The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1909-05-18
c., C. B. O. COSTLY ROAD.
Mr.. Kohn Writes About Geo. L. Car
| ter's Railway.-Rapid Progress
Being Made.


the very kind invitation Of John B.
Cleveland to go over the line OF the
Carolina, Clinchfield & Ohio rail
road. This is railroad commonly
, known as the Clinchfeld road. 1t Is
in a word. line for the present IN
\tended to connect the coal fields III
t1he Southwest with the industrial
}South. Later on it may find its way
into the lake region.
] It is no new scheme. Away back
in the pioneer days of railroad cor
struction they were figuring OH just
such a road, but because Of the ire
mendous cost and the difficulties Of
crossing the Blue Ridge mountains
it was not built. Years ago a pro-
moter named Johnson came along.
He raised money with bonds in York
and Ltncaster counties Of this ST.;
and along his proposed lire. lie - /
the money and started the construc-
ton from both ends. The old Three
C's road in this State was the south
ern or eastern end of the line. and
the western end was built from john
City to Spruce Pine, and there it
stopped. The eastern line went to
Marion City, n. C. The linke between
Marion City, n. c., and Spruce Pine
was that which meant boring and
grinding through the mountains.
johnson failed. The old Three C's
was drug on the railroad market.
h The eastern end to Marion, n. G.,
&was bought and is cared for by the
Southern railway, and the western
line, as poorly built, but running
through mountains, was bought by a
Young man named George L. Carter,
and it is out Of this little road that
the Clinchfeld has evolved. Mr.. Car
ter has succeeded in associating men
of recognized ability. He brought the
vast possibilities of the line to the
attention of capitalists, and among
the men closely identified with the
undertaking are Mark ". Potter,
chairman of the executive commit
tee, and Norman B. Ream, the dis
tinguished Chicago attorney.
The basic idea in the construction
on1 deve]onment of the CEnchfeld
railroad appears to be to get the
best, regardless of expense; it is the
cheapest in the end. That is the
watchword all along the line. They
have the best of construction, the
best Of roadbed, the best of rail, the
best of coal cars, the best of loco
motives and they evidently expect to
continue this policy.
It is a road for the>present Of only
2S8 miles, but the cost has been
amazing. The old line was changed
and rebuilt, and in the new construc-
ton the central idea appears to be to
do it so we'll at first that it will not
have to be done over again. MI.
Cleveland and I rode from Spartan
burg to Bostic-31 miles-in a bug
gv. and we saw one piece after anoth-
| er Of superb railroad construction,
bone beautiful concrete culvert after
another, one great "fll" after an
other. and no trestles nor contem-
nlated trestles. Here is road run
ming through a most mountainous
section of the Carolinas and no tres
ties. The trestles have all been dis
carded and there are to be iron and
steel bridges and fills" with cement
eulverts. At Marion, n. c., they have
a. fill 95 feet high and a culvert un-
der it large enough for six-horse
team to drive throughput this IS
typical. But the enormous expendl-
tura per mile has been on the line
from Marion, n. c., to Spruce Pine,
or to he more exact, across the Blue
Ridge. It is y miles from Marion
to Alta Pass-at Alta Pass the noun
1ains have been pierced, but the rail.
road mileage is 32 miles, because OF
the loops and convolutions that are
necessary to secure the minimum
grades. Not only did the engineers
plan to loop and wind about the
mountain side, ibut they suggested
tunnel after tunnel. In the Is miles
of mountain climbing there are II
tunnels to abbreviate the grades and
when at last YOU are at Alta Pass
1920 feet above sea level, you hardly
know that YOU have climbed noun
tain. except for the sight OF the
,nounta;n. It took the contractors
three long and weary years to pore
these tunnels-miles Of tunnels, but
It was al done to avoid steep grades
and danger. There IS no grade IN