Daily Los Angeles herald., 1881-09-08
GLASS 5.
Narrow-Gauge R. R. Meeting.

NaIToW'udu9e n. n. Meeting.
Pursuant to call a meeting of Cit
izens was held at Pavilion yester.
day afternoon, to hear the report
of the Engineer end Statistieian.
Governor Downey occupied the
Chair, and L. M. Holt, of River
side, continued to act as Secretary.
8. P. Jewell, the Civil Engineer,
submitted the following report:
Mr.. Chairman and Gentlemen:
The duty Of making a reconnois.
sance for a narrOw.gauge railroad
assigned me by your meeting of
August 9th, involves simply the
approximate selection of q route
that will give the best arrange.
ment of grades and curves, without
entering into the cost, except in a
general way. The following re-
port is therefore respectfully SUBJ
mitted, on the line as designated
by your meeting. Without any
recon- lamentations whatever as to
any changes which might be die
tated by the probable cost or by the
supposable traffic to. be controlled.
From Los Angeles to the north
ern boundary of Pasadena, via the
Arroyo Seco, the grades will be
moderately heavy and the curva-
ture in some cases of high de-
gree. The work, also, will be of quite
a heavy character, embracing two
long and high trestles, but from
Pasadena, almost the entire dis
tance to San Bsrnardino, the line
would run over an undulating
plain only broken by the wash
from several of the larger cafions
and by the San Gabriel river.
These would require trestles, and
all would be quite low and compar-
ativeiy inexpensive, with the ex.
ception of San Dimas cafIon, whose
banks are high and precipitous.
The grades and curves, almost with
out exception, over this portion of
the route would be light and the |
grading comparatively inexpens-
i've. From San Bernardino to Riv-
erside the country is more rough |
and broken. Here the grades will |
be sharp and the work quite heavy
and expensive; but from Riverside
to the entrance of the Santa Ana
canon the same almost level table
land is again encountered, where
light grades and work will occur.
The line through the Santa Ana
canon will be very expensive one
to build, 30 much 80 that, for q
narrow-gauge, whose prime object
is cheapness of construction, it is
almost out of the ques-
tion. The caf1on is very
narrow, the sides almost
perpendicular, and the river occu.
pies The bottom, but from the point
where the river again comes out
on to the plain, the entire line by
way of Grange, Santa Ana, New
port, Westminster, Wilmington
and Centralia to Los Angeles, is
over the same character OF country
as between Pasadena and San Ber-
nardino, except that it has fewer
breaks by streams or their washes.
It is impossible to give, even in D
general manner, an estimate of
cost over the entire line, as over
the rough portions of 1t only an APP
proximate idea of the cost could be
arrived at after careful instrumeE-
tation, and even over the smoother
portion the principal Ingredients of
cost, viz, iron and ties, are 80 fiuc.
tuating in their values as to make
even a guess hazardous, but the
probability is that over this part q
road can be built for from $4,000 to
$4,000 per mile.
Gen. J. H. Shields, the statisti-
clan, being called upon, submitted
q report which, owing to the
crowded state of our columns, we
are unable to publish ut present.
The reports were received aud
ordered furnished the press for
publication.
Governor Downey suggested that
the Main Street railroad could be
easily extended to Pasadena and to
some point on the coast, and thus
the syste ia could be commenced,
and then it could be extended from
time to time, as the people were
ready for 1t. He thought that the
system would be a paying invest
ment.,
Judge Eaton, of Pasadena, asked
ii there were any capitalists who
were ready to take hold of such an
enterprise.
Governor Downey stated that q
committee should be appointed to
enlist capital. He believed that
the money could be obtained to
build a road at least from the coast
to Los Angeles, and possibly to
San Bernardino and Riverside.
DR.. Orme thought the scheme |
a practicable one, and urged that
practical men be appointed to see
Ii capital can be enlisted.
The Chair appointed commit.
tee consisting of J. E. Hollenbeck,
H. III. Qenker and John +. God
frey to see if capital can be
enlisted.
The meeting adjourned to meet |
again at the First National Bank |
parlors on the 18th inst., at 2 P. NJ.