Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-06-02
sKEAr DAMAGE TO nAILacADA
Their Tracks BADLY washed ana
Many bridges swept Away.

/
graph service Is very meagre.
The onicials OF tho various railroads are car
| rying heavy hearts and thcugnuul couh o.
nances, and they have good cause Tor their de-
| preston Of spirit for not single line-long or
| short-entering this city has escaped the effects
Of the storms, rain, and high water, ana on sevs-
| raj the damage will be great though perhaps not
| 30 serious "a has been rumored on the streets
| on several OF the roads there have been great
| wnshOuts and numerous bridges have been
swept away and others weakened ana 10 ade un-
safe. No through train reached or left the city
! By any route, and very few local ones either
| brought passengers 70 or carried them away
| from the city.
The only route bv which passengers could
! Leave for tao North was ria tho Iork-River roal
| 90 West Point where they took tho boat FOR BAL
| timorc.
A Dis9afch reporter yesterday afternoon made
tour 81 all Of the railroad offices with view to
sscoraining the condition OF affairs on each
| road, and having been kindly given ali OF the In
formal on npOssesslon Il tho officials this paper
| Is able 70 lay before its readers succinct ac-
count Of the troubles on all OF the lines ceniring
here.
RICHMOND AND ALLEGHANY.
This railroad follows tho course Of James river
| from Richmond 10 Clifton Forge, It's tracks occu-
| plying the old tOWpath Of tho kAnswhs canal, and
whenever there IA rise In tho river all Dyes turn
10 This road rs the one likely 70 experience greater
loss than any other ia Virginia In the past this
has been the case. but tho present instance IL Is
! thought, will prove en- exception 70 tho rule.
| That 10 has suffered much more IL no uOubt, put
others have received even moro costly vlsitatlona
| Much OF tho track ~ submerged, and IL Is OK
pectod that when Tho water roc0des many WASH
outs will no found, but they cannot 10 serious, as
At no place from Richmond 10 Clifton Forge Is
their m bankment higher than i've feet
Tefegraphic communication is cut on AZ al
points from Nsidens Adventure. twenty-five
miles west o. Richmond. 10 Lynchburg, and the
real nature Of any troubles that may exist be-
tween these points cannot yet b. asceftained.
Iinemen have been sent out and ere doing
| everything possible 10 get the wires up, but in
many cases the poles have washed down and In
others there Is 80 much water between the track
and poles tina. the latto- cannot DO rearhed IL
Will DO impossible therefore 10 got the telegraph
IN operation until the turbulent waters subside.
Even west Of Lynchburg tho telegraph service
IS not good. Consequently the officials are not
fully advised Is 10 the state OF thugs in that
locality, but Major Whttcomo said yesterday
that he did not think there would be any great
damage west Of Lynchburg; that there would
certainly not Ia any bridge washed away. In
fast he anticipated no hoavy loss At any one
place, but a great many small breaks. All that
can possibly be done is 10 lift some OF the track
and bear it OF or wash away fow rails or ties.
Tho train which was due here At . O'Clock Fri
day afternoon has not not been heard from al
all. aud there are several freight Trains locked
up somewhere on the road telegram from
buchanan, received al the of1ces In PAGES Block
Yesterday afternoon, stated that as far As could
be heard from either side OF that point the track
was entirely intact Tho section forces are all
operate.
The Richmond. Fredericksburg and Potomac
road has probably experienced greater damage
and inconvenience propOrtionato " Us mlEge
than any OF the other lines
The stone arch OF the bridge over the Chicka-
hominy, about three miles south OF Ashland,
has partly cayed In, and the bridge Is not safe
for tie passage OF trains. but yesterday morning
train from Richmond met tho accommodation
49, 4 nj lrs1 a
were thus enabled 10 reach Richmond.
One pisce Of trestling from the south end OF
the bridge over The South Anna ana ono from
the north end or the ltttle-ryer bridge were
washed away, but these do not render the
bridges dangerous, as they were put Ia few
years ago only as an extra safeguard aud sup
port for tho heavy weight Of tho great mogu en-
giues There is also some slight damage 10 the
North Anna bridge, aud the roadbed Il badly
washed out near Penola, thrty-ihres miles from
Richmond.
cars loaded with stone are kept standing on
the North Anna bridge and weighted cars are
also stored the iron bridge az Frederick sburg
10 hold them in position. Tho company had
their wires up as FAR as fredericksburg but no
thug is known as TO the condition OF the track
north Of Aqua creek.
The breaking Of a mill-dam near the railroad
In tho neghborhOOd Of The Summit, between
Milford and Guinea. and the great volume OF
wafer thus turned out Of bounds, caused several
bid washes in tho rOadbed. Two or three Gull
verfs IN this vicinity were entirely washed out,
or 80 nearly - that they will have 10 be replaced
by new ones
Al fredericksburg At 2 o'clock the water was
three feet up in the framing OF tne iron bridge
and about on a stand. Tho structure was Sill
on plumb and Il was thought that II would De
saved II no very heavy timbers or trees were
dashed against IT, some very heavy ones had
passed ard been gotten under tho bridge,
though not without great effort
While at many other points on this line the
track was submerged and possibly slightly
washed, there we're, 80 far as known, no other
serious mishaps than those reported above.
Major Myers, general superintendent OF the At
l6utic Coast Line, went up ito roa1 yesterday
morning as far a. the ChlckahOmtny bridge and
back again In tho afternoon Preparations were
made aud timber ordered so that work may be-
gin as soon a. the water will allow. Major
Myers thinks the damage 10 this bridge the
most sorious one on this road. The arch was
magnificent piece OF masonry ana was con
structed when the road was built, more than nifty
years ago.
road are slightly disturbed, and It was reported
that Ficklens and SCOTS bridges had been
swept away, but no such information had reach
ed the Byrd-SEeet station.
HThe company deserves commentator for the
promptness with which II oyercame the obsia-
Giles ia tho way Of the usual rapid transit from
Ashland TO Richmond. and thus enabled large
number OF businessmen 10 reach the city. The
accommodation train left rs usual for Ashland
at O'Clock 10 tie afternoon.
CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO.
Tho telegraph wires arc stu down along tho
line Of the Chesapeake and Ohio, and there is
no Communication between this city and any
Doint from Atie0s, q few miles from Richmond,
10 Clifton Forge, except perhaps with StRunton.
II is known, however, that the bridges over the
ChickAhOminy, South Anna, Little, and Calf
pasture rivers haze either been swept away or
so badly injured as 10 necessiiatc their replace
ment with new ones. As 70 other damage little
IS known except that here aud there are small
washouts None Of the bridges wost OF Chiffon
Forge, 80 far as known, have been at all hurt
Most OF thsm are iron and too high 10 be easily
affected.
Neither Of those washed away is regarded as
a serious loss The one over CalfpaSture river,
near stanton, Is about l2j feet long, but stone
pier has been built ia the middle OF the stream
and tho two spans OF iron bridge AFRO .here
ready 70 be put up. A coner-dam mad been
built around the pier, aud the orncors OF the
road expected nothing less than that the tenn
porary structure would be borne on by any sud
don freak of the Calf
OF the other three the ChickGhominy bridge Is
not regarded as a heavy loss even II tits entirely
gone, but 10 is believed that u, like the Frede-
ricksburg arch over the same stream, has only
been partially undermined and distorted. The
trestlo oyer the South Anna Is three hundred
feet in length and that across the Little river one
hundred feet Constructing forces have been
ordered 70 tho spot. and as soon as the water re-
codes sufficiently rebuilding Will commence A
large number Of carpenters aud bridge-builders
will 60 from the Chesapeake and Ohio shops
up and sent 10 the shops. Work will doubtless
begin this morning. as these small streams will
fall rapidly.
A train reached here over the Newport News
division Of this system about +. NJ. yesterday,
but mono loit here by this route. Several OF the
small bridges on the division are out Of plumb
aud not altogether safe, but tho damage, 1t Is
thought is not serious.
IL WAS reported at n late hour last night that
the bridge over tho North Anna river had also
been swept away.
RICHMOND AND DANvII.LE.
The Richmond and Danyille Company had ono
wire at work yesterday as far AS DanVilie, but
could not do much in tho matter OF running
trains. No 81 from the South, due hero at $3.50
Z. ~, came as far as Amelia Courthouse yester-
day. bat brought no mail. Mono OF the passen-
gers we're coming any further. The train re-
turned 20 nAnyilie from that point
The Bon Air train left here "a usual yesterday
afternoon, but Only went as far as Coalaeld. 10
usually goes t0 Amelia Courthouse. Supodn-
tendont ". B. Rider, who had been South. re-
turned 10 tho ciiy yesterday afternoon about
o'clock on the Bon Air ,commOdation which
was due carly In the morning, and left about Two
hours later On special lie has full forces out
and will repair the damage As speedily as posi-
Bile.
The most serious trouble on this line Is q wash
out on the mountain grade at the ninstson-milo
post, which Is near IlAlsboro. Tho break ia the
track here Is ninety feet In length and thiriynve
foot deep.
Four benches OF tho trestling to the bridge