The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-06-18
4 SEW ROUTE TO THE WEST.
The Bolton, Williamson and Easily
Railroad..Ils Plan, Condition and
nJso.%,
!, Tho EIJiio,. nj mr. Npus and Courier

To the Editor Of The News and Courier:
rs new enterprise is abOul to he ommcnc
cd in South Carolina, which intimately CON.
Germs the state ut large, and especially that
portion Which borders upon the Atlantic, IL Is
desirable that Our paper, the leading journal
OF the state, should give short ana atthch-
tic account of this lncw railroad, ltS c"nLGc-
lions, its proposed routes, the fcaSlbllltyo ltS
p;,ssy"c across the Blue Ridge mountains, ana
the vast advantages to be derived through the
medium OF direct practical railroad cOlliiiu-
nication with the great grain Inarts Oh tie
West.
We arc well aware that the bare mention OF
n practical route across the Blue Ridge Is SUI
iicicnt to provoke criticism on all Hiucs. Inc
city o: Charleston has been more THAN once Il
victim in giving pccuniary assistance to SIM
liar enterprises pronounced valid by prOmi-
ncnt men, and afterwards proved fulllc on nc
connt OF Impractical grades, or the necessity
of using sums OF money for beyond the csll-
mate to accomplish The passage by tulincllinS
and other EXPENSIVE methods. These cNanr-
pies tend to weaken the development OF Sucll
an enterprise rs we are about To lllitueurilc,
but To prove the sincerity OF our Intentions,
and TO overcome All unjust beliefs, VIC Cordial
Iv invite All examination OF our proposed
route by the most competent professional men
of our country. We do not desire inns 10
strengthen our OWL faith in the enterprise, Tor
tLal Is an established fact, hut merely to Sti0w
TO the world AT large that we arc not uphold
Ing "wild cat scheme. $3.50
The peculiar character OF the Blue Ridge
mountains on the south Carolina side Is slicill
as To make it an almost imrnssablc barrier TO
railroad construction. Fornlidahlc mountain
streams and wide ana deep valleys running
almost parallel TO and lying immediately at
lis base, are met with on all approaches 10
the range, and to this rule but one exception
is known to exist. To many of your readers
who are familiar with this sec hpn OF the
State Is known the existence ola we'll de-
fined and unbro)icn ridge which divides the
waters of the Savannah River on the one
alta, a.,l tI,p ,t.p I nj fItn Su1nIn IN mo
other. This ridge, Or backbone, necessarily
higher than any position o! the surrounding
country, is connected without Il break to one
OF the large spurs of the Bluc Ridge. Adj
vantage OF this was taken Oy the c!llci IN.
ginccr. The line was laid on this ridge. ana
the slopes of the main range reached at n
point hundreds of feet above the valleys when
lie at its base. This advantage, Il most I'M
rurtant one, IS not found at any other point.
The line was continued westward on inc
slopes oi the Blu Ridge eight miles to the
chosen point OF crossing a deep gorge when
literally divides the mountain chain, anu
which was found by experiment to be lower
than any other gap on the main range. The
slccpeSl grade on any portion OF HE route
does not exceed sixty feet 10 the mile. ana
this is entirely practicable for heavy lrcl9hts
with locomoti'csof thirty tons weight or" UP
wards.
From the top of the Blue Ridge. the North
Caro!inianS tax possession Of the line, ana
extend il down the beautiful and fertile VAL
KY Oh inc UI1IcI ] pIot'i, wv 49,
Counties OF Pennsylvania and Henderson 10
Ashevil!c, these making connection with the
Western Extension, y branch of the Western
North Carolina Railroad. Tho Western EN-
tension follows the French br4aH 10 M"iies
Creek, on the Tennessee line. This section Is
already graded. VOTES Creek Is connected
by Il read now in operation WITH Morristowh,
station on the Cincinnati Southern.
by this route, Bolton on the GrrehHiiic Inu
Columbia Railroad Is distant ninrty-ilvem miles
from Asbevillc, and forms the only link nee
cSsary to complete the chain from ti'icaEo,
via Cincinnati. 10 Charleston. ~ filsirS inc
road vii! cross the Atlanta ana 'lattol'S hiI
Line, and this connection gives IT tue PRIV,
lcye of competing for Western frrightS To "liI
from Atlanta, and southern Georgia ana
Florida. Connection at Bolton WIN me
G%rccnvillc and Columbia ROAD makes otn,ii-
bia another distributing point, and thence by
the South Carolina Railroad Charleston ne
comes the virtual terminus and the great Az
lan;ic port OF transliipncnt.
For thirty years efforts have bccn mauc 10
connect our scaports with the McSt by lrac.
ticnI raj road lines. II is Il want long lc!t ny
the State, and the vast advantages 10 hcAuc-
rived by such II connection Is almost incafeu-
liable. NnrratiOn now "0in. on Tor INC Iur-
pose of deepening the Baro of Charleston Lar
Atlantic ports, and the rapidly increasing
traffic with the prosperous States or the NcSl
is n Just plea for every effort t" make Soolh
Carolina the great distributing POM.
The company has Eccn thoroughly organ
lied, n full corps Of officers elected, ana moi
nw Subscribed sufficient TO cary on the work
tor two years. With the cXamrlcof The Green
wood and Augusta Road before us, WIN lne
ahIn and thoroughly practical president WHO
has been placed at the head, energy and per
severance will carry lis through. Long before
The close of 1879 the Shovcls will he at work.
and ere half q decade shall have passed away,
nrc,cJ v.itl,r the great grain producing states
of the North west by the iron rails of II firS'
class nloIcrn hisSw way.