Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1854-03-04
Z E ? 0 r T
Of the P,:siacnt Of tie Susquehdhna Railroad
Company to the Stockholders.

The act 10 Incorporate the snsquehanna
day Of April, 1851. By the third section of
said act il is provided, "that il the said com
pany shall not commence the construction
OF said road within three years, and complete
it in eight years from the passage Of this
act, the same shall be null and void.u The
ninth section Of the supplement 10 the act TO
incorporate the Suubrry and Erie railroad
company, passed the 27lh day Of March,
1852, provides that, "i( the Susquehanna
railroad company shall fail 10 put tina, por-
tior Of the line of their road under contract,
between Bridgeport and Suubury, within one
year from the passage Of this act, and com
pIete the same within two years thereafter,
then and in that case the Sunbury and Etie
railroad company is hereby authorized TO
extend their road from Sunbuty by the valley
of the Susquehanna, TO connect with the
Pennsylvania railroad AT snch point as may
be deemed most expedienl b. the sad com.
pany."
This company was organised on The l0lh
day Of June, 1852 and the grading aud ma
sonry Of the entire line from Bridgeport 10
Snnhury, was put under contract on The 24'h
OF November, OF the same year. The dis
lance from Bridgeport to Sunbury is 5i.
miles upon 2da miles Of which the grading
and masonry have been completed. a
portion Of cath mile is under way, aud nine
aud half miles of The most difficult work
have been graded for a double track. 'As
far as the work has PROGRESSED, it has been
done in the most permanent manner.
The amount expended for grading and
masonry, supersiuclute Of bridges, right Of
way, engineering, &c is $500, SOC, Of which
sum $3.50, 3o7 was paid in the stock Of the
company al par, and the balance, S379. 1875,
in money. According to the estimate of the
engineer. there will yet be required to COM
| 7lele The grading and masonry, and The su-
pers,ruc,nre Of bridges, $S22,542, which
| under existing contracts, can be met with
s682 iO5 in cash, and $40, 1871 in stock
The same officer estimates lie cos, Of the
railway snpcrsuucture, including iron, cross
ties and laying, (at the present advanced
price Of railroad irony a, SO. 900 per mile.
To meet these various expenditures, the
company have the following assets, viz
Subscription by Northumberland county 100000
DO. by Union county 100000
Do. hy borough Of lewis5urg 5000
d., byborough Of Sunbpry, (c1ndinoual,) $1,000
Individual subscriptions, tncluding cn,ractms) 3J5o0O
Loan from York and Cumberland Railroad Co. 100000
Making ,ot.lof sl,ao5oQo
Il the foreaoinc subscriptions were availa-
ble in cash, the means OF the Company would
be nearly sufficient 10 complete the entire
road. The municipal subscriptions having,
however, been paid in the bonds of the re-
respective counties and boroughs, the Com.
pauy have been unable TO dispose of them at
par, and they consequently remain unsoId in
the hands of the treasurer. This has been
owing, in great measure, to the pressure
which has prevailed in the money market
during the past season. There exists no
good reason why the coupon bonds Of Union
and Norlhumbe berIaud counties should not sell
readily, and at a premium, Ia capitalists de-
string a safe Investment of their funds, seen.
red as they are, nc, only by the pledged faith
Of the proper county, but by an equal amount
Of the stock Of this Company.
The work on the line has been greatly
retarded by the scarcity Of aborers, and by
the unusual sickness which prevailed along
the valley Of the Snsquehanna during the
pas, season. Notwithstanding the most ac'
tive excrions were made By the contractors
TO obtain and keep mp force sufficient ic
complere the work in the time specified in
their contract, it was not until very recently
that they were able 10 procure force at al
adequate 10 the accomplishment Of that ob
iect. The health of the line is however
now entirely tecovered--lhe force employed
, exceeds two thousand men-aud the con,
, tractors are pressing forward the work with
great energy. If funds are promptly provi-
} ded, they can still complete the entire grading
and masonry, between Bridgeport and Sun
bury before the first day OF August next, the
; period stipulated in their contract with this
company. This result is greatly 10 be desl'
red as well to render productive, al the
earlies, possible moment, the investments oi
our own stock kholders, as TO accommodate
the vas, interests involved in connecting
roads, which depend orIheir Producllvenes'
and an outlet, in Il great measure on the com
ple,ion of the SusQuehanna railroad. Tins
is especially true Of the Dauphin and Sus
) nuehanna rahoad-lhe Lykens Valley raj
road-lhe Treverton railroad, aud the sun
bury and Philadelphia railroad-as well as
lbe Wi!liamsport and Eimira railroad.
AT Sunbury we reach the nor'hern 'eFmi
nus of The Sunbury and Philadelphia railroad
: the outlet of the great Shamokn coal fields
second 10 none in The State, and possessing
= in many respects, advantages superior to the
F, best collieries of the schuylkll region lhI'
: road. % miles in length, during the last sum-
: mer was reIaid with heavy I rail the en-
, tire distance fran Suubnry TO The town o
} Shamokn, in the centre of The basin, and the
! en,erprising gentlemen who have cont'ol o
the afTairs of the company, have their eXen
! sion 10 Mount Carmel in such state of ior
wardness, as TO insure the completion OF ih'
o whole line al very early day; thus afford
E ing every part Of that extensive region dlres
0 communication with the susquehanna rail
roaF