Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1852-12-23
EASTERN TIMES.
Bath, Thursday, Dec. %, 1852.
Railroad to Rockland.

A railroad from this city to Rockland, has
been for a long season talked-of enterprise
but thus far, while all acknowledge It's claims
upon the attention of the population on the
route, and its feasibility, the little word that
implies and insures success, ACTION, has been
steadily pushed off far into futurity, as to
render all talk and good wishes nugatory.-
If the road is ever to be built, it appears to US
the time for action has arrived. The present
time is favorable in every respect. The money
market is easy, and almost every branch of
business is on the top wave of prosperity
Our ship-builders and ship-owners are making
good profits, and the products of our agricul-
turists are turned into gold with the most sur
prising facility. We are glad to see the poPu-
lation on the line of this road waking up to Its
Importance, and trust the present zeal in the
enterprise will not prove to be as fitful and ev-
anescent as that of former awakenings
There never has been, nor can there be, any
doubt of the capability of road from Bath
along the seaboard becoming good paying
road. The line will strike too many populous
villages to admit of doubt on the point. The
road from Portland to Portsmouth is one Of the
best in the market, its stock always standing
reliably above par. 1t is a seaboard route.
sustained principally by through travel.-
Leaving out Saeo and Biddeford, there is hard
ly populous village on the route. A traveller
on the P. S. & P road gets but glimpse of
population and business anywhere except at
the extremities, Portland and Portsmouth,
And yet this road never fails of paying three
per cent. semi annually, right in the face of
active steamboat competition at half railroad
fare.
A railroad from Rockland to Bath, must Of
necessity command large amount of through
travel. Tapping Penobscot bay at favorable
point, it must attract large portion of the
travel from the seaboard towns beyond, and
the cities and villages up the bay. In the win
ter months, particularly, the hazards of water
communication to Boston, must make Rock
land an important point of transit and bring to
the road large amount of business. But this
road need not depend upon through travel, as
the F. S. & P. road does, almost exclusively
The eleven populous villages on the line after
leaving Bath, and the eleven towns immedi-
ately adjacent to the line, will form an amount
of way travel that no other railroad route of
the same extent in the State can present. An
intelligent correspondent of the Lincoln Demo-
crat, who furnishes some interesting facts in
relation to this enterprise. estimates, from rel-
able data, the population on the route from
Bath to Rockland inclusive, at As .652, and the
valuation of property by the State at Sic, $685.
3l6. Way travel is considered the most profit
able per ccntage on railroad, the surest agent
to bring up fat dividends, being always per-
manent and always progressive. Wesay, then,
the Bath and Rockland road, in the light
of the above facts, promises an amount of
through and way travel not to be surpassed in
extent by the oest exhibit that can be made
on any contemplated line of road in Maine.
The most important question now is, can the !
road be built The length is estimated, from
Bath to Rockland, at forty miles. The short |
ching of distance below the mail route will be |
caused by the grade of the railroad and its |
more direct course. The expense will be about |
$l,2oo,oOO. This is pretty little sum to
raise. Can it be done;
We go against the modern way of building
railroads. First, a subscription of one-eighth |
of the amount, then preferred stock to the
amount of another eighth. then bonds to the
amour. of another eighth sold from so to so |
cents on the dollar, another eighth spent in
scientific engineering, then sympathetic rally
upon the general community to issue their
scrip for the remaining half to complete the
road. Let the Bath and Rockland road be
built upon another plan. Get the whole SUBJ
scribed, or three-quarters at least. Let the
company select the proper man for President,
working, economical man, who knows how
to build good common roads, and for engineers
the best highway surveyors to be found in all
the towns on the line. 1t is hard business to
sacrifice SO much to science in building rail
roads. If Bath can be brought up to under
stand fully her own interest, she will take
large share of the stock. We figure up as fol-
lows:
Bath and X. & P Railroad $780, 900
Rockiand 100000
Wiscasset 100000
Newcastle and Damariscotta 100 900
Waldoboro' $50 900
Thomaston 10000
Other places on and adjacent to the
route 10000
$l.2OOOOO
1t may be said Bath is put at rather a high
figure in the above estimate. The question is
whether Bath had not better subscribe this
amount, and take hold of this railroad now.