Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1853-07-01
For tie Enquire
CONVICTION AF>p OHIO RAIL ROAD.

~. , r,s i,r ,n. ,ru,i,r uf The Cuvn.t"n ant
Ohio RAJ! Road IL r'ia article attempted ~ 7' ~
Mr. S,.aw, reports ui said routes, made 10 INC no',:
'uhic Works, fuii ~ errors ana nhf''
hat . t.prc has been rectn" Of the James iI'rr a
kanaw Ia Company, whit. wisely and lTndeh,'y '' '
~ flare If Virginia and the interest o! the Stockhnut's
aid Company determined 10 extend this great WORK 10 M
naylaaIe Of the kinaw a nr 10 the ohlo Ie
am happy say that in Tint meeting my statements fta
live 10 ire merits p the Gcrnhrcr and Monroe rohcs "t
fully sustained BIZ If the NEST learned able anu iu
.ahr EnrInrers in The United Satcs-!;o Walter liwyn
the !l-rlpguiaca cngnce! {" the james River ana Mana"
ha Company: ,,r,o,,s ,r N,
Nou,n, nt E,cnbrier routes the GovIngton ana ono
Rail Road and gave The preference 10 Tue lo.gf ~
10 the grades curves, cost o cohs'lu'''o' any 49, 49,
way trade 10 be derived from me cou"''S ~ > "
roads. ..,., ,,,,
Mr.. Charles B Shaw his mad and lnemFeIals pat
ian zeal for The G;ctnbt"r route publishes M
chmcud Examiner o May The 9th, IN when nc ca's:s
The members Of the James River aud hana"ha COMPANY y.
their proceedings with folly and want OF wisdom INC
fame acquired BY Mr. Shaw, as an engineer CONSISTS " NC
fac, that he nr shur' tine the successor OF r RE
vns, as The engineer Of tic McAdam road running from
Burhanan "a Southwestern Virginia, and through The TO-
urnce and lcry d certain gentlemen was nducea 10
IL ~, urortant change in the location made by his pre-
tecs.or much belle 'ed, 10 the dcrient nt Inc pub
c and intyduaIsand III the cast OF the Greenorief
and Monroe routes became The violent paFizan ul Tue one
utc over the other and reported his estimates 10 the
BOARD of Public Work. by which he proved that The route
rs located by himself wuGli only about ha us muc
As located by the former cngineci ana put ms ""
$500
Public Works, and after an investigation ar: ohaw was
reversed placed upon lis former location and IN
stead of costing double the sum, the contractor was very
willing 10 make for the sum he contracted 10 make Tor on
,he Shaw location This TACT know, satisfied some gen.
,.mcn that Mr. Shuws estimates could not be relied upon
Mr. Shaw was APPOINTED by the Board of Public Works
70 make survey from Covinglon the Ohio river
ccrIun The prcllcablty u route for rail Ioad which
tuy he performed having The report "l engineers VINO had
rcriousy examined for that purpose 10 GUIDE nm mere
Is 1hing therefore, in Mr. Shaw professional history that
woud cnte him to rank above mcdocry-yct he charges
such men as Col Gwynn, who stands upon me topmosl
round in the ladder OF his Dimn"cH one
IF nm, ,nnst enuhiencd and gifted engineers nj the day
Han Jnhp Y Mason Judge John Robertson, Judge W. W.
Crump g. r. Johnson Ed and the gentlemen composing
he James River and kunt"hh Company certainty aS GU
ub,nei ami natrioc any IN rglna-wlth ark OF WIS.
- and want NJ snowitjgc. Those acquainted with
Chufl. g. Shaw ana the gentlemen mus denounced vi" DC
ant 10 think that presumption, cGnreil stupidity ana AFRO
"a nee could not further 70
~ IN. W.hunnL ENQUIRER Of June ls card appears
over the signature G.. Cfzet correcting statement maze
nv mr. upnn information my article Vi me I'm o ay IN
rrsn.rt la The cost Of the Flu" Ridge innne ana SHOWS
@ ia. informant in AL bty, fell nlO The mistake
thank Col Crzrt iu Information, and ior his card Tor
i lizards data uppn which build correct estimates IN an
examination some OF Mr. Sha"s statements" anu as
Col Croz. has been appointed the consuming Engineer Tor
Nr Shaw in matters uppehainlng 10 The Co'ngi0n and
Ohio Rail Ron the data vii not bc attempted 10 DC coho-
ycrled by Mr Shaw.
n ,hr u,,n Blue Ridge Tunncl-hnt III The same time
shows that the cost b. greatly reduced by The TACT o
Ia, -, he Zone when hla- ed oul-and might add, too
owing Greatly 10 the TAT the work was lei To contract
no ,hr BOARD OF Public Iks some three years ago. when
labor was much cheaper an now and at rulnous prices 10
| the contractors
Col rnzct also states nat The short tunnel which mas
been pe through so:er material and requires archng
will $50 per linear loot 10" Tue material consisting
f dr and stone contained IN Tie small tunnel IS usua
and common To all tunnels such case as that 81 the main
Binc RIDGE tunnel al bc. solid stnnel Is not To be i0und
nnan in The United nd in estimating the cost OF tun
he
iund in such works. and hat Is such Is Is uand IN the
small tunnel al the Blue sdge Does not that, ihcn pre-
sent proper data r Gs;1ac! Nj Shaw estimates long
tunnels Ii per cen'i more than soit ones ana NJ
certainly right nr The d: and stone taken from The iun
mel will have carried much greater distance as well
n. the material for aTrlng Then shor tunnel (as III The
Pine R;du) costs $50 % linear iont add that IL per
centum and il makes S92 cts: aud am assured ~"ui1
he safe saying tina, lab: Is ~ per ccnnm higher no"
b,n hrer wears 40 whci the Blue Ridge Tunnel "as let 10
contract 20 Der cent thl should be added Tor the lncreas
ed price Of soulJ make the cost OF long tun
mel upwards OF Sill " per linear foot. !. there
fore think may fairly elm That my estimate IN my iorncr
article OF 100 per linear at, Is not above the mark.
Here IL an extract fru Col. Cfozers card which will
prove important in IN estimate presently 10 Dc fihde
"lhr Main Blue Ridge Tunnel has progrt ssed more IA
n,v imam The usual aver u such works. which Is
foo, yer day each end whereas, our progress has been
;rrr ect per day both dsh result due 10 the energy
and Of tie contractors AID 10 The Sonnn
ness md Sodly ui the ~ k which leaves nothing To bc
orc when blasted Ic j. different with softer
materials whc require pccuuups and additional work
,odury. delay PersGs unacquaiutrd with such mat
lcrs are art consider itma'cals advantage but OK
prrncc tea"l,, nhcrw. The small lmnne! we are about
completing Is case 10 = lr.'
I'm Mr.. Shaw'S card in tr Richmond Examiner above al
udrd TO- he states swing Of five miles BE- effect
ed On the Grrcu5rirr line BY tunnel the Great end %
GrecnbI!cr river, nht ieH ccFfamy Ne maze u - WORN
remains in my ciar9c."
II is trus that at liz, G.aI Bend Of Grecnbrier river five
miles could be saved by nn, .wo and hall or three miles
in length the being the river seven miles and ii
and hui and half miles through The mountain,
which shows Objectionable curve for seven nirs and
hal, hy the that IN rig"nt engineer would avn1
al almost ady Reasonable ii and w0m!! not hesitate no
et in awarding the preference the M0ntor route over
IL but Mr. Shaw has aiuuned the river route III this
point and determined 10 hd tunnel, II Ia proper 10 con-
slider by the al pied by him tunGt! - save
five mile claimed by ir. Shaw am assured by those
well acquainted with the runiry be obtained Ut less
distance aud hi or three nileswc Will say tw"
and hall meS-and N. further assured that saving OF
ten miles b. effected tie Monroe route between Inc
Salt Sulphur and The OF ti:eenbr' river, by inn-
mel oi less Icing and w'out objectionable" grade WHAT
wuud lie tie oi this ianr To the treasury nj Virginia,
(which sill certainly be nadc If the wn'k remains IN Mr.
Shaw's charnc2 II thu distance, the tun.
would ~ thirteen !houtand two hundred feet in length
which NJ 100 nrr linear OF, 81 800 0C0 ZONE million three
hundred and twenty thousand dollars or me cost were
only $50 linear ioot would amount To- me sum OF
81 056 900 aud This sum, i 10 tie Grcnbrer na would
make ar line upwas 81 millions OF dollars more
than HE Monroe line Ather important EGmry is-"hai
time woui b. required 10 i this tunnel ~ INC d!sa enu
Gr., nricr rivcr "The Kill certainly be made II me
work remains in Mr.. saws charge" Col Cr"zei nas
given the from wir calculate the says: TIE
of such p6 NJ tacH emu
There three hundred AID thirteen working days ~ each
ycarlcrc could therefor be completed b2b teet annually
iha, the tunnel cuu completed by the beginning OF
the yea: 1875 or something more than twenty years
II MIR. shaw should h"clure, have charge o thIs WORK
the present generation vii not BIZ permitted to sec lts COM
plti0n and trade {" ZEE Ohio and Mississippi valleys,
which would naturally SIX transit Ia The Atlantic anns
this line, will long hefo thcu accuston itSt 10 nlnef
channels from which II mot be withdrawn lnderu th'
Kentucky soads, terminating al Big Sandy WIN nave "
seek other outlet thn ths-prooably junction win
the Baltimore and Ohio abroad by which the immense
trade Tie Ohio valley all be enti'rly lost to virginia.
And here Tree 10 adnt that enthusiastic a nave oeeh
in favor al railroad CONF between C0vlnStun anu Tue
Ohio River would br b. abandon II, lnd complete
railroad merely III tn ueighhOrflpui vi the MlncIa'
Springs than have II continued under the charge al MT
should II 80 be continued the work 'nn"t he com
Ilerd in lime I" avoid tn bankruptcy OF The STAT, oht I'M
r the ,harge ri competent engineer who would take me
and cheapest route nh avoid tunnels the Work coua
nlced in tire" yra and wOnld bring into Inc treas
ury large annual Dividend relieve the people from TAXA
On well bring into Virginia The mighty trade OIL the
West. which icglmac!y Belongs Ia hcr.
Mr.. Shaw, in the card atJYc alluded oldbbring Under
much excitement, II woud SEEM hccunsh Col Gwynn lid
exposed the inaccuracies II his report made I" The Board OF
Public Wniks--nnkes another assertion which II u proper
notice In SAID rrpTl 10 The Board ri PUBLIC Works
he iha, S43UUU hHd be added the capital O the
Monroe rmuc Tor The Increased expense OF transporting
nd lie amends this statement IN MS