St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-06-01


roads in Vermont, the Passumpsic, the
Central Vermont and the Rutland and
Burlington, cross the same watershed
as does the Portland and Ogdensburg.
And upon no one of these roads, with
the exception perhaps of the Central
Vermont, can an engine draw heavi-
er load over this ridge going from West
to the east than can he drawn by the
same engine out of the Lamoille valley
over this same Walden hight, and that
it can be done is owing to this same
"Zigzagging" (perhaps engineers would
understand it better under the name
developmen) which is complained of.
But it will be asked, Is there then no
grade upon the road sleeper than that
indicated above? How does it happen
that so much is said about heavy grades
if there is nothing to make it out of
These are but reasonable questions, and
will he fairly answered. While it is
absolutely true, as has been said, that
the grades out of the LamOille valley
going east, and for some eight miles dt-
ter crossing the summit, are such only
as are common to other roads in Yer
mont, it is also true that this does not
hold good as to the whole descent to the
Passumpsic river. The railroad depot
at Danvlle is some 800 feet higher than
that at st. JOhnsbury, and only seven
miles from it in direct line, By the
railroad location this seven miles has
been increased to about liz, and of
this distance some l04 miles have been
made to assist in the descent. The eff
feet of this has been to reduce what
would have been an average grade of
ia feet between Danville and St.
Johnsbury, to one of less than rs feet
to the mile. Had the conformation of
the country permitted Il uniform rate
of descent, this average grade would
also have been the maximum, but with
out unwarrantable expense this was
impossible, and so, while in some To-
calities the grade exceeds the average,
in others it falls as much below. But
all this might be true, and yet in this
"average" might still lurk some of those
'::feaIful grades" 1t remains then to
be said that, when this part of the road
is completed according to the profile,
no grade will be found upon it for the
shortest distance exceeding IS feet to
the mile. And that this is not now the
case-that it cannot be said in so many
words, the grade does not exceed IS
feet to the mile-was occasiOned by the
unwelcOme appearance of rock i'll a
deep cut about six miles from st.
JOhnsbury, and the bottom of which it
was impossible to get "down to grade, "
working night and day las was dene).
without too long delaying the track
laying, probably at the risk of failing
to reach Hardwick that winter.
Rather than submit to this delay it
was decided to raise the grade tenn
pOrarily to 95 feet to the mile for a
short distance and run over the rock,
and this was done. Had the rock been
sooner discovered, even this might have
been avoided without exceeding IS feet
to the mile, by changing the grade
farther back, but nOU, just in the wrong
place for this, was high, long and ex-
pensive trestle, all finished, and upon
this trestle the grade would have to he
raised some five feet, which was entire
ly unsafe to do. When this wooden
trestle, however, is replaced with iron
or otherwise, us in a short time it nee
essarily must he, this little exceptional
grade will be reduced to the maximum
of IS feet to the mile. Perhaps too
much time has been given to this point,
but probably this is one of those minute
sparks of fire from which great cloud
of smoke has been industIiously man
ufactured and blown abroad.
To sum up the whole matter then us
to grades, it will he found that, as com
pared with other roads in the state, the
Portland and Ogdensburg railroad has
(D No exceptionally heavy grades, ex-
cept between st. Johnsbury and Dan
vile; (2) That this grade is one de-
scending eastwardly, or in favor of the
trade; (3) That this is an average grade
of (abOut) IS feet to the mile, with il
maximum of S5 feet, and Il short ex-
ceptionai one temporary of 95 feet.
Does this grade ruin the Commercial
value" of the road? Let us make a
comparison or two. The Boston and
Albany railroad has an average grade
of S5 feet to the mile for many miles.
both ascending and descending east
wardly. The PENNSYLVANIA Central rail
road has grade of 95 feet to the mile
for some ten miles descending eastward
ly. The Baltimore and Ohio railroad
has five miles of LOG feet, and ten miles
of 1l6 feet average grade to the mile
W "
l16 feet average grade to the mile de-
scending eastwardly, and the maximum
both ascending and descending exceeds
121 feet to the mile. 1t only remains
to add thai the first and last of the
roads named have regularly paid 10 per
cent dividends upon Il most fabulous
cost of construction, and the other has
not been far behind.
The Maine people will surely rejoice
to learn that the grades IN New Hamp-
shire are, contrary to the general be-
lief,' less than in Vermont. No doubt
then they will gladly exchange some of
their heavy ten-wheeled "Moguls,"
which are hereby shown to be needless,
fol some of the passenger-engines which
the Vermont people have so foolishly
been persuaded to think were heavy
enough for their road.
But, "the truth in regard to these
grades has never been made public, and
any statement apprOximating to it is
always Denied" writes your correspOn-
dent. In two reports read and printed
and designed for the widest circulation,
made to the directors in the years 1870
and "a, respectively, by the chief en-
gineer of this road, are the following
sentences: at is proper to say that the
grade and curvatures adopted upon
your road, between st. JOhnsbury and
Danvllle, will not exceed the maximum
grades upon the Boston and Albany
railroad" ''To sum up this whole mat
ter, upon the completion of the road
and branches, the minimum radius of
curvature will be 7l6 feet, the
maximum grade, and descending east,
IS feet to the mile, and this only upon
portions of the line between st. Johns
bury and Danville.'