The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1879-05-22
The Potomac & Ohio Railroad.
ITS CONNECTIONS AND THE coUNTR,
THROUGH WHICH IT PASSES.

less interest in the narrow guage railroad
which will traverse a section OF this county
rich in mineral wealth, and be the means of
opening up new prosperity, w transfer to
o,,r columns well written description of
the enterprise, taken from correspondence
in the Philadelphia North american. 1t is
as follows
Starting at Charleston, the road runs up
along the south bank of Elk river, stream
100 yards wide. OF gentle fall, through the
coal regions of West Virgin ia, to Pocahontas
county, distance of say $50 miles; here it
crosses the carboniferous limestone belt,
some ten to fifteen miles wide, and then
runs through the Devonian and upper silu-
rian states, sandstOnes and shales of the AL
leghany range until the North mountain, in
Augusta county, is reached, which noun
tain forms the western escarpment of the
fertile Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Here
the anthracite coal fields are traversed.
Crossing the Shenandoah Valley, composed
mostly of limestone, by way OF Harrison
burg, the county seat of Rockingham coun-
ty, the Blue Ridge is met with at Swift Run
Gap. Here the immense deposits of hema
tite ores are. found which exist all along the
west base OF the Blue Ridge. and supply
numerous furnaces of that range. Passing
the Swift Run Gap at a maximum ascending
grade of ninety feet to the mile, the heaviest
in Virginia, the road runs through the ''red
lands'' of the Piedmont Valley, famous for
its fertility and numerous fine farms.
Greene, Madison, Culpeper, Stafford and
Prince William counties are passed through,
until Quan:ico, on the Potomac, is reached.
This is the route of the road as contemplate
ed, and n its course it will make the follow
ing connections qoith other railroads.:
Starting at Charleston, it connects with
the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad 800 miles
from Richmond, and 50 miles from Hunt
ington, on the Ohio river. Cincinnati is $50
miles distant. Connections are also made
with the Kanawha river, which is navigable
to Kanawha falls. 36 miles above, and to the
Ohio, so miles below considerable trade is
done on this river. The Charleston and
Parkersburg Railroad, to connect these two
places, is projected, and will no doubt be
built This and its branches will furnish a
connecting link for the great number of mar
row. guage railroads of Ohio, Indiana, H.
linois, &c., and enable them to reach the
east over the P. & O. r. r. At Otter creek,
ninety miles up E * river, or at Sutton, leo
miles, connections will be made with a
branch road, thirty eight miles to Weston :;
from Weston narrow-guage railroad is now
nearly completed to Clarksburg, on the B.
& o. r. r. This branch will form the Coz
Meeting link between the northern and south
ern portions of the State none now exist
ing). and its managers contemplate extend
ing it northward to Pittsburgh. This will
be one of the most valuable connections OF
the p &c o. R. R., furnishing as it will large
traffic in both directions, and an outlet to a
populous and wealthy country. At the head
waters of the Elk the Pittsburgh Southern
Railroad will be crossed; this is narrow
guage, and is being pushed forward energet-
ically by its efficient officers, headed by Its
president, DR.. Hayes. Here will be had
both northern and southern connection,
the northern ending at Pittsburgh: We un-
derstand that a considerable portion of this
road is already built. At Harrisonburg con-
nections are made with the Valley Branch of
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, $50 miles
from Baltimore and 26 from Stsunton. Near
the Shenandoah Iron Works, the line of the
Shenandoah Valley Railroad is crossed,
which is now being built, the greater por-
ton of it being graded. This will furnish
connections with the great system of rail-
roads in Pennsylvania via the Cumberland
Valley Railroad from Martinsburg, w. Va.
At Culpeper the Virginia Midland Railroad
is intersected, seventy miles from Washing
ton, and at Quantico the Alexandra and
Fredericksburg Railroad, thirty-five niles
from Washington and twenty from Freder
icksburg. Here the Potomac river is met
with, the terminus of the road. Quantico
is most excellent harbor, free from ice, of
great depth Of water and Of large area.
EXTENT OF THE MINERAL WEALTH.
Abundant and excellent minerals are
found along the route-scarcely mile of
the road but what runs through mineral
land Of some kind. At Charleston we are
in the bituminous, splint and camel Goals of
the Kanawha and Elk regions. At Mill
Creek, seven miles above Charleston ION the
Elk), we meet with the first canned cool.
The extent and quality of this deposit has
been well proven, and it is known to be Of
large extent. 1t was mined for number
of years before the war for the manufacture
of coal oil. The discovery OF petroleum
rendered the business Improbable, and the
works were abandoned. The vein is reput-
ed to be from five to seven feet thick, and
the coal shown us therefrom is of very SUI
perior quality, very valuable for enriching
gas, and apparently much OF it can be used
as well as English camel for burning in
CRATES. The quantity OF camel coal in the
United States is very small, and it is the
most valuable OF all Goals. Only three
States at present-Cannelton and Peytopia,
West Virginia, and Red Bark, in Pennsyl-
'vania. The Oannelton and Peytonia Goals
are quoted at $40 per ton in New York and
the Red Bank at $3.50. The Cannelton mines
are about % miles southeast of Mill Greek,
and Peytonia about 80 35 miles southwest of
Mill Greek. The two mines together ship,
we are informed, only about50 to &c, 900 tons
annually. The Cannelton coal is carried
across the Kanawha river and loaded into
the cars of the G. &c o. r. R., 342 miles
from Richmond. The Peytonia coal is
brought down the Goal river on barges
through complicated system OF locks and
dams, and loaded at its mouth into the cars
OF the G. & 0. r. R., 3Sl miles from Rich
mond, or carried to the western markets OH
the river. The cost Of handling coal and the
freights thereon from these places are nee
essarily heavy, much more SO than they can
possibly be at Mill Creek, where the coal will
be dumped directly into the railroad cars at
the mines. Two kinds OF Gcs! are found
here, the ordinary camel and the "brd's
eye.'-a desirable quality. This coal is
above water level, and can be opened in
very short time for market. Immediately
above Mill Creek, along the railroad and
river there are a number OF small coal openings
on bituminous veins, varying in thickness
from two to four feet. The coal is OF fair
quality, and is mined to supply the neigh
borhood the bulk Of it is shipped via river
to Charleston, furnishing the major part of
that city's supply. At Falling Rock Creek,
fifteen miles above Charleston, we meet
with another fine deposit of camel coal,
which has been opened in several places and
found to be of excellent quality, its thick
ness being about tie same as at Mill Creek.
Samples OF it are very fine coal. At Queen
Shoals aud Porter Creek, respectively, "a
and 35 miles above Charleston, on the Elk,
openings have been made on fine vein of
camel coal the thickness was ascertained
to be about five feet, and the coal Of excel
lent quality adjacent to this vein, one of
pure spliaat coal has been opened and several
excellent veins Of bitumirous coal. The
splint is claimed to be the best and purest
yet found in West Virginia. The quantity of
splint coal is comparatively small in the
eastern coal measures, and consequently it is
of greater value than the more abundant bi.
luminous. Several miles farther up the
river at "Pierson's," splint and bituminous
Goals have been opened OF good size and
quality. Two miles below Clay Courthouse,
and fifty miles from Charleston, there is
opened quite extensively large veia of BIZ
luminous and splint coal, measuring eleven
feet in thickness. The coal is Of excellent