Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1866-11-07
The Middle Greek Railroad and
its Connections.
cHEAP ANTHRAcIrE AND BIruMINoUs


The most obvious and immediate con
nections OF the NJ. &. X. r. are at its west
ern terminus near Lewistown, with tn
+ Pennsylvania Central Railroad, and at 10
eastern terminus in NOrthunDerland
OFSuHbury. with the Philadelphia ~ Eile
and i.aekaWanna Il Bloomsbury, AM
the Northern Central Railroads, thu'
making q short and easy route ueI" e|'i
the two great railroad lines III TINS state
Ii would be but waste Oi tIihe 10 t"ili'
n,ept M large on the very great Imp0r-
/ tanraof this link in the vistrailr0ad chain
Of PcuuSvlvania The great trunk roads
ar.. CARRYING east and west, north and
south. all the varied productions and i'm
porratiOns Ofour county. Nearly midway
between the sea and the lakes they are
tapped by our cross line, and we receive
from them every commodity that We de
sire and give to them in return every in
terror production from our region that is
seeking a distant market Our interests
are common: every additional facility of
transportation over the main lines stimu-
lates our production ami increases their
local trade. They VIII never injure Us be-
cause they would be InjuTing themselves.
1t is their clear interest to encourage and
protect our line. We must not fall into
the absurd error of suppOsing that we are
establishing a rival line. We are but a
part Of a grand railroad system which will
finally penetrate into every section Of
Pennsylvania. Our business is 10 adopt
the very best line between the Susdua-
hanna and Juniata. 10 build strong, safe
road, and to 1ldylage Il tCsU. This done
the stock Of this road will be a sure and
paying Investment.
Let rs now consider some more remote
but highly important connections of the
VI. c. r. r. Is it not certain that the ad-
lnirable bituminous coal Of the Snow Shoe
field and the great Demand for iron ore in
Centre county viii compel the building of
the Miffiin K Centre Railroad 10 Belle
f0nte? 4 few.well known facts will ena-
Die us 10 answer this inquiry. The Snow
Shoe coal reaches Tyrone over the Snow
Shoe & Bald Eagle Railroad, and it is
then 22D miles from Philadelphia, 1S5
miles from Baltimore, and 800 miles from
New Ork. IL reaches Lock Haven bV
Bald Eagle Railroad and Is then 226 miles
from Philadeldhia, 300 miles from Balti-
more, and 326 miles from New York But
If the NJ. & G Railroad Is extended 10 Lew
istown: the coal at this point Is l66 miles
from Phila., l45 miles from Baltimore and
266 miles from New York. an average
difference in favor Of the direct route from
the Snow Shoe coal mines equal TO 30 miles
ar least in favor Of LeWistOWn. But fur
ther. the coke, or mineral charcoal Of this
coal - remarkably pure and strong: it l.
a capital smith and furnace coal and yields
an excellent gas. Here then is another
point from which the Juniata valley NAV
receive that Indispensable commodity
cheap coal, without which our manufac-
lures must languish and our enormous
iron ore beds be completely unavailable
On the other hand, the numerous and ex-
tenslye iron works of Centre county de-
mand cheap iron ore, and Mifffin county
ii i now demonstrated, contains mex
llaustlble quantities OF three varieties of
iron ore-the fossiliferous, the hematite
and the carbonate Of iron. The crude ore
will not bear the circuitOus route from
LcwistOwn by Tyrone To Bellefonte; the
absence of cheap and direct tranSDortg-
tiOn TO the point of demand locks up our
ores such transportation We must have
coal and irOn-these imperial minerals
demand 1t. We cannot 90 around the
mountains, we must cross them, and we
can do 1t. The grade in the Seven Noun
UaIus Is not formidable to modern lOc0mo-
ives. II a heavy bar say 81 lbs. to the
linear yard, i laid down on the mountain
Division, If the curvature Is easy and the
nature Of the ground permits this. most
certainly, then, by using powerful engines
we can command the mountain grade and
pass either way with full trains. This
connection Of the NJ G. Railroad will be
but % miles in length. What a stimulus
10 the iron manufacture Of Centre and
Mltfiln counties will its construction giveI
the1p coal and cheap ore conEiaed =
Ana what heavy trade will it throw on
the Middle Creek Railroad. and on the
Pennsylvania Railroad at this pointI
Not only in iron ore and coal. but i'm lun-
ber, and in all agricultural productions.
We must not forget that by reaching
BelIetonte we tap the vast Iun Der region
OF the West Branch Of the Susquehanna
through the Bald Eagle Railroad. IT i
now 80 miles by rail from LewiStoWn IN
Beliefonte, and Yet they are but 81 miles
distant from each other! and each is the
centre OF an important mineral and apri-
cultural region. The great lssws of mod
ern trade require direct Transportation
from point 10 point, thus securing ecOno-
my of time and labor. Minutes are gold
dust and hours are diamonds in this bold
and rapid age. The VI. d c. Railroad is q
commercial necessity to a rich. populous
ana intelligent region; ii must be built for
thls reason, and that at an early day. But
IheTe Is another more remote but not less
certain connection a railroad through
w est hlshacOquillas will bring into mar
Ret at much cheaper rate than AT pres
eht, not only all the farm produce of this
very fertile district. but also the highly
valuable stalactitic iron ore so abundant
theTe, ana VIII enhance the value of land
10y greatly cheapening lime. the most i'm
Portant fertilizer known TO our farmers.
Let lateral railroad be built from Reeds
klte t TO BeIleville, and it will stop there
, out year or two. The cheapening of
roal % ana the practical, every-hour advan-
taSes OF railway transportation will con-
vince the people of AilenvilIe of the ne
cesSlty OF completing it to that point, and
onct tt mere the Broad Top coal field is al
that the increasing demand for chean
coal VIII force a connection with the
pennsylvania Central at or near Mill
Greek This would give KishaeoouiiIas
valley anthracite by the connection of NJ
7. Rallroad with VI. d c. RaiIrnad nni