Cenis

se-ne', a mountain of the southeastern Alps between southern France and northern Italy. It is crossed by the Mount Cenis Pass, 6,697 feet above the level of the sea. This is the route by which Napoleon first constructed his winding roadway over the mountain. In 1857 work was begun on a railway tunnel through the shoulder of the mountain. Workmen labored at each end. On Christmas Day, 1870, they met in the middle of the mountain and found that their borings lacked but a few inches of being in line with each other. The tunnel is wide enough for two railway tracks. It is about eight miles in length and cost nearly $12,000,000. Part of the expense was defrayed by the governments of France and Italy, and part by the Northern Railway Company of Italy. Prior to this date railroad communication between the two countries was not practicable. See Bernard; Simplon; Tunnel