The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-10-27
A New IIaiIrOad Connection by
Way OF wheeling Proposed.

4NOH ehNh thGS wy VI hAhbui buld bEchluB
TO free herself from The control Of the Penn
sylvania Railroad, or, perhaps we should
say, from the control Of Tom Scott, by
building the Pittburgh & Lake Erie
railroad as a new outlet to the North.
west, correspondent comes forward in
yesterdays Gu'dte and suggests the ex-
tension Of that road from point on its
truck al the mouth Of CHARTERS Creek ITO
the present terminus cf the -AsnpGeld
Railroad in Little Washington" He
shows that the distance to Washington is
only 2S miles; that the route is easy Of
construction. the grade u perfect water
line, and the country trSversed rich in
soil and mineral'. Al Washington it
would connect with the Hempfeld by
way OF Wheeling for the West, and thus
give Pittsburgh a rival line to the pres.
ent Pennsylvania syndicate Of roads out
OF Pittsburgh to the West. The respect
i've distance by way oil the Panhandle &
Wheeling would be as follows:
Plttsburgh 10 Columbus, via Pan Handle rosj .iso
Pittsburgh TO CUlumbGs, via Little Washington
and Whetlinkr."....
Pittsburgh ~ wheeling, via Pan liAudie aud
rl.sburSh, MhcslluS kcntucky railroads.. g.
FIttsbur, h u Wheeling, via Lttls Washington. Gs
Commenting ou this exhibit, the cor.
respondent oil the Go:ette goes on to re.
mark as follows:
"Look at the situation! The company
aforesaid own the Hempfeld, well 10.
Gated, tolerably we'll constructed link
from Wheeling TO Little Washington, but
improbable, because II has no connection
with any other road ut the last named
village. The same company own the
Connellsville from Cumberland to Pitts.
burgh, but it ia, likewise, OF little profit,
for tho reason that it has no friendly
connections at its western terminus.
Now il a contract such az exists be.
tween the Panhandle and the Ohio Central
roads, in regard to the road from New
ark to Columbus) could be made with the
Lake Eric line, for the joint use OF the
track from the mouth Of Charters Creek
to the Grant street depot, then by the
construction oil the short, easy link here.
in proposed, an unbroken line, all under
the control Of the same company, could
be operated from Baltimore, via Pitts.
burgh and Wheeling, and to Columbus
and other points Of the great west,
which line would be infinitely superior
even to the main line Of the Baltimore &
OHIO Company. CAmpare the distances:
Miles.
baltimore 10 Wheeling via GtnitOn. ...... $40
DIlIimore TO Wheeling via Pittsburgh aud Lit
ue ;" - SSg
Baltimore 10 Columbus via $50
Washington and Wheeling. 627
From these figures it may be seen that
the proposed line between Wheeling and
Baltimore would be only seven miles
longer than the Grafton route between
the same points, difference which would
be largely more than balanced by the
superior grades and curvatures, and
other advantages OF the Pittsburgh route.
The former is over a wild, mountain.
Gus, sparsely inhabited country, through
long tunnels anu over bleept lOftuouH
grades, while the line via Pittsburgh
would be water line from Little Wash.
ington TO point away near Cumberland,
and would traverse country OF unsur.
passed agricultural and mineral re-
sources, lhickly settled with an active,
wide awake population, and fast being
lighted up, from end to end, by coke
ovens, furnace fires and other mauufac.
featuring enterprises. Indeed the ad.
vantages of the proposed line, both as it
regards local and through business, are
go many and great that, II completed, 1t
would soon boone in fact, what II should
be, the main stem Of the Baltimore Com.
pany; and Pittsburgh would then have
the prestige Of being directly on the main
lines Of the two greatest railway systems
OF Americs.