The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-05-18

~portunitieS of II Win 80
er roads here and there along the ilH.o
and very poor indeed were they III
comparison. When it is
| that the order given by the men VINO
finance this wonderful line was tna,
no expense should be spared 10 Set q
grade of one-half of one per cent PEI
mile, that the best Of all the passes
or gaps through the Blue Rloge was
decided upon, known as Mckinney 5
Gap. and that the engineer ana lile
builders followed those orders 70 lns
letter. it viii be seen that the roau
must needs lie without a superior. Ana
thai is true.
Millions count for nothing with the
people who own this road. The Soutn
and Western began the survey years
ago and built to Spruce Pin IN Mitch
ell county, on the north side OF the
Blue Ridge, and some work was also
done on this side. Then the q. =.
and O.. took over the South and Yves
tern and since that time has itsell
spent t~Wenty-One millions OF dollars
between Bostic and Dante in Virginia
its present northern terminal. II
spends perhaps seven millions more
on the line between Bostic and Spar
tanburg and twice that sum on the
northern extension to Elkhorn. TO TINS
must be added the cost OF the equip
ment of engines, one OF winch WelSlS
$4,000 pounds; passenger n lrelSht
cars and thousands OF steel coal cars.
Really the road is SO massive ana all
the detail OF equipment so fine that
il seems doubly strange to find 1t in
that wild mountain region; SO new
that there are very few stations punt
as yet, but box cars are temporarily III
fashion as stations.
Directly after the train lett Honey
cults tunnel there began to be
r,1or1il NiaN-S of tho OnnOSlta side OIL
the mountains, across a grand gorge
and there could be seen, rising pier
above pier, the railway line, cut and
fill and tunnel, along which we were
soon to pass. In a series OF coaVo-
lutions like the letter S prolonged soy
eral times, literally "looping the
loop" stepping h~eaVenWard, passing
through more than a dozen tunnels in
q few miles and at the Devils Elbow,
q wonderful turn. which has been
named Mt. Mitchell station, getting a
view of that mountain which is un-
eNctlled anywhere; a view which SIM
ply fingers in the memor and is the
realization OF what one would like as
a railway view o. a great mountain
r-ngc
Through tunnel after tunnel once
three in a row. With the blazing sun
light between each and the W~Drklnen
visible in all and beyond all, and then
= bdSIl III IL SliIlllIl JuilIitl.
the Blue Ridge and 50 by Altapass.
the highest village, which is only COM
posed of a section and a store or two
and the dead glories of a once big
construction camp, and then through
Vance tunnel and 50 down the noun
tain. The heights had been won and
SO slight is the grade that While going
uphill we seemed to he going down.
Never was there a more perfect de
ception. 1t ought to be said here
1a u 1nc t6at on h ,tC no ,,oan -nrn
employed a year ago on this division
Of this line, and that some $50 OF them
lost the.r lives in all sorts of ways.
Compressed air was used in boring
the tunnels, which are clean and fine
and tons OF dynamite We're used in
the blasting, even now the reports
ringing through the valleys like a Sa-
lutte from some battery Of great guns.
and one or two of these SaluteS We're
fired for the benefit of the visitors, at
a ~jud!ciouS distance, however, and
their roar and echo and re-echo in
those vast valleys and gorges was like
thunder. The line leading down the
north side Of the mountain towards
the Tennessee was found to be Of
iaultleSS construction and the train
sang like a bird as it swung along
the fine grade, wh.ch as said before
is only One-half of one per cent, COM
pensated. This is for the r OF
allowing heavy trains Of coal ears to
pass southwark and trains Of enor-
nous length are easily handled. The
nOrthbOund line follows the Toe river,
beautiful all the way, q tumblinS tor
rent. with waterfall, gorge and pool
and cavern and r. one canyon
having walls from 1900 to $500 feet
high, almost entirely Of stone, and
this continuing until sta
ton was reached, where Devils creek
marked the boundary between Ten
nessee and North Carolina, the station
thus getting its name. There the
river changed its name to the NOli-
chucky and ones thoughts immedi-
ately reverted to 'Nolichucky Jack"
the pet naIne for that daring explorer,
soldier and S~tate-fOunder, so linked
with North Carolina and the early
history of Tennessee, Sewer. Along
this trail, where the railroad runs,
these people made their way to Kings
Al n1Intain tn ffoht tho pritiCE n,3