M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1855-04-20

ing. The iron for this portion OF the
road has been purchased and is now
being delivered at Portsmouth. From
Charleston, for a distance of AZ miles,
the work is done in connection with
the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad
Company, and this portion can be got
ready for the track in Il short time.
From the point of divergence from
the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad
to Macarthur, Vinton cotAty, a dis
tanee Of q miles, the grading is well
advanced.
From Macarthur to logan, Hook
ing county, q distance of 25f fsAniles,
the grading is completed, on thirtecp
miles, and well advanced ON the bal
anee.
From Logan to Somerset, Perry
county, distance Of % miles, the
grading is finished on five miles, and
well advanced on five more. Be
tween these two towns, the work be.
ing very light, with the exception Of
the Tunnel, but little has been done,
as the road bed could be got ready
for the track in q few months, and a
part of it would be available un,
til the completion of the Tunnel,
From Somerset to Newark, dis
tance of 24l miles, the grading is
completed, with the exception Of dres-
sing up at some few points, and the
building Of two bridges,
Seventeen miles south Of Somerset,
the Branch Road to the coal mines at
SraitsyilIe divergo. This Branch
will he G4 miles in length, and from
tho favorable nature OF the country
can be cheaply built. Nothing as
yet has been done upoG this part Of
the road.
There is no part Of the work yet
remaining to be done, with the ex-
ccption Of the Tunnel, which cannot
be completed in eight months. En-
er9etic and experienced contractors
are engaged upon the Tunnel, sec,
tionS, aud, under favorable circum-
stances they can be completed in fif-
teen months.
If the finances of the Company
would warrant the expenditure, work
could be carried on upon all parts Of
the road at the same time to advan-
tagc. That part Of the road from
Newark to Somerset, could immedi-
atcly be made available. The por-
ton from the Tunnel to Jackson coulu
carry trcights south. The Branch
Road to the mines would be Of great
yalu- in cstJiag eosls to Legan, from
which point, by means of the Hook,
ing Canal, they could be distributed
to all parts Of the country, and the
business of mining and manufacture
ing iron he well advanced by the time
the Tunnel work was completed, and
the entire road opened for business.
Should, however, it be found nee
cssary to proceed more slowly, by
completing the road from Jackson to
Macarthur, a large business would
Immediately be derived from the iron
furnaces. Then, by finishing that
portion from Logan to the Junction
with the Coal Road, and building this
branch to Straitsville, those great coal
fields would be reached and a profit
able business be carried on in the
transportation of coal. Also by COM
plttng from Somerset to Newark, the
coal region would be reached on the
north, and large quantities could be
shipped to the Lake and intermedi-
ate points. The amounts required to
carry out either of these plans will be
found in the Tables annexed.
The country through which the
Scioto and Hooking Valley Railroad
passes, is heavily timbered, highly
productive, and abounds in coal and
iron ore. About one hundred miles
Of the road traverses the heart of the
mineral region Of Ohio, embracing
an area Of near two thousand square
miles.
Upon the forty-four miles already in
operation, there are twenty-one char
coal furnaces now in blast, each pro-
ducing, On an average, from eight to
ten tons Of pig metal per day, ma
king, in the aggregate, over $4,000
tons per annum, all of which now
passes over the road to the river
When the Road is completed to New
ark a large portion Of this will be ta-
ken north.
BY the monthly returns Of j. W.
Webb, Esq, Chief Engineer and Su-
perintendent, the earnings for this
portion of the road for the eight
months ending January 1st, 1866,
amounted to $50,12G 9S. The run
ming expenses have in no instance
amounted to more than thirty three
and one third per cent. of the earn
ings. But putting it at forty per cent.
and we have remaining $37 ,49G 10
as net earnings, or seven and one halt
per cent. per annum on its cost. This
was from business along the line Of
the road exclusively, and in an ex-