The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-11-23
THE Blue RIDGE R4ILROID.
An Answer to "Detective," by the Prin-
cipal Assistant- Engineer OF the Com
pany.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEWS.
A friend has just handed me copy of the
TR1-WEEKLY NEWS of November IA, 1871, cal
Ing my attention to communication by "De
tectiye," styled the "Bue Ridge Ring" II
| this communication my character and reputa
| tIou as an engineer is assaled In wanton anC
uuwarrantable manner. herewith denounce
| his statements and inslnuations, go far as an
| concerned, as malicious and false. So far as
| the chief engineer and those constituting the
direction oil the Blue Ridge RAILROAD Company
are concerned they are amply able to take
| care of themselves.
In February, 1869, was employed by Colo.
mel James P. Low, the chief engineer of the
| road, as his principal assistant engineer, and
| directed by him to make q resurVey of the
route of the Blue Ridge Railroad to point
near Clayton, Georgia. This was done to his
satisfaction.
When the survey reached the Stump House
Tunnel, the chief engineer visited my camp
and suggested to him the propriety OF max
ing additional surveys, to ascertain II another
line could not be found, which, avoiding the
Stump House Tunnel, would be shorter and
cost less money to build. l expressed the
opinion to him (this opinion I held for years
previous) that 1t was probable such line could
be found. Endorsing the maxim of all good
engineers, "No money is wasted by making
experimental lines" he directed me to make
any surveys saw proper. Now this is the ori-
gin and inception of the new route oil the Blue
Ridge Road OF which 80 much has been said
and written. I am satisfied that neither the
| chief engineer, president or directors thought
of changing the route of the road-at least II
| had never been mentioned to me by any one.
After the resurvey of the old line was com
pleted, the new surveys We're made, CAREFUL
| IL, accurately and in good faith. The results
were submitted, and selection Of the route
was made. The estimates on all the lines,
both old and new, were made with the utmost
care. on the same basis, except that the road
bed on the embanSments on the old line was
fourteen feet, against twelve feet In width on
the new line. This difference was untmpor-
tant In making up the total cost, as the en-
bankments were, except fn rare cases, made
from the material supplied from adjacent cut
tings. which were absolutely necessary to be
made In any case. The same prices were ap-
plied TO both, except that the bridges wele
estimated at less price per lineal foot on the
old line than on the new.
With the present contract prices applied
to both lines, the new route IN Soutn Carollna
is seven (7) per cent cheaper, besides being
over one and one-halt miles shorter than the
old route.
Nv revision of the route of the Blue Ridge
Road from Walhalla, 8. c., to Clayton, Ga, re.
suited, at the present contract prices, In
saving OF s4ls,229, (about seventeen per cent?
In cost. and over O mile and one-half In dis
lance over the old route. Applying the prices
which prevailed before the war, and which "De-
tective" says might have been renewed In seVe-
raj instances, the saving to the company, oy
adopting the new route, would have been
about thirty-two per cent. Ia South Carolina
instead of seven per cent. This fact can be
verified by reference to the records OF tne
company. If the present Wide gauge route pn
contradistipction 10 route very recently sur
veyed to ascertain tie cost OF BUILDING mar
row gauge road) adopted BY the Blue Ridge
Railroad Company had been frst selected, and
all the capital ez, ended on the Old route been
applied to II, instead of having only thirty-two
miles of running road, the road would have
been built and In running order to Clayton,
Ca, about sixty miles.
Mr.. Iatrobe, Mr.. Gywnn, and other engi-
neers mentioned by Detective" never eve ,n, en-,
it. Some OF them condemnea It, Mr.. Latrobe,'
an eminent engineer, suggested the propriety
of higher grade and the avoiding OF the
Stump House Tunnel.
From an intimate personal acquaintance
with nearly all the engineers employed on the
Blue Ridge Road since May, 1854, know their
opln,ons of the line of road as located, and
can saw that Detective is talking Of some
thing he knows nothing about, as they never
endorsed it as the cheapest and best location.
detective" makes false statement IN
saying that ran line around the Stump
House Tunnel which had been examined and
condemned By the previous engineers: o,,
The statement of the three assistants, en-
ployed on the survey, that the data used 10 es-
iimatlng the two roads were radically dl1er-
ent, i5 false.
The statement that had owned or had
bonded, or even expected to own any land on
or near the new route when 1t was adopted by
the company, Is false.
The statement In reference to Inc testplts
and their developments, is false.
The statement as to the character OF the
work on the new line, Is false.
The statement that 1t has been found i'm
practicable, and abandoned on that account,
Is false.
II 1t has been abandoned 1t Is because the
company have decided to adopt the narrow
gauge, which enables them TO use o still
cheaper and shorter line. This was one oil
the questions to be decided at the present con-
ventlon Of stockholders.
As to the grades and curvature used on the
new route, they are entirely practicable, and
far within the limits OF some drst-class roads.
would instance only the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad, which does business far Ia excess
of what may be expected on the Blue Ridge
Road. This road works an ascending aud de.
scending grade Of one hundred and twenty
feet per mile.
As to what can be done on grade of one
hundred and fIty feet per mile by narrow,
gauge engines, the narrow and contracted
brain of "Detective" had better investigate
farther, If i: s capable of Ii and II he VIII call
at the cfice Of the Blue Ridge Railroad COM
pany he can there procure copy OF q very
able and wel!-syated argument on this subject,
made by the chief engineer OF the road which
will probably euilghten his ignorance.
If detective" was desirous OF knowing
what my experience was in engineering he
could easily have found out by proper inquiryi
but he preferred for his purposes TO publish a
false statement rather than the truth. desire
to inform him that my experience is ample
to locate and build any road; that have been
endorsed by frst-class engineers, and that his
false, contemplate and cowardly insinuations
cannot inture me.
NV duties are confined to the Immediate
charge of the work on the road, and have
nothing to do with making or rescinding OF
contracts, and my opinion is not asked.
THos. B. LEE, Jr.,
Principal Assistant Engineer
Blue Ridge Railroad Company.
Walhalla, 8. c., November ls, 1871.
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