The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1882-04-26
RAILROADS!
Splendid Showing for North
Carolina.

One key to the Secondary position
iE tho Union so long held by the Ole
North State is the peculiarly OF he
conformation. In another article ".
nave shown that the State is an immense
irregular parallelogram, stretching COZ
miles from East to West, and riSinS
from the sea coast to the mountain
tops in a succession of rolling terraces.
or plateauy, each of which is different
from the others, and all az large al
some of the Northern States Ref1ec
uiou will show that this inslensiIy o.
al ca has its Disadvantages, or h I'll, 80
long a. the State WAS sparsels popula
ted, and unprovidcd with Intcr-com-
munication between the d%isjslnted an'
illy-titting sections. The past hall
dozen years have done more 10 TAX
North Carolina out of the list OF Ter
ritories," and write her name high up
on the roll of States than the entire
cycle Of the preceding century, 1875
1875; although in a personal, political,
and historical point of view the life Of
the State during that period was a.
prolific of honorable incident as that oi
any other coparcener of the UnIoL.
The pre- eminence Of the past half
dozen yesrs arises fir IN the rapid re.
organization OF the Internal connec-
tlons of the State, with the resulting
effect upon cities. towns, and villages,
factories and farms; politics and prein-
dices. Reflect a moment at the changes
in the map since this date, 1875!
The Raleigh ni Augusta Il 4 bad iust
reached Hamlet; giving conu.etion
between the Capital, and the pee Dee
Country
The Carolina Central was hurrying.
night and day. to reach Charlotte, and
give our Chief City 10y the Sea 4 direct
avenue of traffic with the Future Lon
dom" and the Lincoln county people.
On the upper end of the same line, the
Locomotive stopped at Tiddy', Paper
Mills, five miles short Of Shelby. The
Engineers had not even surveyed the so
miles Of Narrow Guage which now runs
from Chester, S. c., to Dallas, ~(cros.-
ing the Air Line at Gsstonia), Lincoln
ton, and Newton-save about 5 miles Of
iron yet to lay. Nor had the 60 mil.
Road from ~Spartanburg, through Polk
county, to Hen~dersonviile, then been
started. The Oxford Railroad, the
Norfolk aud Etenton r. r., the Ssot-
land Neck r. r the Chapel Hill r. r..
the Cranberry r. r.. the Milton Mar
row Guage r. r., and the Leaksville
r. r all now open to traffic, were At
that date scarcely talked Of. The Cape
Fear & Y. v r. Il. was down at Eyypt.
and its prospect were Egyptian in dark
ness Of hue.
Finally the VINO. R.R the Stat.,
chief project for Internal Improve
ment, WAS stuck fast in Mud Cut, with
its nose twenty feet into the side Of the
mountain, and seventy thousand a year
Of public we're gurglins like water
down the Rat-hole which had previous
ly swallo wed many a million of public
money, and many a mans reputation.
Since that day, Mud Cut has been mas,
tered, the Blue Ridge tun1el.d, Ashe-
vile reached, the French Broad followed
through its rock walled gorge to Warm
Springs and Wolf Greek and the Duck.
town Main Line carried near to Waynes
vile.
In addition to the foregoing route.
already traversed by the Iroa Camel.
there are numerous lines in process Of
organization; some of which will be
open in q few months.