The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-02-27
ALL BUT THE RAILS NOW.
TIE GRADING OF THE DARIEN
SHORT LINE FINISHED.

Nearly Twelve Miles Of the Road in
Operation, With;More Business Than
Il Can Well Handle With It's Present
Equipments-Four Mics of Track to
Be Laid as Soon as the Iron Can Be
Cnloaded and Put Down, and New
Rolling Stock to bs Added.
K K Walker, the master spirit in
the Darlen Short Line railroad, Is in the
city, and talked quite freely to a MORNING
NEWS reporter, who called on him at the
Pulaski last night.
Mr.. Walker says that a great many people
laughed at him three years ago when
he said he was going to build railroad to
connect Darien with the interior, but
he fully made up his mind to build
the Darien Short Line, and there are no
doubling Thomases in all that section now.
Three years ago Mr.. Walker broke ground.
His daughter had the honor of cutting the
first bush on the right of way, a kind of
family affair, and after that first bush was
cut Mr.. Walker was determined to show
the people that it was not chimerical per-
| rormance. He has, almost unaided,
| graded the entire line Of forty.two miles
from Darien to Joselyn. near Walthourville,
on the Savannah, Florida and Western
railway, and has laid 6fty-pound steel rails
Tor II miles from Belleville, on the Sapelo
river. ENTHUSIASTICALLY into the interior,
and that portion of the road is in operation.
MORE BUSINESS THAN 1T CAN HANDLE.
Mr.. Walker says he Is surprised at the
traffic on the line, which has been SO heavy
that with only one train of locomotive and
i've cars the work of construction has been
a W r@nfn 4AI 10 . aNf -
cargo of rails on hand, which will lay
four miles more of road, and within sixty
days he expects to have more rolling stock,
and the track-laying will be more vigor-
ously pushed, and before the fall season sets
in he expects to have the entire roadbed
under operation
Mr.. Walker is highly elated with the
prospects of the road, and he says that the
deep water terminus at Sapelo will never
require harbor appropriations, as it is the
deepest water south of Norfolk the depth
over the bar at spring tide being twenty
eight feet.
The line, Mr.. Walker says, runs through
almost exhaustless virgin forests. Along
the line are turpentine farms and lumber
mills, and others are starting up since the
road has been projected. He estimates that
there are 400, 900 feet of merchantable
timber along the line of the road, and he
approUmates the annual output of turpen-
tine at $4,000 barrels, while the supply of
cypress is almost unlimited.
A DEEP WATER TERMINUS.
The company has two miles of deep
water frontage on Sapelo sound, terminal
property at Darien of ten acres in area and
10000 acres of land has been donated it
along its line Of road. The lands along the
line OF road are said to be among the rich
est in Georgia, aud Mr.. Walker saws that
thnV
potatoes, rice, Irish potatoes, and oats, and
strawberries and asparagus are most sue
cessfully grown. The line, Mr.. Walker
says, runs through territory destitute of
railroad facilities, no road being nearer than
twenty-five miles on either side, 50 that all
the products and passengers of a rich ter
ritory will have to pass over the line.
MIR. Walker estimates that no less than
$4,000 raftsmen and timbermen will travel
over the road annually, while the timber,
lumber, naval stores, agricultural products
and supplies to and from Darien will make
the road, what he foresaw three years ago.
one OF the most valuable railroad properties
| in the south; in fact, Mr.. Walker says, the
best lands along the line owned by the COM
pany, when cleared, will be of greater
value than they are now, and he estimates
| that the pine lands will produce 240, 900 bar
rels OF turpentine in three years. while he
| estimates the value of the lumber and tim
Der at not less than $2,0O0,000
GOING SLOW BUT SURE.
| Mr.. Walker was asked why he is not
pushing the track-laying more rapidly, and
he replied that it has all along been his aim
to go slow and not to cucumber the prop
| erty. 1--WE do not owe a dollar 30 far for
construction" he added. by June l our
bond subscriptions will be available to push
the track-laying vigorously. We have pre-
ferred to wait until that time and continue
to pay as we CO."
1t is quite probable that after the four
miles of iron recently received has been
| laid, that no more iron will be laid until
June l, and then two gangs will be put on.
working from Darien north, and from the
present terminus southwardly to Darien.
Mr.. Walker will leave for Darien tonight
to confer with party of Northern CAPT
talists, who are interested in the road The
company is, however, very close corpora
| ton, with only five or six stockholders,
| Mr.. Walker, the president and general man
| ager, owning controlling interest.
In alluding to the ups and downs he has
experienced since he projected the road,
Mr.. Walker said that he was born
and reared in Darien, and had been
stimulated by a local pride to persevere at
times when he had little aid and encourage
ment, but he says he had never previously
undertaken any enterprise without success
| fully carrying it out, and he didn't intend
the Darien Short Line should be an excep.
ton. 1t cost him heavily, however, but he
| Oerso varad and now ha oavS no 10 ~, Abo