The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-12-25
AN IMPORTANT DEAL
Was the Purchase Of the MOnOnga,
hela River Railroad by the Balh-
more & Ohio Road.

Was the Purchase Of the Mononga-
hela River Railroad by the Balti-
more & Ohio Road.
Friday morning the Intellisencer told
of the purchase of the Monongahela
River railway, which runs along the
river between FaIrmont and Clarks-
burg, by the Baltimore & Ohio Rail-
road Company. The Baltimore Sun
gives the following additional partIcu-
lars: =,
Possession of the new property Will
pass in April next. The road is said to
have cost s2.oOO,OOO ten years ago and
the price paid is reported to have been
100000.
Ex-senator johnson N. Camden and
his associates who owned the railroad
made the sale. The road was built by
the ex-senator, who was the chief own
err of the property. as well as of the ex-
tenslSe coal interests of the Monongah
Coal Co., which retains the coal inter
ests which include over 10000 acres Of
coal lands located in the Fairmont and
Monongah districts OF West Virginia.
The effect Of this deal is to turn over
to the Baltimore & Ohio railroad the
Transportation business in this territory
and 10 divorce this interest from the
business Of coal mining.
Ex-senator Camden was one OF the
pioneers in bringing into prominence
the coal mining possibilities Of West
virginia, and was the moving spirit In
building the West Virginia & Pitts
burgh railroad, which has also been
taken over by the Baltimore and Ohio
railroad. The West Virginia and Pitts
burgh and the Monongahela Railroads
were both feeders of the Baltimore &
Ohio before becoming parts OF the
system.
In carrying out the deal for the Mo-
nongahela Valley railroad. ex-senator
German and Ex-Governor A. B. Elem
ing OF West Virginia, who were also
interested, and j. e. Sands and ]. A.
FIcklnGer, officers Of the railroad, were
in conference with ex-senator Camden
Friday
The railroad runs from FaIrmont to
Clarksburs, and unItes the line OF the
baltimore &: Ohio system running to ST.
Louis with the line running to Chicago
1t is built along the face of the nine
foot pittsburgh coal vein, and through
it's connections at either end secures ex-
coptIonal facilities for reaching the
markets of the east and the west. The
product OF this field is bitumlnous
steamIng and gas coal. and already
there are twenty mines opened. The
most modern methods are employed III
thig field, and the use Of electrically
driven machinery is q feature. owing to
the recent date of the installation OF the
plants.
When the strike in the Pittsburgh
coal district several years ago forced u
number OF leading markets to look to
other fields for coal this district at
tracted attention, and the coal then to
ken in an emergency created a permn-
nent demand from these products
which resulted in the opening Of a
number Of new mines.
The Monongah Company is the pro-
prietory company, and lenses the
lands to the various coal mining com
panies. This year the output will be
about 100000 tons. and this amount
would have been much larger had 1t
not been for the scarcity of cars, which
limited the movement. Next year the
output VIII be about 5000, 900 tons, and
IA expected to be further Increased by
new mines to 100000 tons year. At
this rate, such is the compact and un-
broken character of the field, the next
half of n century, 1t Is figured, would
not exhaust It's resources.
The production OF coke is also com
ing into prominence in this district and
further development In this connection
is expected. In general way the val
ley OF the MonongahelH in which the
coal field lies, Ia a rich agricultural and
grazing section.
BARGAINS to-day at