The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-14

1adega and Birmingham, which is under construction and which President Atkln-
 son expects to have In operation not | later than September 1.
 The opening of the Atlanta, Birming- ham and Atlantic railroad Is noteworthy for two reasons; First, because 1t Is the 1 first new system entering Atlanta in l 15 years: that Is, It Is the first railroad 1 actually built into the railroad center
 of the south In that length of time, and second, 1t marks the practical completion
 of the largest new system in the south 1 during the present generation.
 Entirely New Construction. The Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic
 is of importance primarily because 1t Is
 an addition to railroad mileage, being en- urely new construction and not con-
 solidation of several lines already con- structed, and because 1t is a new aul l direct route from the coal and iron fields
 ct Alabama, the fertile farming belt of 1 North Central Georgia and the valuable 1 lumber lands of South Georgia to tho 1 Atlantic ocean, where 1t will connee. with the recently established steamship l system known as the Brunswick Steam 1 ship company, of which MT, Atkinson
 Is also president, and which gives two
 sailings week to and from Brunswick
 to New York and eastern ports.
 In the beginning there were two direct 1 lines chartered from Brunswick to Blr-
 'ningham-the Brunswick and Blrmlng l nam and the Atlantic and Birmingham. l The first was built some 95 miles when i Ii was absorbed by the latter. This road
 mad started with little lumber road l called the Waycross Air Line. On ar
 ranging for the merger the charter and
 rame were changed and the line extended | Co 1affa af= ni1af cfa was made in construction on account of
 financial difficulties
 In the meantime MT. Atkinson, who was largely interested in lumber indus tries in South Georgia, had acquired the Triton, Thomasville and Gulf railway, little road which he used in connection with his lumber business. He realized tLat a modern railroad pitched on much broader scale would be a good invest ment and of great importance to a larger development of the naturally rich re- sources of Georgia and the south. He was. therefore in a receptive mood when approached by those engaged in con- ! structing the Atlantic and Birmingham. lie consented to take up the work and from that day the success of thes project was assured on account of the powerful financial connections possessed by MT. Al ilinson.
 The original plan to simply connect Birmingham and Brunswick was depart ed from, a line to Atlanta was planned, and on account of the great personal pride he takes in his home town the charter of the road was amended, the name changed and the system became the At lanta, Birmingham and Atlantic railroad. incorporated under Georgia laws and with it's main offices in the state.
 All of the then existing mileage has been rebuilt. the old rail replaced by S0-pound | that the road is equipped with a siding ! mile in length every four and a half miles. Only the highest class construction has been undertaken All of the bridges are of steel, all cuts have 20-feet base, and in each the slope is one foot to one foot. The fills. originally IA feet wide, are widened to IS feet after track laying. The maximum grade at each end of the sidings is one-half of 1 per cent for a quarter of a mile. On the entire system no grades exceed a maximum of 1 per cent and per cent compensated curves. All work is of permanent character. The bridges consist of concrete reinforced with steel. All pIers and abutments are built of concrete the mixtures being T, 3, 5, and wherever possible concrete culverts have been used. Some small drains have cast iron pipes. Where pilpg has been required, owing to local condi-
 tions, cypress has been used. Some definite idea of the magnitude of the
 work may be had from the fact that some
 miles required 100000 yards of grading; enc mile cost $2sOO,000, and several miles cost from s15O,00O to s1S5,0O0 per mile. As to equipment the road has wa ter tank every 15 miles, tenders being operated with 30mile capacity The tanks are built of wood on concrete foundations and are of large capacity. The pumping stations are of sufficient size to provide for any traffic handled. A substantial standard depot of neat appear trance has been built in towns where freight and passenger depots are combined. The design is used in both brick and concrete. All buildings are covered with Ludewici tiling, making them permanent and flreproof.
 Two Types of Engines.
 Only two types of mainline engines have been bought, one with cylinder" 19x26, and the other with 21x2S cylin- ders; both have 62-inch /ivers, anl are intended for both freight and pas senger service. The car equipment in the freight department is very exten sive, being necessary on account of the enormous tonnage in heavy mater>ls from the Birmingham district and the reception of large shipments at the terminals in Brunswick. The passenger equipment is uneXcelled by any rail- road in this or any other country. The coach es are electric lighted, handsome ly uph olstered, have all modern ap- pliances for comfort and safety, aad in the summer months are made com fortab ble by overhead electric fans and automatically worked window sash es. The cars are painted a rich Tuscan red. All passenger trains are solid vesti
 bule.
 At Brunswick the company has pro- vided shop facilities and much of it's equipment is kept there, although the general shops are located at Fitzgerald, Ga. Brunswick has recently come into prominence as a South Atlantic port because of the organization by many of those interested in the A. B. & A. railroad of the Brunswick Steamship company. This company, while serving impartially all railroads entering Brunswick, was brought into being to make possible the larger undertaking as planned. The officials of the steam ship line have recently purchased and