Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1838-12-06
SOUTHWESTERN RAIL ROAD-BUCHAN.
AN AND LYNCHBURG.


it is probable may, cerain,) tina, the citizen, =,
Lyncbburg would not have agitaied the oues,io, :,
present, for first. because it seems,
a generally entertained and growing opinion thu,
the true policy Of the State is to push on, with all ia
resources and energy, lis great Central improvement,
until il taps the Ohio before it undertakes anoh.
work, scarcely inferior in magnitude, and perb,n.
equal in importance; and secondly, because il mo.,
be, that, if the Road shall stop short of R,clmonJ
(Which, however. can hardly be antciparedl mail
not come either to Buchanan orto Lyncbbuyg. snm9
the James River and kanawha line is in the hand, =,
a Company however, the State may no, be uu~illin,
TO push ahead the Southwestern improvement mar;
Pdssn aud III connection with IT, and if SO, tina, nh.
lection TO the Buc hanan movement is removed an,
The second only remains. Ii the practicabily nj.
continuous water communication shall be demon
sra'ed by the survey Il the route, with AN eye to that
object, suggested by a Memorial TO the Lepislatp,.
recently inserted in this paper, and which survey will
doubtless be directed to be made either BY the Jp
q X. Company by the legislature, it ma, b.
found expedient tap that line some ONT on Nu,
Rirer, much nearer to Tennessee even than Bucbao.
an, aud therefore, according TO the logic Of the me
'norasls oi that place, the more suitable place for
the eastern terminate Of the Road. Should hi.
turn out TO be the case, all efforts nor made to ,.
cure The supposed advantages resulting from the To-
cation Of the connecting point Of the two improve.
ments, unless they be forced upon us. as measure Of
self defence, are necessarily premature and Ljudy-
ed.
Upon the assumption, however. that the point of
connection will be at some place on James River, and
tha! this The proper period 10 des gnate that point
we should stl contest the claims OF uthanan to that
distinction. Let us glance AT the arguments relied
upon by the Buchanan Memorials to demonstrate
the superior claims OF their embryo city. They are:
LIST. That The Road from Tennessee to Buchanan
will cost S742, 033 less than Road from Tennessee
to Lynchhnrg;
2dy, That from the Big Lick, in Roanoke coun-
~, where the two routes separate, Buchanan tho
Road will cost 4,S05 SO per mile less than from the
same pace To Lynchhurg and
3dy. That to transport Atom from the Big Lick 10
Richnohd. ria Lynchburg. will cost 80 cents more
than 10 transport the same quantity between the same
points, via Buchanan.
We might well urge the claim, of Lynclburg to
be made the eastern terminus Of the Southwestern
Road founded upon her early appreciation and adyo-
cacy of this important improvement, aud Of The pat
rlolic zeal with which her citizens embarked their
funds in it. under the first charter Of Incorporation
granted FOR its accomplishments charter secured
hy their ACTIVITY and energy and which would, before
this day, have resulted in the completion Of the work.
bad i, not been arrested while in its first stages 10
true bn, nevertheless in the full tide of successful
experiment" the prepondeatng ofthe city Of
Richmord, whose citizens became suddenly enarnor-
cd al ttpr MI ol he. "a,
stockholders here. That success las not attended
the efforts since made under charters afterwards OBJ
tanned 10 secure the necessary subscriptions Of stock
TO authorize the organization Of the Company and
the commencement OF the work, has not resulted
from, any loss Of confidence in the great importance
rim the assumed proableness of the enterprise but
entirely from our inability undertake SO vas, an
enerprize, with any hope Of carrying i, OIL to sue
cessfnl termination.
The repeated recognition of Lyuchburg as tho
point AT which The Southwestern Road should tap the
James River improvement must have been founded.
too, upon some advantages, real supposed, which
upossesscs over Buchanan the only town upon the line
by winch rival professions are setup And il seems to
us that there are considerations both numerous and
weighty enough TO outweigh the arguments, above
referred to- OF the Buchanan Memorialsts and which
we proceed very briefly to reply to-for it requires
nothing like elaborate effort to show their inter in.
significance.
We do rot deny thai the Road from Tennessee to
Lynchburg will cost some 500, 900 more than
Road 10 Buchanan-and so the Road to Buchanan
will cost S360,OoO than if it shall stop at tho
Big Lick. Shall il therefore stop at the latter
POINT Ceririnly no one would dream of such a
thing. That il would not tap the water line at the
Big Lick, while 1t will at Buchanan" would be the
obvious reply to this remark, if that were the primary
object OF the Southwestern Improvement as is not
It's chiei Design us to constitute link in a line Of
Kan Ko'd communication from the PassamaquodJy
to the Ballze-and Richmond, therefore, is to be its
point OF intersection with the great line from North
to South, and consequently the eastern terminus
o. The Southwestern Rail Road. IL it costs more.
then, as II certainly will. TO bring the Road to
Lynchburg than 20 b uchanan, so we are nedrcrto
richmond, its point Of ultimate destinaon-and as
" the Road turf oflirom the Big Lick to Buchanan,
will make considerable digresson from the most
direct route Richmond the cost of constructing
from that point TO the Metropolis will eventually
make an aggregate much larger than it be brought
at once to Lynchburs, aud thence continued 10
k'chmond,-to say nothing Of the increased dis
lance.
AS to the fact that the Road to Lynchburg will
cost more per mile" than the Road to Buchanan, it
is well known that this additional cost il the copse