Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1875-09-03
RAILROADS.
Dodgeville Will Have Sew
eral of Them-One
of these Days.

The Meeting on Last Saturday
to Consider Which One
we shall Build First,
A LARGE CROWD AND MUCH
TALK.
Both in point of numbers and the
character of those in attendance, and
in spite, too, of the rain, which s'pour-
ed down like mill sluice'' most of the
afternoon, the railroad meeting at the
Court House on last Saturday surpass-
ed our most sanguine expectations.
Some two hundred persons were pres
ent,-nearly all of them voters-and
including many of the most solid bust
ness men and farmers Of the village
and vicinity. Among them were many
| who had waited long and hoped often
for railroad to Dodgeville, but though
often doomed to disappointment. had
still not despaired that the time would
come when the large, rich and beauti-
full tract Of country tributary to Dodge
vile would be blessed with railroad
communication with the outside world.
VIM. Hendy. one of our leading
smelters of lead ore, was called upon to
preside over the meeting, and A. 5.
Hearn was asked to record its proceed
ings.
Mr.. Hendy on taking the chair stat
ed the object of the meeting to be to
hear and consider propositi ons for the
extension of one or more lines Of rail-
road to Dodgeville, and that he un-
derstood that representatives of three
companies were present, from whom
the meeting was now ready to hear.
Mr.. Briggs moved that Mr.. 3. Bald
win, chief engineer Of the Richland
Center and Lone Rock narrow gauge
railroad be invited to address the meet
ing,which motion prevailing unanimous
ly, Mr.. Baldwin took the floor and
spoke in substance as follows:
He had not come here to-day to
make railroad speech, but had come,
at the request of the people Of Richland
Center, to look over the route from
Lone Rock to this place, and to talk
with our people about the feasibility
and desirability Of forming connec-
ton with the RiohIand Center and
Lone Rock road at the latter place.
He had come to Richland Center
about month ago, to engineer and
assist the people Of that place in work
ing up a railroad to Lone Rock. The
people over there has gono to work
in earnest, had already about raised
the necessary means, and the project
was now an assured success. He
thought it would be greatly to our ad-
vantage to have a connection with it.
From 6 careful examination Of the
route from Lone Rock, up Otter creek,
to Dodgeville, he estimated the cost of
a wooden-rail narrow gauge road at
Sc 900 per mile, or an iron-rail road
at SO 900 per mile. The distance does
not exceed 20 miles. A bridge across
the Wisconsin river, at Lone Rock,
would cost about $4,000, and the
necessary rolling stock about $4,000
more, making the total cost ola wood
en-rail road from Dodgeville TO Lone
Rock, fully equipped and ready for
business, about $155, 900. This may
seem like large sum for you to raise,
but it is a sum easily within your reach
if you go to work earnestly to raise 1t;
and you should remember that when
you have raised this sum and built
your road you will own it and can con-
troll it yourselves, and will have no
such expensive luxuries to supro as
an aristocratic president and board Of
directors, controlling millions of dollars
of other peoples money!
In answer to questions, Mr.. Baldwin
stated that the wooden rails would last
from three to five years; that they an
swered the purpose well, and gave the
best of satisfaction; that he had ridden
over wooden-rail road, within the
past six weeks, at the rate Of 20 miles
an hour. The grades would be light
and the grading easy to within three
miles of Dodgeville, but on this last
three miles there would be more work
and the rate Of ascent about 80 feet 10
the nile, which grade, however, would
be no impediment to the working of a
narrow-gauge.
At the conclusion of Mr.. Baldwin's
remarks, r. Carter, Esq, called upon
Judge Cothren, attorney Of The Mineral
Point r. R., who said that his friend,
the Hon. M oses M. Strong, wished to
address the meeting for a short time,
but after Mr.. Strong had spoken he
would have so netting to say.
Mr.. Strong then being called for,
remarked that he had been advocating
the building of road through the coun-
ty, via Dodgeville, for the past twenty
five years, and reviewed at some length
the various projects in which he had
been interested, and the causes of their
failure. He still, however, had not
lost hope of ultimately seeing rail-
road through the county. He had
some time ago seen statement in a
newspaper that the Mineral Point r.
E, Co. had generously proposed to the
people of Dodgeyille that if they (the
people, would grade and tie the road
from Mineral Point to Dodgey;lle, and
buy the right Of way, it { the NJ. z. &.
r. Co. J would take it and put on the
iron and rolling stock and operate the