Baton Rouge tri-weekly gazette & comet. [volume] (Baton Rouge, La.) 1865-18??, 1868-02-04
WOODEN RAILROADS.

K
wooden railroads. Ia an era like
ours, when new mechanical appur.
tenances and appliances are con-
stantly occupying the skill and in
genuity OF the inventor and manu-.
facturer with view to meet the
labor saving requirements OF PEG,
pie, and when hardly one new handi,
work is turned out tor the purpose,
before it is threatened to be sup
planted by another chasing close
upon the heels of the former, it would
seem a difficult task to fall back
upon first principles and adopt the
methods of other times What would
that odd, though vastly progressive
genius, George Francis Train, say to
the idea of travelling on a wooden
railroad 2 He, the nimble footed.
seven-leagued booter, who, starting
from his home at Omaha, in the far
Northwest, makes one bound as it
were, and lands on the other side of
the Atlantic, and whose idea, not
long since suggested, of using steel
rails instead OF iron, for railways, is
enlisting the serious attention Of rail
road builders both in the United
States and England. OF course, he
would not brook the principle of
taking any such step backward as
that involved in the project of road
built of wooden rails That train
would not be likely TO travel on any
such track.
But folks are not all alike. Some,
even in this fast age are content to
take life doucement, as the French
say, or .fest'ma lente, as the old Ro-
mans had it. Some, in fact, are al
together too slow, never going ahead,
but always falling back, coutent to
travel at a snail's pace, The journey
OF lie, along circumambient routes
leading through mud and mire. A
railroad OF any description to these,
Is viewed as chim-ra of the brain
visionary sort of enterpris---a
rninous piece Of folly.
But, then, again, there is another
class who scan the subject more
Literally and sensibly who see aud
believe III the great efficacy for good
OF railway iuiercommunication; who
tlaut at the old togy Of selfish stand
still policy which opposes or throws
a damper upon every attempt at rail
road innovation. They know and
te-l the damaging effects of such
retrogressive policy upon the ad-
vancement and prosperity Of coun-
try where that policy obtains, and
the contrary effects produced in other
parts where different policy is pur-
sued. The class referred to, if not
III the minority i'll our own midst,
seem not to be blessed with the
means. or to have yet worked them
selves up to the proper point for a
practical realization Of any one of the
various railroad schemes VIZ have
seen broached from time to time.
Hence the failure of that very i'm.
portant and much to be desired
measure last proposed, of inter-link-
ing Baton Rouge with Clinton by
means Of the iron horse and rail.
Perhaps, the following interesting
article taken from the Scientific
American, showing the cheapness
and durability OF wooden railroads,
may inspire afresh the minds of those
among us, favoring railroad enter
prise, with some encouragement, il
not determination to proceed, and
make a beginning in the way sng-
gested by the writer \ wooden
railroad would be tar better than
none. Let us see if there is not
public spirit enough in East Baton
Rouge and East Feiciana to thread
The way so long ago cleared and