Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1891-12-24
OVER THE ALLEGHENIES.
Observations of an Observing st. Clairs-
vile Man.
Starting for the South by Way of the Ma
tion's Capital Interesting Points
and Incidents.

almest an impossibility to build rail
road over high mountains and danger
Gus undertaking to ride on one after it
was built. When the B. and D. was built
and completed from Cumberland to
Wheeling, it was regarded most Won
derful achievement in railroad engineer
ing and construction ;and so was for the
time; but it was considered by some as a
very dangerous road on which to travel
so dangerous that it was even suggest
ed that instead of sentencing man to
be hung for a capital offense that it
would answer about as well to sentence
him to trip over the B. and o. All
these ideas are changed now. 1t has been
proven in more recent years, by the i'm
proved art and skill in civil engineering
applied in the construction of railroads,
that they can be built almost anywhere
on terra frma, and substantially too. All
that is needed is money and plenty of it.
The b. ands0. was one of the first rail
roads completed from the East to the
Ohio River, about the year 1853. The
writer well remembers the grand outlet it
gave for the produce of Belmont and ad-
joining counties in Ohio, and the impe
tus given thereby to the business and up
building of the city of Wheeling, which
at that time had but 1900 or 14,O00 of
population He also remembers that,
before the road was built, few loads
extra of produce above the actual home
demand in Wheeling, would for the time
being, completely glut the market. The
road was great benefit to the town, ard
to the Ohio side of the river west, espe
cially the part lying contiguous to the
National Road, even before the Ohio di-
vision was built.
After having said this much in gener
al l may say more in particular, that
over this picturesque B. and o." we
started out on our annual Southern
winter travels-leaving Wheeling ON the
5 A. NJ train for this city. The morning
was clear and frosty, the mercury about
SO. AS the day advanced it became
cloudy with misty snow falling, which
continued until the top of the Allegheny
range of mountains was reached about
P. NJ. Between Wheeling and Grafton is
town called Mannington-a hard look
ing place, but it makes more show in the
oil well line than any place over the road
Numerous derricks are seen standing
thick all around, reminding one of Oil
City, Pa The oil, of which it is said
there is good find, is piped elsewhere.
At Graften, 100 miles on our way, at
about $50 A. NJ, breakfast is taken, in
about twenty minutes-by those who
want to, and they mostly want to-in
pretty fair dining room, which, under
stand, is owned and run by the Railroad
Company. Grafton is place of some
pretensions being the junction of the
road Leading to Parkersburg and Cincin
natl, and on one of the branches that
form the Monongahela River. met here
ON the platform young Mr.. Butcher, son
of our worthy citizen, Thompson Buch
he made this his headquarters run
ming on the B. and o. from here to Chica-
go in the capacity of mail agent, think
he said, making two round trips week
From here we commence to ascend the
eastern slope of the Allegheny range of
mountains, the top of which is reached
of q ,,laoo oollad Tarra ITO tho froiD
boys call out as we roll into the place, |
1--WE are at the top of the hill" A little |
farther on comes, in the order named, |
and not far apart, Oakland, Mountain |
Lake Park and Deer Park-places of
some note as summer resorts, and made |
still so more so recently because of the |
fact, doubtless, that party of the elite
of st. Clairsville visited these places a
couple of years ago. They are pleasant |
places of resort in midsummer; but when |
the ground is covered with snow, as it |
was when we viewed them from the Gears,
and the whole atmosphere is filled with
the same article, they do not look so in
viting.
Soon after passing Deer Park the road |
to descend the eastern slope |
of the mountain. And here remarka-
BILE change is at once noticed. That is to
say, that while the western side of the
range was covered with snow and more
snow falling, on the eastern side there
was an entire absence of both. This
would seem to explain the reason why
the region east of the Allegheny range,
in the same latitude, is much milder in
than that ON the west of it.
The mountains act as break to the
winds from the southwest, west and
northwest.
In going down the eastern slope there
is what is called the 17-mile grade, which
iescends at the rate of 120 feet to the mile,
a lowering of altitude in that distance of
1000 feet. AT the foot of the grade stands
on the upper Potomac River.
In going down the grade the river rushes
below in a deep chasp on your left, tie
mountain towers above you on your
right. You look across the wild noun
tain stream against the precipitous and
rugged side of the mountain opposite. l
think just here the scenery is the grand
est of any seen in crossing the mountains.
Cumberland was reached at l Pm.
This is city of considerable size and
1t is spread out over the
Potomac valley and nestled among its
hills. Previous to the completion of the
B. and D. to Wheeling, nearly forty years
ago, this place was more noted, perhaps,
than it is now, as it was then the point
to which vast amount of produce from
Ohio and other parts, was hauled over the
mountains by teams, the best mode of
had at that time.
We were told that dinner would be
taken at Cumberland, but on arrival