Edmund Bartissol

Who was Edmund Bartissol?

Important French railway engineer (1841-1916) who carried out the design of extensive railway lines in Portugal, France and Brazil. He also got involved in the construction of the harbour walls at Leixões using the mighty "Titan" cranes, made by "Five Lille" to place huge granite blocks in the sea. He was involved on the design of the Suez canal, and was also responsible for the demolition of a number of medieval ramparts in Perpignan. His work on the Panama canal got him mixed up in a fraud case, and he retired to his vinyard at Herdade de Pinheiro near Setubal which is still in family ownership. His ideas at Panama included building a stone tunnel about ten kilometres long. Water from the Chagres Biver would bo conducted by shafts to this tunnel, and there be used to carry to the Pacific the soil already excavated from the canal bed and thrown in the way of the current. The canal could be completed in four years M.Bartissol's estimated a maximum expense of 500,000,000 francs.

Spelling of his name is confusing as it has been adapted in several Portuguese texts (many years ago) from Edmondo or Edmond Bartissol. One of his most audatious schemes (with Duparchy) was a bridge across the Tagus (at Lisbon), some 70 years before the first bridge was finally built.