Republican vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1857, 1857-12-12

IL
gence, not very criminal.
For the Tindtcator.
Response Ofjhe Inspection COmMittee 4
Col. CrOZet.
Col. G. Crozet, published in the Staun
ton indicator of the 2Sth Nov, commu
fseation commeEting severely Upon she re-
port made by a Committee of the Stock
holders of the Virginia Central Railroad, tt
the Directors of that Company. We vii
not consume time by specializing upon the
objects Col. Crozet had in delaying this
publication for nearly month. His card
bears date 18th Nov, our report was made
the 10th Oct, sent at once to the Dire ctors
of the Central !9oad, and by them immedi-
ate,y laid before the Board of Public
Works,-Gol Grozet being present. Did
he take all this time to consider our report
pr to remedy the defects Of has Engineer
tng9 The history OF the little eross-ties
hereafter to be written will tell the tale
Col. Z. misrepresents the committee. -
They peyer said that ga majority Of the
eross-ties il the l'un mel were under size"
but stated, expressly, that "ofter getting
seoerd! hundred feet into the Tunnel, the
track was laid on ties, a large proportion Of
which were smaller than usual" and farth-
er, that they noticed some that did not seem
inches in diameter. Col c. Offers 800
for each cross-te of the dimensions specified
by the Committee which they can show to
be now, or to have been laid in the Tun-
nell Let him place in your hands $1,000,
and we will prove the existence thereof,
upon evidence which no man will doubt
These ties were measured by ourselves and
also, by at least one other gentleman, who
viii testify to the accuracy of our report =
The truth is, Col Crozet knows that such
ties ecore in the Tunnel at the time of the
Committees report, and that if they are not
there now be has had them renoUed We
ask him fatty il he has not done soy We
can 60 farther than our report did, aud as
sert that the ties in question were not only
of the Dimensions specified, but, were OF
chestnut Vo9d-not whitc OAK, as Col. c..
would have the people believe. And still
farther, that the good ties FURNISHED, we
understand. By the Central Company, J
were lad at each end of the Tunnel, where
day light shown upon them, and the defec-
tive ones in the middle and we could but
observe the skill displayed ip graduating
them from good to bad, according to the
light or darkness of their position. Col. G..
says that six inches diameter is the usual
size of cross-ties Does he not know that
it is the he,ced facc and not the diameter
that is sought for, and that eight inches,
not six, is the usual SIZE ! But, "Wh,t oak
eross.tic of four inches will bear a weight
three times as great as any Engine on the
Central Road'-that may be so. but some
CT these were chestnut, and Col. G. knows,
or ought to know, that il a Tunnel OF the
dimensions which eren he claims for that at
4,ock6sh, wide and strong ties are uocessa-
ny to guard against oscillation of the cars,
from the bending of the ties, which may
bring the tops of the cars in contact with
the sides of the Tunnel and this, too,
even where they rest upon an uryielding
bed Of stone, for it is next to Impossible
to jag tee oa such E bed and not lave it
ride upon some prominent point thereof -
When, then, ne says. ''there are 70 ties of
the dimensions specified, and if there were,
they would be safe," he is doubly wrong.
There acere such ties and they are unsafe,
and, unless Col G. has had them removed
preparatory to his offer of 500, the D.
rectors ought not to "disiniss their appre-
tensions"
AS regards the embankment at the Tun-
mel, Col. Crqzst would have the public be-
lieve it safe. lie l,nors it is not So Not
a month before the Committee examined it,
he said 'the Central Company saight take
tie embankment and use it, but he would
not be responsible for the trains passing
over it, Ne are so informed The truth
is, that embankment is dangerous 1t is
still settling and alidiag, and Col. c. must
have labored industriously since our exam
nation, if a ''horscman can now ride safely
out side the cross-ties." That enbank
ment is about $50 1eet hi Ga or the lower
side, the material principally stone the base
as narrow as it could we'll be made the top
scarce wide enough to lay the track on, aud
upon it is curve of about GOO feet radius
And yet We arc told there are embank-
mepts on the Central Road more danger
Gus" If our Committee believed it they
YOU'D never venture on another inspection
of the Central Road unless Il rcre on foot
The probability of another landslide at
Eelley's cut is a matter of mere specula-
ton, and if Col. Crozet lad said, he hon
estly believed there is no danger thereof,
the Committee might have distrusted their
own Judgement and paid Difference to Col
Crozets experience. But he says 10 snph
thing. He only ventures to say that he
docs not believe in the certainty Of such
another heaey slide" Which Of the words,
certainty" or heavy" did he insert as a
saving clause? If he considered the reeur-
renee Of 9 slide improbable, why did be re-
peatealy .prge the of.cers CT the 'Central
Company to make the track around the cut
to correspond with the grade Of the main
track? There is danger: and any
Company should be censured for using it,
unless the slope be fattened. Such slide
as the first May occlr a. any time, and,
sshere being considerable curvature on either
side Of the cut, which prevents the Engine
driver seeing far ahead, such slide would
be attended with imminent risk to til
train
The Committee said nothing in their re-
port about the width of the Tunnel, but
since Sol G. has SO intimately connected
them with the subject, it may not be amiss
to say few words about it,
Our measurement made some parts of it
= foot op1 tbie IaE.aL tbo xr,,.G MAJ, M l. :,