The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1871-10-06
MEMPHIS. COLUMBIA IL KNOX.
VILE RAILROAD.

/ ,.a,. SAVANNAH. TENN, Sept. 1G. 1871.
EDITORS COLUMBIA HERALD.-Within
vefyshort space of time the people
between here and Memphis land 1 am
reliably informed those of Memphis alsol,
have been worked up to deep interest
in q contemplated Railroad from the
latter place, via Somersyille, Bolivar,
.Purdy, Savannah, Waynesboro, and
Columbia. to Nashville and Knoxville.
A glance of the map shows you at once
that this road would be- directly upon
the line from Norfolk, Va, to Ell Paso
and San Diego, which has been selected
for the route of the Southern Pacific.
A three feet, gauge is contemplated
here. The Directors Of the Little Rock
and Fulton Railroad, (styled the South
ern Pacific have decided to build their
road q three feet gauge, if they can get
and hold the subsidy of lands granted
them by Congress, which question has
been referred to the Secretary of the In
terror, and if he decides the three feet
gauge to be first class road lin the
meaning of the act granting the add
they will build their road that gauge.
And as three feet gauge is projected
from Fulton through Texas to Ell Paso
and San Diego, and the Memphis and
Little Rock road changes their gauge to
three feet, as they speak OF doing, you
will see that twenty-one hundred miles
of the road is already narrow gauge, and
change of guage from Knoxville to Nor
folk is all that is required to make the
entire line narrow gauge.
1t seams to be a settled fact THAT
broad gauge roads carry, lin machinery
and cars) about one to one, of dead to
paying freight; that is. the engines and
cars Of broad gauge roads weigh as
much as the freight and passengers,
while Mr.. FA1RLEY, an engineer Of
great notariety in Europe, says that his
Narrow, Gauge (fOr which. he has strag-
gled SO long, has proved to be success
and that he can "carry e45 tons on 10
tons of Wagons (cars) up an incline of
one in eighty" and as many old rail-
roads in the United States are changing
their roads from broad to narrow gauge,
there is but little doubt, but that the
Secretary of the Interior will decide in
favor Of the Little Rock and Fulton
road. We ought then to feel encour-
aged, and use every effort to secure the
constructions Of this lin, and great tho.
roughfare through the middle of Ten
nessee.
We ought TO remember that this line
is about 500 miles shorter from New
York to the Pacific Ocean, than the
Northern Pacific, that it passes through
q country free from the winter snow
drifts, (which SO greatly obstruct and
delay freight and passage on the North
ern roads, and that it is above the con-
tagious diseases peculiar to the South
ern slope, and that instead of a railroad
like the Northern Pacific, which can
only run about nine months out of
twelve, we will have an open and unob-
structed line from one years end to an
other. But the advantages of this line,
(of which our contemplated road is des-
tined to become an important link3 are
so decidedly in its favor that it seems
like folly to argue them.
Hardin county will give grand Rail-
road Barbecue at Savannah OF the 18th
of next month, in the interest of the
Memphis & Nashville Tor Knoxville, as
we sometimes call it, Railroad enter>
prise, and we hope to see delegation
from Maury. Aspetition, for a charter
has been filed in Chancery, at Bolivar
Gen. SwAYRIE, of Memphis, Judge E
WALKER, of Savannah, Gen. r. P. NEE
~, of Bolivar, and others Of both moni-,
tary and mental ability as incorpor-.
ators. Let Columbia get to work.
G. w. SHIPMAN.