Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1892-09-19
RUNDLINGSONT HERAIL
THE NOVEL SCHEME OF THE COAL RIVER
RAILROAD COMPANY.
The Great Travel East Now on the B. & O'-Ths
New Bridge at Harpar'S Ferry and Where
the Station viii DO LOcuted-Cther
Changes and Improvements
Contemplated.

Speaking Of the newly-organized Coal
River Railroad Company, the MGnufdc-
tltrers' Record SAYS: '0f all the novel
schemes proposed for securing the
money necessary for the construction OF
a railroad, that Of the Coal River Rail-
road Company, of West Virginia, is per-
haps the most unique and original. 1t
has elements that should bring success,
and, in fact, it has progressed so far al
ready that there is every indication that
the road will be built. The company
was chartered about three months ago
with merely a nominal capital by
company of gentlemen who owned large
tracts of coal and timber land in the
section through which it was to pass.
They quietly secured the assent or
number Of other heavy land owners
whose cooperation was necessary, ana
at q meeting Of the subscribers held
few days ago in Charleston, w. Va,
Board of Directors composed Of John
Byrne, r. P. Chew, John l.. Coch-
ran, D. B. Lucas, Thomas l..
Broun, Roman Pickens, r. Il. Oney,
William NJ. Peyton and Fontaine Broun
was elected. Those present at the
meeting represented several hundred
thousand acres of land through which
the road would pass, and full EXPOSE
ton and discussion Of the plan for Sc
curing the money for building was had.
The plan is for each gentleman whose
land will be cut by the line or lines con-
tiguous TO it to subscribe one-fourth OF
his land holding aud take in payment
therefor SO per acre in stock or the
company. 1t was calculated and gener-
ally agreed that the building OF the
road would so much enhance the value
Of the remaining three-quarters that he
would be the gamer even if the one
fourth subscribed should be given for
railroad stock that would prove
valueless. II was further stat
ed by the chief project
ors that construction COM
pany stands ready to construct the
first forty miles OF the road so soon as
90, 900 acres of land has been subscribed.
Nearly IA, 900 acres Of the first 10000
acres were subscribed at that meeting.
The proposed route of the road is from
st. Adams to the forks of Coal River,
in Kanawha county; thence up Big
Coal river to Peytona, in Boone county;
thence to the junction Of the Clear and
Marsh forks of Coal river, in Raleigh
county; thence up Marsh fork by way
OF Skinned Poplar Gap; thence to the
Pinnacle fork of Guyandotte river, In
Wyoming county, and thence to a juno
ton with the Norfolk and Western
railroad, in Mercer county. The entire
route is through fine coal and timber
land, now practically inaccessible and
valueless except in prospect.
The new bridge at Harper's Ferry
will be nine and one-half feet higher
than the old bridge. The tunnel they
are cutting under Maryland Heights
will be SIS feet long, twenty feet high.
and thirty feet wide. The Harper's
Ferry end OF the new bridge will enter
the town where the depot now stands,
and will follow Shenandoah street to
Potomac street then proceed south OF
the county read and the pulp mill to
Island Park. The company also in
tends building a fine commodious depot.
They have at present about 80 hands,
and are pushing the work day and
night. 1t Is understood they want
about 700 hands. The contractors are
now under bond to complete the bridge
and tunnel by the first of March, 1898.
Lane Bros. have had q marked in
crease in their force Of railroad hands
within the past week on the Morgan
town extension of the y. & o. On Fri
day seventy new men arrived. They
say now that they viii complete their
contract for the grade OF the first 81
miles by November lst. 1t is highly
probable that the entire grade from
here to Smithfeld will be,Completed at
q not much later date than the above.
After grading the road6ed, the entire
distance is TO have ten inches OF ballast
placed on it before the ties or rails are
laid, and besides this, the Cheat river
bridge will occupy some months yet in
it's construction, so that there will be
no trains on the extension for some
months to come.
Travel on the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad eastward now exceeds
anything ever known on that road, and
for the next few days it will take all
the resources of the company to haul
the people who are on their way TO
Washington to the G. A. r. enCamp-
ment. All freight trains will be aban-
doned, and not freight will be run
day or night until the passenger rush
is over. Passenger trains may run
every ten minutes for few days. Men
to assist the block signals will be placed
every three miles along the track in
case OF accident and to flag the trains
when they approach too close to- each
other.
The Potomac Valley railroad, con-
trolled by the Western Maryland, was
opened for passenger traffic on Monday
last between Hsgerstown, Md, and
Cherry Run, w. Va, fourteen miles.
The work Of building the station build
ings at Charlton, ClearSpring and Big
Pool is now in progress. The road, as
our readers are aware, gives the West
ern Maryland a connection between the
Philadelphia and Reading at Shippens-
burg, Pa, and the Baltimore and Ohio
at Cherry Run, w. Va. The opening
OF the road was celebrated by an excur
sion with large number of invited
guests from Baltimore and other places.