Crossville chronicle. [volume] (Crossville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1922-02-22
RUMORS OF NEW RAILROAD
COMING To CROSSV|llE
Line From Chattanooga to Louisville,
Kentucky; VIII Tap Big
Coal and Timber section.

{ Last week +. NJ. John, engineer for
\. l.. James, Chattanooga, was in this
section spying out a line from Cross
vile to Devil Step Hollow and on to
Chattanooga, which means a through
line between Chattanooga and Louis
vile, Ky, in the event proposed plans
are carried out.
! A. J. Mcclure was plotting Mr..
John and showed him a very easy
line from Crossville to the big timber
property of the Pierpont-P Paxton Co..
at Devil Step Hollow. where this comp
any claims to have IS to 20 million
feet of splendid timber, which thew
wish to put on the market at an early
date.
L. f. James, of Chattanooga, is one
OF the main movers in the project and
the plan now is to extend his ra,t-
road that runs up Signal mountain
north along the brow of Waldens
Ridge to the Devil Step Hollow tim
Der property and then on to Cross.
vile.
A few months ago the Pierpont- Pax
ton Company had line of railroad
surveyed from Crossville to their
property at Devil Step Hollow, some
nine miles southeast of Crossville,
and also from point on the Tennes-
see Central two miles west of Crab
Orchard. The last survey, it was said
would be completed in preference to
the Crossville route because certain
people in Crossville, through whose
property the road would run when
built, demanded more for the right
of-way than the Pierpont-Paxton Co.
felt disposed to pay. Up to this time
no work has been don con either sur
vey.
After looking over the line from
Crossville to Devil Step Hollow with
Mr.. Mcclure, Mr.. John expressed him
self much pleased with the grades he
found it possible to secure and re-
turned to Chattanooga Saturday. A
few days previous to coming here Mr..
John had gone over the route from
Signal Mountain to Devil Step Hollow
following the brow Of Waldens Ridge
and found very easy line to the
big timber property from that end.
1t can be readily seen that such line
would be of great value to the Pier
pont Paxton company because 1t
would give them an outlet south.
north and east, thus placing them in a
very advantageous position for ship
ping their lumber. 1t is also known
that there are very excellent deposits
of coal on the Paxton property that
the company contemplates developing
along with their timber proposition,
provided the railroad facilities can be
provided
On to Louisville.
But to the people of Cumberland
county the extension of this line to
Louisville KY. as planned, promises
most For some time it has been
rumored that the G. +. Sterns Lumber
Company, with headquarters at Sterns
Ky, have been DESTROYS of joining
with the Tennessee Central to COM
pete line from Maryland TO Sterns,
a distance of around 60 miles. but be-
cause the T. c. was in the hands of
receivers nothing could be done Now
that the T. G. has been sold and new
people are in charge, who seem able
to raise money. for extension of the
! ~, tlClC Is lIOlc CuGOuI dSCIlfGHl
felt as to the building of the Sterns
branch. Should this branch be built,
it is we'll understood that the line
will be extended to Louisville for by
so doing the line would pass through
a region rich in coal, timber and oil
and at the same time pass through
eight counties in Kentucky that
this time have no railroad at all,
These counties arc also good agr-
cultural sections. The Sterns comp
any is known to have many thousand
acres of land containing timber and
coal and oil along the proposed line
of road. All in all such line would
traverse region of unusual richness
and open a country that has at this
time either no outlets or outlets that
are entirely inadequate to its needs
The building of such a railroad
would prove a marvellous thing for
this county in the way of developing.
our timebr and coal resources aud at
the same time would be a great stimu-
lus to homeseekers in settling the
many thousand acres of undeveioped
and that presents such splendid op-
portunities to farmers.