Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1851-10-02

1
! completed already through Augusta t
8: Rome, distance Of about $50 miles, an,
a viii soon be finished, if not already open
: ed, through TO the Tennessee river a, Cha,
: tanooga. BY the Central line of Georgia
e and the Alabama Railroad. Montyon,er,
: IN Alabama, is connected with Savannah
r In fact, the only links wanting to complet,
5 continuous ine. uninterrupted except b,
, the natural breaks, such as rivers ike The
Hudson. and bays ike the Chesapeake
which railroad enterprise mus, put up witt
as best it can, are from Portland to Mont
gomery, and between Wilmington, Nortl
; Carolina, and Charleston, and betwee,
Charleston and Savannah. Abont 2OC
miles Of Railroad here would max the chai,
complete. From Montgomery there is ca
sy and uninterrupted communication by thC
Alabama river, which for steam navigation
is said TO be unsurpassed. This route is 1
coast route; it follows the east curve Of the
ellipse. Of course the distance must be
much greater than by direct route, such
as we have described, following a straish,
hnc, the axis Of the elipse. through the
great valley of Virginia. Of,his route, the
road is completed and in operation from
Portland. Maine.to Winchester. Virginia, at
the entrance ofthe valley. From Winohes-
ter a fne to Louisa, along the Valley, and
a road beyond Louisa, also, are projected.
Ot the locaEinterests ofa line like this, run
ming southwest through the heart Of Nir
gina, we cannot stop to speak. As sec
ton of the National Railroad to Mobile, it
brings us TO Abingdon. from which to
Knoxville, and from Knoxville to Chatta.
nooga, the route is almost straight line,
perfectly feasible and easy, and railroad
are already projected along the whole.
There remains an important link from
Chattanooga, on the Tennessee river, to
Selma, on the Alabama. This link the
Alabama and Tennessee River Railroad
Company will supply. The company is
already organized: its President j. w.
Lapsley, Esq; of Selma. From report
Of Lewis Troost, Esq, the Chief Engineer
of the Road, we have obtained numerous
interesting particulars in relation to the
Southern railway communication in gencr-
al as well as the proposed line
From Selma, the steam communication
/
interrupted at all seasons Of the year. 1t
Is from Selma that the proposed road will
run northeast to Mountevalo, distance
otsomc 81 miles. OF this distance about
81 miles, commencing at Selma, were gra
ded In 1887, and are nearly ready for the
superstructure. From Montcvallo il runs
still northeast TO Gadsden, on the Coosa
River. From some eligible roint on
this part Of the line it is proposed to
construct branches connecting with the
Georgia and South Carolina lines at Rome
and Chattanooga. The latter branch is
the more important considered with refer
encc to its connection with great trunk
ofrairoad communication with the North
1t lies in the direct linc Of the route which
we have traced through the Valley Of Vir-
gina. From Gadsden the line will be
coniidned by company already charter.
ed. to the Tennessee River at Cutters
Landing.
The advantage, in time and distance of
a direct Inc like the ono Of which the pro
posed Alabama and Tennessee Railroad
will form an important section, between
New York and Boston, at one end OF the
elipse, and Mobile and New Orleans at
the other, the cost diverging southeast, or a
river route diyerging southwest is obvi.
| ous:-
| The distance from Boston to Mo-
bile, by way Of Richmond and
Charleston, w. POM, and Mont. Miles.
| eomery, is S03
New York 10 Mobile, same route 1865
Boston TO Mobile. by the direct
route we have indicated 1,5S2
New York to Mobile same route 1911
!
Difference 221
! o.. in ISL hours at slow rates
The distance from New York to New
Orleans, by way Of Pittsburg, down the
Ohio and Mississippi, is about 2, 500 miles
Difference between this route and direct
route through the valley Of Virginia, in dis
tance and in time, between Steamboats, on
the one and locomotive on the other route,
ten or twelve days. By steamer from New
York to New Orleans, the distance about
800 miles, Is made in some nine days.
Apart from the national and general con
sideralions Of this kind. the proposed rail
road from Selma to the Tennessee River
presents many features Of interest to all
who are interested in the prosperity Of Ala
bama. Few ont of the State are aware of
its mineral riches Those who have read
| Nh. Taylor's learned statistics OF coal, need
not be told that 1t abounds in bituminous
coal Of excellent quality. lnthc field great
col6eds Of Tuscaloosa, Cahawba, Coosa
Dekab and Marshall counties, the strata
vary in thickness from two to ten feet
These coal fields are all within reach from
the Alabama and Tennessee Raiiroad-
Side by side with the coal lie beds of iron
ore, whose excellent quality has been tes-
ted. aad which in Benton, Talladega, and
Shelby counties, are beginning to reward
the enterprise Of the iron masters. Several
beautiful varieties of marble, aad limestone
Of good quality, are found in counties along
the route; in Talladega, jet black marble,
and in Shelby blue and grey marble
Gypsum is another of the mineral treas
ures Of this part Of Alabama.
We give some figures from the census
Of lSi0, and the Patent Reports OF 1SiS
and l649, showing the resources Of the re-
gion through which the road will pass
\ Population <--.-- -223,206
STOCK.
Horses and Mules. ...-..-..-.-.77,0 OPS
Neat Cattle. ...----.----- 307 ,959
Sheep -92,9lG
Swine nc-.--.-...-....-.. .799,7 1856
Value Of Ponl'ry. ...... .S2I5,49I
PRODUCTS OF THE FIELD.
Bushels Of Wheat per annum. -sls.000
Oats, .o70,000
Corn, 49,. .li,aI0,000
Potatoes, "........ 5G5, ,00o
Pounds Of Tobacco, .......- 100000
Pounds Of Cotton perannum, 66.46i 500
Valueofhomemade family goods.2.2l5,l7s