The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1870-01-17
DAILY PRESS.
Monday Morning, January II. 1870.
che Osdeusbprg Rn;,r.ua Ono. ~,
CORTLAND

To the Editor of the Press:
| Your correspondent "R." in the Press of the
| 9th inst, returns again to the discussion of
the comparative advantages of The proposed
lines OF railway, to Ogdensburs and to Rut-
land, afer taking more than a months time
for preparation.
HIS attack on the Rutland project, was pub
| lished in your paper Of Dec I'd last, and re-
| piled to at once, in your paper Of the 9th OF
| Dec. With the aid Of the engineering force
| OF the Osdensburg company, all expected in
| his reply, an elaborate presentation of facts.
Hence my disappointment at the singuary
| loose statements he puts forth, backing down
| from his former bold assertions, with obvious
| lack OF knowledge as to all matters on which
| the public desire information. His principal
object seems to be, to find occasion for a
| personal attack on me.
What the public OF Portland desire, and
what every tax payer in the city of Portland
should demand, is not personal controversy,
but, accurate information as to the line to
Ogdensburg, especially that portion of it, be-
tween st. Johnsbury and Portland. As to
the line to Rutland, full information has been
published over and over again. The line is
known to be emmently favorable, except that
section through the Green Mountains, from
Woodstock to Rutland 20 miles, and to avoid
heavy grades on the direct route, the line is
made to swing around distance OF AZ miles
in order to overcome by easy grades the prir-
cpal summit. The Green Mou ltains like
the Alleghauies, are high ridges composed OF
lime stone, or slate, clothed with forests to
their summits,-totally unlike the Alpine
| peaks OF the White MoutaIns, with their
granite precpices and deep gorges, difficult to
be passed with easy grades Every body
knows that it is impossible at any reasonable
cost, to build line of railway through the
White Mountain Notch, with grades 100 or
120 teet. Every one is now satisfied with the
absuldity OF the statement that 65 feet grades
only, were required to pass the Notch. 1t
would require a continuous grade OF IS feet
to the mile, to run a line from the junction of
Els's river with the Saco in Bartlett, to the
| top OF the Notch a distance of 20 miles. The
height Of the Notch is 1904 feet above tide wa
ter At the junction of the Ellis and Saco
rivers, the level of the Saco is only 576
leet above the tide level, or an actual rise of
| 1929 feet in 20 miles, and from the old Claw-
| ford House to the Notch, 8 1-2 miles OF this
| 20, there is rise Oil feet. These facts are
well known 10 the writer III the Press, or at
| any rate to the officers OF the Portland and
| Ogdensburg Railroad Company, and have
| been certified tc in writing by Mr.. John f.
Anderson, now, Chiet Engineer of the Port
land & Osdensbure Railroad Company.
An ingenious plan was devised by Mr..
Linsiey, certified to by Collector Washburn,
| that continuous grade line should be run on
| the side oil the mountain, n,preserving Uniform
ascent over the whole distance OF 20 miles,
| and in this way, grade OF only Is feet to the
| lille required through the Notch. The pub
| lie OF Portland were cheated into the belief OF
| its pracLicability. Messrs. Anderson & Noyes
| it was said, confirmed tie statement of Mr.
| Linsley. This is VIGOROUSLY untrue. Messis.
! Anderson & Noyes, discarded Linsley's plan
OF a continuous grade OF Us ieet to the mile,
| and proposed to lay the line in the Saco Val
ley, requiring grades of lOO feet or more to the
| mile.
When Anderson and NOyes's report was
called for, paper was sent to the newspa-
| perS purpOrting to be Anderson and Noyess
| report, With the material part suppressed,
and a vote had to be taken before there was
sufficient time to expose this fraud.
| The money OF the city is called for, and
paid out, towards building line to Ogdens-
burg through the White Mountain Noicn
without knowledge on the part OF the city
officials OF the character of the route, and
with full knowledge on the part of The officers
of the Portland d Ogdensburg kaiioad Co.
that the line through the Notch will CT st toui
or five times as much per mile as has been
represented, and the line, if built, will not be
Of any value.
1t is well known to all railroad men that i
| is impossible to maintain such line through
out the year, on account of the fearful slide
and avaanches during the rainy season. l
would be tearfully expensive 10 attempt to op
crate such lihe in winter, il built. There
no business in the winter months at th
mountains. Tue grade from the ConDecticu
river would be So heavy as to preclude til
possibility OF competing success uliy With 9th
lines in the transportation, OF freight
The Connecticut river at Lancaster is onl
$40 ieet a1oss tide water and Littleton Vii
Iage is SIT feet above tide water. "A ra,iroa
runs down the Connecticut valley from Lit le
Ton to Wells river and to Meredilh, and wi
be open in all OF the present week six mi e
further north, to the wing road in Whiteted
and through to Lancaster before the end O
| the present. year.
None but an insane man will believe tha
freight in the Connecticut valley will climb ur
1USl feet, from the valley OF the Amouoosue
or Littlelon, over fearful grades, to the top Of
the Notch to get to tide-water, when it can
follow Gown easy grades in the Connection,
valley, and to Meredith, and thence by a Ia
vorable line to Portland, without any consid
cradle increase of distance. But your cor
respondent "B." has made great discovery
and improved upon Linsley's plan. He i:
going to have continued grade of thirty feet
to the mile all the way from Portland 10 the
|
embankment $50 feet high at the mouth OF
Ellis's river in Bartlett. This you will say il
impossible. By no means; it would be rather
expensive, and it would cost more to build il
than to built 1000 miles OF the Pacific Raj
road. This is small sum, certainly, to
Portland to spend. 1t cost S9O,OOO,OOO tt
build the Union Pacific Railroad from Omaha
to Ogden, 1856 miles, but this sum of $90,OU0,
600 would not bali build line of railroad
from Portland to the top of the White Noun
tam Notch, on continuous grade OF thirty
feet to the mile. Any one Can see this who
will take the pains to cast up the cost of ar
embankment Of $50 feet from the State lin,
to within twenty miles of the summit of tn,
Notch. Still your correspondent 3D." gravel,
contends for this. He says the "White Noun
tain Notch Is some serenty miles from Port
land, and the line Is on an up grade all tn
acay; this aoouid give us grQde of less Ma,
thirty feet to the mile. So here is no barrier
1t is difficult to speak with moderation
when such statements are put forth in sup
port OF the Ogdensburg railroad. Yet the
friends of the Osdensburg railroad with full
knowledge, in possession of its officers, allow
these stories to be told and go uncontradictej
The same story is told and believed at Og
densburg, and along the line Of the Rome
Watertown 6 Ogdensburg railroad. Man.
believe there is a very level line from Rouse
Point to Portland through the White Noun
tain Notch.
Having passed the White Mountains, you
complacent correspondent "B." can see no oh
stace in the way OF an easy line to st. Johns
bury, and declares he never heard in Yer
mont of "Moose Mountain" He ought t
know that a mountain or a range of noun
tains separates the waters OF Mooseriver iron
the Connecticut-Moose river entering th
Passumpsic at St. Johnsbury Village, ther
being no depression ia this ridge or chair
atfording a favorable railroad route tror
Gudhall and CRANKY, down to its en- ranc
into the Passumpsic. l called it MOOs
Mountain because it is long range OF hi
some of the peaks OF which have dstinc
| names. rising to the dignity of mountain
lying east of Moose River Valley.
: That the writer in the Press should be L
norant OF this range of mountains is by II
means strange, because there IS no evidpnC
that a railroad route has ever been surveye
across it. But every one familiar With tha
part of the country knows that there is n
= possible route for a railroad from the Conuec
:, ticut river to st. Johnsbury except over tn
mountain ridge. After reaching Moose rive
O rapid stream descends 70 the village wheI
Farbanks.Scae Factory is located.
The reason there has been no survey frol
st. Johnsbury east to the top of The Whit
, Mountain Notch probably is, that the Fai
" banks's are looking west and not east.
1t is not necessary to follow the line we
of st. Johnsbury Tor the purpose of this di
cussion, except to say that all The capital an
all the credit, individual or municipal tb
'' can be raised In the Lamoille Valley or {