Martinsburg gazette and public advertiser. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1826-1833, 1831-06-23
Rail Ro8Ds AND CANALS. No. ~

RolIL RO,9DS .9.ND CANALS. No. II.
Mr.. EpiToR:-In our last number. we Rad
not entirely exhausted the proposition with
witch we set out, VIZ: that no facts at pre-.
sent exist, TO prove the truth OF what We 50
often hear confidently alleged, that Rail
Roads are cheaper in their construction, than
Canals. We Civ" as the most recent proof
10 the contrary, The results on the Liverpool
ami Manchester Rail Road. These results
disclosed by the Directors themselves, arc
most strIki"g e; a Raii Road constructed On
der every favorable circumstance, costing the
enormous sum OF upwards Of NINETY
THOUSAND DOLLARS par mite. which
yields profit of only two per cent, though
charging toll, which stands in the ratio OF
the tolls on our American Canals, ofs2 29cts
TO t,centp cents But if the cost Of the Cars
and Steam Engines be added 20 the cost of
construction, that Road has cost pr mile
sl2h,OOO. Ii is proper, here TO remind the
reader, that this road has emily tao tracts -
Let us now attend to the results Of facts and
experience on the two great works near us =,
the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Bal
timoie aud Ohio Rail Road
The interesting and highly satisfactory Re
port oil the Canal Company made 10 a gene
ral annual meeting, on the 7lh iust. has
reached US. IL deserves the patient and CON
siderate perusal Of all persons in the Valley
Of Virginia, who feel an interest on the sub
ject Of Canals and Rail Roads. and have
funds 20 invest in such improvements. From
this Report, we shall gather some striking
and undeniabe facts of which valuable ma
terial it is wholly composed. In it. are no
vague surrnises, assumptions and roRjertural
estimates Nothing can be more satisfactory;
and it must afford much qualification 10 the
Stockholders of the Company.
We have before stated in justice to both
the works just mentioned, that each OF them
has met with the greatest difficulties in the
part of the works already done. But we
think, no one who is acquainted with the iiIst
81 miles OF the Canal can compare the DIFF
fculties of the Rail Road Cor the same dis.
lance OF its most uniav0rable part, with those
OF the Canal Yet what is the comparison
of the cost? The cost of the Canal from tie
mole IN Washington 10 The Point OF Rocks,
and from this point to Harpers Ferry being
the first sixty miles of the Canal, taking the
cost actually incurred on The distance flushed
and under contract, and allowing the same
Tor the IL miles from the Point of Rocks 10
Harpers Ferry not yet under contract, will
be thirty thousand dollars perme, exclusive
of contingencies Now what by their own
reports has heen the actual cost OF the RaH
Road already finished and what viii be the
estimated cost from this point TO the Point OF
Rocks. 1t is acknowledged that the first Z
miles out Of Baltimore, for the graduation
OF the Road for masonry, culverts, visducts
and side drains, exclusive IF The Rail tracts
cost s458, IFS. exclusive also Of contingencies
being s62 ,G54 per mile. Add the sum, as
shewn by their own statements. for two raj
tracts PEI mile. viz: SIS .000 and the Raj
Road on the first seven miles, encounteIins
less formidable obstacles than the Canal, ha
cost per mile serenity. fire thousand dollars
Large as this snn is, (and it appears thus
large, by the reports Of the Company tb'
fder must recGlect, it is erclusiuc of con
t1'genciss and of expenditures in repairing
the accidents and injuries from frost, Sc
may. therefore, be fairly stmated at $50 co.
pes mile
But let us proceed aud examine, what vi
be the comparative cost Of each work from
the Point of Rocks to HaPpers- Ferry Th
estimate for the Canal, at which the Com
pany can, at any moment, give out on con
tract for This distance Of ~ miles, including
lockADe and the expense Of a substantial dan
across the River immediately below Harpers