Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1853-08-18
European and N. American Railway.

The following note, presenting in brief the
plan of. the European and North American
Railway, was called forth in consequence of
some opposition manifested by those interested
in the Penobscot and Kennebec road.
The Kennebec and Portland Railroad Di-
rectors have entered approvingly into the plan,
and as appears by the following have agreed
upon the question of a lease of their road
The old Directors of the Androscoggin and
Kennebec Railway, a lease of which the Eu-
ropean also proposes to take, have not come
into the views expressed.
PORTLAND, June 10Th, 1853.
! GENTLEMEN Arrangements are now so
far agreed upon, that the plan above submitted
to you, under date Of May 23d last, will be
carried out in all its principal features, and
without unnecessary delay. A line from Port
land to Bangor, and from Bangor to St. John,
over the most direct route, will be entered up
on as soon as the Company can be organized
under the Charter of the European q North
American Railway Company.
The European & North American COmpa-
ny will be prepared to adopt all that portion
of the line of the Penobscot q Kennebec Rail-
road, which can be made available for the
Trunk Line; but any departure from the most
direct practicable route from Bangor to Wa
terville, will require a parallel and competing
line from the Kennebec river to Bangor
From Portland to Bangor by the way of Au-
gusta and Unity. route can be found from Ia
to IL miles shorter than the route by The way
Of Watervile and Newport
From Bangor to Montreal bv the way of
uUucta .Read6pId and Rafbal- diStonoo
will be about $40 miles, or less than that be-
tween Montreal and Boston. An examina-
ton of the country between the Kennebec and
| Androscoggin rivers, shows that the route
above indicated is the shortest and most FEAST
bic one that can be obtained From Bangor
to Readfeld by the way Of Newport and Wa
terville is 10 miles. From Bangor to Readfeld
by the way of Augusta is 70 miles.
BY adopting direct line from Bangor to
Watervile you avoid miles of distance and
make the two lines equal. You will perceive
the Importance therefore, of making the line
from Bangor to Waterville over the shortest
practicable route. This arrangement will at
once fix the value of your road and prevent all
possibility of competing line.
The charters of the Belfast & WatervilIe
Railroad, and of the Franklin & Kennebec
Railroad, will enable us at once to enter upon
the construction of all the lines shown in the
plan sent YOU, with the exception of the short
piece between Bethel and East Livermore,
about 80 miles only in all.
Referring YOU to our verbal communications
made on the nth inst, we again renew the
assurance of our desire to see the line Of the
Penobscot & Kennebec Railroad, in progress
over the best route to Watervlle The Eu-
ropean & North American Railway Compa-
nv will advance the means to finish that line
if it is made part of the system, or your pro-
gress will be aided as you shall require the
means.
Mr.. Poor understood both Mr.. Pickering
and Mr. Dwinel, as we'll as Gen. Strickland,
to give assurances at Augusta, that the Pc
nobscot q Kennebec r. r. Company should
be merged in the f.. q n. A. r. r., as soon
as the latter Company had the means of pur-
chase
Our object in presenting these suggestions
is, to avoid the consequences of hasty or err
roneous location of the line between the Pc
nobscot and kennebec, and to avert the con
sequent destruction of it, or injury to it, by an
Independent and parallel route.
We are prepared to place the necessary en-
cheering parties on the route, commencing at
Augusta, and adopting the Vassalboro' &
We regard the agreement for lease of the
Ken & Portland r. r., with change of its
gauge 10 that generally adopted in Maine, as
a matter placed beyond doubt, and we are
equally DESTROYS of similar arrangement on
equal terms with the Androscoggin & Ken.
II. r. The absorption of these two lines into
the f. & N. A. r. r. Co., by lease in per-
petuity, paying 6 per cent. at the expiration
nI fvp xnyin in,
both roads from their present depressed condi-
ton TO $75 per share.
In case no arrangement can be made with
either the Androscoggin & Ken, or the Pc
nObscot q Ken. r. r.. Companies, we shall
proceed to purchase the right of way from Au-
gusta to Bangor, enter at once upon the same
as far as China, and seek authority from the
Legislature to continue it to Bangor, &c.
We submit this therefore, as an offer to pur-
chase your entire line at cost, in case of its
being constructed over the short route by way
of Unity, either by advancing the money to
carry out the contract for its Construction, or
by taking lease of it at 6 per cent, when fin
ished.
Every dollar thrown away on.a circuitous
route will do indefinite injury to the cause of
Railway improvement in Maine, and we desire
to place on record, to be submitted to the Leg
islature, such an offer as will preclude the pos
sibility Of any future disagreement: IA
The building of the line by the way Of New
port, throws both your road and the andre
scoggin & Ken. r.. r. oat of the line Of the
Grand Trunk from Halifax to Montreal and
New York
In the event of this contamination, you must
be prepared for connected line from Halifax
to Portland and Montreal independent of both
the Penobscot a. Ken and Androscoggin q
Ken. r. r., with branch to Belfast and to
Mattawamkeag Point as part Of the E. &
N. a. r. r.