Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-04-11
A REMINDER OF THE oLDEN TIME
scheme for n Bor-e BaiIrond frons
Boston to BrniiIeboro way Bach in
Is2s.
From the Brattleboro letter to the Sunday

Republican
The death this winter of CYRUS FELTON,
the antiquarian Of Marlboro, Mass, brings
TO mind one of the choice bits of local his
tory which he unearthed and announced in
September, but which failed of the notice
it deserved. 1t was no less than project
TO build a horse.railroad from Boston 10
Brattleboro in 1928. The document Mr..
FELTON, discovered, which gave him the sto-
ry he priced 30 much, was simply a l0-inch
flyer printed by John II Eastburn of Bos.
ton, and beaded Improvements in Massa
chusettsTo the Citizens in favor of a
Railroad from Boston to Vermont" At
the top is a little wood cut of two four
wheeled cars, drawn by single horse.
driven by a man sitting on the forward
car, aud the two cars, which appear to be
about the size Of the ordinary one horse
car, seem to be loaded with pumpkins. 1t
must be remembered that at this time the
chief freighting of this town was by boat
from points in Connecticut. The circular
proceeds then TO sketch the proposed route
as follows ITO commence at the empty
basin and run parallel with the Western
avenue through Brighton, thence upon the
south side Of the Charles river to cross said
river between Bemis factory and Water
town bridge thence between the road and
river TO the head Of Waltham plain thence
across to the north side Of the new road
upon the survey made by James T. Bald.
win in 1928; through Weston and Sudbury
to White pond; through Stow, Bolton,
Lancaster Leominster to Fitchburg; thence
by the survey Of L. Baldwin in 1925, which
follows up the middle branch of the Nash
ua river TO Ashburnham, through Winchen-
don village 10 Athol Royalston. Orange.
Ewlng's Grant 10 Gums Bridge, where is
found the most convenient line through
Mortified to the ferry which is about eight
miles north of Miller's river thence across
the Connecticut river to the west side
through Vernon to Brattleboro. So far as
the eye can discern, aided by the delighted
and generous inhabitants in every town, it
Is a favorite route
The document then states that the cost
will be about $1,000 a mile or about a mil
lion dollars for the whole. Books for sub.
scriptions Of stock at SlSS share, are TO
be opened in each town and in Boston and
the paper closes grandiloquently like
boomer newspaper in the West in this way.
Shall Massachusetts look on and stand
still while we view every other state in the
Union marching ON with their internal i'm
provements Not 50 long as there is
one particle Of Revolutionary spirit left. "
There is in the body of the circular much
elaboration Of new scheme Of side tracks
for passing Of cars around each other in
opposite transit, and frequent illusions are
made to the South Carolina and Baltimore
railroads which are now US2S) in prog
ress.' The part Of this circular which
most interests our own townsmen is this
sentence For a single set Of tracks, with
sideways at suitable distances, il will re-
quire a capital Of million dollars, which
sum would be expended within the state,
even TO the bar iron which is manufactured
near Brattleboro.n Where were the smelt-
ing works which were 70 do this They
were located down by the river bank near
where the depot is. Although the circular
writer understood evidently that the iron
was to be made here. it is the opinion of
our older citizens, who can just remember
the old foundry, that no ore was smelted
here, but that the pigs of iron were brought
up on the old river boats and here cast in
TO various serviceable shapes is well known
The old foundry did lively business for
many years and then relapsed, an early
precursor Of the fate Of many since then
throughout New England.