Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-06-21
THE RECORD BROKEN
RAPID CONSTRUCTION or THE COW
lNeT ON AND HoT-sPRlNos n. r.
An Achievement in Railroad. Building
Bold Work Under Great Difficulties
The Blaze Ribbon Won.

wARx-SPRrSos VALLEY, June III had
heard Of a railroad up into the Warm
Springs Valley for years. but / confess
did not expect 10 see it.
Perhaps the wish was father TO the
thought, and 1 did not want a road mp
here.
Not that railroad win interfere with
my rights Of proprietorship in this Sec
ton. No danger of that. They are too
high to be disturbed even by syndicates.
They are shared with me BY Mr.. w. b.
Bishop, now OF the Hot, and DIR. A.,
of Charleston, S. O.. and are at Bishops
Boulder. No one pretends TO know the
way up 20 them except Mr. Bishop. and be
only thinks he knows. We all know the
way down, as bills for arnica, plaster,
new hats. and recollections Of an expe-
renee similar TO that of Sut Lovingood
after his "biled-shirt" performance
testify.
have often discussed this, Warm
Springs Valley railroad scheme while sit
ting on the portico of Bryan's store IN
Germantown. and concluded II was all
talk. In my opinion, half the pleasure OF
gong to the springs is the Inconvenience
Of getting there. and candor compels me
to state that hoped this enterprise would
be wolf cry without the usual moral.
However, the wolf is here-that is, the
road is--or at least the road-bed. and the
iron would be laid and trains running but
for unforeseen circumstances.
AN EVENT IN RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION.
The Warm-Springs Valley railroad, or
Covington and Hot, as il is called, is an
event in railroad construction, not only
because of the fact that it renders accessi-
bility 10 all the great cities of the country
magnificent and beautiful stretch of ter
ritory, but because it breaks the record in
mountaln-road building. IL is q feat OF
construction that will be of interest to the
engineering world in respect of rapidity OF
work accomplished in the face Of serious
Typographical and other difficulties.
THEY WANTED IT QUICK.
The contract for building the road was
signed February 18th last, and called for
its completion by the 1st of July. The
weather of the past winter and early
spring was the severest that has been ex-
perienced in this section for many years.
It suggested very forcibly old man Irot-
ter's letter to the Postmaster-Genersld de-
scribing the break-loosen that would
have to occur in the regions supposed by
the Dutch wagner to be located not far
| from the Hot before snow enough would
be melted on Cheat mountain TO get the
stage mail over on time. There was lite
rally no bottom to the roads and the cold
was intense. Owing to the weather
it was impossible for the contrac-
| tors to make more than eleven days
| during the months of February and
March. The road IS twenty-siX miles long.
From Coyington 1t follows Jackson's flyer
| to Cedar creek, and thence up that branch
10 the Hot. For mile or so out of Gov
ington there was nothing especially serious
TO contend with for this age of engineering,
but for the rest the barriers TO be over
come were stupendous. The heaviest work
on the road was not given out to the con-
tractors until April 9th, as the weather was
SO rough that the engineers could not stake
it of, and when it was given out it seemed
that il would be impossible for the con-
structing force TO keep their contract. For
miles the route hugs rocky cliffs sew
enty-fve and eighty feet high and
SO perpendicular as hardly to afford
footing for anything but q lizard.
Out of these road-bed had TO be dug and
blasted, to say nothing of the fills that
had to be made and the retaining work
that had to be introduced to prevent
slides, and in less than eighty days the
entire line had been graded. Nor is that
all. A thorough examination Of the work
will show that despite the fact that 1t
was rushed 1t has been faithfully done,
and that for new road there is not more
solid stretch of grading in the country. In
every sense il is monument to the energy,
enterprise, perseverance, and honesty OF
the contractAsS. Gooch, Reinhart, Carpen-
ter & Co.