Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Cenis, Mont

CENIS, MONT (se-nē′), a mountain belonging to the Graian Alps, between Savoy and Piedmont, 11,755 feet high. It is famous for the winding road constructed by Napoleon I., which leads over it from France to Italy, and for an immense railway tunnel, which, after nearly 14 years' labor, was finished in 1871. The tunnel does not actually pass through the mountain, but through the Col de Fréjus, about 15 miles to the S. W., where it was found possible to construct it at a lower level. The Mont Cenis Pass is 6,765 feet above the level of the sea, whereas the elevation of the entrance to the tunnel on the side of Savoy is only 3,801 feet, and that on the side of Piedmont 4,246 feet. The total length of the tunnel is 42,145 feet, or nearly 8 miles. The total cost amounted to about $15,000,000, which was borne partly by the French and Italian governments and partly by the Northern Railway Co. of Italy. The tunnel superseded a grip railway which was constructed over the mountain by Mr. Fell, an English engineer, 1864-1868.