The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1869-07-22
o. 81 S. RAILROAD.
REPORTof W, W.sGrdueS, En-.
gineer, of the result of his E.ram.
ination of lines for the proposed
Ohio and Southern Railroad.

| NttO UHu OUUtHCfR LO(ttf OWus
To Major VIM. Welsh, Chairman OF the Cor
porators of the Ohio Southern Rail.
road Company.
Sir:-In accordance with q res
olution passed .bysyour board o.
Corporators at a meeting in Chill.
licothe on the 18th of May last, ]
have made q preliminary exam
ination Of the topography of the
country through which your pro-
posed road would pass.
Leaving Lancaster on tho 11th
of June l passed through the vii
lage of Hamburg which is on the
dividing ridge between the waters
Of the Hooking and Clear Creek
thence to Tarlton, on Salt Creek
in Pickaway county. and to Chilli.
Gothic by the way Of Kingston and
Hopetown. There meeting Messrs
Campbell and Reighley, from
Adams county, who accompanied
me to West Union,
From Chillicothe we passed up
Paint creek to about ono mile
above cambridge, crossing a sum-
nit dividing the waters of Paint
from that of Brush creek, pro.
ceeding down Brush creek about
seven miles; thence through what
is called Buffers gap TO Sinking
Springs. From Sinking Springs
l passed through section of coun-
try known as the Smoky Corners
in the eastern part Of Adams coun
ty, about one mile east of Locust
Grove, passing also about one mile
east of Jacksonville or Dunbarton
P. y. thence down Bundles Run
to Brush creek nearly opposite its
junction with Lick Fork; thence
following up Lick Fork to Wost
Union. From West Union in com.
company with Hon. ]. r. Cocker
ell, | passed through the town
Of Bentonvile to Aberdeen on the
Ohio river in Brown county, and
Maysville, Ky. On my return |
again passed through BentonvIlle
to North Liberty in the more west
ern part of Adams county; thonce
down Martins Run, Drare's Run,
Cherry Fork, West Fork of Brush
creek to Newport, which is at tho
junction of the West Fork with
the East Fork Of Brush creek, and
nine miles from North Liborty.--.
From Newport | went up tho East
Fork about two miles; thero leav.
ing it and following up run lead
ing to Locust Grove; thence
through Smoky Corners again to
Sinking Springs. From Sinking
Springs to Chillicothe | passed
over nearly the same ground as on
my way down, but in company
with DR.. s. G. Roberts and others
of Bainbridgo made more careful
examination of the summit between
Paint creek and Brush creek; also
OF the narrows in Paint creek val,
10y about eight miles west of Chill,
licothe. From Chillicothc l re
turned via. Hopetown, Hallsvillc
and Adelphi to Lancaster. That
portion of the limo between News
ark and Lancaster | made q simi.
lar examination of in April 1868,
in company with j. r. Mumaugh,
Esq of Lancaster. On this part
of tho line thero will bo no grades
over twenty six feot to tho mile
and no heavy work, it being near.
ly a surface grade all the way, with
two bridges across tho Ohio canal
of fifty fIctspan and one across Rae.
coon creek near Newark of seven
ty.five or eighty feet span. The
distance from Newark to Lancas.
ter would be about twenty eight
miles.
From Lancaster there arc two
diifcrcntlines that should be instru.
mentally surveyed, In leaving
Lancaster going South. west in the
first four miles you would proba
bly, have about three miles of forty
feet grade. This grade would bc
continued another mile on tho
Tarlton line and perhaps increase
to fifty feet to the divide betwocn
Hooking river and Clear creek at
Hamburg. This would require an
excavation of about six hundred
feet in length and twenty. fivo or
thirty feet extreme depth. Loav.
ing this you would have an oasy
grade to Clear creek of about
twenty-siX feet to tho milo. Cross.
ing Clear creek with u bridge of
eighty feet span you wOald pass
through rolling country inter-
sected by small tributaries of Clear
creek until within one and n half
miles Of Tarlton whore you will
encounter another divide between
Clear creek and Salt creek and
much heavier than at Hamburg
Then descending on probably n
fifty feet grade and within one
half mile Of Tarlton to Salt creek,
q distance of about three miles,
tho crossing of which would ro.
qu'ro about the samo amount of
bridging as Clear creek. From
this point tho best grades and |
cheapest line will bo found by go>
ing on to Salt creek prairie and
lown tho Kinnikinnick Valley to
Hopetown, thence to Chillicotho.
A shorter limo could bo had be.
'wecn Tarlton and IIopctown by
'unning west OF the Prairie and
loarer Kingston, bat tho surface OF
ho country is moro broken which
would cause moro undulating
,rades and heavier work, and the
aving in distance will not, |
hink, compensate for tho differ.
nee in cost of construction and
working expenses of tho road
,nrnnfinr