2

AMERYCAN RAILRO AD J OURNAL.

Lyncliburg and Tcnixessee Rn.i!roud.

The memorial of the stockholders of thi's road, don has patented a mil with a lap-joint, by which

says the Richmond Republican, is a document of
considerable force. It urges the importance of de-
veloping the resources, mineral and agricultural, of
be state, and insists that this line promises more
certain and greater benefits than any other. It is
presented as “a part of that great scheme which
suggested itself to the comprehensive mind of Wash-
ington.” This, it is stated, “ will not on_ly insure a
connection with the Mississippi at Memphis,but in-
sure the connection contemplated by the central line
of impiovetncnts with the waters of the Ohio———tbus
securing to the state, by the shortest and most direct
routes, the two great outlets of western and south-
western trade and ti‘avel—ltlie benefits of which, in a
social, civil, and commercial point of view, cannot
now be well calculaled.”

The memorialists, referring to the works of other
states‘, urge that, “the entire trade and travel of the
west mus. be irretrievably lost to the state, unless
prevented by prompt and energetic action.”

For the pnrpose,therefore, of bringing into the ho-
som of this state the immense treasures from other
and distant statcs—-and of developing the “resources
of her own soil, and filling her own Inarltets with the
production of a section richer in mineral wealth than
any other in the union,” it is contended that this
‘ will give reward to labor, and stimulate individual
ndustry, skill and enterprise; and at the same time
add to theresources of the state, bygreatly increasing
the receipts from investments already made, and
hitherto affording no atlequate remuneration.”

The memorial aslts a subscription on the part of
the state, of three-fifths of the capital stock.

To Mr. W. M. Burwell of Bedford, and Mr.
Francis B. Deane of Lynchburg, the friends of this
scheme are much indebted for the impulse already
given to it.

_.____4..;___*__.

The Philadelphia North American states thatthe
viaduct across the Susquehanna river,for the passage
of the Pennsylvania ltailroad, is advancitigrapidly
and will be completed so as to allow the opening of
the railroad, in the ensuing Spring, from Harris-
burg to Lewistuwn, on the Juniata.

The Annual Report of the Winchester and Po-
tomac Railroad Company, made on the 28th Octo-
ber, shows that the resources from freight, passen-
gers and mails during the year, was $881,927.23.
caused principally by the reduced quantity of Flour
trai.sp;.>i'ted, there. linving been onlv 145,907 barrels
of Flour carried over the Road during the year.
The whole road is now thoroughl,. rtiiewed with
substantial iron rails. The report says that the
businessof the Company has been conducted with
a damage and loss acount of only one hundred and
forty-seven tloll:irs, and with one exception, in
which no materiil d-image was sustained notin-
jury siitfered oy any one, the whole business of the
year has been conducted with perfect regularity and
with perfect safety

Improved Railway Joints.

Vi/‘e. observed, when recently atBufi"alo, N. Y., a
new (to us) mode of keeping the ends of rails at
the joints on a level. Holes of a g inch diameter
were drilled into the ends of the rails and a cast steel
pin inserted.

The following description of a mode of effecting
the same objectis from the London Mining Journal :

“The many inconveniences attending the ori-
ginal tnede of laying the rails, has been attempted
to be avoided, either by a perpendicular lap-joint
instead of 21 butt-joint, or by a different arrangement
in the system of’ lceyingr. None of the numerous
patents taken out have, however, remedied the dan-
gers attending that position of the ends when one is

raised above the other, and which invariably hap-
pen on the rail in front of th_e locomotive being
higher than the other—fron1 the back l‘iLl.l being de-

pressed by the passing weiglit. Mr. L. D. B. Gor-

1

means it is next to impossible for the loaded rail to
sink below the one directly in front of it on the ap-

proach of the train, as the joint is underlzipped;

and, whatever advancing pressure there is, acts
equally on boih rails and the chair. There are a
number of modifications of this arrangetncnt—all
of which appear well calculated to effect. the object
in view, and they are stated to be the most economi-
cal, as well as safe, of any now in use.”
New’ York fun! Er-ic’Raili'oad.
Opening to Bt'7iglLrmt.Zo7L.

On VVetlnesday, the 27th of December, this road
was opened from Port Jervis, on the Delaware river,
127 miles to Binghamton; and, in company with
a large party of gentlemen from this city, from
Ncwburgli and other places, we had the pleasure of
being in the first train that passed over it.

To those who were among the m7'Zir.'5L advocates
of this important worlt—aud conspicuous among
that number we noticed one in the party, I/Villmm
C. Rer/field, Esq, who deserves great credit for his
early efl"orts——this was an interesting day-.

It is now more than eighteen years since this Jour-
nal took ground in favor of the New York and
Erie Railroad, as the mos(.'impm'{nn/. Railroad in
the country; and it has often urged the people of
this city to adopt it as their road, and carry it
through, by a tax upon their property, if they
could not do it otherwise; and we are still of the
opinion that it would be true economy for the city
to raise the means to complete it to the lake in two
ye:>rs—by a tax payable in five years—rather than to
have its completion deferred until 1854. The peo-
plecannot ctj/ord to have its construction delayed so
long, and therefore they should adopt early and ef-
ficient means for its completion.

We recollect to have seen the engineers engaged
in locating the road at Binghamton in October,
1834, or fourteen years ago, and fv/LCIL believed that
we should be able to pass over the c7n‘.i.'7'c line, to
Lake Erie, in less than ten years—-but such have
been the prey’-ztrlices, and drmbts of capitalists,
and such the sectional opposition that it has
been delayed many years longer titan it should
have been, and until the b1LSi7l0$S men of New
York have been obliged, in self tltfcncc, to take
it in hand. It is not the capitalists, the large
owners of real estate, as a body, who have com-
pleted this work to Binghamton; but the active

V\7e will only allude to the deep cutthrough; d
passage down the Shawangunk tnountain—~though
it is a herculean work~—because it has been com-
pleteda year, and thousands have passed over it,
and have been delighted with the beautiful
of the valley below, and the mountains beyond.
It is the peculiar features of the new line of which
we would now speak—-and in doing so we cannot
do better than to adopt the language of a writer in
the Journal of Commerce, which is as follows, viz:

“ After leaving Port Jervis, nature seems to have
set her veto upon all internal improvements, and to
have said “ so far shalt thou go, and no farther.”—-
Rapid rivers, barriers of solid rock, chastns and
prccipices, were all presented as obstacles to try the
energy of man. and nobly has that energy been
brought into requisition. 'l‘hree miles west of Port
.lervis, the road crosses the Delaware river and Del-
aware and Hudson Canal, on the Saw Mill Rift
Bridge. This structure is 800 feet long, and the
grade line is 40 feet above low water. The arches
are 100, 150, and 140 feet span, sustained on piers of
masonry, of a superior character, which rise from
the rapids above the glass-house rocks, presenting
a massive and imposing appearance. This work
cost _:i{a‘75,000, and was not put under contract until
July last, owing to some uncertainty about the lo-
cation. The Btith, 87th and 80th miles, or sections,
distant from Piermont, are remarkable for the im-
mense amount of rock excavation required upon
them; 195,000 yards of rock have been removed to
make way for the rails. At the 89th, the track is
laid tin ashelfl00 feet above the river. On one
side 15 a sustaining wall 90 feet high, containing
_1(i_,000 yards cf stone work, and on the other a pies-
Iplce. A face of rock has been cut down on the
Btithsection 115 feet. The cost of these three miles
has been $300,000 ~

bfidge 75 feet above the stream; the abutrnents, and
all the work about it, are of the most substantial
character.

“ On section 95, the road crosses the Lackawax-
en river, on a bridge 450 feet long, with piers and
abutments of great strength and excellent workman-
ship.

“ At the 102d section, the road, after a short turn
in Pennsylvania, comes back to its own state, by
recrossing the Delaware on a bridge 500 feet long
or four spans. The two centre are 160 feet.

“ The masonry here will stand the test of the se-
verest ‘action At Calicoon creek, 119th section,
there is a bridge over the east branch of the Dela-
ware. On section 163 there is another; and a third
bridge over the main Delaware river at Deposit.
All these are solid and fine specimens of building.

“ On section 170, is the summit between the Del-
aware and Susquehanna river, and here we have the

business men, who have, not only, in the main,
furnished the money, but also the mind, the energy/,;
the ’l:7Lrl()’I)l-i/(L//16’ p:'7'$t’t’e/'a.'n.:e' to level the hills, to:
lillup t .e valEe_:s and to brilge the iayid streams
and deep ravines; and to them do we award the
credit.

VVe do not hesitate to say——indeed we said it to’
one of them two years ago--that if the present,
Board of Directors could have forseen, when they,
were first elected, the difiic ultics, the vexations, the

dertaken the labor, and the responsibility; but, /L(n?i')Lg‘
accepted and entered upon their duties they were
not the men to retreat—-but -he very men to advance,

And they /mine advanced and surmounted by far
the greatest obstacles overcome on any road con-
structed in this country, as the following description
of some of the works will show; yet with the most
accurate description, no man can form a just idea
of the difficulties without passing leisurely over
the line and making a careful examination of the
work; nor, indeed even then, as many of them
were encountered in the Legislattve halls of New
York and Pennsylvania, to obtain a location.

delays to be encountered, they would not have un-

just in proportion to the difficulties to be overcome.‘

,great and formidable cutt. Thelinepasscs through

asingular notch in the dividing ridge; and since
the earth has been cleared from the face of the
mountain, ‘he cut presents to the eve a rock excava-
tion of 200 feet deep! This is the most costly work
on the route, the amount paid for it beirig nearly
$200,000. The 174th mile deserves the sonbriquet
of the picturesque section. Here the road crosses
the Cascade Ravine, 170 feet above the bottom of
the gulf, Q11 a bridge. of ti single arch, of 275 feet
span, with a rise of" 50 feet. This arch is built of
eight ribs of white oak timber, each two feet square
in the centre, and two feet by four at the abutments;
,the whole interlaced in the tnost thorough manner
with wood and iron braces. tlius insuring the requi-
srile stiffness. The width of the roadway is 34 feet;
and for sustaining the lateral pressure, tbearch is
,sprung from the solid rock on each side. The great
;_stone Viaduct over thr Starucca. Valley is on the
E 176th section, or about 2.3 miles east of ‘Binghamp-
l a - . . ~ ,

rton. '1lic fine work is 1200 feet long, and rises
labout 100 feet above the Sta: ucca creek. There are
117 semi-circular arches of 50 feet span, supported
‘by appropriate piers and abutments. Some idea
.may be formed of the character of this structure,
from the factof their being in it 2'-3,000 yards of
masonry, 90,000 yards of which were put up in a.
single year, in a thorough manner———a most wonder-
ful performance. The body of the viaduct is 24
feet, and the space between the iron railings at the

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“ Schohola Creek, on section 90, is crossed by a '