The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1882-11-11


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Occupancy
Z SriFHEK iINE, I4eU1s1AEA NsEsTnasx T. n, !
October y, 1852.
Editor Lake Charles Echo
Owing te press Of business and bad
health, rhy letter promised in my last,
has been DELAYED OF course Won vii.
consider fayoEably my excuse.
B Your readers. rs well as Yourself.
Z are anxious to know what about Mr..
( a. ]. Perkins enterprise, which J
J I promised in my last.
Well, last fall, the same reasons
which caused Mr.. Gill 10 build rail
road 70 haul logs, prompted Mr. Per-
kins to do likewise; and with the
, characteristic energy aud enlarged
business views with which be Is en-
dowed, the Galcasiea and Vernon Rail
read company was incorporated in
accordance with the general iaeorpor-
ating laws Of the state.
hnring the month of October, Of
last wear, a preliminary survey Of tie
line was made, and in the following
month Of November a part of the pro
posed roate Of the road WAS located,
and on the 10th of the same month,
the first sod was turned, and the work
begun. Il was bad season Of the
| yearsto begin snch work. Many diff
culties presented themselves to retard
! the construction; for you must re-
member, that during tie months OF
November and December Of the last
ear and January and February of this
3ef. We had the heaviest and most !
ecn aous rainfall Witnessed IN this
! pasi pr n number of years. Coupled
with tliis the rush in the cross-tie and +
log business occupied pretty much all
the available labor in the country.
Prices of labor reached fabulous rates.
The creeks during those months were
literally jAined with cross-ties aud saw
logs, rendering il almost impossible to
get materials to the cite of operations.
But all this, notwithstanding, did not
discourage the company. Gradually
materials and men were transported to
the scene of operations. Cross-ties
were gotten ont; grading and clearing
were pushed; iron rails go pounds to
the yard J spikes, fish-plates, trucks
for ten cars, two thirteeR-ton I0eomo-
tives, etc, were purchased and sent mp
to the cite Of Operations at Ayersyille,
on Hickory Branch creek. Square tim
Der, for bridge and trestIe work was
hewn ont. Water tank, store build I
ing, rs by so fcet) erected. Quar- {
tiers for the operatives and log landing,
involving quite an engineering prob
lem SO far as expense went, were built. a
AS the grading advanced, tracklayingi
followed close behind, so that by tie
fifteenth day of May last, enough
track had been finished to open the 4
road for business Since then, work !
has never ceased; tie track has stead
lily advanced, and now, three and one
half miles of road have been con-
Pleted. Grading and clearing, though,
is still pushed ahead. 4
The magnitude of the amount of
work done can't well be appreciated
by the initiated, without seeing it.
To 20 into details here, so as 10 render s
its magnitude, financially and
would, fear, consume TOO
much Of your valuable space How :,
ever, permit me 10 say:
The Calcasieu and Vernon Railroad :,
was not organized exclusive I
BY for the purpose Of leg hauling.
Though their line will run through d
The center of the great yellow Pine
belt of Western Louisiana, and open
up to market al tLi- 7.I;>'a;.-'''t
,msdo is1S - A., ;.-~-iIis rotiIgsoGs T.
...s6nnt Of lumber, which of itself Z,
would handsomely remunerate the tt
for the outlay oecasiOned by q
building their road, the company had e4
ID view in addition to this, another
object of an almost more comPTehen- L,
live nature. This was TO bEild a road :
suitable for passenger and freight l
lrafiic as well, and to DO This it was
necessary that their road should be SO
constructed as to fulfill al the require r
neBts Of frst-class narrow gauge I
.aiIroad. All Of which has been serI- :
observed SO far. <
Starting from White Bluff, now A
named AyersyilIe, on Hickory Branch fir
,reeL, which is situated in the north n
sast quarter Of the northeast quarter I
If section II in township s, soHth u
-ange 0 west, the bead Of navigation
IN this creek, the road takes slightly :
northwest direction for Lecsville, the \
parish cite of Vernon parish, from
shenee the direction is not yet deter d
mined. Tins will all the products Of
hat section Of country, also Of the :
L4anacoeo ard upper Sabine, find an
.asy and rapid transportation to Ayers
rilIe, aud from thence TO Lake Charles
" tide water. And no unforeseen
sarses Of delay occurring, BY next fall
!. portion Of this prospective business
viii be realized.
So far, every effort OF the company
las been used to obtain the best ma
erials and machinery. The iron rails
ire Of the best quality and most i'm
proved pattern. The rolling stock,
.ars and engines, are frst-class and
squal to any of the kind in the coun-
~ The buildings consist Of 4 hotel
md lodging house, residence for the
round house, shop.
Il Ii l. 49, 4