Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1858-11-27
MlSOGllAM07.
Blue Ridge Railroad.

Blue Ridge Railroad
We make the following extract from the
report OF Judge Frost, President of the
Blue Ridge Railroad Company to the meet
ing of the Stockholders in Charleston on
the 10th inst:
"It is shown that the grading in South
Carolina is more than double the grading in
Tennessee, with tho same length Of road
aud is nearly equal to the whole grading in
North Carolina and Tennessee, one hun
drcd and twenty six miles. The tunncling
in South Carolina exceeds all the tunnels
on the line; and the bridge and arch ma
sonry in South Carolina is nearly equnl to
all the bridge and arch masonry OF the
whole road. The cost Of the road in South
Carolina and Georgia, which is 20 miles in
length, and thirty-Gvc per cent. of the dis
tancc to Knoxville, is fifty eight per cent.
of the estimated cost Of the whole road.-
With a knowledge of these facts, the slow
progress of the track-laying should not cx-
cite disappointment or Encouragement.
by the time the cmbankmcnt and bridgc
across Seneca are finished, the grading to
Walhalla can be made ready for the iron.
and the grading as fras Franklin, in North
Carolina, can be completed as soon as the
Tunnels in South Carolina and Georgia
Col Gwynn in his report states, that if
the entire line of the road can be put under
contract, i'll January next, it may be finish
ed to Walhalla, in II year and half; in
three years to the Locust Stake, and in four
years to Knoxville, For very full and dc.
tailed information respecting the construc-
ton and progress of the road, reference is
made to that report
"From very careful and detailed tables of
the cost and construction of the road, to
this time, made by Colonel Gwynn, it is
shown that his original estimate of the cost
of the entire road will not be exceeded
Although some sections and parts of the
construction exceed tic estimate for those
particular sections or parts of the work, vet
the excess is more than compensated by
saving on other sections and parts of the
work and the result justifcs confidence
that the road will be finished within the cs-
innate. X
"Nhatcvcr reasonable deduction may be
made from the sum total the means origi
nally provided, were sufficient for the con.
struction of the road under the contract
with Bangs & Co. They agreed to take
payment one half in cash, onc-four;h in the
mortgage bonds Of the Company, and one
fourth In stock. Ii became certain from
the conduct of the contractors, during the
latter part of the year 1858, aud the begin
ming OF 1886, that they had neither the
ability nor the intention to construct the
road. The facts which forced this conclu
gtf1lh rp Etll, or Intl,. Al
Stockholders in 1856. In April, 1856
Bangs Co. were dismissed from the W, r,i
1T then became necessary to supply, by
cash, onc-tourth of the cost of the road for
which payment was to be made to the con.
tractors in stock, and tho loss on the sale
of the bonds, which they were to take in
payment at par. In December, 1856, the
President was heard at the bar of the
House of Representatives, on n petition
from the Company which was then under
consideration. He explicitly stated that in
consequence Of the failure of Bangs & CO.,
TO perform their contract, it wns necessary
to provide two millions of dollars, in addi-
ton to the means possessed by the Compn-
ny, for the completion of the road The
House of Representatives were told that the
City of Charleston could contribute no
morc--that nothing could be expected from
Georgia, which had rival road, completed
at the expense of the Statc---nor from
North Carolina, which had contributed
more than three millions for the construc-
tion of a competing road to divert the trade
sought by tho Blue Ridge Road, into the
State Of North Carolina; and that, although
further aid might be hoped for from the
State of Tennessee, it could not be relied
on; and that, in the last resort, the State
of South Carolina must be prepared to sup
ply the deficient two millions of dollars !;
and the President advised that, if the State
was not prepared to provide the required
amount, they should stop the road at once,
and not spend any moro money frutlossy.
What was said by the President, at the bar
of the House, was again brought to the at
tcntion of the Legislature in tho report Of
lS0l which was officially communicated to