The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1899-03-30
BACKED
By the SedbodrdA Air
Line
Is the Road from Cranberry
to LinColnton..
A GREAT THROUGH coALING LINE.

A GREAT THROUGH coALING LINE.
1t is learned from an official source
that the Seaboard Air Line is interes-
ted in the construction of the proposed
East Tennessee and Western North
Carolina Railroad-from Cranberry to
Lincolnton.
A charter for it, you will rememb er,
was secured from the last Legislature
by Gen. Hoke. This charter; am told,
will be used in one of two ways; either
Gen. Hoke will build the road and lease
to the Seabord Air Line, or the Sea-
board will take the charter and build
the road. In any event the road will be
controlled and operated by the Sea-
board.
This will convert the Carolina Gen.
tral-from Ham let to Llncolnton-intc
q main line, and the branch line from
Hamlet to Wilmington will at once be.
come a paying piece of coal-carrying
road
The South Atlantic and Ohio Rail
road extends from Big Stone Gap to
Bristol, forms the nucleus of the great
new trunk line. At Bristol it is to be
linked with road already in operation
extendingfrom Bristol to Elizabethton,
now owned by the Pennsylvania Steel
Company. At Elizabethton, Tenn, il
is to be linked into the road owned by
the Cranberry Iron and Coal Company
and extending from johnson City viz
Elizabethton to Cranberry, N. 9. Here
it is to hook on to new road already
graded, and to be Immediately equip
ped, extended to Pinola, From Pinola
new link is to be built crossing the
Blue Ridge at Lost Hollow Gap ant
extending down the eastern slope o.
the Ridge to Collettsville in Caldwell
county, where it is TO be linked will
the Lenoir and Collettsville road, nov
owned by Wanamaker and associat es
of Philadelphia. At Lenoir it will tai
and perhaps link itself with the Caro-
lima and Northwestern, which will
bring it to Lincolton, where it will
weld itself to the Carolina Central 9TH,
Seaboard Air Line and make a straigh
shoot for Wilmington.
This new line will connect at Big
Stone Gap with the great Louisvill auC
Nashville system. It taps the Norfoll
and Western at Bristol. It cuts acros
the Southern system OF Hickory ant
Charlotte. 1t grasps the two hands O
the Seaboard at Monroe and Hamlet.
1t crosses the Coast Line at Pembrok,
and again at Wilmington, and it plum
ges into the commerce of the outsid
world at Wilmington and perhaps a
Southport. For road from Whining
ton to Southport has already beer
chartered, and it is said, will be built
1t will thus be seen that to com plet
great through line from the West an,
North to Norfolk-a distance of som,
five hundred miles it is necessary t.
build only fifteen-mile link be
tween Pinola and Collettsville via Lin
vile. Add,to this forty miles link be
tween Wilmington and Southport, an,
you have another deep water port ant
a coaling station without passing Hat
teras. A glance at map shows tina
this is one of the most feasible anC
practicable railroad schemes in tn
fSouth and the wonder is that th
scheme has not been promoted@before.
The new line means much for Mort
Carolina. 1t means much for its manu-
featuring interest especially, as it vii
put all the piedmont and central sec
tions Of the State in direct, quick eco
nomical connection with an inexhaus
tible supply of coal equal to Pocohon
tas or any other coal on the market.
turns the coke oven of the great Cum
berland range into Cranberry and on
other iron ore beds, the richest in th
world. 1t cuts the Blue Ridge at Los
Hollow Gap, passing in the shadow c
Roam Mountain, on down by Linville
skirts around old Grandfather, one c
the grandest mountain routes In th
world: crosses the famous Johns Rive
Valley and blazes a great industril
highway through the counties of Mitch
ell, Caldwell, Catawba, Lincoln, Gas
ton, Mecklenburg and on to the sea.
The fact that the Seaboard Air Lin
is behind the proposed:road insures il
early construction. Raleigh, N, G
| Nauc opd Ohoar1or