If we're talking turn of the century civil engineering, London's Greenwich Foot Tunnel is older. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_foot_tunnel https://en.

If we're talking turn of the century civil engineering, London's Greenwich Foot Tunnel is older. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_foot_tunnel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_foot_tunnel However, for true balls, you have to look at the French who completed the incredible Haiphong to Kunming railway, mainly to extract tin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunming%E2%80%93Haiphong_railway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunming%E2%80%93Haiphong_railw... Incidentally, I just purchased some bulk solder which is still being produced from Yunnanese tin today. The town was mined so heavily the center collapsed and turned in to a craterous water feature. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gejiu https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gejiu There's a mining company museum which features an early computer imported from the US (I have photos somewhere), possibly off the back of US-China anti-Japan collaboration during WWII, which was significant in the area. How times change! The English of course wouldn't have it and tried to beat the frogs by bringing a line in from Myanmar with the support of the US but failed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yunnan%E2%80%93Burma_railway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yunnan%E2%80%93Burma_railway You can read the minutes of them pompously pontificating in London. It would make a great film, IMHO. China has recently rebuilt the French line as a high speed line to the border, from which travelers may appreciate the relative infrastructure fail that is north Vietnam.