Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1871-10-23
Works ofthc d. a. a. VI. Il. X. In Alex
nntIrin Wa,

Fpm letter from Alexandria, In the Wash
ington Republican, We copy the following de-
scrption of the works of the o. A. Il NJ r.
r. in this city -
In pcrambulating round old "Bcehaven' on
Saturday last We sLroled into the workshops
of the Orange, Alexandria and Manassas Gap
Railroad Company ,aud were very much Surprs
ed at the quality as well rs the quantity of the
work manufactured there. The shops are I'M
der the charge of master mac hinlst j. F.. Wal-
dcy, Il gentleman thoroughly skilled i'll his pro-
fcssion, and who has given great satisfaction
not ouly to his employers but to the employees,
by the manner in which lie conducts the opera
tons of The shops under his charge. The first
visited was the blacksmith ) shop, under the
charge of Thomas r. Brown, master smith,
where the first parts Of the locomotives are
made consisting of engine frame, truck frames,
and all the wroughtirOn parts Of the machinery,
Nr. Brown has been connected with the COM
pany for many years, aud is a thorough me
cllanic. From there We went to the smiths
shop, where the work is turned over to the
machine shop, and where it Is finished and
put up in its place There is some as fine
work done here as in any establishment in the
United States John Atwcll has charge Of
this department, and he, too, is one the ''old
hands, and was promoted to this position on
account of his superior qualifications.
We next passed through to the ear shop
where they arc turning out as fine first class
passenger cars &c: as are to be found any
| where, the workmanship being OF the very
best quality The cars arc built Of seasoned
| built at the North, and also are made much
| T. b., ;l,,, ivip m \
| andria mechanics aud that is what is needed
| in Alexandria Instead Of our mechanics lcav
ing here for other cities in search OF work, let
men of money and enterprise establish factor
les. &C., 50 rs tu give employment to them
Alexandria has all the advantages, in every
way, for manufacturing and other purposes. -
This shop is under the charge of an expcrlcnc,
cd master carpenter, John ". Nails.
We next visited the paint shop, where I'll
finishing touches are put on, %td We think the
painting done in this establishment far exceeds
anything of the kind we ever SAW. Our friend,
Charles ID. Rudd, who has charge, has rcpu
tation abroad as well as at home for his qualities
as first class painter The work done on Il
passenger car that VIC saw in his shop is Ger
tainly hard to beat.
The last place We visited w;s the Round
House, where all the eng ines are housed and
repaired. After every trip made by IN engine
it is put in this house and thoroughly examined
all loose bolts frightened, and made ready for
another trip. This is no small matter, as the
house used contains Is pits upon which the en-
gincs arc placed, and most OF them arc always
occupied by the engines which come in one
| day and depart the next but have to be cX
amncd and made ready There are only four
men employed in this department, and they
have to labor day and night The company have
fine man in charge of this department, Mr..
Robert Rudd, who is small in stature, but Il
| whole team to work.
We are under obligations to our friend
James W. Shun, (who is IN old employee Of
the company, and thorough machinist,l tor
showing us through the different shops This
is very hlsty and imperfect sketch Of the
shop, but enough to'show that the Orange road
can compete with any road ip tue United
States in building locomotives, cars, nc. The
different departments are under the hands Of
| skilled workncn, aud the company need not go
away from home for rolling stock.
, Mr. III. w. Eandcgrllt, chief engineer, and
superintendent, has been connected with the
road for many years, and is one Of the hardest
working men i'll the company, and thoroughly
understands his business.
The general ticket agent, Mr.. James NJ.
| BrOaQuS, IL also an Olu cluIlDycc anu HILL
thoroughly convrrSant with all the details con-
ncctcd with this branch Of the service 1t is a
very important position, and the company has
cause to congratulate itself i'll having such Il
faithful officer The ticket agent ut Alcxan-
,ria, Capt Richard Writ, las made many
warm friends since his appointment to that
Office by his strict attention to his duties, and
by his politencss to those having business
with him.
Indeed, We don't know Of a company in the
United States that is 50 Fortunate with few
exceptions, in having such competent and OK
pericnccd officers, from the president (John 5:
Barbour, who is so well known home and
abroad, down to the lowest employee. As an
evidence of this, commence ut the supcrintcn
dent Office, and 90 through the different de-
partlnents connected with the road, Il mean
also the conductors engineers, &c, and you
will find that a very large majority of them
have been employed by the company for years,
and many OF them since the road has been in
existence.