Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1891-12-13
ALIVE AND KICKING
THE WHEELING AND CONNELLSVILLE RAIL-
ROAD SITUATION.
The Preliminary Examination to Be Followed BY
Another Survsy-The Routes Already Laia
Down on Paper, East Of Wheeling.

Although not much has been said In
nrint. recently, concerning the Wheei-
ing and Connellsvile railroad enterprise
mainly because those attempting to get
the project upon its feet have not
deemed il advisable to have it constantly
before the public in its incipient stages
a good deal of the preliminary work In
oident to the organization Of enterprises
Of this nature has been done. and as a
result of many conferences and much
correspondence between the various
interests to be benefited by the consum-
nation of the idea, funds for another sur
vey of the territory between TINS city
and Waynesburg have been provideo'
Col. Job Abbott, so prominently con,
pected with the Bridge and Terminal
Company, has been made cher engineer
and tomorrow corps or engineers
headed by Gilmore Browne, VIII COM
mence going over the ground. Ihls Is
a decided step in advance, and indicates
better than any mere words the 1act
that this great enterprise, which VIII
mean so much for this city, and for the
neighboring country on both sides OF
the Ohio, is to be pushed along as 1ast
as possible.
So many railroad surveys have been
made along the valleys OF the small
streams east Of this city during the past
fifteen years that it would appear to the
casual observer that any new company
organizing would have but to make
choice OF routes already laid down on
paper. In point OF fact, however, none
of the lines previously studied out are
quite satsfactory-Or rather, engineers
and capitalists hope to find route llt-
tie more satisfactory than any now
known, and this explains why Engineer
Browne made his preliminary trip over
the country two or three weeks ago, as
has been already announced In the
local press, and why he IS going
out again with his corps. And right
here it may be stated that although
there are several objective points, oc-
cordingly as one or another route may
be taken, Cannonsburg Is not one OF
them, as has been stated in print oy
writers not very familiar with the sub
iect, and the Wheeling and Cannons-
burg Railroad Company has nothing to
TO do with the attempts to reach the
Pennsylvania coal and coke fields by
this new route out OF Wheeling.
So far, railroad men have studied out
four practicable routes from this city
East, two of them uniting at Waynes-
burg, and the three thus remaining
crossing the Monong ahela river at points
separated by something like twenty
miles. The most northermost OF these
routes is what is known as the old
South Pennsylvania survey. 1t ran up
Middle Wheeling creek, crossed over by
Prosperity and Van Buren, to the head
waters Of Ten-Mile creek, left this stream
near Zollarsville and went over to
Beallsville, and crossing the Mononga-
hela at California, ran to New
Haven, across from Connellsville.
The other three routes all had
their beginnings In the valley OF Big
Wheeling creek. The northermoSt ran
up Enslow's fork, crossed the divide to
Browns fork of Ten Mile, and thence
ran to Waynesburg. The middle route
ran up the south fork Of Wheeling
creek, cut across by Jacksonville onto
Gray's fork Of Ten-Mile, and also run to
Waynesburg. and thence by Muddy
creek to the Monongahela and on to
Uniontown. The most southerly route
runs by Ryerson's Station to White
Cottage, and thence down to the Monon-
gala county, West Virginia, line at Dent |
P. o. This line follows Dunkard's |
creek to Dam No. s, on the Mononga-
hela river, and thence across the coun-
try to Uniontown, at which point a
whole network of coal roads is struck.
The idea uppermost in sending out a
new lot of surveyors is to get better |
line from Wheeling to Waynesburg, If !
possible. Generally speaking, any line
up Wheeling creek will be character
lied by many bridges, as the stream is
about as crooked as stream of water
can be from Elm Grove to the Pennsyl-
vania State line. After that point is
passed, it is not so bad. Few tunnels
perhaps only two-will be needed in
getting through the dividing ridge in
Greene county, and line with but one
tunnel may be found. No money is
yet available for rights Of way, but that
will come in due season, once a route is
selected.