Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1875-07-02
REPUBLICAN NOMINATION..
FOR GOVERNOR
SELDEN CONNoR
OF AUGUSTA.

gong on IN the Stdlc vi Niaiue, al" POI
ticularly in this section of it, concerning
the Lewis and kennebec Railroad, which
will connect Quebec and Wiscasset by rail
the work of building the road in Canada
is being steadily and successfully prose-
cuted On Wednesday, the 23rd ult., the
first section of this road, thirty miles in
length, from Lewis to SCOTS Junction
was completed and formally opened &c
business under the patronage and persona
assistance of the Lieutenant Governor OF
the province of Quebec. attended by a
large number of the dignitaries of the
province. and great concourse of people
interested in the enterprise. As repre-
sentatives of railroad interests on this side
of the boundary line, Messrs. Henry In
gall and Joseph Tucker of Wiscasset were
present. After the formal ceremony OF
opening the road to traffic was completed,
a grand banquet was enjoyed, at which
interesting speeches were made by many
distinguished personages. in all OF which
the great Importance Of the enterprise
both to local business and as an interna-
tional link were fully set forth.
The terminal points of the section com
pleted are the town of Lewis. containing a
population of 1901. and Scott junction,
in the county of Beauce, the latter place
being the point at which the Quebec Cen
trial Railroad from Sherbrooke will cross
the Chaudiere and join the Lewis and Ken
nebec, making the shortest route from
Quebec to New York, Boston and New
England States. From SCOTS Junction
the projected line will follow the valleys
of the Chaudiere and Du Loup rivers.
through level and thickly settled coun-
try, which in olden times was appropriate
" named ''Beauce," for it is the garden
of the province. The length of the first
section from Lewis to Scott Junction now
completed. is 80 miles, and the entire
length to the Maine frontier will be 90
miles. Five miles of the second section
have been graded, and it is intended to
have fifteen miles in operation this fall in
addition to the section now opened. The
traffic on the present road from Beauce to
Lewis is something enormous. In 1872 no
less than $4,000 vehicles paid toll each
way, and the road is said to be, with one
exception. the greatest thoroughfare OF
the kind IN Canada. The population to
be served by the line was in 1860 1875, 1885,
or more than one.tenth Of the whole pop
ulation Of the province. When completed
this railway will be the shortest line to
Portland. being 81 miles shorter than the
Grand Trunk. and will also be the shortest
line to the Maritime Provinces, being 1875
miles shorter to Halifax, and 43 miles
shorter to St. John, than the Intercolonial.
Among the speakers was Mr.. ingalls,,
in the report of whose speech is the follow
ing: "As long ago as 1886, before the
Grand Trunk was contemplated, recon-
noissance for a railroad from Wiscasset to
Quebec was made by Col. Long of the L.
S. Army. The line thus laid down was
246 miles long, but the line now proposed
will not exceed 225 miles. making the
distance from Quebec to Wiscasset 81
miles shorter than the route from Quebec
to Portland by the Grand Trunk. There
are now three lines of railroad chartered
in Maine to continue the communication
from the terminus of the Lewis T. Kenne-
bee to Wiscasset, the Somerset Railroad
from the line of the State to West Water
vile. the Messalonskee & Kennebec from
West Waterville to Augusta, and the Wis
casset & Moosehead Lake, from Augusta
to Wiscasset. He and his associate, Capt.
Tucker, represented the latter company,
Wiscasset is small locality but offers
one of the finest harbors in the world,
open at all seasons of the year. free from
distractions. and in which the Great East
ern can ride at anchor at low water. The
completion ofthe Somerset road will afford
you connection with the railway system
of Maine and the Eastern States, with
Portland and Lewiston on the one hand
and Bangor on the other"
The Quebec papers have very full and
excellent reports of the speeches made
upon the occasion, and all speak enthusiast
tically Of the enterprise. An editorial in the
Budget says: mo doubt at all can possibly
exist as to the fact, that when once the rail
way system of this province now under
contract, is brought to successful COM
pletion, the whole produce of the great
West and even that of China and the
East Indies, will find its way through Que
bee, especially in the winter. along this
line. as the shortest and most direct
route to Portland or Wiscasset, on its way
TO the European markets. Commercially
the Lewis and kennebec would be great
success. even without this gigantic
through traffic. No line in Canada will
enjoy a larger share of local traffic, and
1t is this, that when properly attended to.
makes a railway pay, as the shareholders
of the Grand Trunk know to their cost.