The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-05-24

BUILDING IN
BALDWIN 60.
DAVID HOLT, IN MOBILE REGIS
TER, TELLS WHAT HENRY
M'LAUGHLIN is DOING IN
BUILDING THE PENSACOLA
SOUTHWESTERN.

!
of new railroads for Baldwin county.
The final survey of Henry McLaugh-
Inns road, the Pensacola, Mobile and
New Orleans, was completed today
by L. G. Wilkinson, chief of cOnstruc-
ton, and now it's TERMINUS, insofar as
| it goes in this county, is definitely
known. 1t will stop at Bay Minette-
not the city set upon a hill, which
cannot be hid, but the bay, down on
| the gulf level, from which this city
| transported its name sixteen miles
| inland.
The Pensacola, Mobile and New Or
| leans is not paper railroad, and its
Baldwin terminus, near Park City, is
something more than a geographical
| idea. Thirty miles of the line has
been graded, and the graders are now
| at work within three miles of the
Bay Minette and Fort Morgan branch
of the Louisville and Nashville rail-
| road.
How do you know this to be
fact?" l asked my informant.
81 seen it, l tell you; seen it with
my own eyes" That settles the
| question, for he is one honest man
and knows what he seen when he
seen it.
building it's bridge across the Perdi-
do river, using creosoted piling and
other material of like substantial
character. How soon the waters
which separate Baldwin from Mobile
| will be bridged could not be learned.
Ferries will be used until these
bridges are built, just as the Louis
vile and Nashville used to transport
passengers and freight from its ter
minals on Tensaw river, before its
bridges were constructed. The piling
of the old docks where the steam
transports landed can still be seen
near the point where the L. & n.
crosses the Tensaw.
The Pensacola, Mobile and New
Orleans railroad bridges the Perdt-
do river a short distance north OF
the mouth Of the river Styx, in order
that Charon's Ferry may not be re
quired. 1t follows the second bot
tom of the Stygian river in north
westerly direction to a point near
the intersection of the north line of
township south and the east line
of range 4 east; thence east, cross
ing the Bay Minette and Fort Nor
gan branch about one mile north OIL
LOxley Station and near the station
of Wetzel, or Peadro, as the postof-
flee is called. The road then descends
to Fish river, which stream it crosses
at point none mile north of the
Dolive bridge on the old military
road which tradition says Andrew
Jackson built to connect Mobile and
Pensacola. The route then deviates
, v othe southwark one half mile and
along Fish river, thence follows Tur
key creek, Kiwassa branch and Do
live creek to Minette bay.
With the exception of two ridges,
the most severe of which is the
: cOunty's watershed, along which runs
, the Bay Minette and Fort Morgan
: branch, the new line follows the wa
ter courses. The heaviest grade to
) be overcome is about eighty feet.
Superintendent Wilkinson says that
there are no difficult engineering
: problems to be solved. nor great
t drawback to be encountered. The
grades and curves are not such as
t to prevent the running of first, class
freight and passenger trains without
/ excessive risk or cost.
l The Pine Knot Burners.
, There are enough pine knots along
: the line to furnish fuel for years to
= come. The Bay Minette branch of
! the l.. & n. still burns pine knots,
and the engines, with their bell top
ped tunnels, seem to relish them, and
} cough for more. Using this fuel
5 serves many good purposes. 1t en-.
l ables the road to save expense and
= 1t helps to clear the land of pine
: knots and Stumps. while distributing
! money through the fuel CATERERS.
: Let not the anthracite sheer at the
; humble pine knot.
t After entering Florida the Pensa-
, cola, Mobile and New Orleans rail
road connects with the Pensacola,
Alabama and Tennessee railroad. a
, Mclaughlin line now successfully
operated as a common carrier be
tween Muscogee and Pensacola, and
enters the Florida seaport over that
/ road.
The territory traversed by this new
railroad IS developing rapidly. It
Will run right through the property Of
the Alabama Sumatra and Havana
Tobacco Company, which has been
5 one of the liyeIiest centers OF really
} | speculation in the county for a year
or two. The road does not touch a
single village or town of any size
teXcept PensacOla) and its stations
and stopping places, which may
some day be famous, are not even
; named yet, nor do they even appear
as specks on the new maps. They
are yet to be created from the
ground floor" up.
AS the Pensacola end of the line
will be completed before the Mobile
end is, in operation it is possible
that the merchants Of the Florida
! seaport will get the bulge on those
of Mobile in the pursuit of this fast
growing trade; though Mobile learned
long time ago that Baldwin coun.
ty is something more than an at
tractive Eastern Shore summer re
sort.
Pensacola and Southwestern.
Another railroad project in which
Henry Mclaughlin is interested is
the Pensacola and Southwestern.
which filed articles CT incorporation