The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1873-08-15

and all its Baltimore expenditure, in order to
pass through Baltimore county, where the
people have shown themselves SO Indifferent
to its success that thirty thousand dollars of
the stock have hever been subscribed, bona
tide, in that county. E
| A line with better chances wonld leave the
p, w. and B. near The Orange Farm, not far
from the junction of the Union road, would
ascend into the valley of Stemmer's run, and
by Hoods survey to Bel Air; shortening the
distance considerably, and ny connecting with
the established road, avail itself of It's entrance
to the city and have thc'use Of its stations.
A much cheaper connection aud onc which
would give practically as good II suits, can be
made 10y the line once almost begun, 1, ON
Bel Air to Magnolia. Fh.m Bel Air We
! have the route scitccI hS all 'lic Engineers,
by the yaies of h"nas' Run and -, er
Greek to the river, ut the ,rossng nearest
Rowlandsville.
First We have ten and one half Q0D miles,
to cost $21 900 per mile, $500, 800; next four
teen Q4) miles at $25 900, $3.50 00O-roughly,
six hundred thousand dollars to make, with
out bridge, n connectiC::: with the Bati-
more Central at Rowlandsville it being un-
derstood that the other company would meet
us at this the west bank of the Susquehanna
We have supposed wide gauge road,
built upon grades of rs feet per mile, and
curves of 800 feet radius, and susceptible of
being used by the cars and at the speed of the
Baltimore Central trains; in all respects a
second-class road.
There remains to be considered the narrow
gauge plan. On this principle, the road
would be essentially local one. 1t could
not connect with the Baltimore Central but
it might obtain an entrance into the city and
the cheap use ola station, by forming branch
to the p, w. and B., running down to it at
the Union junction, and laying n third rail
for the continuance of its narrow track in the
tunnel. The narrow gauge railroad is
very superior to the horse rail roads it is, in
fact, for local road, almost as good as the
wide guage of short curves and steep grades.
Its advantages of economy lie in its easy
adaptation to the winding and abrupt vallies
of our county; while the wide gauge, with
its longer radius for curvature, is driven
into the high lands, and crosses the ridges
and minor vallies with heavy cutting and fill
ing, and correspondingly expensive bridging
and culverts The narrow track can be built
down in the valley itself, like county road,
with but little more cost of grading. Mr.
cambridge, chiefengineer of a narrow gauge
in the valley of the South Branch of the Pc.
tomac, expects to locate his road with curves
of $50 feet radius, and grades of one hundred
feet to the mile, and that it will prove a sue
cess and he is supported in this opinion by
Mr.. Randolph, the Chief Engineer of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, q gentleman
of great ability and at least thirty five years
experience in railroad building.
Estimates of the cost of these narrow roads
vary. They are assumed by some to cost
stocked, not more than ten thousand dollars
and stock n short road through our county
for this sum- The rails are generally esti-
mated too light; but we may infer from
what has been DONE both here and in Canada,
that we can build road thirty miles long,
from near Stemmer's run to the river, and
stock it, for half million of dollars
1t would seem that these two projects con-
tain our alternatives.
The narrow road fails somewhat to attract
in this, that involving almost as much money,
although offering n greater length of track
and county accommodation, it can never be
improved into wide gauge, should that be-
come final necessity on account Of eastern
connections. Would it not be well for us to
revive our Bel Air scheme and to prepare for
its extension to the Susquehanna during the
coming session of the Legislature?