Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1854-01-03

more and Ohio Railroad, having been com.
pletcd under tho direction of the wriier and
fully reported TO. you, under date Of June
2SIh. 1852, ii becomes my duty in lhe pres
ent Repor! TO sci forth the results Of the la
bors Of your. Engineer Department, in def.
ni,ely locating The lima of your, road uppn
the ground, ascerlainihg with precision lhe
probable cost oil The work and commencing
the construction thereof. fs
In the execution Of this duty it will be
convenient 10 treat the subjec, under the fol.
. lowing distinct heads, to wit:
!. !. Preliminary Observations.
2. General Plan of the Line.
3. Description Of the Route located
a. Plans of the Construction. ....
g. Estimated Cost OF the Line. ...
6. Present state OF the Works.
Z. OF the Coal and other Mineral traffic
10 Cincinnati.
8. Concluding Observations. '
This division Of the subject will enable q
more ready reference 10 any part, and seems
10 be advisable in q memoir Of this dcScrip.
lion. even at the risk Of some repetition.
.n. . I, PRELIMINARY REMARKS. .us.a,
The object of the Elillsborough and Gin.
cinnali Railroad Company. in undertaking
the extension of their line East OF Iiilsbor.
ough, 10 which point it has been m;re than
a year in operation from Cincinna,i.) was to
form direct continuation of The Baltimore
Railways 10 the City of Cincinnati, bv The
most southern route practicable across Ohio,
wiihou, loss of distance, as part of the
through line, and by Railway so planned
as TO Iucihlale a, the same time the move.
ment of tie local lraific-aad especially OF
The coal trade towards tha. city, upon the
cheapest possible terms; 10 plan, in facl, a
railroad upon the shortest line and mos, ia.
vorabIe profile. 10 accommodate the through
business ii Baltimore. and also to bring the
superior coal Of The Jackson mines TO the
City Of Cincinnati, at lower rates than any
other railway now projected.
That such Railroad Line has been dis.
covered and traced upon the ground thai it
will have the capacity TO fulfil in all respects
the important conditions Of It's projection
thu, its cost will be very moderate, in view
Of the great objects 10 be achieved by it.
and that the construction Of It's coal division
has been commenced, will be exhibited in
these pages.
las speedy completion will depend upon
the financial aid which may hereafter be sup.
piled, by two powerful communities deeply
interested in its construction, though not YET
apparently fully awakened TO lis importance
tho one, on the Atlantic seaboard, having
lately Witnessed decline Of fifty pet cent.
in the stock of her great railway, within The
few months which have elapsed since its lri.
umphanl opening TO The Ohio River, a, the
point selected for commanding the trade OF
the West, under an anllquated aud obsolete
policy, The lalacy OF which the sure opera.
lions Of the stock marke, have now but TOO
strongly proved-lhe other, The Queen Civ
Of the West, suffering under q scarcity of
coal, n fuel necessary to her prosperity, and
yet unaltainable in her markets, al the pres.
enl wiring, except in very small quantities,
and at the exorblant price or forty cents q
bushel
With the completion of the Railroad now
reported on, and its passage through the coal
region Of Ohio TO junction with The Bali.
more lines at Parkersburg, substituting con.
iinuous railway by The shorleS, distance lor
an uncertain water communicalon-.lh stock
Of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Com.
pany would rise al once 10 par, and the City
OF Cincinnati be glulted with Jackson coal
at SeUen cents per bushel. ....
With these prominent facts before US, each
in its way Of such vast importance 10 The
two cities named-the apathy Of those great
communities towards work so essential 10
their welfare mpresses itself strongly on the
mind and seems so truly extraordinary that
the writer may be excused for noticing il in
technical report. 1nt.
The preliminary surveys Of this line, in
accordance with ,his,,plan, were executed un.
der the direction of The writer and fully re.
ported upon at the date above mentioned,
Dune 2eih, 1859, in printed report, illus
,rated by maps, which has been extensively y
circulated and well received by the public.
When the construction was resolved on,
the writer was employed (Sept 1s,, 1879,
10 locate the road definitely upon the ground
and assume the direction OF the works Of
construction.
Although immediate efforts were made
there was an unavoidable delay in organic
ing the necessary force Of engineers, on tht
eastern part Of the line--whch, added L
the fact that the very broken country east o
Jackson required numerous revsions Of tht
line (revsions scarcely yet concluded pre-
vented the Division engineers from supDly
ing the writer before the present time (Ocl.
1857 with the necessary materials for draw
ing up suitable Report upon The location
and framing on accurate estimate OF the cos
ol the entire work in question.
Having now received the final results o
the Division Engineers, cas-, Of Jackson. up
on the line and plan marked ou, Tor lhei
guidance, the writer is enabled 10 acquil him
self OF the duty Of classifying and arrang
ing these results in technical report--a duty
which i, is much 10 be regretted he was no
in a position 10 have ea,lier discharged.
From tlilsborough 10 the coal. field o
Jackson, (58 miIes) the road was located
and prepared for con'ruc, at an early day
and considerable work has now been dom
upon the graduation and masonry Of .ho
portion OF the line.
Prior to locating this road, the whole coun
wy covered by the preliminary surveys wa
carefully re. examined, by reconnaissance a