Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1871-07-22

For the chroniel,
CLARKsvII.LE, July IS, 1871.
MEssRa EDITORS; / have lately
seen ~ many articles concerning mar
row gauge railways, that Il was diff
cult rsfraining from criticism filled
as they were with errors, both Ia as
sumption and logic. The Louisville
papers have had several articles from
certain gentleman, who, becausehe
has been President of a Railroad, Inn
agines hinselfa COLOSSUS Of Roads.r
But fair criticism Of the writings Of a
man who is SO rain and. egotistical as
to apply to himself the self-gratula-
ton that was inexcusable In a icero
two thousand years ago, and who
speaks Of magma pars Jisi"-we say
fair criticism would be thrown away
upon him. But when men who have
railroad experience, like Pickett aud
Merriwether, catch the fever, we are
willing to give their writings atten-
ton and their reasons consideration.
In your last issue was q letter from
the latter named gentleman, to the
Memphis Appeal, which 1 think
bears evidence of hasty conclusions,
reached by false assumptions, through
erroneous reasoning. He speaks Of
ia feet grade to the mile" and as
that Is nearly level, 1 am bound to
to believe that it is q typographical
error Of (either yours orr the Mem
phis Appeal. But when he speaks OF
the "curves Of 81 degrees" as that is
reiterated, / suppose 1t is fair, hon
est copy. But does Mr.. M. really
mean to say that he would dare ride
In any vehicle that would make re-
verse curve of 81 degrees, at 80 miles
an hour? That the reader may I'M
derstand what a curve of 81 degrees
Is, we will say that 1t is curve with
u radius Of little over one hundred
feet; In Other words that It is u part
of circle about 700 feet around /; and
he proposes going around this circle
part Of the way, and then without
any intervening straight line, to go
the other way around, or part way
around circle of the same size. This
is q simple 'every day' description
of reversed curves Of 81 degrees.n
And he Immediately says: cover
this road trains have run 80 miles an
hour, &C., &c." That an engine built
as he says can go around such curves
we are ready to admit, and we admit
that his engine can travel 80 miles an
hour, provided he does not get his
drivers too small, "placing the center
of gravity" too "near the track"
But that 1t will do both at the same
time, which Is the fair inference from
his paper, we have too much respect
for Mr.. M. to think he believes; and
right here is the difficulty. While
the marrow gauge" theory has some
good arguments for its foundation, its
friends are not satisfied with these,
but bring forward statements from
other parties whom they do not know
either personally or by reputation.
Mr.. M. taxes himself and the COM
positor to "set up" figures i and 2,
which prove nothing IT they were
correct, and besides are not correct.
A car standi ig near me az write is
feet 2 inches wide. and but little
higher than his. His feet gauge
car is Z feet wide. The car in sight
on 5 feet guage Is feet 2 inches
wide. Which would be easiest over
turned? The fact is, there Is vast
amount of humbug about this mar
row gauge theory. While something
may be obtained in sharper curves
Isl degrees reversed, &c., being also
humbug), nothing Is made proper
tiomotely in the way Of grades, earth
work, bridges, iron, ties, &C., &c. The
same mountainous or level country
will be traversed; the same streams,
and crossed by the same number OF
spans Of bridges, will be encountered.
That these narrow gauge roads may
he Of service in developing portions
of country that cannot afford to build
feet gauge roads, we readily admit
and we will add that it would have
been wise to have built narrow gauge
roads in place of quite number of
feet gauges in Tennessee. But fol
lines Of 400 miles, we hardly have pa.
thence to discuss 80 palpable an alb
surdity. But the Railroad Register
of Philadelphia, speaks truly wher
1t says:
1.-THE extraordinary fervor with whicl
many engineers and projectors of new line
of railway favor n reduction in the widil
of gauge is certainly very remarkable. al
the arguments, mechanical and financial
with which we, with others. have combat
ted the use OF the feet gauge In this coun
try, are now brought In use TO show tina
J the feet So inch gauge Is wasteful and ex
travagant, both in construction and opera
ton: and the new lights In railway engi
neering are now engaged in showing thai
the true gauge should be anywhere from
two feet to three and oi-e-half feet, an,
those who favor uniformity of gauge, or
continuation ofthe present ruling one OF I
feet ~ inches ars looked upon as belonging
to the old fogy or conservative class. Now
under certain conditions, we have no doub
> that extremely narrow gauges can be uses
with profit, AS they can be built with les
money, and operated with less cost pc
mile of operation than the ruling now IL
but these narrow gauge lines must OF ne
cessity be isolated. and having no direc
connection, for the interchange OF traffic
with the general system, they must be ope
rated under great disadvantages Az mer
feeders TO main lines, bringing sparsel,
populated sections into connection witt
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