The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1905-12-21
Bethel Granite Railroad Will
Be Completed in Spring
AND IS NOW BEING USED
Modelled After Barre Railroad With
Switchback- Runs to Quarries Of E.
B. Ellis Co. and Woodbury.
Granite Company.

Bethel, Dec. 2l.--A railroad outlet
for the Bethel white granite quarries
has been effected. While the road has
not been all ballasted nor all the spurs
At the quarries laid, it IS practically
completed In the spring the compile
lion Of ballasting will take place.
Z In the latter part Of the previous cen
fury Mr.. f. B. Ellis, granite dealer
from Maine, located at Northdeld.
About Is years ago he made ex2lora-
tions Of the local hills for granite.
AT Bethel be got trace Of the white
granite thta had only been locally used
tho the New York state Capitol Conn
mission investigated the stone and
thought ii could not be found in suili-
Gent quantities, 80 reported unfayorab-
~. Neyrthcless the granite was aroused
later by Mr.. Ellis from its Graded
slumbers for the Washington terminal
now under construction.
The Woodbury. Granite Co., later
tracked the stone and obtained a tract
Of land containing t. Strange As il
may appear all the granite lands are
now owned by these two companies,
the Ellis company possessing 100 acres
and the Woodbury. company 30 acres.
The former company have at the pres
eut about 1870 men regularly at work
on their Job, while the latter company
have about 40.
So promising were the quarries, q
$4,000 railroad was demanded.
A survey was made BY Assistant
Chief Engineer Robert H. Ford of the
&c. v. K. r., assisted BY Norwich uni-
versity men, viz, Lieut.. Allen r. Will
Jams, G. T., +. ". Dennison, G. f., and
Major NJ. Andrews Id the fall Of 1908.
The permanent location was made
July. 1904 and work begun BY Ross
& McIsea OF Strattroy, Ont, as con-
tractors, April rs, 1905, and ended by
them Nov. IS, 1906 The road runs
from the main line 81 the C n. RI r.,
at this village and aseends the hillsides
in about 5 miles 700 feet. The extraor-
binary grade Of 3ia per cent Of 1s5 feet
to the mile, il this surface line. Align
ment without adverse grades was sac
ri6ced for power, consequently any Of
the large mogui engines Of the G. Y.
can climb the road that is literally
tackled into the hills Thus it affords
a noticeable saving IN operation as Also
in equipment.
The original scheme Of making it q
model Of its kind has been realized. It's
curvature is 22s degrees to the miIe
with its sharpest curve Of degrees.
Compared with the Barre and Hard
wick mountain roads, which are 5 to
per cent and pei. cent grades respec-
| lively. ii nrpportionately obtains the
same height It is switch-back IN
form. The switch back Is 2o6 feet above
the local station and 200 feet above the
main line ia the town Of Royalton. IT.
length IS designed to hold II cars and
an engine
II viii later be equipped with a mod
ern derailing switch to throw runaway
cars and engine, if there be any, of the
line.
The road crosses the highway at fou
places crosses no stream Of any size
has one bridge 100 feet long and DC
feet high over brook and ravine. 4
culvert 1876 by 7 by AZ feet; there !:
one fill over this culvert Of about $4,000
cubic yards and, in al flls about so,
900 cubic yards Of earth; 10000 cubic
yards Of rock are used. Through i
swamp Of POO feet grillage has been laid
For the land privilege the railroad
lpaid 100000. The first train to hau
granite over the road from SWAMP
station was on Now 16, when two car
loads Of granite was moved. A specia
train of eight cars ran from same point
three days later. while the first through
train from the quarries was last week
Though known to the world as tht
Bethel Granite f. r., II is fostered b.
officials Of the c. v. r. r.