The Iowa transcript. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1858-1866, 1865-11-08
THE RAILROADS IN THE
TWO CAROI.lNAS.
The Trip from Raleigh TO Charlcston.fhc Pleas.
nrrs and Pains Of Hallway Ira,elingnpc'
Reads and the Rolling Stock, and
4Eh Suggestions for tho Future.


Roads and the Rolling Stock. anh
.tA Suggestions for the Future.
- ,eial Correspondence of the Chicago Tribune.
CHARLESTON. October 18th
Let no man come into the Carolinas for a
pleasure trip as he would 60 into Canada
or New England for the sumner season
Enjoyment he may find, but It will be OF an
entirely different sort--la can testify from
an experience of six weeks, and about htteen
hundred miles travel
FROM RALEIGH TO CHARLESTON.
d The Journey from Raleigh TO Charleston
furnishes the two extremes oi Carolina rni-
road itavet-thc hest and the worst II IS
made over four different roads NJ nm average
/ rate Of nine and three tourths miles per
hour, and an average cost OF SIX anu one
third cents per mile. exclusive of meals.
i From Raleigh 10 Godsboro. distance Of
forty five miles. over the North Carolina
road. the time s three hours. and the fare
i two dollars and Il halt. This is the fastest
running. and the lowest fare IN the two
states. The cars arc barely comfortable
+ measured even BY the Carolina standard.
From Goldshoro TO Wilmington, over the
I Wilmington and Weldon road. the distance
/ is eighty-thrpc miles the line nine hours
half Thc.e is one train per day each way
( and the ono train from Goldsboro for the
4 South, leaves at the nrtavorahle hour of %
p m II was made up of half dozen freight
ears and one passenger ear. and that night 3
ride brought the maximum of discomfort.
The one car was crowded Six persons of
some special quality Of blood, | suppose,
we've allowed 10 occupy one seat each. III
spite OF the remonsirances OF several other
persons Of gentlemanly bearing. aud they
kept then! IN spite of tho curses loud and
deep Of various other persons who had. AT
least. paid full fare. had seat for about
4 twenty miles. and then gave il ZIP TO one
legged man an ex-rebel soldier. presume,
and then sat and stood alternately, sharing
the end OF my valise hour after hour with a
returning delegate to the State Convention
Much * route lay through lew pine
barron The night was cool. The air was
damp and penetrating, there was no fire in
the ears. ana two of the windows were Miss
ing We had been ont hnt an hour or so,
when the water tank collapsed aud some
ten gallons OF water thereafter. coused
4 mp and down the floor. until It gradually
\ leaked through. Sometime about midnight,
1 the brake OF one of the freight ears dropped
down Fortunately none II tie cars were
thrown ffCm the track.
The box of one wheel of our car was on
fire two or three times and KEEP, hot most Of
the night, 50 that the atmosphere Of the car
was further mixed with the smell ST burn
ing grease and packing. One box OF The So
called Niger car was also on fire several
times. and once the bottom Of The car caught
fire, IL the alarm Of such Of the passengers
as had not fallen into worn on sleep FL
! oil of hnf a. irht
had to run the gauntlet Of mile Of burning
pine woads There was no serious danger
OF fire to the train, but the black, pitchy
smoke is something | do not care to encoun-
ter again. And all the deli gh,s Of this night $
travel We're furnished for five dollars and a
half each, payable in advance.
From Wilmington to Florence,h by the Man
chester \ W Wilmington road, The distance is
10. miles, the schedule time is twelve hours
and the fare seven dollars and half. Some
body by Rragg's order, having burned all
the bridges near Wilmington. the cars are
reached by steamboat ride OF eight miles
that il, if the steamboat is in working or
der as it sometimes is The morning when
about thirty of US tumblel ont Of bed at
five o'clock, in furious northeast rain
storm. and were hack ed of to the wharf At
an expense Of two dollars per mile, was one
OF its ''out -of-orIer' mornings, rs we found
after shiyering in The open warehouse for
an hour. AT the end Of tina, time, The Con
+ ductor. alike ignorant and unmnlful Of the
j intentions Of The Superintendent, went off
to Observation-Disclosures By about a dozen of
| his passengers. In the course of the morn
\ ing. there was great deal Of ''waitng on
the Superintendent on the part of several
Of the passengers. | believe he received
4 CT ft,o
The assistant Superintendent on whom
called, is pleasant fellow, and carries ex-
cellcnt cigars. ! merely asked him if the
road was paying well, and being answered,
..so-so," went on to 10 talk with him about
\ the price OF cotton and the value Of negro
| labor-caneernin which he gave he gave
me great deal Of valuable information |
i suppose-though unfortunately | don't re-
member what it was. However, the result
Of the united freiting Of half dozed per-
sons was that the conductor and such OF his
passengers as had an extra three dollars
took hacks, crossed two ferries in TWO mis-
cradle old flatboats, drove two miles over a
1 half submerged causeway, thro gh rice
! swamp, another mile through a pine barren,
and So found the engineer and the fireman
ready with the train. Instead Of starting at
six o'clock, we got off at half past nine. BY
! one clock we had made thirty four miles
and there We stopped for dinner--that il
such of us as took things philesophieally
and had dollar in change We had clean
table cloth was Monday--a cup Of rye
coffee and as much as twenty-five cents
worth of rice, mutton and corn bread. We
ha no supper that day The company had
failed to meet the last pay -day, and conse-
j quentiy the negroes were off work for the
| time being. There was much trouble at
every station for water. At one place the
train negroes we're two hours pumping wa
ter enough for twelve miles run. Finally
we stopped in swamp and the hands and
some Of the passengers formed a bucket line
and filed the old tender-box to the top.
] Tha, brought as below the line Of the strike,
and we reached Florence eight hours and a
4 half behind time. This was an exceptional
1 day The train isn'i usually more than
! three or four hours late, and occasionally
not more that one. There are but Two trains
! on the road, and of course but one train per
day, Hardee paid his respects to the bridge
over the Great Pedee, and tho crossing is
effected by means OF y great fiat boat, at a
point whore the river is not more that fifty
or sixty yards wide. The bridge is likely 10
be rebuilt some time next year
I From Florence to Charleston by the North
Eastern road the dist ance is lO3 miles, the
time nine and half hours, and the fare six
dollars. The road runs one freight train
and one passenger train per day each way,
and appear. to be doing good business It's
bridge at the Santee river was burned by
panic-stricken rebels and the crossing is
made with the usual ilat-boat The rolling
stock appears to be in better condition than
on the road above