The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1868-09-01
The Character of the Union Pacific
Railroad.

While every person who has followed
the progress of that wonderful under
taking, the Union Pacific Railroad,
has marveled at the unparalleled ra-
pidity with which it has been con-
structed, some have felt skeptical as to
the character of the work which was be-
ing done with such apparently head
long speed. Was it possible to build
seven hundred miles of railroad in two
years, and do it well? Could a railroad
from New York to Chicago be well
built in two years time? And if not
here, where all the appliances needed
were ut hand, or could be obtained at a
days notice, then how much less i'll a
region beyond settlement, beyond civ
ilization, and where laborers, supplies,
tools and all else, except the land upon
which the road was built, had to be
transported hundreds of miles before
reaching the spot where they were
wanted. In short, the question, "ls
the road well built p" has been the one
for whose satisfactory solution many
have waited before investing their
means in the company's securities,
which are liberal in their provisions,
and safe beyond peradventurc, j an
Affirmative answer to this question can
he fully established.
Upon this point we must take the
testimony of personal witnesses, who
have been upon the ground and exam
ined the work. Fortunately an oppor-
tunity has just been afforded and i'm
proved for full inspection of the road
and its belongings, by party Of gem
tlemen who represent the reading and
linking people, Thirty gentlemen.
representing ~ many Of the leading
Journals of the eastern cities. have just
returned from trip which included
over seven hundred miles of the Union
Pacific Railroad. They had II special
train at their disposal, to stop where
they wished, 10 run fast or slow n they
might desire, and which gave them
far better opportunity to see both the
good parts of the road, and the bad
ones if any exist Il than the ordinary
traveller by regular trains. These wit
ncsscs are men of judgment and dis
elimination, and their personal char
actcrs, as well as the names OF the jour
mails which they represented, are guar
antce that they write only what theiI
convictions dictate. Let us see what
some of these gentlemen say of tn ,
character of the Union Pacific Rail
road:
Hon. Charles A. Dana of the New
York Sun, late Assistant Secretary OF
War, says:
"a party of thirty gentlemen
have just returned from an excursion
to the present terminus of the Union
Pacific Railroad at the Rocky Noun
tains. Their unanimous opinion is
that the road is constructed in the most
thorough and solid manner and that il
IS superior in firmncss, smoOthncss and
capacity for rapid running, to any
other new road which they have ever
seen. This is true of the parts of the
track which were laid only the day be-
fore the excursion train passed over
them, as well as those at the eastern
end of the line which had been in Use
for some two years. The work is well
done, both as respects the judgment
with which it is laid out, and the thor
oughness of its construction and there
is no part of it which could, under the
si rc m Of a E, hat IL ie,. nII
reports to the contrary are erroneous
and mistaken"
The editor of the Boston Traveller
says:
at is built in the best and most sub
stantial manner possible, and will COM
pare favorably with any other road in
the United States. For n new road,
do not remember ever having Travelled
on its superior. The road is
well ballasted, and except in seasons of
extreme drouth, must be comparatively
free from dust. Few of the
old roads of the country are so easy to
ride over as this new one"
The editor of the Philadelphia Bullo-
tin says;
$50 far from imperfect and superb
ciul WOrhilluilsillp Delllp put upon the
road, everything indicates determina-
ton that the work now done shall he
as durable as human ingenuity and en-
terprise can make it. The workshops,
engine houses and other structures at
Omaha. Cheyenne, North Platte and
Laramie, are all handsome stone and
brick edifices, that will last without re-
pair or reconstruction for generations A;
while the road itself is as solidly and
substantially built ms any railroad i'm
America. In short, the closest
scrutiny has failed to detect any signs
of hasty or imperfect construction. )"
The editor of the New York Express
says:
"Firm, solid, substantial, we have
now as fine track as can be found on
almost any road in the country, while
the travelling accommodations are full
of ease and comfort. A visit
to the wilds of the Rocky Mountains
will convince the traveller that the Pa
cific Railroad is neither myth nor IA
Brummagen affair, gotten up for pure
ly speculative purposes"
The editor of the Boston TRANSCRIPT
says:
'"The Union Pacific is IA first-class
road finely graded, thoroughly tied,
well irOnpl and balloStnI onI unbcto,