The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-12-24

WAFER out Oh Ms SKIN, we hhu bumolenLy
disposed Of this melancholy subject in
our mind, and were ready to climb into
his lsaky weasel. We vsntufed to ask
him there was not some danger Of his
craft eundering at sea, and whether in
case she did founder he was an expert.
encsd mariner. he didn't seem 10 think
that there was much In this question, and
only replied that "rlverln" wasn't his reg.
ular business; that he worked at days
works for living, and that Just now he
wH huskiug corn at 8 cents shock, By
the time We were half over We had all the
water aboard that We needed for ballast
and rather more than was good for the
feet. However, as in duty bouud.wO always
speak we'll Of the bridge and likewise Of
the sklf that carries us safely over, So
leaving our ferriage and our benediction
with the good man we climbed out on the
West Virginia shore and Clambered up
the hill to where the pioneer engine Of
the Pittsburgh, Wheeling & Kentucky
was at work.
We found that the track had been laid
down to within about three quarters Of q
mile Of Genns Run, and was progressing
Saturday at the rate OF half mile per day,
and tina Il was the opinion Of the track.
master that il the present weather only
held out he would make the depot In
the next two weeks; and that Il operations
we're commenced at the depot end, as
proposed, he might make II In ten days.
All depended on the supply Of ties and
the freedom from slips. Just now he had
two days supply Of ties on hand. He also
had good sized slip on hand, at which
some twenty men were vigOrOuslyat work,
and which had bulged up the track
several inches. The present track mas.
ter is man selected by Mr.. Becker from
of the Panhandle road on account Of his
puphing qualities. His name Is Pat Ma.
lony, and he is OF course from Tipperary,
and not the least bit afraid OF a shillalah.
The last pay day, on the 18th, rather got
ahead Of him, however, as part OF the
men would do no good until they had had
a spree and exchanged their cash for
black eyes, As the next pay day Is three
weeks OF he will be able to avoid that
trouble in the future.
The road bed Of the Pittsburgh, Wheel.
ing & Kentucky Railroad Is, as rule,
very solid and safe, being now about Eve
years old, and this fact taken in connec.
ton with the superior ties that are being
laid down will give us an unusually good
road when It ia finished. The ties are Of
the very beat hewn White oak-broad
and thick-and are laid close together
so close that the engine runs over them,
even when first put down, with compare.
lively little jar. We tested this point
pretty thoroughly by riding up as far as
Wellsburg, and were agreeably diSap-
pointed to find the road so uniformly
smooth. The track has been ballasted
down IA far as Beech Bottom, and on this
part t the line the engineer can, when
he chooses, let out his engine very freely,
and ftom Wellsburg to -SteubenvilIe
bridge he can make any time required,
forty miles an hour for that matter.
The principal station between Wheel.
ing and Wsllsburg ia at the mouth Of
Short Creek, Just half way, where will be
the only switch for the present. There
will be other stations as a matter Of
course, and some Of them will grow out Of
the business Of the road as 1t may develop.
The same policy Of frequent stops, that
has built up business on the Z. & p, will
no doubt be putin practice on this line,
and we may soon expect to see houses
Springlng up as by magic all along the
line. The coal business from Welsburg
down promises to be large, and from what
the engineer says about the quality Of the
coal, from actual use on his engine, we
may congratulate ourselves on the pros.
poet ofgetius not only cheaper but also
better coal than that which, as a rule,
we now obtain.