The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1856-11-05
From the Philadelphia North American.
Important Railway Consolidation

iiupVi tdHL hdilWdy VUHoUiluttIUH.
A Convention of the Presidents ard
Directors of the CHARTERS Valley, Hemp
field, Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad
Companies, was held in this city (Phila-
delphia) last week, which was occupied
for several days in making arrangements
for the consolidation of the several COM
panies named, into one corporation. The
result of their labors, as we are informed,
was preliminary contract, designed to
accomplish this end, by the formation of
joint association, under the title of the
Ohio Valley Railroad Company. This
title is very appropriate, in view of the
geographical position occupied by the DIFF
ferent lines Of the projected enterprise,
which, when completed, as glance at the
map will show, will commence at Pitts
burg, and follow the general course of the
Ohio, distance Of sixty-three miles to
Wheeling, where it will cross by rail-
road bridge to be erected hereafter
From Wheeling it will follow the west
bank oe the river to Marietta, distance
of seventy-eight miles, and then crossing
the Muskingum by stupendous railway
bridge, now nearly 5uilt, it will leave tie
bank of the stream, anI pursue direct
western course through Ckillieotbe, cut
ting off the great bends of the Ohio, and,
traversing in it's passage the counties of
Washington, Athens, vinton, Jackson,
Ross, Highland, Clinton. Warren and
Hamilton, finally terminate at Cincinnati
Though at some points distant seventy
miles from the Ohio; this route, it will be
seen, is still nearer to it than that of any
other railway, and must be locked to for
their railway facilities, by all the cities
and towns bordering the river between
Wheeling and Cincinnati.
We have no doubt that the movenle,..tt
now commenced will ultimately bring
about the successful Inauguration Of one
of the most important and powerful lines
of Railway in the United States. As the
con olidation Of the various companies
which compose the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne
and Chicago Railroad has furnished
great northwestern arm to cur Pennsyl-
vania Railroad, enabling 1T to reach in
that direction clear to Cbieago, so will the
Ohio Valley Railroad supply it with great
southwestern arm stretching from Pitts
burgh to Cincinnati, and beyond the lat
ter point, by means of the Ohio and Mis-
sissippi railway, already in great part
constructed, all the way to St. Louis
The effect of the UniOn proposed will
practically be. that but three companies
will occupy the ground from Philadelphia
to st. Louis, extending more than thou
sand miles, and that their material inter-
ests will induce them to make every effort
to bring the travel and traffic from the
whole intervening country to this city.
A great feature in the proposed Ohio
Valley Railroad will be, thatit will be the
only railway which will carry the Penn
sylvania guage across the State of Ohio;
and another, not less important will
be, that it will be the only route
by which the three Atlantic cities, Phila-
delphia, New York and Baltimore, can
connect, by an unbroken and continuous
iron track, with the Queen City of the
West. As in early days the Ohio river
was the common thoroughfare by which
the cities of the seaboard sought the south
west it is fair to presume that, in the
changed condition of things, the Ohio
Valley Railroad will be used for similar
purpose, as no other combination of lines
can afford such equal facilities to the
cities we have named, for the accommoda-
ton of their trade with Cincinnati and st.
Louis.
In proof of the facility with which the
consolidation here spoken of may be ef- |