The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1890-09-18
NORFOLK & WESTERN.
Probable ExtentIon Of the Line from
Bristol to KnoxnIe.

Knoxville, Sept. 11.-It begins I,
ipok as If .he Norfolk K Western roa,
Will extended from Bristol to Knox
vile The-e Is not shadow Of doub
bu. that the line has been sufveye,
from Bristol to Beams station, onl,
lorty-two miles from Knoxville, il
HambleR county. The engineer
have been in the field about tw,
months. and they report an excellen
rouse and one over which road car
be easily and cheaply constructed.
Persons who are familiar with th,
topography Of East Tennessee know
that the natural way or route from
VFginil to Knox1 "a. is that OF th,
kd Federal road, which follows the
valley all the way. This road, it vii
be remembered. comes by Abingdon
Va, turns little more West and
crosses into Tennessee a N strikes The
Holston valley. 1t then traverses l
remarkably lSyeI country along down
the river by Nntherfori and K ngs
port, and through the rich bottoms
OF Hawkins county and throughath the
town of Rogersville
1t continues in the same direction
into Hamblen couVy, and on to
Beans station. In anti i-bellum days,
chen there were hundreds of wagons
on the road hauling goods to Knox
vile and points west from baltimore,
this was the road travelled. There are
men now Lying who were teamsters
and travelled over this road, and' can
testify to its excellence, so far as grade
is concerned, and also to the rich
agricultural country it traveI ses. 1t
was highway laid out 10y the hand
of the Creator
There are now along this old FEEDER
al road some of the most magnificent
estates in the Sonth. Who is the man
who has passed over il and not noticed
and admired the commodious brick
mansions which dot the farms? Who
has not noticed the general air of pro-
priety and of southern hospitality
which surround their houses with
their grassy lawns, well kept fences,
vegetables gardens and and large barns
filed with hay and grain to overflow
ing, and last but not least the brick
smoke house and the dairy and spring
near by.
To follow this road still further one
came on down into Kuox county and
by campbell station (once a block
house against Indian attacks) and
then into Loudon county Here the
road forked, one turning West by
Kingston in Roane county and then
up Emory river and through the Gap
into Middle Tennessee The other
branch continues down the valley OF
East Tennessee to Georgia and Ala
bama.
One may ask "Why is it that if
this as national route the East
Tennessee railroad did not follow it?"
This is easily answered. When the
projectors Of the East Tennessee and
Virginia road set about to uild it,
they asked bids from the people of
upper East Tennessee. These people
living along the Ho'ston refused to
give anything. They held in the
frs place that they had the Holston
river aud were independent OF the
railroad, in The next place they claim
ed that they would sc the road any
how, as it must he built along the
valley.
But it was to be otherwise. Those
people living in the counties of Greene,
Washington, Sullivan, Hamblen, etc,
who had no river and were in need of
some means of transportation vent TO ]
work to get the road. They gave the
right of way, subscribed thousands of
dollars, and TO them it was an enOI-
nous sum. They got the road, and
hence it is that tue East Tennessee is
built through a much more unbroken
country than the HoIston valley. The
ro,d came and with it the thriving
towns along it. The people Of the rich
river bottoms were left with their
broad acres and remain ed happy but
not progr ssive farming people.
Put it now seems that they are to
have the road The business of tie
country has developed so enormously
that the Norfolk and Western
people seem TO be of the opinion
that it will pay to compete with the
East Tennessee. Sc they have had
road surveyed down The Holston river
country to Bean sta ion, and this
week the engineers begin the work Of
locating the me. They finished the
preliminary survey Saturday and
game to Bristol Tuesday.
Why it is that they have not come
on to Knoxville u" oucs,s nis l., know.
Il is sad that an understanding has
been reached by the Norfolk and
Western and the Knoxville, Gu nber-
land Gap and Louisville people for
connection at Bean station. There
may be some truth in this, as each
road is controlled by English money.
1t will be remembered that the Morris
town extension of the K. G. G. & L. |
goes by Bean station. But it is not
likely that the Norfolk and Westerna
can stop there. The company could |
not afford TO stop in an old field with |
simply one little connection and its
naHI M