The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1890-12-04
A Big Railroad Project.

systems of railroads in West Virginia.
These two syndicates, known by the
names noted above, have always been
rivals. The Davis Elkins syndicate has
had the West Virginia Central in opera
ton with several smaller side issues, and
the Camden syndicate has been opera
ting the Ohio River road, and has been
allied with the Baltimore and Ohio in the
building of the Fairmont, Morgantown
and Pittsburgh road. 1t has also gotten
to work on the Rayenswood, Spencer
and Chenille, a new line from the Ohio
River at Ravenswood back into the in
terror, and also upon the Huntington s.
Big Sandy, which is to connect the Ohio
River road with the Norfolk and Western
at the south Both these railroad syn
dictates have been aiming at the same
thing, the development of the almost
unexplored regions of West Virginia, and
the opening up of coal lands along their
routes.
Soae time since the West Virginia
Central people began a systematic effort
to obtain possession of the old Chesa-
peake and Ohio Canal bed and formed
the Cumberland and Washington Rail-
road Company, for the purpose of con
verting the canal bed from Cumberland
to tide water into a railway, an outline
Of which movement was printed in the
M07satl 0ctat7eT some time since. This
company primarily intended to build a
line of road through the heart of West
Virginia, and had the plans roughly
drafted, but seeing no immediate com
petitor in the way, devoted their atten-
ton to the tidewater outlet almost ex-
clusively.
While they were thus engaged the
Camden people formed an alliance with
the G. s. O., which company endorsed it's
bonds and built the Fairmont, Morgan
town and Pittsburgh road through what
ongalia coal field in Marion and Monon-
gala counties. BY other sharp moves
the Camden people got possession of the
Davis Elkins interests in the Caperton
boundaries and other large real estate
holdings in Nicholas and adjoining coun-
ties, thus shutting them off from extend
ing the West Virginia Central in that
direction and making it worth while to
extend their own road, now allied with
the B. & 0. down the West Park and
Kanawha valleys.
The Davis-Eikins syndicate, which, by
the way, includes some of the wealthiest
men in the United States, having gotten
possession, almost safely, of the Chesa-
peake and Ohio Canal, turned their at
tention to the interior of the State. The
plan is now formulated, and embraces
one of the biggest ventures in the way
of railway building and coal develop
ment ever undertaken in this region
The southern terminus of the Davis
Elkins system is now at the town of Elk
ms, in Randolph county. From Elkins
the road will be extended to Phillippi,
Barbour county, in line almost due
north thence it will follow the Tygart's
Valley river down to Grafton, either par
alleling the Grafton and Greenbrier or
it; thence along the west
bank of the Tygarts Valley river to
Fairmont, a short distance above which
place the West Fork river will be bridg-
ed From Fairmont the road will be
built along the west bank of the Monon-
gahela to a point in the neighborhood of
Fairchance, Pennsylvania, where it will
connect with the Pennsylvania system
and obtain direct outlet to Pittsburgh.
purchases of coal lands, with
the evident view of reaping whatever
benefit there is to be derived by the
development AS will be re-
the Manufacturer stated
some time since that a syndicate, includ
ing Messrs. Davis and Eikns and other
prominent men, had purchased large
bodies of coal land in Monongalia coun-
ty. These purchases amount to about
$4,000 acres i'll this one county alone. and
are located Immediately upon the line.
In Marion, Harrison. Barbour and Tay-
lor counties other big purchases of coal
land have been made by the same people
But this is only one end of the enter
prize. From the town of Elkins three
corps of engineers are pushing their way
almost directly south through the coun-
ties of Webster, Pocahontas, Greenbrier
and Monroe, making a route through the
Allegheny mountains to the coal and
iron fields of Eastern West Virginia and
old Virginia. 1t is hoped to intersect
the Chesapeake and Ohio near Goshen
Va, and the roadway be driven ON even
further. With the tide-watrr outlet at
the east and Pittsburgh as commercial
centre at the west, the road will have
loads for its cars both ways coal east
and merchandise west, with iron and
coal from the south to carry in both d-
rections. One of the beauties of the en-
tire plan is the fact that the people who
will build the roads will own most of the
land to be developed
1t is also asserted that another branch
to the Ohio river, to connect with some
line leading to Chicago and the West, is
contemplated in the general plan. A line
to Ravenswood, jackson county, on the
Ohio river, and another to Wheeling
have been mentioned, but there is no
reason to suppose that either has been
definitely decided upon. 1t has been
said, on what seems to be good authori-
ty, that a line from Fairmont to Wheel
ing, which would be the shortest line to
the river, will be built. 1t is said that
the Wheeling and Elm Grove road, su-
burban Wheeling line now only about
ten miles long, will be connected with as
a means of getting to Wheeling, it hav-
ing a splendid entrance to the city, and
running In the direction of Fairmont-
It is also connected with the Wheeling
Bridge and Terminal railway system, just
completed, and would give good outlet
to several of the Ohio Roads now end
ing just across the river. 70 give color
to all this, the Elm Grove company has
commenced building machine shops and
terminal facilities in Wheeling, and is
replacing its light rails with 60-pound
steel rails.
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