The Portland daily press., 1868-06-19
The Portland ind Rutland n Railroad.

nent and we hail with gIadness every effort towards
| inch of American soil.
The Portland md Rutland Railroad.
Application for charter authorizing the
Portland and Rutland railroad company OF
Maine to extend its line from the boundary of
Maine to Danbury on the line of the north
ern road in New Hampshire, is pending be-
lore the Legislature now in session at Con-
cord, without encountering so far auy recog-
nized opposition. From plans and surveys
laid before the railway committee it was
shown that line could be run from Port
land to the boundary in the Ossipee valley
within distance of SO miles, on a very di-
rect line, and from thence due west to the
Sandwich summit, 20 miles, reaching at that
point an elevation OF $50 teet above tide
water, or an average elevation of 10 feet to the
mile for the whole distance from Portland.
Gradients of 40 feet to the mile occur in
several places, but large portion of the dis
tance is over level country, through Free
dom, Ossipee, Tamworth, Moultonboro and
Sandwich. North of Ossipee Lake and Os-
sipee Mountain is an extended pine plain.
From the summit at Sandwich, the descen:
to Squam Lake is less than 30 feet, on the
north shore of which there is level line to
the Pemigewasset at Holdernes. Squam Lake
being SO leet higher than the Winnipiseogee
which was ascertained to be sol feet above
tide water when the government engineers
surveyed 1T many years ago for canal pur-
poses. A dam upon the Squam river, the
outlet of Squam Lake, one mile from It's en-
trance into the Pemigewasset, flows the wa
tiers of the lake back to Sandwich, within a
mile Of the summit, from which summit the
waters flow from common level by differ
ent streams into Squam Lake, Lake Winni-
piseogee and the Ossipee river. From the
outlet OF the Squam river the line runs down
the Pemigewasset to Bristol trom which
point there is an ascent of over 300 feet in
10 miles, reaching Danbury at an elevation of
$40 feet on the line of the northern railroad.
From Danbuy by this route, there will be
no grade exceeding 10 feet to the mile. to the
mouth OF the Ossipee in Cornish, which is
2Il feet above tide water. From Cornish to
Portland it has equally favorable grades.
Two lines have been surveyed between
Danbury and Sandwich, one crossing the
Boston, Concord and Montreal road, at Hol-
derness, the other at Meredith, both of which
are entirely feasible, and very nearly equal in
distance, neither of item exceeding in dis
tance 81 miles, and it is believed that future
surveys will reduce the distante to 27 miles,
or 80 from Portland to Danbury. 1t is 81
miles from Danbury to White River Junction
making the distance from White River juno
ton to Portland 116 miles, 10 miles of which
from the Pemigewasset TO Portland can be con-
structed on the most direct line and over the
cheapest route of any railroad of equal length
In New England. A line was SURVEYED IN
Io4i, from Meredith TO Conway passing
through Sandwich, Moultonboro into Tam
worth to the Chocorua river, over the line in
question, and from thence north to Hills tav-
ern in Conway, a distance of 13 miles. which
was estimated to cost for the entire distance
from Meredith to Conway, only $4,000 per
mile estimating iron at $66 per ton, cheaper
than any other line ever surveyed in New
England. This is undoubtedly the cheapest
route possible from Portland TO Conway.
The trade of this region formerly came 10
Portland, as was stated by Messrs. Demerit
OF Effingham, Banks of Ossipee, Weed Of
Sandwich and other members of the Legisla-
ture from Carroll County. From Effingham
and Freedom 3S miles from Portland, freight
is now taken to Union village in Wakefield
20 miles; and from thence over the Great
Falls and Conway road and its connecting
lines 81 miles to Boston, two cents on one
hundred pounds cheaper than the present
transportation by teams to Portland, and if
the Rutland road was built into Ossipee
county or to the State line, all the freight
would come to Portland, even if the Great
Falls and Conway road should be built. 1t
was testified before the committee that 40
600 passengers and 10000 tons of merchan-
disc would come upon this line to Portland
at once, without estimating timber, lumber,
cord wood, bark, and all other products of
the forest, of which there are inexhaustible
amounts, now comparatively worthless for
the want OF means OF transportation. Sea
soned cord wood is drug at $500 per cord
40 miles from Portland. The village of
Holderness, II miles from Portland on the
line of the northern railroad, with popula-
ton OF 1765 persons, pays freight bills
amounting to $4,000 per year. A portion,
it not the bulk of all this trade, would come
to Portland ON the completion of the Port
land and hutland line TO that point. All the
towns in Carroll county, and several of those
in Belknap and Grafton counties, embracing
an aggregate of over 10000 persons, would
seek Portland for their market, as soon as
| the line was carried to Meredith or Holder
ness, at present entirely unknown to the
| business of Portland.
In this calculation we embrace only the re-
gion north of lake Winnipisieogee There is
fine district south of the lake, embracing
the towns of Alton, Gilmanton and others in
the county of Belknap; and OF New Dur
ham, Milton, Pennington, and other towns
in the county of Strafford, seeking an outlet
| to Portland. re
The effect of building the Portland and
| Rutland road as far as Holderness or Mere
dith, at the expense of less than $4,000 per
mile, would be TO add largely to the local or
| domestic trade of Portland at once, to say
nothing of its extension to Woodstock and
Rutland, the construction of which line is
now in progress, as shown by Gen. Peter T.
Washburn OF Woodstock, who appeared before
| the railroad committee p.
THE NAVY DEPARTsIENT.-Among all the
nf Eahnat oha
| that the venerable Gideon Welles, who has
stuck since 1861 has any idea of RETIRING to
| his native haunts in Connecticut. His first