The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1870-02-12

NORTHERN CENTRAL RAILWAY IMPROVEMENTS
Persons who have not visited North Charles street
within the past six months would be surprised at
the wonders of engineering skill displayed in the
vicinity where Jones Falls winds its sluggish
way between Charles street and the Belvidere
bridge The Northern Central Railway short
time since purchased large tract of ground
living north of the Falls, and extending from
Charles street to North, for the purpose of erect
ing thereon magnificent and commodious depot
for through travel, and in order TO run the rail-
way tracks under the beds of certain streets the
grades of certain streets will have to be altered.
The City Council has granted permission to alter
the grades Of such streets as are to be used by the
company and the avenue which required the
most elevatng was Charles. The old wooden
bridge which spanned the Falls, on this street,
has been removed and in itsplace an iron bridge,
of the latest pattern, will shortly be erected. 1t
will be bridge of three spans, one span crossing
the bed of the stream, and the other two crossing
the land on the north side, and will be not less
than five hundred feet in length The abutments
and piers, which are nearly finished, are OF the
most solid construction, built of dressed granite,
and of fine workmanship. The piers at the base
are not less than twenty-five feet wide.
Charles street, on its approaches to the bridge,
will be raised about ten feet above its former
bed, affording ample space for locomotives to
pass under to the immense passenger depot, which
is about to be built the east side OF the north
abument This central depot will, it is antici-
pated, be used jointly by the Northern Central,
the Baltimore and Potomac, the Western Mary
land and the Philadelphia and Wilmington Rail-
roads, making the Charles street bridge the great
centre of travel to the East West and South.
1t being the intention of the Northern Central
Railway Company TO transfer its work shops
from Bolton depot to their recent purchase OF the
Bond property, in the rear of Druid Hill Lake.
upwards of three hundred workmen are now at
work in blasting rock and grading the ground
| large force of masons are also employed In
constructing a massive stone wall along the south
side of Jones' Falls and westward from the toll
gate on the Falls road. This wall is intended to
prevent any rise in the Falls from washing the
banks of the railway at this point, the last freshet
having demonstrated the TACT that sudden eleva-
lions of the water in thai sometimes Insignificant
stream are capable of creating great damage.
From Druid Hill Lake to Bolton depo; the
railroad company OWNS strip ofland containing
| fifty acres, and when the depot is removed from
| Bolton the company will have at least twenty
acres of building sites, which, when improved
will materially add to the tax revenue OF our
city, and it is thought that this property will be
speedily bought up that section OF the city has
been rapidly developed during the past ten years
The company expects to complete its improve
ments in eighteen months from the present time,
and estimates the cost of the same at one million
of dollars. This is independent of the property
purchased from Judge Bond and others, for which
The cost was nearly four hundred thousand dol
lars. When the shops at Bolton shall have been
removed to the new depot, and the passenger
station changed TO the depot on Charles street,
the Calvert street station will be used for local
purposes and the new depot for through bust
ness
A visit to the excavations now being made at
ID Ed 70 fho vic
plenty OF thinking material, and demonstrate to
what an extent the railroad company is pushing
its improvements The work of grading, from
the fact that the ground is of rocky character,
is very slow, nearly all of the entertainments being
thrown down by blasts of gunpowder, and at
times when blasts are fired the utmost precsu-
ton is necessary to prevent accidents Yester-
day morning the signal was given that blast
was ready to be started, aud in an instant men,
horses and carts were hurrying to a safe distance
Everything being in readiness, the fuse was
lighted, thin curl of white smoke was seen ap-
preaching the charge of powder in the rock, the
fire reaches the magazine an upheaving OF tons
of rock and earth is seen for second, then
dull booming noise is heard shower OF stones,
varying in size from one inch to the weight of a
ton are hurled into the air, rock earth and
smoke obscure the sun for moment, and In
another instant the once tenacious stone rattles
into the blackened chasms with noise resembling
the discharge of musketry. All danger having
passed, the men and horses hurry into the quarry,
and the work ofremovng the debrisis commenced.
Within short distance of these quarrles are
several shantes, inhabited by the laborers and
their families, and so accustomed have the dogs,
goats and chickens become to the blasting of the
rocks, that as soon as the workmen quit the
quarries for the purpose of escaping the flying
pieces of stones, they scamper off to places of
safety, and there remain until the blast has been
exploded The horses also have become familiar
to the retreats, and when their drivers are notified
to "leave," the horses, no matter whether the
carts are filled with dirt, or empty, hurry away,
and urging will not induce them to return to the
quarry until the explosion establishes the fact
that the blast has been successfully fred.-Balto.
American