The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1874-02-20

AAe line adopted Oy your DoarQ
was the line from Martins Ferry By
way OF Hopedale, FairvieW, Bowers
town, Ieesburg, Zoar, Navarro, Dal
ton, OrrviAe, Pike Station. Lodi an6
Milan to Sandusky. The line a.
adopted is, in my opinion, the short
est, cheapest Of construction, and in
every way the most practicable route
that can be found between Wheel
ing and the Northwest. Maps and
prOfiles, with approximate estimates
Of the different lines closed up the
work for 1872.
At q meeting of the Directors al
Alliance, on the 18th day Of May,
1873, I was chosen your Chief En-
gineer, and at once organized q par
ty and began the final location Of
the line-and the same is now lOea-
ted from Martins Ferry to Lodi in
the southwestern part of Medina
county, q distance Of one Numbered
and eight miles.
The things to be considered in the
building of a new railroad are: FlrsS,
its mechanical properties and facili-
ties-as for example, its grades,
curTatures etc. Second: its cost Of
construction and equipment. Third;
its character as a profitable invest
ment for Stockholders.
As to the first proposition, it hiss
been the wish of your President,
that the grades in no case should
exceed forty feet per mile, and that
curves should be of no less radius
than one thousand feet. I have
found it necessary to go above forty
feet grade in few instances. One
is grade of ffty-three feet per
mile for two and one half miles on
Plney Fork, and one and one-fourth
miles near Hopedale.
| These grades 1 do not consider so
very Objectionable, as they occur be-
low where the heaviest coal trains
viii be loaded. No roads now built,
CT proposed, running from the Ohio
river, has so low a rate Of grade as
this Of yours. The Cleveland &
Pittsburg Railroad has four and
three-fourths miles Of So feet grade
per mile on the head waters Of Ysl-
low Creek, and to-day it is one Of
the most successful roads in the
State. In but one case viii we have
to use so short q radius as one
thousand feet. This could be aYiOd-
ed By short tunnel, but I do not
think it necessary as it would in
crese the cost of the work without
any great benefit. Ths second pro-
position, the cost Of construction, I
need not discuss, as you have already
made contract for the building and
equipment of your road with Mr..
Walter Shanly, at a price below the
average cost Of roads in this State.
In reference to the third point in
view, namely as q profitable invest
ment for Stockholders, there may be
mentioned four principal sources Of
revenue.
The first of these is the local bus
mess. 1t viii be seen by reference
to the public documents, that the
counties traYersed by your road are
amongst the best agricultural dis
triets in the State, and the traspor-
tation of their products, together
with the considerable amount Of Ium
Der, coal etc, that will be wanted by
them in return, will contribute large
ly to the revenue Of your undertak-
ing.
The engineer, after discussing the
various points calculated to make
the undertaking a profitable one,
touches upon the coal traffic the
road must do, and says:
Your road will traverse the i'm
mense coal field of Eastern Ohio IN
its widest part. For a distance of
eighty-seyen miles THAT is from
Wheeling to within two miles of Orr
Jville) all along the hill sides the coal
is seen, and in many places tive and
three workable veins Of coal of the
best quality, varying in thickness
from three to seven feet, and I be-
lieYe that on every mile Of the dis
tance between the above named
points coal can be successfully min
ed. From Wheeling to HOpedale We
pass through seven veins Of coal,
four of which are workable. One Of
these is the celebrated vein 50 exten-
sively mined at Pittsburg, for the
manufacture Of Iron, and has made
her the center Of the iron trade in
the United States. This coal is Of
superior quality for the manufacture
of gas and is transported long dis
tances to the North and Northwest
for this purpose. For twenty-five
miles THAT is from Zoar to within
two miles of 0rrville) we pass
through the number oRespr what is
better known as the Massillon coal.
This is the best of our Ohio Goals
for the manufacture ofiron and steel
and for domestic purposes
A large amount Of this territory
mas been leased by parties interested
in mining and shipping coal, and
preparations are making to com
raence operations as soon as the
road is opened. One mine is open
ed near Dalton and one near Fair
view, on the P. st. W. & G. r. R.
and other territory has been pros
pected with most favorable results.
Taking into account the facilities
you will have for shipping coal IRON
Sandusky and Toledo by lake, to-
gether with the large amount that
will be wanted for consumption at
these places and along the line, this
must necessarily be one Of the best
coal roads in the State, and have
no hesitation in saying that within
one year after the completion Of
your road, you viii have as much
coal offered for transportation rs
you can accommodate on q single
track.
Boy, in a case of assault on Brown,
was asked by the Judge If he knew
~1,N-