The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1910-09-21
HOW THE CL|NCHF|ELD RAILROAD
CROSSES four MOUNTAIN RANGES


field railroad with the South Carolina
Chambers of Commerce excursion
party, prepared the following story
which apeared in Sundays Columbia
State:
The globe OH which we now live
was once red-hot ball of molten
material. 1t has cooled off consid-
erably, but the cooling process is not
yet completed for down towards its
centre our planet is Still hot beyond
conception. The increasing tempera-
ture Of deep mines, the geysers and
volcanoes and the records writ in
the rocks tell us this. However, as
result of the gradual cooling of its
outer crust contraction took place
and the portions that sank became
the bottows of the seas and lakes of
our age while the prOtruding portions
are the hills and mountains of today.
Two Of these primary ridges have
been named by geographers the Blue
Ridge and the Cumberland mountains
of the Appalachian system or group
of mountains. They extend from
notheast to southwest and as con
sequence the general trend of the
streams in this section of the world
Is through the valleys lying between
the ridges. Heretofore all railroad
construction has followed the line of
lest obstruction and parallelcd the
direction, or course, of these noun
tains. TO shorten the distance for
traffic between the costal plains Of
the Southwest and the transmontane
Ohio river valley was dream OF
many statesmen. Calhoun had the
vision; SO had Hayne, but his hopes
mel above Walhalla.
1t remained for the organizers and
engineers of the Clinchiield route to
successfully complete the mighty task
of crossing four ranges of mountains
i'm their widest part going over anG
through them at right angles and
thus build an enduring highway for
commerce. of uniformly low grade.
24O miles i'm length. completed at
present from Dante, Va. to spartan
burg. This result was brought
about by a combination of engineer
ing talent. stuprndous monetary out
lay and faith in the future. But given
these requisites there yet remained
the need of another and that was the
need of Moses to guide the way tC
the promised land. Geo. l.. Carter
of Tennessee cssayed the role and
right wei! has he filled it, The prime
today is initiative Carter has il to
spare. Next to it comes ability to
wisely cnoose your licutcnants and
to know NJ. j. Caplcs. general m:u-
ager; j. J. Campion. traffic manager:
X. II. Brewer, Industrial agent, and
Theo. Dehon, Jr., division passenger
agent, Of the present Carolina,
Clmchield & Ohio organization is to
be aware that he has this gift also
Keeping his eye on both goals he
led his surveyors over the trail that
Daniel Boone and Sewer biaaed when
they came to help our own Williams
annihilate Ferguson and the British
at Kings Mountain. Where the Ten
nessee pathfinder crossed the Toe
river Is now "Boonsford' station ON
modern and model railroad. The
Daughters Of the Revolution have
also marked the trail with artistic
monuments to be seen at intervals
from your Pullman window After
Boone's day travel over the trail was
very light and the way became over
grown and closed until the Carolina,
Clinchfeld &c Ohio people reopened it,
This they have done i'm n way that
would warrant the assumption of
well their belief in the adagc what's
worth doing at all is worth doing
we'll"
Through River GOrgcS.
As the construction Of this road
proceeded from north towards the
south most of the descriptive litcra
tnre so far put out supposes. that the
traveller Is making his way in the
same direction, but as most OF us
would approach this modern marvel
from It's southern end. we Will Il. this
account travel up from the cOmpar-
ative lowlands of South Caroline. 90
over the summit of the Blue Ridge
at Alta Pass, N. c.. journey down the
banks of the Toe river or that state;