The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1869-08-09
From Evansville TO Philadelphia
Over the Mountains sublime
scenery-AsWOFld Of Iron-Farms
and Crops.


- CONTINENTAL HOUSE,
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 2, 1869.
Editors Journal:
No one who has not passed over the
Pennsylvania Railroads can form a
just conception of the grandeur of the
achievement in its construction. or
the magnitude of the corporation
which it embodies. Building rail-
roads in the West, across level prai-
ries, or through such miniature hills
as prevail IN Indiana or Illinois, is
mere child's play, compared to this.
Except the Granite hills of New
Hampshire, no State in the Union
possesses such imperishable rocks as
Pennsylvania. The granite never
corrodes, while time and the elements
will affect the ferreous, or com
pounds, of which the mountain re-
gions of Pennsylvania are composed.
Natures great laboratory itself, how
ever, cannot, In thousand centuries,
destroy what was by Omnipotence
spoken into existence in moment.
West of the mountains, some lime
stone of an inferior character can be
found, but the State is emphatically
and literally composed of iron ore.
From Pittsburg to Harrisburg, a
distance of more than two hundred
miles, the whole State is underlaid
with iron ore, and in many places it
| covers the mountain side like bowl
| ders and flag stones cover the shores
| of the Ohio and the streams of West
Virginia.
/ For a long time it was held by the
Wisest engineers to be utterly impos-
sible to build a railroad across the
! Alleghanies, except on the principle
of inclined PLANES, with stationary
engines to draw up and let down the
trains, and the road was at first built
on this theory. 1t soon became mani
fest, however, that this plan was abso
lutely impractlcable, and the road un-
| profitable Somebody-we know not
Who-coneeiEed the idea that this bar
rier between the East and West, which
had been considered insurmount-
able, could be overcome. That man
had brains--brains that would have
bursted the head of Christopher
| Columbus or Sir Walter Raleigh.
The work was begun and accom-
| plished, aud Is one of the grandest
monuments to science and engineer
| ing skill that the world has ever pro-
ddced. The equipment of the road is
on scale of the most gigantic pro-
portions. We saw locomotives Nos.
l and Sol: box car 6,046; stock car
| 1924; and the other equipments, in
Guiding passenger cars, platform cars,
| coal cars, &c, are IN proportion.
1ou hfo tv0nI- 0vfanHc uanVslvy kbo
entire distance, thus avoiding delay,
and greatly reducing the chances of
| accident, and rendering collisions
next to impossible. The road-b bed
throughout is ballasted with stone,
and for miles and miles is cut through
stone. The passenger cars are the
saw, being substantially built, ele-
gantly finished, with high backed
seats, softly cushioned, and admi-
rably calculated to rest the whole
body.
! After leaving Pittsburg a short dis
lance, the train darts under lofty but
narrow ridges, debauching into a COM
paratively level country, under high
state of cultivation, and ornamental
with handsome, and sometimes ele-
CANT and costly, residences. The fields
team with heavy crops of oats and
hay, and it was noticeable that the far
Their you go East, the grass grows
| heavier and more luxuriant, and on
this side of the mountains the oats
were the finest we ever saw. The
line Of the road lies along a small
stream so crooked in its course that
sometimes the train was running with
! the current, sometimes in the opPo-
site direction. The points of the hills
often like prom0ntories, approach the
stream, and are cut through solid
rock, or when of sufficient height are
tunneled. The tunnels are built up
with massive masonry, and In many
places the sides of the deep cuts
are supported by strong masonry.
EXTENSIVE stone quarries are develop
ed. and coal everywhere abounds.
Splendid farms line the road, and dis
play evidences of intelligent cultiva-
ton.
At Tbs we reach Derry. forty-seyen
miles from Pittsburg, the first stop
| ping point. At7:3O we get into the
hills--the outposts of the Alleghenies
ss-aGd Commence the ascent. The
I grade, however. is so light that it
i would not be perceived were it not
for the rapidly Increasing depths be-
low. The track is cut down through
+ shaI6rock to depth Of thirty or
forty feet, and the cliff overhangs the
train in the most threatening manner,
| while the timbered hill rises above
out Of sight. On the left is a deep
ravine through which the Conemaugh
meanders, and beyond the hills tower
] till their SUBMITS are lost IN the fog
that still fingers In the valley. Up,
lsupthe iron horse drags his heavy
load with great rapidity, dashing for
ward as if inspired by the scenery
that surrounds him. Near the sum-
mt Of the mountains is Cresson, a
famous watering place, presenting
many attractions.
ou1oe4ly the train dashes at the rate
of 40 miles per bonr into tnnneI he
meath the highest neaL of tbe Ala.
ghanies, and as it deboncbes ON tba
l.other side, distance Of seven. e;gb tbS
l of a mile, a scene of indesor;6abI he
grandeur breaks upon the view To
the left the mountains tower fiji 49,,
seem to pierce the sky. To 49,
right you gaze down into unfafbo
omable depths, and your head grows
dizzy as you gaze even from the car
/ Light feecy clouds float far below.
/ while the deep rayine stretches far
away to the south and east. Here
the beauties of nature are dis
played IN their grandest aspect,
proclaiming the Omaipotenece of
! the Grand Architect who laid the
Foundations of the world, and fixed
/ the everlasting hills. Here the de-
scent commences, and the train shoots
wildly down the side of the noun
tain by an easy descent. You see far
across the curve of the ravine, and