Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-25
RAILWAY IMPROVED
LINE BETWEEN WASHINGTON
AND RICHMOND.
Work Begun Four Years Ago--Large
Force Employed for Eighteen
Months.

ericksburg and Potomac railway from this
city to Richmond is rapidly approaching
completion. and 1t is stated that by the
latter part OF July the new road will be
completed and trains will be running over
It, The work was started at Richmond
about four years ago. and for the past
eighteen months large force Of workmen
has been employed in the building OF the
new track from Alexandria to this city.
Except for two or three short stretches of
read the new track is in use from Rich
mond north to point within eight or ten
miles OF Alexandria.
In seme places the old roadbed has been
utilized. but at others the new tracks run
quarter of a mile away from the original
line. in order to do away with unnecessary
curves.
In building the new track 1t was the OBJ
5ect of the engineers to do away with all
curves and grades as far as possible, and
In order to do this deep cuts and high fills
have been made, and many a stream
bridged; but, 1t Is stated, the new line Is as
near level as 1t is possible to make it.
The railway authorities argue that the
saving in coal, in doing away with steep
grades. and the better service the railway
company will be able to maintain, will. in
the long run. pay for the immense amount
spent on the changes made in the road.
They say the line was not built for day,
but for future generations. Should cleo
liiClly VI SOtHe OtleT power super SSue
steam the cars will still have to run on
rails, and the line being constructed
will still be used from Washington to
Richmond.
Course of Streams Changed.
In the construction of the new double
tracks streams were diverted from their
original courses in many Instances and the
face of the country changed
ut is now like a man getting shave and
hair cut said one of the railway en-
gfneers, yesterday evening, when he sits
in the BARRIERS chair he looks rough and
unclean. but when the barber is through
with him he steps down looking bright and
clean"
This Is the way the country will look
when the railway improvements are COM
pleted. From Franconia station in Fairfax
county, Va, about where the single track
railway now ends, to Alexandria the great
er part Of the new roadbed Is completed and
ready for the laying of the ties and rails,
and between Alexandria and this city the
work is rapidly approaching completion.
Those who are not acquainted with the
lay of the land In Alexandria county can
hardly realize the immense amount Of work
that has been done there during the past
year In constructing a level roadbed from
Alexandria to the new railway bridge. The
old tracks are to be abandoned completely,
and starting at point southwark Of Alex
andria an entirely new track has been built
almost as the crow flies to this city. The
new road does not pass through Alexan-
dria. but skirts the town on its western
edge. On an embankment twenty-five or
thirty feet high, with alternate fills and
cuts. roadbed on almost a dead level has
been constructed.
To do this 1t was necessary to build a new
embankment across Four Mile run and over
Grayelly creek near Jackson City, but this
work Is now nearly done, and in a few
weeks the laying of the rails will be begun
"a
trestle about twenty feet in the air was
first built and this the trains of dump
cars drawn by dinkey engines were run to
dump their loads of earth.
; At Gravelly Run.
The same plan was started in making the
fill across Gravelly run, but the forming of
Ice stopped the work OF driving piles for the
trestle. so the engineers laid track on the
Ice and built the embankment on it. As the
Ice gave way the embankment settled upon
the bottom of the river. and now seems as
firm and stable as the part built with the
ara OF the tTestle work: The fill across
AleXanders Island Is about twenty feet
high, and has reached point within a hum
dred feet Of the new railway bridge
several trains OF dump cars with the
oihKey engines drawing them are in use on
the work. which Is progressing rapidly to-
ward completion. gangs of men working
on 1t night and day. The line Of work 10
lighted at night by arc lights that are so
arranged as to be movable from point to
point as they are needed by the workmen
on the night work
1t Is stated the railway company has In
contemplation the filing in of that part of
the swamp through which Grayelly run runs
from the new tracks to the Alexandria and
Washington pike as a precautionary meas
ure. 1t being feared that the new roadbed
might be carried away by a freshet as
was the old railway tracks in freshet a
n do ic it No
necessary to divert the course Of the run
into the Potomac above the new highway
bridge. An immense amount Of work is
also being done to prepare for the location
OF the new car yards and round houses in
Alexandria county south of Four Mile run
The level of large area Of territory has
been raised twenty or thirty feet, and in
Vulnerable tracks for the storage of cars
and making up of trains are now being
laid. 1t Is stated that much of that kind
of work which Is now done In this civ
will be transferred to the new yard when
1t Is completed
Lines Accommodated.
The Washington Southern, Southern. Chess
apeake and Ohio. Seaboard Air Line and
Norfolk and Western railroads will all use
the track now building as far as Alexan-
drta, but from that city some OF the trains
will take the Southern road to Charlottes-
vile or Orange. where they go upon their
own tracks. and the others will continue
over the Washington Southern to Rich
mond and the south. The cost Of these
great undertakings is known only to the
railway officials. and they have not made
them public. 1t Is certainly many millions
OF dollars. for the undertaking Is practically
the building of new double track from
Washington to Richmond, something over
a hundred miles. When the new road Is
completed and in service 1t Is stated the
railway officials expect to greatly shorten
the time between the two cities, and Will
add number Of trains to the schedule now
in use IL the travel demands It,
AS stated. it is expected the road will
be completed and In service from Washing
ton to Richmond some time In the coming
month. and when the work Is done the
engineers who have it in charge will take
a breathing spell before attacking some
other big problem in railway construction.