Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-05-18
THE MEMPHIS AND CsiARLEs-
TON RAILROAD LOCATION.

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THE MEMPHIS AND CsEAItI.Es-
| TON RAILROAD LOCATION.
We made mention q few days ago of
the efforts to get up stock for the Decatur
and Guntersville Railroad, and in connec-
ton with its proposed location, briefly re-
ferred to what We had been informed
were facts in the history of the Memphis
and Charleston Railroad that it was To-
Gated 'sto please certain parties and
cliques," TO the neglect of S'common
sense, topography, economy and every
other consideration" The Huntsville
Democrat claims that we have been mis-
informed, and asks us to publish the facts
in the case as furnished by that paper,
which we do as follows:
"When the subject was talked about in
1849, Memphis held out to Huntsville a
proposition to build the road, and invited
| our citizens 10 attend convention, at
Memphis, called to consider the PROPOSE
ton. A committee of our citizens attended,
and in turn, invited the citizens of Mem
phis, and of the intermediate country, to
attend convention at Huntsville. The
convention was largely attended by citi-
zens all along the line and by distin-
guished railroad men from Charleston
and Augusta. Without contention, Mem
phis and Huntsville were agreed upon as
the only fixed points in the road, all, we
believe, expressing their satisfaction with
it, or, at any rate, no dissent. The rest
of the route was, by general agreement,
left to the determination of instrumental
surveys and the report of the engineers,
having in view common sense, to po-
graphy, economy and every other con-
sideration.' At this end of the line
three routes were left open for determIna-
ton in this way, to wit: from Huntsville
to Winchester, Tenn, or to Rome, Ga,
via Guntersville, or to point on the Nash
vile and Chattanooga Railroad at or near
Bolivar, Ala. The engineers reported in
favor of the last route and Stevenson
was selected as the point, at or near
Bolivar, for junction with the Nashville
and Chattanooga Railroad.
"The city of Charleston was so well
satisfied that it subscribed $3.50, 600 to the
capital stock of the Memphis and Charles
ton Railroad Company. The citizens of
the Tennessee Valley subscribed about
$4,000 900. Huntsville and Madison
county subscribed some SIX or seven hun
dred thousand dollars, and without their
aid, by subscriptions anu loans of money,
the road would not have been built At
the inception of this enterprise, we feel
confident that no mention was made of
the route from Decatur to Guntersville or
any other point on the South side of the
Tennessee river. A survey of the route
for the OoOsa and Tennessee Rivers Rail-
road had been made, chiefly paid for with
vile, to establish connection between
the waters of the Tennessee and the Mo
bile Bay by way of the Coosa river, with
the ultimate view of connecting Hunts
vile, by railroad, with Guntersville, the
Northern terminus of the Tennessee and
Coosa Rivers Railroad.
''By crossing at Decatur, the Memphis
and Charleston Railroad gave the most
direct connection between the Mississippi
river at Memphis and the Nashville and
Chattanooga Railroad, at Stevenson, and
by that road with the Western and At
lantic Railroad at Chattanooga; and the
latter road, at that time, was the only
road constructed OF in early contempla-
ton, by which the people, along the road
from Memphis to Stevenson, could reach |
the South Atlantic seabOard and, by this |
route alone they had any early prospect
of railroad connection with Richmond, |
Norfolk, Baltimore and the Eastern cities |
further North. *
eve think, if the UNION AND AMERI
CAN will look at the course of the Mem |
phis and Charleston Railroad on the map |
and acquaint itself with the topography of |
the country, it will see that the detection |
from right line between Memphis to |
Chattanooga (the only feasible point that |
Memphis could, in 1S49 strike for, to OBJ |
tain a connection with the Atlantic sea-
bOald) is as small as possible. So, the
engineers reported and so common sense,
combined with atopographical knowledge
of the country and a regard for the public |
interests, decided. By keeping |
the road on The South side of the |
Tennessee, the water-courses and |
trestle works (by no means, fnnumer-
able) would, of course, have been avoid
ed, but from our personal knowledge of |
both sides of the river and information |
derived from numerous intelligent sources, |
we are satisfied that, on the south side, |
more and heavier deep cuts and embank
ments, more bridges and trestle-works, |
would have been required, involving |
much heavier outlay of money, which |
could not have been obtained. =
Gas to the building of another bridge |
over the Tennessee, that may have TO be |
built, whether the road from Gadsden |
shall reach the Memphis and Charleston |
Railroad, at Decatur or at Huntsville. |
The Memphis and Charleston Railroad |
Company owns the present bridge at De- |
catur, and, without its consent, no other |
can use it. Unless an arrangement can |
be effected with the Memphis and Charles
ton Railroad Company, the Nashville and
Decatur, the North and South, or Dcca-
tur and Guntersville Railroad Company,
will be forced to build a bridge.
''The distance from Decatur to Gunters-
vile, we learn, is fifty-seven miles (not
less than fifty by actual survey, and does
not lie through "a level country how
ever excellent it may be, and is, in some
respects. We believe, the distance will
prove greater and the cost of construction
greater that the route from Rock Springs.
Tenn, via Huntsville to Guntersville, and
that the latter will afford more direct
communication between Nashville and
Guntersville." :F.
Free of Tax.