railway bed is now ready for the ties and rails between Emory—five miles—and this place, except a little bridge work and the finishing of the deep cut east side of Emory creek, now being prosecuted by Capt. Warner and his Chinamen; this it is intended to have finished by early spring. The ties and steel rails are on hand, so that we may look for tracklaying before May morning. It is stated a locomotive with tender and cars is expected up by one of the first boats. Through Yale the road bed is nearly ready, and up to No. 1 tunnel (510 feet), half a mile east of Yale; the steam drill completed its work to-day leaving only 90 feet tunnel bottom, that will be finished by 15th inst.
No. 2 tunnel, a quarter of a mile east of No. 1, and 350 in length, is finished, except a little sloping and trimming.
No. 3 tunnel is ½ mile further east of No. 1, and is 187 feet, now well in hand, and if Mr. J.B. Harrison pushes this work with his usual go-a-head-a-tive-ness it will be completed Feb. 1st.
No. 4 tunnel is ¾ mile further on, and as it is only 83 feet it is only a question of a short time when daylight will be let through it. Between the tunnels named the road bed is about ready.
What was formerly known as No. 5 tunnel is turned into an open cut and is far advanced, as is the work along the line up to the Suspension Bridge, some 15 miles from Yale. Two miles further on is what is now known as No. 5 or the Big Tunnel, 1,600 feet, of very hard rock. For some time Mr. Bugbee has been placing compressed air drills at both ends, and we now learn that work will fairly commence next Monday on this end and at the other in a few weeks.
Our visit to that locality has been unavoidably delayed; however, we now intend to go up the line in a short time—perhaps before our next issue, if convenient to get away from our business here for a day or two.
We have had very little to say about the work beyond the Big Tunnel for the reason that we were unable to visit the Nicola Camp and could not learn much of importance from that locality. Of course we informed our readers from time to time that Mr. Bray was up there with a force getting houses ready along the line and had a force of Chinamen upon the grade of the road.
We are now creditably informed that Mr. Bray got into his new building Jan. 1st, and with 'the staff' had a house-warming in their new home. The head quarters are at Spence's Bridge (Cook's Ferry,) 80 miles above Yale.
Mr. McLeod, Gov't Engineer, moved his family 1st of the year into his comfortable residence, 7 miles this side of Spence's Bridge, near the place where the land slide took place some months since.
The work along the Railway extends from 4 miles this side of the Bridge to 7 miles above, making 11 miles under construction in that section. Nothing is being done with the bridges, at present, and as the country is not of the rocky character as at this end, the force is busy with pick and shovel along the grade work, which begins to loom up in many places to advantage. The weather has not interfered much with the progress of the work. It is expected that the present force of about 300—mostly Chinamen—will be more than doubled by early spring, so that by the time the Big Tunnel admits of passage the balance of the road will be ready for the rails.
