The Portland daily press., 1882-04-25

The Bangor and Katahdin Iron Works
Railroad.
The Bangor and Katahdin Iron Works Rail-
way, which is to extend from Milo Station on
the Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad to the
Katahdin Iron Works, distance of twenty
miles, will have an important bearing on this
portion of the Stationary va liable water pow
ers and vast quantities of raw material in shape
Of lumber, slate and iron being opened up by
it.
At Milo village, the road strikes magnifi-
cent water power, crossing the Sebec river,
which is damned at this point and which has
behindIit the whole volume of Sebec Lake,
giving o never failing and abundant supply Of
water. At this point is saw and grist mill, a
carding mill, and an excelsior and spool facto-
nv. which utilize but small fraction of the
water-power.
Passing for five miles through the fertile
farming town of Milo, the road strikes the
valley of the Pleasant river at Brownville,
where another fine water power exists and is
but partially utilized by the saw mill, grist
mill. carriage and shovel handle factories which
are here located.
Enormous quantities of lumber, both hard
and soft, exist on the head waters of the Pleas
ant river, and during the past winter over
twenty million feet of lumber passed over the
dam at Brownville, most of which it is claim
ed. could have been manufactured at more
profit at this point, if railroad facilities had ex-
isted than to have been driven as logs to Old
| town and Bangor.
| At Brownfeld, for the first time in the histo-
| ~ of the slate industry of Maine, the railroad
| will run directly to the quarries. No other
| business in Maine has a brighter outlook or is
| capable of more indefinite expansion than that
| of slate quarrying In the vicinity of Brown
| vile are found deposits of unlimited extent,
and OF quality unapproached By that of any
other states in this country or abroad, and the
reputation of which is already established.
Four large qusrries have already been open
| ed here, which, in spite of the serious draw
| back of transportation by teams to railroad to
Milo, have developed large trade and absorb
| ed large capital in expensive plant and ma
| chinery. These quarries are already preparing
to largely increase their capacity in anticipa-
tion of the railroad, and several new openings
are now being started. Slate lands are adj
vancing in value and capitalists from abroad
are looking up and purchasing desirable loca-
1 tions
At the iron works is another excellent water
power with such rapid fall in tho river that
dams could be built at short intervals Tor sew
eral miles. At this point is also found the IA
| tahdin ore mountain with its singular forIna'
ton of iron ore unlike any other known de-
post A large amount of capital has been ex-
pended here in trying to work this ore with
profit. but without success until it fell into the
hands OF the present proprietors-the hatah-
din Iron Company-who, after large expendi'
lures of time and money, have succeeded III
establishing reputation for their product and
have now q 1first-class, thoroughly equipped
modern charcoal blast furnace that stands al
the lead, in economy of working and quality
of product, of the charcoal iron industry. The
furnace is now in full operation, makingsat the
rate of 5000 to 6O0O tons per annum of cal
wheel iron that is now shipped to New York,
Pennsylvania and the West.
Recent investigations have proved this de-
post of ore to be practically inexhaustible, and
the business of smelling it, when railroad ia
cilites are added, will naturally be very large
ly increased Beyond the iron works extenas
the unbroken forests, only, as yet, invaded py
the lumbermau. During the past winter over
five hundred men were engaged in cutting
spruce and pine logs in the vicinity, which were
aoated to Bangor When the railroad is com
pleted to the iron works large quantities OF hare
| and soft wood and timber now worthless, Will
be shipped by rail. in shape OF ship timber
ship knees, spool wood, last-blocks, shove
handles, railroad ties, telegraph poles, excel
J sior and paper pulp.-Com. Bulletin.