Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1847-03-04
Railroads..

The work on the Sullivan road has been com
menced According to the Claremont Eagle,
Mr.. Belknap has contracted TO finish the road as
any rate as soon as June first, 1913.
VERMONT AND CANADA. great deal of
interest is manifested in Northern Vermont and
in Canada, upon the connection of the Yer
mont Central and Ogdensburgh roads with Mon
treal, by the Vermont and Canada road. Two
applications to Parliament have been advertised
both of them for a charter from Montreal
to the Vermont line, and one asking the right to
bridge the Richeieu-thus opening a contnu-
Gus railroad line from Boston TO Ogdensburgh,
with branch to Montreal. The discussion as
to routes begins to wax warm in the North.
PLANK ROADS. Plank roads are not exactly
railroads, but they rank next in importance. In
Canada West, these roads have been success
fully tested. a plank road was built last sum
mer in Onondaga Co. N. Y, called tire Salina
road, ~ miles long. The engineer of this road
says:
"A single track consists of a plank floor eight
feet wide, the upper surface of which is even
side. Where there is not extraordinary a.
mount of travel one track is enough, no difficulty
Whatever occurring in turning out on the level
earth, il 1t is of hard and compact material. The
plank is three or four inches thick, laid crosswise
of the road on stills four inches square, imbedded
in the earth. The earth must first be made mel
low and fine, and even with the top of the stills,
so that when the plank is laid on, there shall be
no vacancies beneath This latter requisite is
of great importance to the preservation of the
plank, as, after a series Ct years, decay has been
found TO exist only at those points where the
earth below did not touch the plank, The plank
keeps its place without any fastening. The ends
must not be laid even, otherwise the wheels Of
the vehicle will be apt to slide along the edge,
IN the attempt to regain it, after passing off in
meeting teams. Perfect drainage Is highly I'M
portant Where the amount of travel is moder-
ate, three inch plank is thick enough; where it
is great four inch is best. 1t is much better for
such roads TO rear om than to rot out, hence the
toll should be low to invite travel. The Canada
roads are made of three inch pine plank, and
usually last about eight years.
The cost per mile, Of the road already spoken
of was as follows:
si!ls, 4nohc' square, l4O8o feet s. per 1000, $40 40
feet width plank 3inch, 2G, 40 feet, do do 633 60
Laying and grading, 81 per rod, 800 90
Engineer, snperntendence, Sc, 10 per cent. l02 90
Gate houses, about 100 90
Add for inch pllnk, 1926 feet, 2ll 90
Sluces, bfidg s., and contingencies, 90 90
$500 90
Being made on the site of an old road, the right
Of way costs nothing The stock cannot now be
purchased at par The work was all done by the
day, by which some thousands of dollars were
saved Oh the twelve miles. The plank should
be of pine or hemlock, or some wood not easily
warped.
single quotation from the communication as
to the value Of such roads, I" / have seen Nc
Adamized road taken up, eight feet in width to
make room for plank track-and men who have
travelled over the best roads in England, say
there is not in Great Britain as good road as
the Salina Plank Road" ALBANY Gut.