New-York tribune., 1871-10-21

carefully measured and It's cost estimatcd-if tho chief
engineer to his credit with tho Dlrecors-that
there shall nowhere be any great discrepancy IN the end
between these estimates and the actual cost.
The line Is next divflcd into lengths, called
sections; and contractors, men who 90 up anu
down the earth with one sole thought, how
best to paro down and fill up its Irregularities,
40 as to mako q smooth and level way for the loco
otiye-contactors asked for bids upon these sec
ons which, In tolerably easy work. are usually mile
In length The contractors whose aim Is 10 get much
as they can for thor work, now pit their experience
against the cngneers and here the first practical
test Of the engineers estimates.
When tho work has been begun, division engineers,
having each about 30 miles OF limo to supcrntcnd arc
appoIhted and undcr these arc younger men, resident
engineers whose duty It Is to the work that Is
COMPLETED and keep an account Of its progress under
the eve OF their chief as well TO lay out the work for
tho contractors.
But once month each division engineer furnishes TO
tho chief profile map Of hs part OF tho Inc, showing
what work DONE and what yet remains; and the chlei
engineer In his turn sends to tho President and Direct
ors profile OF the whole line, showing by proper signs
and colOrs what work has been accomplished In each
month since the beginning what was actually paid Tor IT,
what was the estimated cost and what are the dlcuteS
which remain to be overcome; and thus Board OF
Directors In NewYor!c tell at glance in their Office,
not only how much OF their road in the far of ws Of
the New River romans UODb uOn0, OuL Is
character the estimates borne out by tho actual
cost OF the work. and I'm short all that they need to
know as business men, OF the precise condition Of their
enterprise.
Why can you not have Of tho great Railroad Kings
10 rulo New York for whilef Or at least to tell you
how to rule IT. Tho President OF the Chesapeake aud
Ohio Railroad Company, who lives In New-York, knows
how to arrange his business perfectly that he can at
any moment tell his Directors Just how much OF their
"a to6 hnU ntiph
that cost agrees with the estimates he has the whole
long line under his eye, though 1t Is hundreds OF milcs
away and has thorough system OF checks that pecu'
latlon or fraud Is impossible. But Government
is only business; why 1t not be smplifed just as
the complicated work OF building railroad has by the
ingenuity OF business men been simplifedf
One useful hint you could not help getting from these
railroad men they do not select their engineers because
they can make fine speech because they have poh-
cal influence; do they hesitate TO turn out con-
tractor who ia incapable. Republicans and Democrats
Northern and Southern men, work together In building
the railroads white and black men pull, and drill and
shovel together In amity and the only whom yOnr
railroad will not have at any price Is the man who
will not or cannot do full days work for fair days
pay That s to they have an efficient civil service
these railroad gentlemen
STANTON Sept. 27.-At the White Sulphur Springs VIC
emerged from the Wilderness and struck the completed
part OF tho Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad We heard
once more the whistle Of the locomotive, and began to
speak Of NewYOrk.
East tho White sulphur and between that point and
Coyngton passed that part Of the Chesapeake
and Ohio Railroad which surveyed and built by the
State of virginia before This part OF the line
tho Aleghanes and the work done here IN tn-
ncs and cuttings s remarkable for its courage and that
disregard Of COS: which characteristic Of Government
work Tho Virginia Central Railroad was completed,
from Richmond Covington, distance OF 2O5 miles, in
A,a GN,fn Of
took to buid railroad from CovngtOn to the Ohio Ryor
to complete the limo from tn" west to tde-water On
this work the State spent SOOOOO and what it did
nagnihcenty done The masonry tunnels all double
tracked tho cuts straight aud clean, and the line
its engineers laid has admirably low grades and easy
curves.
But the war stopped this work After the tho State
was unable to finish 1t, and finally q law passed
granting to the Virginia Central Company all the fran
hses property OF that portion begun by the State
the condition that they should complete it to the Ohio
River. The two portions consolidated under
name-tho Chesapeake and Ohio-and, at later period
NewYork capitalists discovering the great advantages
the route aud Its immense stepped in with
abundant means and determined to complete the work.
They from the State free gift Of all that tho
State had done west Of Covngton; relieved from
taxation until the dividends reach 10 per cent and have
other important privileges. Tie gentlemen who
seized upon what to Of the greatest
opportunities In the country for solid and profitable
investment Of capital, Messrs. A A. Low VIM. II.
Aspnwa, Jonas c. Clark, Richard Irwin, Vim. B. Hatch
p Fisk and c. P. Huntington. the last named being
President OF tho Company.
Gen. W. c. Wickham, Gen. Anderson, and several
other Virginians also among the Directors With
like these at the back Of it the work is gong rap
idly, and will be completed next October have been
struck, all along the line now building with the
dity OF the masonry and the thOroughness with which
every part OF the work DONE The tunnels and bridges
are ALL with the exception Of two tunnels prepared for
double track; the whole line be double.tracked at
comparatively small expense whenever 1t becomes
sary and the land investments madc not only at Hunt
ngton but all along the lne every point where there
Is likely be important town, promise In themselves
to pay magnihcenty. The work Is done for cash. and
accordingly there is waste; with country OF wonder
fu mineral and other wealth to develop, and Western
connections which will make It, when completed, one Of
the great through lines connecting the Wost with tide
also It's low grades and its small cost
compared with other through lines, it will have great
advantages over lis competitors.
On parts OF the line east OF the White Sulphur,
where the State work was not completed convicts from
the Penicntary employed by the contractors They
dressed In shirts and trowsers, with broad black
stripes live In ogcabns with irongrated windows and
in the nechborhoodOf guards armed with carbines
They looked lively healthy and vigorous and told,
thrive much better than in pris White and black
at work together and told by guard that he
had more whites than negroes under his charge Their
work Is chiefly in Lewis tunnel and at two great
bankments OF which will tell you presently. The State
receives for their labor IS per day. and the
tractor clothes, feeds and physics the convicts
East of Lewis tunnel these State Prison birds are Just
completing a monster embsnkment which stretches
great gap In the mountains. This bank is al
ready ITO feet high and Is to be raised s feet higher 1t
is l2OO feet long, and the engineers told that it
already the heaviest embankment In the world Lick
Run embankment, some miles east OF Jerrys Run, is
another surprising piece OF work, which is nearly
peted 1t is los feet high, 1900 feet long, and feet
broad at the base.