Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1875-09-02
The Railroad Considered
Without Prejudice-The best Road
with the Least Money.

Since the trip to Galena, last week,
the people of Lancaster appear to be
settling.down to the conviction that
the road to Platteville will not be
built. The anxiety of the people of
| Lancaster to have a railroad is so in
tense that one hardly dare intimate
an objection to any railroad. But
there are objections to all railroads.
Any town that is a good town social
ly and morally will find itself injured
by tho acquisition of railroad, and
there are more villages the size of
Lancaster ruined, in the business
sense, than are improved by them.
Lancaster happens to be 30 situated
that no railroad could injure its pres
ent business. but it might get road
that would be not much benefit, and
be always vexation, and securing
it might so cripple her finances that
she would then not be able to secure
a better road. Suppose, for instance,
that there was road terminating
here and it's business did not pay
enough TO keep up good manage
lment; that trips on this account
would be irregular; that tho time-ta-
BILE would be arranged to suit the
business of another town rather than
to make good connections; that the
company would be obliged to charge
so much for freight that farmers
could make money by hauling pro-
duce to other markets, and mer-
chants could save money by hiring
teams to haul their goods from some
other shipping point. | trust the
sick. for-railroad people of Lancaster
will not turn from these suppositions
as idle; there are innumerable instan-
ces of such cases.
A railroad from here to PlattevilIe
would have to be very crooked and
in some places very steep. When
ever there would be heavy treights
there would be detentions, as with
heavily laden teams; when there
would be light freights, on trifling
excuse tho question whether it would
pay to make the trip would be de-
cided negatively. The trip from here
to Galena could be made in four
hours, but regularly the time would
be five hours, and there is no know.
ing what sort of connections would
be made there. it would be quite
provoking to hear people going &c
Chicago say it is easier and quicker
and cheaper to take Greene's stage
by way of Specht's Ferry than to gel
on the cars right here. People Car
no,O go that way from here to Chica
go as quickly as they can go from
Plattoville to Chicago, starting or
the narrow gauge. 1t might b'
E worth while to inquire how much
the merchants of PlattevilIe gain, OF
frieghts from Chicago, over the peo
pie of Lancaster. Chicago is virtu
ally tho only point opened to Ian
caster by tho Piattcville connection
!. | E~-n~ ..ir,n. ia an dried M that III
women are having it's bed ditched t.
give free flow for dish water, and j
isn't time for very low wator ei
Their. To sum up tho matter, rOaC
that is not paying road is Away
a bore after you've become used to it
But Lancaster is upon a natura
highway--a way over which q roaC
can be easily, quickly and cheaply
built, and when built will be paw
ing road. A few persons have theil
minds SGT against the project about
to be named but | trust they vii
read thoughtfuIly. The route is one
which will please the farmers of this
vicinity. Ii it pleases them it Sc.
cures their good will towards Lam
caster. The project is, to begin by
building road from here to Speeht's
Ferry. The two points can be con-
nected by road fourteen miles long.
The track would be neither crooked
nor steep. 1t could be laid to so
much better advantage that trains
could with safety make from three to
five miles better time, per hour, than
over the crooked and steep route to
PlattevilIe. In year or two the
road would unquestionably be con-
| tinued to Dunleith or Dubuque. In
| the mean time one or two barges
with tracks laid upon them could be
used to expeditiously transfer cars
1 HUH OnC SluO vi LDO IlNO " luO Obu-
er, towed back and forth by Specht's
ferry boat or by such Il boat owned
by the railroad company. 1t might
be advantageous to have such boat
run and transfer cars regularly be-
tween the end of the track aud the
roads at Dubuque and Dunleith. A
bridge is very little advantage over
this plan. 1t was used successfully at
Dubuque for years before they had a
bridge. 1t was used very suoce ss-
fully for years at Prairie du Chen.
1t has been used in crossing the De-
troit river OF Detroit for many years.
Passengers going that route from