Year: 1871

A small party of gentlemen yesterday made an excursion over the Connecticut Western railroad from this city to Canton, availing themselves of different construc' ton trains. The party ran out over twenty one miles of the road, or to within abou, one mile of Canton Center. For 8 new road it rides remarkably smooth and easy the track being laid generally on heavy ties, with thirty foot rails, connected with the Fish joint, and the joints overlapping instead of being opposite each other. The work of ballastiug and completing the track for regular traffic is being vigorously pushed. and this side of Tariffville is under the charge of Mir. Walter H. Ravens, of this city. The gravel for this portion ot the work is taken from an easily worked bed a short distance beyond Bloomfield Center. At this end of the road connection is made with the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill tracks SO that cars can run into the Asylum street depot. The culvert this side of Edwards street is being built, and the foundations for the company's freight buildings and offices are being laid. A substantial iron bridge is being put up at the Edwards street crossing. Three tracks are being laid on the plateau above Edwards street, for switching, and the round-house is going up and the turn-table being put in. Between this city and Tariffville the line is fine one, the grades being easy and the curves few. There are some sharp curves near the picturesque-rocky gorge at the Tariffville notch. Beyond Tariffville the line is very good to near Canton Center. At the crossing of the Pennington river in Simsbury there is good bridge, and nearly three thousand feet of substantial piling across the flats. Between Hoskins station and Simsbury, on the Canal road, about two miles, the Connecticut Western and Canal tracks run parallel, twenty-five feet apart. At Simsbury station the Western crosses the Canal track. Beyond Tariff vile, about eight miles of the track are we'll ballasted. Gravel is plenty in this locality, and this work has followed rap- idly after trsck-laying.

 The condition of the road may be briefly stated as this :-The track is laid and in good part balasted from MillertOn, the western terminus, to New Hartford. A steam shovel at Winsted loads gravel cars for ballasting each way from tbat point. From this city west. about twenty-two miles of track are laid, and partly ballasted. From Canton to New Hartford about five miles of track are yet to be laid, and this, which will be put down by the early palt of next week, will connect Hartford with the state line by rail. There are no plaus yet for running regular trains, and will not be till after the next meeting of the direc. tors couple of weeks hence. There is some probability that the Hartford Provi dence and Fishkill company will run trains over the road us far as Collinsville next week, but no definite arrangement to this effect has been made. It is suggested also, that,.if the connection is made in season between Canton and New Hartford, a train may run over the road on Wednesday or Thursday next to give opportunity for any who may desire to go from Hartford to the northwestern towns, or come from there here, to 'keep Thanksgiving" to avail themselves of the new road. The depots are not yet built, and the sidings are not constructed. A great deal of work is yet to be done to put the road in fuil order for regular and extensive business, but cars can be run over the whole of it in very few days. Those who travelled over the eastern section of the road yesterday saw evidence that the masonry, bridging and general work upon it are we'll done.-Hart- ford Courdnt