The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1889-12-11
i NIGHT At ROUND KNOB.
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Luke snap ia Ne,.oit Free EicsH
The ,:ln>. wonderful! piece o: railroad
engineering that have ever haG the
pleasure Of &rcin:, IS On the lac e tie
Piedmont Air Line in Wcs;crn North
CaTc!!2&. The railway leaves Ashcvil!c,
that noted saaita7ium, and proceeds as
best Il can 70 get over the B!uc Ridge
Mountains. First there is the Swanna-
| Eoa tEnncl, which is abou, Il third OF 9
mile long. After that there arc six
other tunnels somewhat shorter Then
fTom the top OF the mountain the rail-
way undertakes 70 vino It's way down
into the valley Of the Catawba River or
Mil Creek. The road hcic is probably
the croobcdcSt n ali creation. 1t winds
| and Icwinds and twists and goes ever
and under itself in a way that is perfect
ly bcwiidering to the traveller who wishes
TO know in which particular part Of the
mountain he is. From Little St. Ber-
nard, a peak that is above :he Roucd
Knob Valley, the railway can DC seen in
seventeen different places, working up
| and down the mountains, and 10 TWO
| sections CT the track are OF the same Gle
vation. The train runs down this crook
ed iron pathway with al steam shut of
and the brakes turned oa. Il is :: aeary
| experience for 3 traveller, but the road
bed is perfect. anc: has all been rock bal
lasted and Laid with he&ricst *sce! rails,
and no accident has ever yet taken place
Oh that portion OF theline, so ;he chances
are that startling as the ride is to :rav-
e!er accustomed to level railways, that
portIon CT the track is safer than many
| otner lines that have less grades and
| crooks upon It. But anyhow i. is worth
riskinS something, : I: s any risk, %
enjoy tae wonderful c;Ca winding ,olna
the mountains and Descending into the
| valley o. the CGtavbs. But The most
| woDder:g: sight thai 81: sav-.cG
doubt Il there is ancr:.cr :; the world tc
equal it's that seen from the Round
! Knob Ho:e! at midnight. 4 party of US
sto2G there to see the night train from
| ASheville come down around that net
work Of curves and heavy grades. Dur
ing the couple of days I stayed at the
Round kuob Hotel | WAS praccically q
trespasser, because the ho!el was not
opened, and Col. Sp.agne, anxious as he
may De TO receive guest a. another
time, had anything but q cheerful look
! Oh his face when two northern newspa.
per men stepped from the train and an
bounced their intention Of staying there
for q couple of days. However, there is
too much cordial hospitalityi:4 the South
for g tired traveller ever to DC turned
away from an:oody's door. even if the
door is that OF an unopened i.ote! where
preparations age actively going forward
to receive the guests who come to stay
there during the season.
We sas up late the first night talking
about the wonderful! place in which wt
found ourselves, AID getting Information
for intended excursions into the noun
taius and up the creeks and to tn;
waterfalls. It was about Il o'clock a
night when Col Spyague said to US
"Come out on the veranda aud see tb'
midnight train. It's abou. due LOW
and TO see it come down the mountain
IS sight not to be missed"
We ell went out ca the broad piazza 0
tie hotel The building is situated
right beside tie railway track, and tn
train that We were to get the trst sigh
OF about mile above US woAd have Il
pass with few feet of where we stood
. when it had com pleted..he descent. The
night was very dark, and there was ;
rumble of thunder over the pinnacl.
point Of the Blue Ridge. The air, how
ever, was luminous with reFricas OF iro
flies zihat4oeked ike the phosphorescen
= track which follows ship in the oceau
The rear Of the little Catawba River ovc1
the rocks was very soothing and musical
Not sound Of the coming train could b
heard, because i. was rot yet through
the tunnel 10 fact thc first ln;;matior
that we had OF its approach was no
through sound but sight. With start
ing suddenness o great pine tree high OF
the mountain top stood out in bright re
lief as if it had been thrown against tx
mountain side by tremendous ste7eor
ticon. It locked like tree of silver snt
it was illuminated by the white head
light of the locomotive. Then another
tree, and another and another stood on
on the mountain side. and finally th'
rugged, rocky side of the cutting wa:
Illuminated like q scene from Switzerland
thrown against the dark mountain side
of North Carolina Tien came the trair
with its long cleaning row of glitlerins
windows, made all the more startling! y
plain By the dense darkness of the night
The mountain background acted as :
great sounding board across the valley
where it was echoed By the the noun
tain on the other side OF US and thrown
back again in confused Niagara of SQUADS
After moment the train disappeared a:
entirely as If it was swallowed up by tht
earth. II had gone around to the Other
side Of the ,IountaiD, and not sound OF
sight Of it did we get for some moments
The hills still reverberated with its com
ing, but that, too, died away, and
although every one listened intently
there was not rumble TO disclose it;
whereabouts. 4 few moments after sec
ton of the pine covered mountain still
lower down flashed into the lish., anc
this time, as the train turned. the illumi
mated disc few rapidly along the noun
TAIN Slue, giving tne trees lee apPea!anCt
of rushing into the light and theu rush
ing out into the darkness again. Their
we had second broadside view Of the
rushing train and the long procession Of
lights once more crossed the mountain
side, but this time lower down than We
had first seen it. Again the thunder ci
its wheels woke the echoes of mountain
and valley and once more it plunged into
oblivion, with that Startling sudaenness
which made it seem as if the train bad
been blotte6 out Of existence.
From the further mountains some time
after was heard the faint rumble Of the
train, echoed back to US f7oE, the othci
SIDE OF the nearer hills, and 8. different
points the invisible train made its where
shouts known By the echoing murmu: OF
l..