Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-10-24

From the Quebec Morning Chronicle

II From the Quebec Morning Chronicle
/ DEAR SIR,--I take the liberty to enclos
to you copy of the Engineers report of
reconnaissance of the Can abassett Cana
dian Railway, made in August last, whic
will speak for itself =
/ Our desire il to connect the beautiful Ken
nebec Valley and all its thriving towns an
manufacturing villages, the capitol of tn
State, Augusta, and the unsurpassed ope
deep-sea harbor of Wiscassett. Maine, wit
the Quebec Central Railway and the city o
Quebec. and with the Canadian Pacific Rail
way and the Northwest, by the shortes,
cheapest and most feasible line of railwa
that can be found for that purpose.
After making careful examination of til
line from North Arson TO the Forks of Ken
nebec, Moose River bridge and the bounda
ry, also an equally careful examination o
the Carrabassert & Canadian line from Nortl
Arson up the Carrabassett and Dead Rive
/ valleys to the boundary South of Meganti
Lake, thence to the track of the c. 2. X a
| the foot of said lake; the engineer founC
that distance. grades, economy of consruc
/ ton and maintenance and cost of operation
all clearly indicated that the Carrabassett 1
! Canadian line has a great pre-eminence ovel
the line up the kennebec valley, for the pur
| poses above named.
We are satisfied, here in the kennebeC
valley, that the time has arrived. and thai
the demands of commerce and inter-com.
munication require immediate construction
of this line of railway from Wiscasset ar
Dor to Canada.
So favorably was the British Government
impressed with the superiority of Wiscassei
harbor over any other on the Atlantic coast,
that the British Admiralty had a photographic
and topographic survey made of that har-
Dor and its approaches prior to the Ameri-
can Revolution of l776, with view of max
ing it a naval and military stronghold on
this continent; copies of that survey can
undoubtedly be- found at the British Adj
miralty Office, London The United States
Coast Survey found it to be the best harbor
on the coast of Maine. 1t is one and five
eighths miles wide at its entrance and for
ease and safety of ingress and egress, for
ships of any burden and at all seasons of
the year, it has no equal on the Atlantic
coast; it has depth of 80 feet at low water
with a maximum rise and fall of tide OF
twelve feet, and it has often been said by
old shipmasters, acquainted with tine harbor,
that the 'sGreat Eastern" could come in there
at dead low wafer and swing at her moorings
with perfect safety. and the harbor is so land
locked that shipping is always secure from
gales and storms. These facts together with
the fact that it has never been obstructed by
ice at any time within the memory If man,
and its proximity TO the great Canadian
Pacific Railway and to the Quebec Central
Railway and the city of Quebec, it being
only l43 miles from Wiscasset harbor to a
4, th,, Canada Pacific Railway ar
the foot of Megantic lake, clearly point to
the fact that the unsurpassed open deep sea
harbor of Wiscassett must be in the near
future, the point of ocean embarkation for
the great commerce of the Canadian Pacific
Railway and its western connections, and for
the city and Province of Quebec in winter
time.
The demand for short and cheap line of
land-transit for commerce to ports of safety
and excellence for great commercial pur-
poses clearly points to this short and direct
line of railway for safe and profitable IN
vestment of capital and deyoutly hope that
your people will give this wholeproJect early
and critical examination, and, if they will, L
feel certain that they will conclude to meet
the Carrabassett and Canadian line at the
boundary south of Megantic lake.
You will see by suitable map that this
line is the complement of the great e. L. X
and all its western connections, for an ocean
outlet in winter time, and when the cantilever
bridge is built across the river st. Lawrence
at Quebec, as it surely will be, it will also
be the complement of the Boston and Que
bee Air Line and it will boom your grand and
historic city beyond compare.
The engineer who made the reconnois-
sance was instructed to ascertain as accu-
rately as possible the height above the sea
level where each line would cross the bound
airy, and he found that the point where the
line up the Kennebec valley would cross was
430 feet higher than the point where the
Carrabassett and Canadian line will cross
south of Megantic Lake.
line was surveyed from Skowhegan,
Maine, in May, 1887, up the kennebec val
ley to junction with the G. Z. X. near
Moose river bridge, and the engineer en-
countered rise of ,l20 feet in the first
twelve miles above the Forks of Kennebec
river that could not be avoided.
The apprehension of the boundary, the
Immense grades to be surmounted, and
heavy work to be encountered on the Ken
nebec line, together with the fact that this
line will increase the mileage between the
two objective points by more than 80 miles
Oh every fUuHu mp anu taNi's INV S"'t'''
Grafton the difference of grades and conse-
quent increase of tensil power required, the
difference in distance will closely approx
mate 100 miles.
These potent factors in the compare
tive merits of these two lines for great
highways of commerce and inter-communi-
cation for all time, between two strong and
enterprising peoples of kindred blood and
tongue, should be carefully considered be-
fore money is expended on either of them,
for only one is needed, and one must be
built and will surely pay.
Every step towards cheap transportation
is a step towards national and individual
prosperity, and short and cheap lines of
transportation are important factors in the
solution of that great problem so long
sought by phlanthropists "How best 10
procure cheap bread for the toilng millions. -
Men of years and understanding, having
the public interest at heart, in locating great
lines of inter-communication that must be
pathways of commerce and highways of ma
tons for all time, should keep steadily in
mind how can such lines be located and con
structed so as to bear lightest on commerce.
produce the greatest public good, and afford
a fair return for the capital invested
Very respectfully yours,
WIN. ATKINSON.
North Arson, Me-, Oct. Sth, 1888.
DrAr rCTArr