Daily Arizona silver belt., 1909-04-25
LEAPS FROM MOUNTAIN TOP TO MOUNTAIN TOP OR BoREs
 THROUGH RANGES.
TRAVERsEs A RICH SECTION
FOR SIXTY MILES, BEFORE COAL FIELD ls REACHED, MAN
 sEEMs UNKNOWN.

of the Allegheny mountains to the sea at Norfolk, and the Henry II. Rogers party, which arrived here following its first inspection, declares that there is no other railroad east of the Rockies with it's unique construction features or 8 costlier mileage from the foothills on the east, to this city, it's western term. mus. It is the mountain division of the new road which marks it as wonder ful engineering feat. For l25 miles the Virginian fairly leaps from noun tain top to mountain top. More than a score of viaducts span the valleys and golges, and more than two score tun- nels have been bored through the noun tans to give running start, it seems, for the bridges beyond.
 All this expensive and difficult con. struction had for it's object low grades. Low grades mean cheaper movement of coal from the mines to the seaboard, and the railroad which can haul coal cheaper than it's competitor can earn the most money.
 From Norfolk to Allegheny Summit the low grade is maintained. This is distance of nearly 300 miles. Between these two points two tenths of one per cent grade has been allowed as a maximum. As compared with some other coal carrying roads, this is no grade at all. To the eye of the unini- tiated there appears to De no undulation whatever in the roadbed. St seems as level as floor.
 From the Summit, however, westward it has been impossible to maintain this low grade. One-half of l per cent is common, and even six-tenths of l per cent has been found necessary by the road builders to cross from the valley of the Roanoke river on the east to the valley of the New river on the west. But even six-tenths of 1 per cent in grad means only rise of three-ffths of foot in each 100 feet. Three per cent grades are common in mountain railroads.
 A new country is opened up by the yirginian. A section as great in area as the average eastern state has been given it's first railroad, and now be- comes tributary to the markets of the world Over the whole of this the Rogers party has just travelled in its special train, and the "master builder has seen for the first time with his own eyes the splendid resources which his railroad property is now prepared to develop.
 Going west from Norfolk, the road soon leaves the older section of Tide water Virginia and penetrates what has heretofore been an inaccessible section of Southern Virginia. Ten counties are trayersed between Norfolk and Roa- noke. One of these has never before had railroad, and a number of the others have only branches of the trunk lines passing through remote sections.
 Thousands of acres of virgin timber lands, where there are millions of feet of pine, oak and gum, stand ready for milling. Already the lumbermen are in the field Along then new road mill plants are being installed, and in some places they are actually at work. It will require years to exhaust this tim ber Probably dozen tram roads are being built from the main line of the Virginian into the interior.
 Beyond Roanoke tine road enters a territory as beautiful as any in the App palaehian system. After the first range of the Blue Ridge is crossed the line dips again into the New river valley, and follows its tortuous course for twenty miles. It is built under the overhanging cliffs of the New river pal isades, and in many places roadbed is carved into theh granite sides of the perpendicular walls of stone.
 For most of this distance the Vir- ginian parallels tho Norfolk & West ern railway. The latter road is on the opposite side of muddy stream. As tho line runs down the river shore, how ever, it crosses the river at an altitude of about 2S0 feet. This bridge Is the mosth expensive on the road. It rests on four solid concrete piers, l20 feet from their base, and these are said to be the greatest pieces of concrete con struction in the world.
 Here the Virginian plunges into mountains again. Over viaducts and through tunnels it works 1t way from mountain crest to mountain crest. Where it has been possible to choke uP n gorge the engineers have dumped earth and stone from the wide cuts and tunnels, but where. this was imprac. tieable, steel viaducts were thrown across the abysses.
 It is a picturesque road, all the way from the New river on one side to the Kanawah river on the other. Prince. ton, country village, has been chosen as the assemblying yard, for the coal movement to the east This town is