The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-05-25
FROM RICHMOND
TO ARANNOCK
Continued From First Pape)


vice president and general mayer;
Robert b. Campbell, secretary and
treasurer. and Oscar Parrish, assistant
secretary and treasurer.
The company got in shape for bust
ness only last fall, the financial ar
engagements being then completed. and
that without watering any stock or
making any bond issues or calling on
any counties or townships for sub
scriptions. II was then In shape TO do
business on strictly cash basis Bids
were asked from contractors TO build
the road. Owing to the remoteness of
the main part of the work from rail
way facilities and the consequent heavy
cost of getting the necessary operating
plants TO the work, the contractors
made bids that the company thought
were eXorbitaut. and so il was deter
mined 10 do It's own building indepen-
dent of contractors. The results so FAR
show that that was a wise decision.
All OF these things came to 4 head
about the first OF last November and
then the winter months. when railroad
building at best must he very slow,
being at hand. there was bat little
done. except TO get ready, until March
Of this year. In the meantime the
company had invested in the necessary
plant TO do its own work, such as
steam shovels. locomotives to pull ma :
terial and building trains. drag and
wheel scrapcrs, mules TO pull them.
camp equipments and all manner OF
tools. pile drivers and other implements
required for active and vigorous rail
road building of any and all kinds
All of this equipment. with Il proper
force OF foremen and laborers, was put
to work March / under the general SUI
H.
by the LIST of April there was general
firing" all along the line from Rich
mond to Rock Castle, on the Pamun-
key River eighteen miles from Rich
mond.
On Historic Ground.
took a buggy ride over the work
ing lines last week and saw decided
activity all along from the Chicka
hominy River. OH the border of Hen
rico and Hanover Counties. through the
battlefelds Of Gaines's Mill and Cold
Harbor. on by Old Church and down
into the rich valley of the Pamunkey
River. 1t is the intention of the com
pany to have the road completed to
the Pamunkey River and the trains
running on the same on a more or less
regular schedule by the 1st of jan
nary next.
That they are not reckoning with
out their host was evident to me from
the vigorous work | saw going on
over space OF ten miles or more,
where men and mule forces are busy
from sunrise to sunset. and where the
steam shovel and locomotive forces are
working day and night, there being
night shifts and day shifts of men to
keep, the rapid working machinery go
ing twenty-four hours In the day.
At the Chickahominy River a large
force OF bridge builders is at work
driving piles and building the super
structure of the bridge to cross that
stream and getting out the tlmbers for
other bridges to cross smaller streams.
From there on to the Pamunkey
there are three campS of workmen en-
gagged in the grading work. On this
work over 90 men and as many mules
are being kept busy. and l saw them
making the first breaks that have ever
been made through some of the old
breastworks that protected General
Lees men from the bullets of Grants
men at Gaines's Mill. and pulling down
for the frA time the earthworks
thrown up at Cold Harbor by General
Grants engineers to enable him to find
protection from General Stuarts al
ways-to- beIeXpected assaults from the
rear. also saw the workmen build
ing fills and making cuts near Old
Church. where the immortal Latane