The Portland daily press., 1868-03-28


NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. AND SusREPREsENTA-
l. It was represented by The opponents Of |
this enterprise and during the tendency be-
fore tue Legislature of the bill additional to |
the Act incorporating the Portland and o. I
densburg Railroad company. IT was nv many |
excellent citizens OF Portland believed. that |
the friends OF this road desired and intended |
to ask The city for stock subscription of |
81 ,5oOOg9 az addition TO the loan Of credit au-
tIoti1ee by the vote OF last year. Two OF the |
remonstrants against thu recent act informed |
the writer that Hey acre so told a0Fen they put |
their names to thai paper.
tact, Not only was this amount OF aid
never contemplated, but it was never desired. |
The amount of aid authorized by the new bill |
isall that it has ever been the purpose of the |
friends of the road to ask for, and il will not |
exceed (or if at all only by q few thousand |
dollars) The sum Uoted 6J the city. 1t may be
found necessary to change the form of the ana |
to be granted but not the amount.
2. 1t has been alleged in the interest OF roads |
leading TO Boston, that the grade OF this road |
Uia the Crawford Notch was an Impfacticabie |
one, or if practicable, the me was SO eApen-
sive that it would clearly De inexpedient to
build on it.
Fact. By actual survey made last year by
an experienced and able engineer, acting I'M
der The direction of one Of the most accom-
nlished engineers in the United States, it was
aseertaincd and has been demonstrated, and
may be seen by the profile now in this city,
that the maximum grade through the White
Mountains is but 65 feet to the mile. This is
the heaviest grade between Portland and
Rouse's Point, while by the Rutland route
there is grade between that town and Sche-
nectady Of so feet per mile I Able engineers
say that some OF the grades this side of Rut-
land must exceed 20 feet to the mile. So, it
may be asserted, without fear of contradiction,
because the statement is made upon the au-
thority of practical men who k,,oW what they
speak of and have no interest 10 state any
thing that is not true-tbat the grades be-
tween Portland and Lake Ontario oid the
Notch, are on the whole not less favorable
than those contemplated by the Rutland route,
III it be true that the elevation at the height
of land on the route by the Notch is greater
than it is by the Rutland line, it is also true
that the Connecticut river where the Ogdens-
burg line crosses it is higher than it is at the
White River junction on the Rutland line by
some 600 to 1000 feet. In other words the
grades to be overcome in passing both ways,
are quite equal on the Rutland route to those
on the Ogdensburg line, to say nothing Of the
sharp grades between Rutland and Science
tady before referred to. If you ascend higher
| going west on the former road than you do on
the latter, you ascend higher coming east on
the Ogdensburg.. The railroad engineers who
have examined the Ogdensburg line are d. @.
Lindsey, Esq, OF Burlington, w. G.. Grant,
Esq, of Stoughton, Mass, B. T. Bailey, Esq,
OF New York. William Hale, Esq, of Ben
nington, Vermont, at present the engineer on
on CHe htDduOn railroad, JOnn II
Anderson and Charles j. Noyes, Esqs., OF
Maine. All these gentlemen from per-
sonal examination, and some of them from
actual surveys, have reported and now
| affirm that the line is entirely practicable,
| and as whole not an expensive one and
| that ii can DE located upon grades not exceed
| ing anywhere 65 feet to the mile. If sleeper
| grades should be deemed advisable both the
| distance and cost would be reduced. They as
sert that the cost of this road win not exceed
the average cost of other New England roads
| j. +. Anderson, Esq, with Mr.. Noyes having
| made a reconnaissance of the route through
the Notch in August last, and having COM
| pared notes with Mr.. Grant who made the
survey, wrote as follows. from the Crawford
| House:
| Mr Noyes and met Mr. Grant here last night.
| Mr. Grant had the original copy of the map and his
| working profile. He accompanied over his line
to-day; we saw the cutting through the Forest the
| station stakes and instrument points in place, and
compared the profile with the line on the ground in
places. We can eorroborate the fact of perfectly
feasible route through tie Notch, and that gIa e OF
IS feet TO the mile may be carried to a connection
with the grade OF Conway plains from the gate OF the
| Notch.
In reference to the cost of the road, suffice
it to say that two responsible propositions,
both of which are supposed to be considerably
in excess Of what the road will cost, have been
| made. One is from gentleman in Verm ont
| whose ability and good faith have been vouch-
| ed tor by some of the wealthiest men in that
| State. 1t is as follows:
| hereby propose to furnish all the materials and
do and perform all the labor required to construct
| and complete the Portland and Ogdensburo Rail-
road from point on the Portland and Rochester
| through tie " ev Notch of the White Mountains to
the Connecticut River in the Town of Dalton, N. H.
finishing the same with fencing, bali ST. depots sid
ings water stations and all appui tenance of every
description necessary to the Iuil and perfect opera
| ton OF the road except machinery rolling STOCK
in the most thorough, substantial and workmanlike
| manner, deiraying every expense incidental to OF
connected with the construction of said road except
| the land damages or fright of way" and will COM
| plete the same in a full and thorough manner as
AZORES aid within two from the date of contract
| for the sum of Thirty Thousand Dollars pr mile
conditioned that IN case the cost of the rails shall
exceed seventy five dollars per ton such excess shall
be paid by the Railroad Company. further agree
that in case this proposal Is accepted at any time
within one year from this date will promptly exc
cutea contract for the work and give amply gdaran-
| tee for its prompt and faithful performance In
making this proposal it is understood that the grades
| adopted by the company will not ascend going east
more than sixty feet i'll any one mile or more than
sxry-ye feet going west and that save at point
| the minimum radius of curves will be one thousand
feet case the company determine to adopt heavier
grades or sharper curves at any point reasonable
1 and equitable deduction will be made from the price
| above named. - rr--t' r.s.g..--- ...--
The foregoing proposition was afterwards
| modified in a communication of Dec. IA, 1867,
| after Reconnaissance and examination of the
| route by Messrs. Bailey and Hale had been
| made, and the price per mile reduced to S29,-
| 600. The party added that he would build
"the portion in Maine for so, 800 per mile, and
| the portion in New Hampshire at $4,000 per
mile, neither TO he taken without the other
] and the cost of the whole not to exceed $29,-
| 000 per mile for the whole distance" On the
| 18th of December 1867, proposition was
| made by party in Massachusetts, represent
| ing money capital of several millions, for the
| entire road from Portland to the western ter
| minus in Vermont at S35, 600 per mile, includ-
| ing rolling stock to the value of $4,000 per
| mile, depots, &c, and everything but right of
| way, receiving in payment cash for one half
and mortgage bonds at par for the balance.
To return for a moment to the question of
| grades, about which SO much has been said
and insinuated, let us say that we have seen q
letter from b. 81. Latrobe, Esq., former eng-
neer OF the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, to
| John f. Anderson, ESQ., dated Nov. 80, 1867,
in which he says that on that road "there is an
| average grade of 116 feet per mile for IL miles
| the range being from ITO to 100 feet per mile
| On the 120 feet grade there are curves of 1000
feet radius, and on the ITO feet grade are
| curves OF 900 feet radius. Over these grades
| locomotive engines Of less than 40 tons draw
| trains of ten freight cars, loaded to equal 20
tons each, or 200 tons altogether, besides the
tender; and passenger trains OF six cars be.
hind the tender are carried up these grades at
q speed of 20 miles per hour" He also says
THE practical working Of the road has, 1
think, justified my location, and it continues
TO be satisfactory. No accident due to
this grade has ever happened" Now if this
| 116 feet per mile, it is submitted that one of
only 65 feet per mile cannot be regarded as
very Objectionable -ercept by those ,oho fear
the influence of the neao road upon other roads
and other cities.
3. 1t is alleged that shorter and more de-
sirable route to the West than that by the Og-
densburg road may be found, and one which
will require smaller amount of aid from
Portland. This route is said to be via Cornish,
Me-, White River junction and Rutland VT,
to Schenectady, N. Y.
Answer. To consider the last-named prop
osition first:-the distance from Portland to
White River Junction by this route is said by
its advocate in the Press to be 113 miles. Its
not believed that practicable railroad line on
this route can be found less than 125 milasS In
length. But call the distance 113 miles THE
line from Portland to Dalton will not exceed
103 miles, probably not 100 miles, being diff
ference in favor of the Ogdensburg line of 10
miles. 1t is said by the friends of the Rutland
line that Vermont will build the road from
Rutland to White River Junction 1t is also
affirmed, and upon authority, by the friends
of the Ogdensburg road that she will build
the road on that route from Swanton flor it is
not proposed to go TO Georgia. to Dalton
Thus the practical question for. Portland, so
far as the amount OF road to be built goes, is
to get to the eastern boundarSzof Vermont.
To reach that point at White River Junction
requires the building of 113 miles of road--to
reach it at Dalton requires 103 miles. The
writer has not doubt that the actual distance
is 20 miles in favor of the Dalton line, The
charter for the last-named lire has been OBJ
ia ned in New Hampshire, and the Company
has been duly organized. On the former there |
IS no charter and nothing can be done with |
prudence and safety until one has been OH |
knr. n .r.l.,.