Democratic enquirer. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1867-1873, 1871-08-02
CHANGE OF THE O, & N. R. r.
GAUGE.
Six Hours and Fifty-Mine
Minutes.

Long before yesterdays morning
sunlight began to tingo the eastern
horizon squads of men might have
been seen gathering in continuous
line OF thrce hundred and forty
miles along the route of the Ohio
and Mississippi Railway. An army
Of workers, two Thousand five hun
dred strong, had been gathered to
perform the gigantic task of chang
ing the gauge Of this extensive pub
lie thorOughfare, The force in the
employ of the corporation had been
strengthened by about eight hun
dred men, aud each man was prcvi-
ously made aware of his duties and
stationed at his possibility. five
brawny, eager toilers we're appor-
toned to q distance of five miles
which constituted section. Upon
seven men the work of Transforming
the gauge of one mile devolved. -
And TINS with care and exactn ess
the plan had been previously form
ed for the consummation of q feat
unparalleled in the annals of engi-
ncering in this country. The hour
Of light began to approach for
the consummation of the scheme.-
With the first ray of the sun word
was flashed along the line, "Strike
the first spike" aud simultaneous
action began with the command
Some OF the divisions, emulous to bC
the first to complete their allotted
task, had, in the stealth of the nigh
and early morning, made steady
progress and rejoiced over thciI
vigilant colaborers. From day
light through seven hours of inces
SAINT work, the hum of the hammer
went out with profane echo over the
still air of the Sabbath till at the
close of the last second, when th'
final rail had been laid and the las
spike driven to It's depth in the
tough oak. The long cherished pro
ject was a reality, and the indomit
able energy of the workmcn hac
made it 80 in the almost incredible
space of seven hours time.
The entire work was under the
direction of tho following officers
J. u. Griswold, General Superin
tendcnt; NJ. M. Martin, Assistant
General Superintendent;, T. d
Lovett, Chief Engineer; IA. Smith
and r. i. Engle, Assistant Engi
neers W. W. Jones, Sppefintend
ent Of Construction of Westerp Di
vision; Thomas Adamsom, do. O.
Eastern Division II. Elliott, Mas
ter Mechanic of the Western Divis
ion ; A. Thompson, do. of the Mid
die Division J. D. w. Potts, do. O
Eastern Division VIM. Brownlee
Superintendent of Western Division
II; Van Name, do. of Eastern Divis
ion; ; Il. G. Ryder, Master of Trains
E. S. Duval, Superintendent Of
Bridges; and the following Road.
masters: Fl. D. Hanover, Asa Soule
and Wright Kenner, of the Western
Division; VIM. Beman, James Rey
nolds, James Calhoun, and Robert
Burke, of the Eastern Division and
2. Virgins, of the louisville Divis
ion.
GREATNESS OF THE TASK.
TO fully appreciate the extent o.
the work it must be borne in mind
that both rails for a distance of 34C
miles are to be taken up, moved
seven inches toward the middle Of
the track and then fastened down
making $50 miles of rail to be rails
ed and relaid.
In order to perform this in ono
day, preparations have been going
on for months. Two lines of inner
spikes had been driven making the
exact position of the new rail. Pre-.
cautions had also been taken to ia.
cilitate further it's swift performance
by boring holes also for the recep-
tion of the outer line of the huge
iron nails. Every possible prelimi-
nary had been performed with a
view to saving Of time for the final
effort. Itwaa only necessary yes
terday 10 shift thsrail to the reguir-
ed position, already indicated, and
the work Of the hammer sent home
the spike. On many sidings and
'curyes the gauge had been previ-
A., CIV, oonh y,IafAI