The Baltimore and Ohio rail-road is intended to connect the city of Baltimore with some point on the Ohio, thus affording a communication between the waters of Chesapeak bay and those of the great western river. Active operations on this great work were commenced in the autumn of 1828. The road begins at the head of the basin in Baltimore. In the city it consists of a single track, and is to be confined to horse power, branch railways are to be constructed in various directions. On the portion of the rail-road within a few miles of the city, several magnificent viaducts are constructed, of substantial stone masonry. The Carrollton viaduct, over Gwyn’s falls, is constructed of granite; its whole exterior is hewn, it consists of two arches, and is three hundred and twelve feet in length. Its height, from the foundation to the top of the parapet, is sixty-three feet nine inches; from the surface of the water to the top of the parapet, fifty-one feet and nine inches. The width of the railway travelling-path istwenty-six feet six inches; the chord of the arch springing from the abutments, eighty feet three inches. It is a structure of great beauty and solidity. The bridge across the Patapsco is a stone structure, consisting of two arches of fifty-five feet span each, and two of twenty feet span each. There are also several deep cuts and extensive embankments.
Carrollton Viaduct.
Upon the route selected for this rail-road, there are only two summits for the distance of one hundred and eighty miles. The approach to the first of these summits, at Parr Spring ridge, is by an acclivity so gradual as not to exceed eighteen feet to the mile. From the western side of this ridge, to the coal mines near Cumberland, the route for the whole distance is adapted to steam locomotive engines. From the eastern base of the Alleghany mountain, a series of inclined planes will be required to overcome a summit of twelve hundred feet; from thence the road may be constructed upon a line so nearly level to the Ohio river, as to be traversed by steam locomotive engines without difficulty. The progress of the rail-road beyond the Point of Rocks has been interrupted by a lawsuit between the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-road company, and the Chesapeak and Ohio Canal company, which has been decided in favor of the latter. The road is to be extended to the mouth of the Shenandoah. A further extension of thirty miles will carry it to Williamsport, and another of seventy-five miles to Cumberland, and a country abounding in rich bituminous coal. From this point to Pittsburg, the distance is one hundred and forty miles,making the whole length three hundred and twenty-five miles.[76]
The Baltimore and Washington rail-road is a branch of the Baltimore and Ohio rail-road, and its completion has been undertaken by the same company. Its length from the point of intersection, at Elk ridge landing to Washington, is about thirty-three miles.
The Manchester rail-road is in Chesterfield county, Virginia. It extends from Manchester to the coal mines. It consists of a single track, and is thirteen miles in length.The Petersburg and Roanoke rail-road was undertaken to counteract the injurious effect which the Dismal Swamp canal has had upon the trade of Petersburg.[77] It affords a rapid and easy intercourse between the James and Roanoke rivers, and has become a most important link in the chain of communication between the North andthe South. Rail-roads have also been projected from Richmond to Lynchburg; from Lynchburg to New River; from Suffolk, in Nansemond county, to the Roanoke river, opposite to the town of Weldon, in North Carolina; and in several other directions.
The Fayetteville rail-road company was incorporated by the legislature of North Carolina, in 1830, with a capital stock of twenty thousand dollars, for the purpose of constructing a rail-road from Fayetteville to Campbelltown, on Cape Fear river. Rail-roads from Cape Fear to the Yadkin; from the Yadkin to the Catawba; and from Wilmington to the iron mining districts, near Statesville, have been projected, and are in progress.
The Charleston and Hamburg rail-road, extending one hundred and thirty-six miles, from Charleston, South Carolina, to Hamburg, opposite Augusta, in Georgia, was opened in October, 1833, for its entire length. The passenger train leaves each place every morning, and arrives on the evening of the day of departure. This enterprise was undertaken by the South Carolina Canal and Rail-road company, which has received pecuniary assistance from the state. A second rail-road of about the same length, to extend from Charleston to Columbia, is also embraced within the objects of this company.
Companies have been incorporated by the legislature of Alabama, to construct a rail-road from Montgomery to Chattahoochie, opposite Columbus, in Georgia; and from Selma, on the Alabama, through Elyta and Montevallo, to Decatur, on the Tennessee. Rail-roads have also been projected between Augusta and Heshman’s lake, a distance of fifty miles; and between Augusta and Columbus, on the Chattahoochie.
The Lexington and Ohio rail-road was commenced in 1831; it is to extend from Lexington to Frankfort, and thence to the Ohio river, just below the falls, near Shippingport, which is two miles distant from Louisville. Its length is about eighty miles. The company by which it was undertaken was incorporated by the legislature of Kentucky in 1830, with a capital stock of one million dollars. Mad River and Lake Erie rail-road is to commence at Dayton, at the head of the Miami canal, and extend to Sandusky, on lake Erie, thus, by means of the canal and rail-road, opening a communication between Cincinnati and the lake. The distance is about one hundred and seventy-five miles.