The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1871-01-07
Navigation & RaiIFoad
CO....HistoIY Fepeating itself.

saltwater Navigation 4 RaiIFoad
CO.s..HistOry repeating itself
In this issue we lay before our readers u
venerable, a curious and interesting doc
ument, 1t being report made by q civil
engineer near "a years ago touching ,ihe
pnctlcabllity and cost of a railroad up
Indian Wheeling creek and down Still.
water, on substantially one Of the routes
now projected. This document, accom-.
panied by another containing detailed es.
timates Of the cost, and typographical de-
scription, of each section Of the projected
road; was placed III our hands yesterday,
brown with age but well preserved, by
Mr. DAVID ALLEN, an aged citizen OF
Bridgeport, into whose hands the papers
had fallen at the time the report was
made. 1t has been known that such q
survey was made some thirty years ago,
but the report was supposed 10 be lost,
The profile maps accompanying these
papers have not yet been discovered.
From this report II will be seen that
this route was deemed q practicable one
even third of century ago, when far
less was known OF overcoming grades and
curves than now. twill be seen that the
route takes somewhat different depart
ure on leaving Wheeling creek valley from
that described by Mr.. McLANR as the
New Athens route. The dividing ridge
is tunnOlled at Flushing The tunnel Is
long, but q vein Of coal just on Its level,
makes It comparatively easy and cheap.
A width OF eight miles was examined in
search for the best point for crossing, and
this tunnel considered best. The Saltwater
end Of the route Is easy, the grades light
and the curvaturcs gentle. The Wheel.
Ing creek emu Of the route Is more expen.
sive. The stream being very crooked, II
has To be bridged several times, heavy
cuttings have to be made through points,
and long fills have to be made 10 elevate
the road bed above danger from ireshets,
Such Is the general character given the
route. The heaviest grade Is west of the
tunnel, It being two miles Of 53t feet to
the mile, and two more Of 4Gh. Except
these there is no grade over 10 feet. The
grade on the Baltimore and Ohio road,
on the east slope Of the Alleghaples, is
more than double the highest ofthese,
being 11G feet to the mile, 5-E ''l,- ~,
Asto cost, tits not easy to judge how
the cost of such work 1887 would com.
pare with the salne now. Labor wss
much cheaper then-probably not half
what It Is now-but great improvements
have since been made in machinery and
III all the methods Of work. This road
was projected on a scale commensurate
with tue idea that 1t was to be the great
thoroughfare to the West; and 1t is an
interesting fact that even then II aimed
al Toledo for terminus on the west and
Baltimore on the east, for although the
Baltimorc& Ohio was then In its infancy,
not having yet penetrated tile western
wilds rs far us Cumberland, its managers
evidently entertained the grand design Of
line through to Lake Eric, ofwlich the
prOprietOrs Of this road expected 1t to be.
comea link, just rs We have been sdg.
gesting a third of a century later. We
Judge this Wheeling Greek & Saltwater
road was the first eyer projected west of
tho Ohio river; and Il Is Curious now to
read the surveyors suggestions about the
rivalry it would encounter from
canal terminating at Beaver on
the north, and with the National
turnpike and the slack W water Of the Mus.
kingum on the South. The road itself
was TO connect with slackwater In the
Saltwater, the Stacking Of that stream be.
ing a part Of the design for which tile
company was incorporated.
Since this line was projected, since this
survey was made, and the project fell to
the ground, thousands and thousands Of
miles Of railroad have been built, North
and South and Westoflt. Adozen great
States have been checkercd with them,
and one has reached across the continent
some Two thousand miles. The Balti-
more road was pushed on across the ALE
ghanies, TO the Ohio, to find that a great
and magnificent civilization had preceded
II and outran 1t TO the Great Lakes and
the Far West 1t is still stretching is
arms out to %AIaumee,n but by other
routes-not better ones, by none so dl.
rect as this. For full one generation
the grand design ofuniting the Ohio and
Maamee, and Of opening the rich
coal field Of this region to the Coalless
Northwest, has lain dormant tsitnot
about time that design should be executed?
II the people Of this region had the cour.
age and enterprise thirty or forty years
ago 10 essay the work indicated here,
when there were scarce half IA duzen rail.
roads in the United sates-when the use
OF steam locomotives was still so lar an
experiment that trains Of cans were drawn