Star of the Kanawha Valley. [volume] (Buffalo, Va. [W. Va.]) 1855-1856, 1856-02-06
The COylngton and Ohio Railroad. Branch
10 the Mouth OF the Kanawha.

a
10 the Mouth OF the Kanawha.
/ II it.should be determined upon by the
present Legislature to complete the greai
railroad system ofVirginia already com.
menced, and an appropriation is made e
the ..Covington and Ohio Railroad, the
great work Of the State, by the present
Legislature, we think it is d ne to the
best interest Of improvement 10 pass q
bin 10 constructs brsnch from themouth
of Scary to terminate at the mouth of the
Kanawha. Is l< =
The people Of Gallipolis,. and ut inter
mediate points between that place and
Chillicothe, have been impaGetly waiting
to learn whether Virginia intends to make
a connection with the Chillicothe and
Gallia Railroad ct the mouth Of Kanmwha,
They have their company organised, and
only wait the action on the part Of the
Virginia Legislature, to SO to work and
complete their road. n, | 81 I
This short branch from Scary to the
mouth Of tho Kanawha, down level
plain less than 40 miles, will comparative
| ~ cost nothing, in comparison with the
immense advantages it will give the main
stem. It win alone increase the reve.
nues of the 'Covington and Ohio Railroad
in one year to an amount sufficient to pay
tho cost Of its construction. ",
Since the success of the, D. and o.
Railroad, in the way Of reimbursing the
Company, and relieving it from embar.
rnssment by the revenue accruing in an
other year, it is evident that the G. and
o. Railroad, with the Kanawha valley
branch as a feeder, great as it would be,
would in much less time than it has "a
ken the B. and o. Railroad, to discharge
the entire cost Of the rosd, and place mil
lions annually into tho public treasury;
without taking into consideration the en-
bursenelt Of all lands throughout all
Central-western Virginia, and the devel-
opment Of her mineral, agricultural and
commercial resources and interests. We
quote the following from speech recent
ly delivered in the House Of Delegates by
the eloquent SEeAR, on bill to construct
a short track road from Charlottesville to
Richmond: -. ~ ./. 4
H''Sir, / have read, since the adjourn
ment Of the House on Saturday, the last
report Of the BaltimoreIand Ohio Rail-
road company, and find in it results for
which was little prepared. 1t is well
known that Ihsxe never thought that the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad would be,
to the stock holders, a paying road. p. i
thought, as ! said in the White Sulphur
Springs Convention, that its high grades
Of lI6 feet to the mile, would SO diminish
its capacity for transportation. and so in
Grease its working expenses, that it would
never pay six per cent on the cost. I'm
agine, then, my surprise and delight,
when ! found from the late report that,
without any increase Of revenue, the float
ing debt win all be paid off by the FIRST
Of April, 1857, the company relieved of
all embarrassment, and 6 per cent. dis
tributed to the stockholders! And yet
more: This very morning have read the
proceedings Of . meeting Of the Board Of
Directors held the past week, from which
it appears that the income Of the road for
the last quarter of the past year was 81
264. 900, gain Of $685., 600 over the cor
responding quarter Of the preceding year.
Nor is this all: Theearnings for the month
of December alone amounted to 944O, 600
which is at the rate of FIVE millions and a
quarter per year, el5, 1873 per day, 1891
per hour, and nearly SlO per minutel
No, sir, look at this extraordinary and
triumphant fact. Contemplate It, We
friends of Internal Improvement, and re-
joice that ever ye stood up for the glori-
ous policy, and look at it, ye enemies Of
railroads, and then chang your dimin-
ished heads in shame" or resolve here
after to do better for your country
And now, sir, for the conclusion, and
it Is this: 1.-THE Baltimore and Ohio Rail
road. with its uphill grades-so steep
that it requires one enormous engine
ahead TO drag, and another behindts push
the train along, and so heavy q ever and
ramon to crush the superstrocture beneath
l-h with these heavy grades, and frost
binding climate that often arrests the op-
ieratioDs Of the road, and curyatures 60
bad that, like the cooled snake, the head
and the tail Of the moving train almost
touch; II say, if the Baltimore and OI,io
Railroad, under these combined unfavor-
able circumstances, and costing some mil
lions moro than our Central line, earn
tei.264, 900 IN . single quarter, o440, 600
] In d single month. 1891 In 4 day. and Ten