Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1854-01-25

TLA.N, of augusta, Of, the amendment 4
| The CopingioH and Ohio Bill, proposing 4
fr the gauge of The Road al five feel, del,r
cred in The House Of Delegates on Ae lG
inst. .r M
Mr. Christian argued that the practica
point on which the decision of this question
must turn, is the fact as to the gauges o
lines connecting with the Covington ant
Ohio road. The primary object in the con
structlon of this road is to form such d con
necton as to afford the greatest facilities
in any competition, for carrying through
Virginia the great through tonnage and tray
ell from the South and West to the Nortl
and East. To attain this object a continu
Gus and uniform gauge with connecting line
is indispensable. What ever may be tht
advantage in an increase in width of 2 fee
8 I-2 inches--the gain Of a 'side gauge O.
yer narrow one-certainly no materia
advantage can be gained in an increase o
the width by only 8 1-2inches, as proposed
by the pending amendment.
The Eastern connections of the Coving.
ton and Ohio Road are with the Ylrglnl;
Central, and through it with the Orange ant
Alexandria, the Gordonsvile and Frede'
ricksburg, the Richmond, Fredericksburg
and Potomac, the Petersburg, Weldon ane
W Wilmingtoh, and the York River railroads
all having gauge Of 4 feet 8 1-2 inches
The Western connections are with the Big
Sandy, Maysville, Lexington and Louisville
roads; and thence with certain Indiana and
Illinois roads and by the Point Pleasant
branch a connection with the Cincinnati
and Marietta road, sweeping the whole
Southern border Of Ohio. All Of these roads
it was indisputably shown by letters from
officers of these lines, have the 4 foot s IL
inch gauge, ''as fixed fact."3 Thus the
Covlngton and Ohio road, if made of thai
gauge, will be the great conduit pipe-the
artificial slphon, bending over the Allegha'
nyymountains; to draw from the fertile val
ley of the Ohio the rich food Of Western
traffic to be poured upon otr Eastern shore
Philadelphia aid Baltimore, alive to the
Importance of continuous gauge, have adj
vanced literally of their means to construct
a thoroughfare of uniform gauge from tfeil
own limits to this very region to which oul
Coeington and Ohio road is extending
Pennsylvania has contributed $3.50, 600 to
the Cincinnati and Marietta company in
Ohio, and has secured arrangements BY
which the feet 8 1-2 inch gauge may be
continued through the Scioto valley, to con-
meet with the Big Sandy and Louisville road
of that gauge. Here we have dangerous
rival TO compete with on the very ground.
1t behooves us to yield no advantage in the
struggle. Philadelphia would doubtless give
US millions to accomplish the very object
the pending amendmen. proposes, break
of gauge in our line, giving her monopoly
of the through trade. Let us not part with
our birthright for mess of pottage. ~
The adoption of the amendment would
cause two breaks of gauge on our line. It
is estimated by Engineers that each break
of gauge is equal TO loss Of fifty miles IN
linear distance-thus the Covington and
Ohio line would be virtually increased by
one half its present length. The conse-
quence would be forfeiture of the through
travel North and South which would un-
doubtedly prefer the uninterrupted gauge
and shorter transit through Ohio to Balti-
more and Philadelphia. The result as to
the through tonnage would be no less disas-
lrous. The loss to be encountered in tran
shipments by delay, pilferage and injury,
would force the freight 10 the Northern route.
Hence our road would utterly fail in lis
character of through rou'e, and sink to the
insignifcance of local line. A local line
too, running over succession of mountain
ranges, comparatively uninhabited and un-
productive, and yielding no marginal ton.
mage or travel at all sufficient to support the
line. It would thus become dry and with
cred branch in our system ofinprovements
The compensating advantage Of all this In
evitable evil is proposed to Be found in in
creasing the width of track 81 inches! The
advantages predicted of wide gauge, if ad
mitted, are not applicable to a s feet gauge
itself bit narrow one at best. Yet tht
mover Of the amendment has urged the ar
gulnents advanced for 6 or feet gauge
To show the fallacy OF his arguments, take
for instance the great advantage claimed
and conceded for The wide gauge, that j
gives increased accommodations for passen
GERS in a gauge of feet it gives an in
creased width Of 6 inches for each passen
ger, but in the proposed gauge Of 5 feet !
gives only 7-8 of one inch additional space
to each passenger! So other advantage
claimed for wide gauge were shown to bt
insignificant as between a gauge of 5 fee
and that of feet s IL inches, the real is
sue. 1t was claimed that the wide gauge
gives greater mechanical scope to increase
the power of Locomotives, which were lar
ger and more efficient on wide gauges.
Mr.. Christian argued that experience, the
only arbiter on this question, had demon.
strated that the wide gapge roads Of 6 fee
not 5 feet only-in this country were nc
more efficient for amount'of freight or Mum
Der of passengers than the narrow gauge
roads, as shown by statements, of results
collected by Zerah Colbern and published
without contradiction in the recent numbers
of the Railroad Journal. Mr. G.. read from
an English work on railways the respective
dimensions of broad and narrow gauge
Locomotive-each the type of its kind ex
hibited at the Crystal Palace in London
when it appeared that the narrow gauge en-
gihe, Of equally large adihshslons of cylin
der, stroke, &c, had 270 feet of steam sur
face more than the largest engines Of thu
broad gauge; had apower represented BY
1140 horse power, to the 1000 horse powel
of the broad gauge engines; while the lat
ter weighed 35 tons to 33 tons, the weigh
Of the former. ..f.
Thus, whatever may be the theory, prac
tice establishes that the narrow gauge car
be fully equal in power and efficiency t.
the gauge even Of 7 feet. Where then il
the advantage in an increase to 5 feet only
! to compensate for the stubborn, solid fact
that inevitably rise TO resist you on breal
of gauge, and which will not down at you