The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-01-30

and Ohio. which was being rapidly pashed
| BIZ the State, TO realize the confident expec
tations OF its friends.
At the conclusion OF The war it was lett
complete wreck. All of lis bridges ano
| most of its depot buildings destroyed, muci
of It's track torn up, and that which remained
| in such condition that it WIS unsafe to run
over il train Of cars, IFS engines, coaches
and cars worn out, and its treasury utterly
depleted. the prospect seemed indeed gloomy
The superintendent says that they haa T" les:
than 800 in The treasury and only twent;
| miles of road available for producing reve
nue.
History Of the EnG;neering-aseav
Work, &c.
James Hunter, OF Caroline county, was tht
| first chief engineer Of the Louisa road, from
| Louisa Courthouse to GordonSvillc. hlr. W
| A. kupnr succeeded Ir. Hunter, and sur.
yeved line towards HarrsonhlU'g; and 4,
| that time there was warm feeling between
the counties of Rockingham and Augusta as
| to Which county the road should pass
through, Tie Rockiish Gap route was
finally decided upon. and the road'suryeycd
AID located us far as Ivy depot. Mr.. kuptr
| resigned about 1850, and WAS succeeded by
| r. <. ftuc2lcs, who administered the affairs
OF chief engineer until 1863. The present
chief engineer Major II. i. Whitcomb) was
principal assistant, and located the road from
| Ivy to Blair Park, at the foot OF tho Blue
Ridge mountain, and joined up with the
State work, and also located the ro1d Us
| far as NiiihGro'. 3ir. Charles Elicit, il, 4
! very distinguished ,nan, succeeded Mr. Rug
giles. but resigned In 1Sj5 and then i: "as
| that Major Whitcoub became the chief, TN
| der whose superior engineering skill such
seemingly impossible fcatS ofenginecrin- have
been accomplished, and who now his the inf
mite satisfaction ofsccin" tie great Chesapeake
and Ohio road completed. This gentleman has
spared neither time nor labor, but il23 devoted
every energy to this great work. There rs
perhaps no engineer in the United States
who has had charge Of IA work Of such mag
nitude, and certainly none who have lived
to see the fullilmeut Of so lon2-chcrisfled 4
wish. Al! honor to the chief of tic ChcSa-
pcake and Ohio. Under Dir. Elicit the re-
naindcr of fine road was located to CoVins-
ton.
In 1870 the Board Of Public Works ap-
pointed Colcnal Crozet chief engineer Of the
B ue Ridge railway Uiom Mechum's river
to Waynesboro'), and be located and built
the Blue Ridge tunnel, which is 1862 feet
in length. 1t was completed in 1857.
THE cov1NGTos AND OHIO.
Early surveys were commenced in 1850
| under Charles i. Shaw fpr the C0vington
and Ohio road, and he ran several lines for
il. afr. &. B. Fisk succeeded Mr.. Shaw
owing to the jealousy, it is said, Of the citi-
nf ~ tts,l br
road 10 pass through certain portions Of that
county.
Engineer Fisk located and nearly finished
| the work between toYinGton and tic " bite
Sulphur, which, by tic way, is undoubtedly
| he heaviest work on the line. Mr. Fisk also
| did some OF The work on the western division
between the Kanawlla and Ohio rivers. Mr.
| 'isk died about the close of the war, but
| active operations ceased on the road about
| the time of its commencement.
About the first thing which the Central
| Railroad Company did was to get the Legs
lalure 10 allow them to lay track on tns
road. bed prepared 10y tie State from COVin@-
| ton to tie White sulphur, which was opened
Tor public travel in July, 1868.
THE CH6SAPEAKE AaD CHIC.
III the following September tle the>a'
| pcakc and Ohio Company was formed ';y a
Consolidation Gr The CCviu$t0n and Chic
and the Virginia Central Railroads. The
legislature, Of Virginia a"d West Nir9ini;,
appointed romuIi, Sionci>, whose duty 1t wa:
| 10 make Il contract 10 complete tic ROAD, &Gti
| TO connect with Tie Virginia Central j! tie:
saw tit % do sc. Previous to this contract
| The Virginia Central succeeded in ceiling
about four millions of dollars Subscribed in
county and land subscriptions from The couil-
| tics along the line for the completion ii thc
road. Iilc commissioners alluded 10 gave all
| the work that the State mad dome on The
| CoyingtOn and OH" road, and offered other
| inducements, in consideration that The road
| should bc finished 10 the Ohio river i'll aiN
years, and in 1866 the Legislature granted
| the charter to the Chesapeake and Ohio
| Company.
Il was in the summer Of 1850 that MIR. G..
P. Huntington and his party Wen! over tho
road, when it was fairly completed to the
White Sulphur; and on tho fourth Thurs
day III November, lSG9,-
THE MEMORABLE Day
at the stockholders meeting hcitt In the hail
Of tie House Of Delegates the proposition
Of Huntington & Go. was accepted aid
the contract signed, and concluded short
time later. Under this contract the work
was let between Huntington and the fails of
Kanawha i'll the spring Ct 1870, ana about
the SINE time the heavy work ut Milli0ro' 4,
,Ierrv's run. Lcwi,'s and Great Bend tunnels,
and the other heavy work i'll the GrCcnbricr
division, was let.
In November OF the next winter the tun-
mel at Strctcher's Neck Zen New river was
let, and the next year QS1l) all the relnaiil-
ins work on the Grcenhrier, New, and Kama
wha rivers to the Ohio was let.
THE ROAD WAS OPENED
from Huntington TO Charleston in tie win.
ter of 1Sll-'73, and to the fall. Of the ha-
nawha in The following sp.ins.
TRAcK.LAYI>s.
TrGck-layins was commenced at the White
Sulphur Springs in May, 1872, and compile
| ted on the 18th January, 1878.
The mammoth cmhankment Mt Jerry'>
run, containing over niliOn OF cubic
wards, was completed in January, 1872, and
| the embaukmcnt at Lick run, containing
about 750, 900 cubic yards, WAS completed il
The month OF May following. The only I'M
| finished work between Richmond and Hunt
ir-ton is Lewis tunnel, which is 900 feel
| long. The heading will be done IN March
| and the tunnel entirely completed ii June
THE ENGINEERING WORK.
Between Richmond and the base Of the
| Blue Ridge there is no work on considerable
| importance no heavy work but number
OF heavy cuts. The cost Of the Bin" Ridge
road from Mediums river to Wayue5boro'
TO the State. was 100000.