The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1873-08-21
nov RAILROADS. AaE BpILI.

Z How RAILROADS A2E BUILT.
1t is possible that but few of those
who travel over the country by rail
give q single, thought, as they are
Whiried fapidHY onward, to the pro-
cess by whleH Che road over which
they are s6S Smoothly rolling was
I brought into existence. Like most
other com mon things, they regard il
as matter Of course, oT, at best, have
kind Of vag1e idea that it is in some
way q 'triumPa Of engineering skill -
but how or where the skill came in
they are, fortHemostpart, profoundly
ignorant, not t6say Indifferent.
To trace TIA rise and progress of a
railroad, frem1ss first ineeption-per-
haps in the be6dof some casual lo0ng-
er around the stove of q country store
to its aetHsl eonsummation, would
If done by 05mpetent hand, give a
more perfect Insight into the genius
of the nineteenth century, aud the
goal toward which civilization has 50
far tended, t6aD could possibly be
gained by the most profound study of
the pages OF sBuekle. Until such
hands are fouHdfo execute the TASK in
this way, and 70 this end, we will
offer this slight hfBketeh of the way rail-
roads are butt ia this country: ~. Z
Tie moving eauses for building rail-
roads in this conntry are for the most
Cpzrt precisely the reverse of those
which lead to their construction In
Enrope. In EurOpe they are built to
satisfy existing Requirements for in
creased means OF communication.
They are buAtI TO meet the wants Of
thiekIy-settled Districts In this eoun-
try, this is but one, and g minor one,
Office here Is 70 create such districts in
places where none exists. They are
causes with us, not effects. The bright
est dream of the American patriot, ir-
respective of political creed, is to
"open up" some portion of the wilder
ness of which the great area of his
country is composed, and to do this he
looks, and rightly, 10 the railroad as
a principal aid. 1t must be confessed
that the poetry of the railroad, as the
willing coadjutoP OF human aspiration,
belongs to Americs, in common with
all new countries, rather than to Ed
rope, where it is merely an inevitable
sequence of an actual, achieved status.
The idea of new railroad being
safely brought iOrth OF the brain Of
our hummer, he loses no opportunity
OF introducing it to the notice of
whatever public he may be a6le to
command. He may even go thelength
of causing the insertion of commu-
nieation. signed "Progress,n in the
local sheet, in which communication
enthusiasm and grammar wrestle to-
gether through half a,eolumITof mis-
prints. II be sqcoeed in arousing pub
lie attention, the matter passes out of
the bummer's hands, of whom moth
ing more is heard, it being character
istic of the hummer of all ages to be
quite unable to ride the storm he has
fOrtuitOusly succeeded in raising.
AT this stage of the proceedings &
public meeting is probably called.
This is generally the crisis of the pro-
Jeet. If, in the said meeting, there be
no one present possessed of the heroic
quality of aputting things through"
the net upshot is vast amount OF
vague generalization, in which the
most practical feature is a warm rec
ommendatiOn to ego in" for the road,
coupled with hope that everybody
will see their best interests sufficient,
ly to invest large sums Of money in
stock. Let us suppose the favorable
case, however, that the shaft Of the
spear finds suitable head, that uRder
the direction of this head atemporary
organization is at once formed, that
other meetings are held along the line
of the proposed road that enthusiasm
is inspired, that character is-obtain-
ed, that money Is pledged, and an
election of officers of the new road
held. No matter how the project is
originated, whether by hummer or
capitalist, to the above complexion it.
must at last come, If il is going tosue-
ceed. ? ,a q
The next thing to be done is to as
certain over what line of country the
road should be located, and what it
will cost to build. 1t is at this point
that the "engineering skill" after
ward to culminate in triumph
first steps in. The consideration
which maiply determines the location
of road Is grade. That is to say
steepness of its ascent or descent.
AS railroads are at present operated,
it is found highly desirable not to ex-
ceed certain steepness of grade-say
fifty feet to the mile. Beyond this
the cost Of operating the road is great
ly increased, and its carrying capaei-
ty greatly diminished. Now, as a
general thing, it win be found that
the country intervening between any
fuuo 1fcfapf Y,Oinfo IL oOncffaro hIU di
versified and broken up by hills, val
ieys, rivers, rocks, and other acci-
dents of nature. So that it is jmpos-
sible to run straight line from point
to point without encountering obstac-
les quite insurmountable to a "fifty-
foot grade,u or even a much sleeper
one, without submitting to enormous
"cHttingsn and "fllings," and the
building of many tunnels and bridges.
All these things involve great ex-
pense, and the days are passed when an
engineer was thought to show his skill
more in surmounting natural obstac-
les by expensive works of art than in
avoiding them by q judicious location.
A chief engineer being selected, 1t
becomes his duty to ascertain the best
line for the location, of the road, re-
gard had to the greatest economy.
The road must thread the country,
crossing the hills at the lower points,
and the streams where naIrowest.
Rocks, involving heavy cuts or tun-
nels, must be avoided, as also places
where the road would be of difficult
maintenance. at the same time the
line must not be taken too much out
of the way In stunning those locali-
ties, or increase of distance ("trackn
costing in the neighborhood of SO, 900
per mile,) may more than counter
balance the saving in works Of art. 1t
would seem at first as If the engineer
would have to grope his way entirely
in the dark in selecting his line, and
that nothing short of inspiration or
instinct could lead him directly to the
best line of country. However, a
practical knowledge OF physical geo
graphy teaches US that there are some
almost immutable principles which
guide US to those localities where VIC
are sure to encounter the fewest OBJ
stacles in the way of hills The water
courses of q country always indicate
the lines of most uniform grade, and
the points Of lowest elevation. Water
always seeks the lowest points, and il
is obvious that a river cannot run
over the topof hill. Streams are the
locating engineers best guide, and tc
them his glance is first bent. III the
points to be connected are situated on
the same bank of a river, there is gen.
orally very little doubt as to the prop.
er location of the road joining them
Sometimes, however, the bank of the
stream presents rocky promontories,
jutting into the water, with deep in
dentations, or bays, between them.
In such case it is often necessary tG
carry the line back from the river
but, as rule the location of the roaC
would be Upon its bank. So muel
are water-ceurses guide, that an en-
gineer can nearly always pick out the