Library 
 
 OF THE 
 
 University of NortK Carolina 
 
 This book was presented by the family 
 of the ]ate 
 
 KEMP PiUMMER BATTLE, '49 
 
 President of the University of North Carolina 
 from 1876 to 1891 
 
 00042093698 
 
 Cp3S5.l- 6G5| 
 
 FOR USE ONLY IN 
 THE NORTH CAROLINA COLLECTION 
 
 THIS TITLE HAS BEEN MICROFILMED 
 
REPORT 
 
 OF 
 
 WALTER GWYNN. 
 
 CHIEF ENGINEER 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BLUE RIDGE RAIL ROAD COMPANY, 
 
 IN SOUTH CAROLINA, 
 
 8a k HJteting of % StotMjokrs, 
 
 HELD IN CHARLESTON, 
 
 The 22d November, 1856. 
 
 CHARLESTON: 
 
 STEAM POWER PRESS OF WALKER, EVANS & CO., 
 
 3 BROAD STREET. 
 
 1856. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hil 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/reportofwaltergwOOgwyn 
 
Engineer's Office, Blue Ridge Rail Road, 
 Anderson, November 13, 1856. 
 
 To the President and Directors of the Blue Ridge Rail Road Company, 
 in South Carolina : 
 
 Gentlemen, — I have the honor to report the operations of the 
 Engineer Department since the 17th day of March last, the date of my 
 appointment to the office of Chief Engineer of the Company. 
 
 I deem it proper, before entering upon a recital of the duties to which 
 my attention has been particularly directed, to state at least the general 
 condition of the work, when it was committed to my charge. 
 
 1. The Rail Road. Having for its termini Anderson Court House, in 
 South Carolina, and Knoxville, in Tennessee, known as the " Blue Ridge 
 Rail Road," had been located, and a contract entered into with Messrs. 
 Anson Bangs & Co. " to construct, finish, equip and furnish it." 
 
 2. The Graduation. The Contractors had sub-let the grading and 
 culverts, or square drains, in South Carolina and Georgia; ground had 
 been broken on every contract; some of the square drains had been com- 
 pleted, and some of the light work intervening between the heavy cuts 
 and fills between Anderson and Walhalla had been reduced nearly to 
 grade ; but no portion of the graduation was in a state of preparation 
 for the superstructure, nor had any materials been provided for the su- 
 perstructure, either of iron, chairs, spikes, or cross-ties. 
 
 3. At the very commencement of the Road, and through Anderson, 
 a deep cut, occupying the whole of the past season, with the best ener- 
 gies of the contractor exerted towards its completion, (which has just now 
 been effected,) was in an unfinished state. Four miles from Anderson, a 
 contract, embracing a heavy excavation, including rock, had been dis- 
 continued. 
 
 4. The Masonry. Not a cubic yard of bridge masonry had been laid ; 
 a small quantity of stone had been prepared at Hayne's quarry for the 
 bridge over Twenty-Three Mile Creek, and a few yards delivered ; a 
 quarry, known as Teagues quarry, near the bridge over Twenty-Six Mile 
 Creek, was partially opened, and a few loads of rock, unsuitable for the 
 masonry, was delivered. This comprises all that had been done towards 
 this important portion of the work ; which, from its heavy character, and 
 the necessity of its completion, to make the graduation available, ought, 
 
 
as is customary, and as is the requirement upon every other public work, 
 to have been the first commenced ; or at least, to have proceeded pari 
 passu with the grading. 
 
 The masonry for the bridge over Twenty-Six Mile Creek, the heaviest 
 job on the line, (only six miles from Anderson,) cannot now be comple- 
 ted short of eighteen months, and probably not for two years ; and it 
 may be late next year before any job is completed. 
 
 5. The Tunnels. The approaches of the Saddle and Middle Tunnels, 
 in South Carolina, and Dick's Creek and Warwoman Tunnels, in Georgia, 
 had been commenced, and carried as far as the earth excavation extended ; 
 a very small quantity of rock was taken out. The approach to the east- 
 ern portal of the Stump House Tunnel, in South Carolina, which con- 
 sisted almost wholly of earth, or decomposed rock, had been completed, 
 and the tunnel perforated with an irregular and imperfect section to a 
 distance of 116 7-10 feet. At the western end, the approach had advan- 
 ced 900 feet. This part of the work, also, consisted chiefly of earth and 
 soft rock, and was excavated nearly to grade. The grade was then raised 
 nearly to the level of the crown of the tunnel, and the excavation con- 
 tinued, still chiefly through earth and soft rock, to the portal of the tun- 
 nel. From the portal, the heading of the tunnel was excavated to a 
 distance of about forty feet, and shafts No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 had been sunk 
 89 6-10, 49, 35 and 66 feet respectively, being about the depth of the 
 earth excavation, and the work suspended. 
 
 6. The work done. The work was commenced in the fall of 1853, 
 and continued by Messrs. Bangs & Co. until the 1st of April, 1856 ; the 
 estimates on file in the Engineer's Office show that it amounted, in South 
 Carolina, to 1,902,665 cubic yards of earth, 190,875 cubic yards of rock, 
 4,163 cubic yards of tunnel, and 971 cubic yards of shaft excavation, 
 7,332 cubic perches of culvert masonry, and 120 cubic perches of re- 
 taining Avail ; in Georgia, to 158,253 cubic yards of earth, 86,539 cubic 
 yards of rock, and 6,831 cubic perches of culvert masonry. This esti- 
 mate is now undergoing a revision. The calculations, as far as they have 
 progressed, develope several very material errors, which, if not compen- 
 sated for by counterbalancing errors, will considerably lessen the amounts 
 above. 
 
 7. All the work which has been done by Messrs. Bangs & Co., togeth- 
 er with that remaining to be done, could now be executed as soon as the 
 tunnels and bridges can be finished. Looking, therefore, to the ulti- 
 mate completion of the Rail Road, it is not too much to say, that Messrs. 
 Bangs & Co. have accomplished nothing towards effecting this impor- 
 tant end. Indeed, but for the committal of the Company, through the 
 
 y. 
 
agency of Messrs. Bangs & Co. to their sub-contractors, (whose contracts 
 the company, acting from a high sense of justice, have renewed,) the 
 work of graduation on the greater portion of the road between Seneca 
 River and " Locust Stake," would not now be in progress ; for, with the 
 exception of some of the deep cuts and fills, which alone ought to have 
 been commenced, much of it will be completed long before the tunnels 
 and masonry. The consequence will be an outlay of interest, and the 
 expense of preserving and keeping the road bed in repair, without any 
 return. 
 
 8. In compliance with a requirement of the charter of the Knoxville 
 and Charleston Rail Road Company, to commence the Road in Tennes- 
 see within a given time, the graduation and masonry, under a contract 
 with Messrs. O'Hara & Lamon, had been completed to the Holston River, 
 one mile from the " East Tennessee and Georgia Rail Road." 
 
 9. The repeated orders to the Contractors, on file in this Office, to 
 commence and prosecute the bridge masonry and the tunnels, show that 
 the Board were not unmindful of the importance of the prosecution of 
 these important works, simultaneously with the grading, and the effects 
 of their delay on the success and final completion of the Road. And I 
 may add, the refusal of Messrs. Bangs & Co. to obey the orders of the 
 Board, which were in conformity to usage, and the dictates of common 
 sense, in the order of progression, which requires the heavy work to keep 
 pace with the light, or the light to be checked, by the slower progress of 
 the heavy work ; their pertinacious persistence in this extraordinary 
 course ; and their constant demands upon the Board to throw the whole 
 line open, and spread their partial operations over the comparatively light 
 and unimportant work of graduation, indicates very clearly, if other con- 
 siderations were wanting, that their purposes and designs were foreign 
 from a just sense of their obligations to the Company. For it cannot be 
 supposed that they under-estimated the time required for the execution 
 of works of such acknowledged magnitude, as were already embraced 
 within the compass of their operations in South Carolina and Georgia. 
 
 10. Such, in brief, was the condition of the work, when I took charge 
 of it. A large amount expended in detached and unfinished excavations 
 and embankments, useless, even when finished, without the completion of 
 the bridges and tunnels — towards which, Messrs. Bangs & Co. had made 
 little or no progress, and evinced no disposition or intention to take them 
 in band. 
 
 11. The repeated refusal of Messrs. Bangs & Co. to obey the orders of 
 the Board, heretofore mentioned, which were entirely consistent with the 
 provisions of the contract, so reasonable, so entirely in conformity with 
 
custom and experience, and so obviously proper, as to admit of no cavil, 
 or doubt ; their obstinate perseverance, in defiance of all authority, and 
 obligations of their contract, in doing work that could not be made 
 available, until the bridges and tunnels were completed, together with 
 sundry breaches of various articles of their agreement with the Com- 
 pany, and other delinquencies, led to an abandonment of their contract 
 on the 1st day of April last — a result seemingly sought by the contrac- 
 tors, as the best means of relieving them from a contract, which they 
 could not have carried through without immense loss, and which, from 
 the course pursued, they did not intend to comply with ; but only prose- 
 cute so far as to avail themselves of its possible speculative provisions. 
 
 12. In anticipation of the abandonment of the contract, a measure 
 which I considered justifiable, and provoked by Messrs. Bangs & Co. 
 and called for by the best interests of the Company and the public; on 
 the 29th day of March, I issued the following circular to the sub-con- 
 tractors, viz. : " The sub-contractors of Messrs. Bangs & Co. will call at 
 the Engineer's office, at Anderson, between the 10th and 15th of April, 
 for a renewal, modification, confirmation, or recognition of their contracts 
 by the Blue Ridge Rail Road Company. Until then, they may continue 
 to work ; for which they will be paid by the Blue Ridge Rail Road Com- 
 pany, the same prices that they now receive under their contracts with 
 Messrs. Bangs & Co." 
 
 13. The sub-contractors, in compliance with my call, met at the En- 
 gineer's office at the time appointed, and, with the exception of two who 
 declined, and two to whom a renewal was refused, they renewed their 
 contracts in form and terms the same as their contracts with Messrs. An- 
 son Bangs & Co. 
 
 These contracts called for two classes of materials, viz. : earth and 
 rock ; the rock being taken generally at low prices, had I suppose with 
 a view of relieving the sub-contractors from loss on this item, led to the 
 practice of embracing under this head rock, in a very advanced stage of 
 disintegration, which although in some cases worth more than earth, 
 properly belonged to the earth classification. This practice, guided by 
 no fixed principle, whilst it resulted in an over estimate of rock in many 
 cases, gave rise to much dissatisfaction and an almost constant demand 
 for an increase. In order to obviate the objections to this factitious mode 
 of estimating, I have with the assent of the contractors introduced a third 
 class, under the denomination of "unclassified material," at an interme- 
 diate price between rock and earth, and in a few cases increased the 
 price of rock excavation. This arrangement relieves the estimates of the 
 misnomer hitherto applied ; lessens the amount of rock ; works more 
 
consistently, uniformly, justly, and satisfactorily. Indeed, without a third 
 classification, under my construction, but few of the contracts could be 
 worked, except at a great loss to the contractor. 
 
 14. On the 15th day of May, the bridge masonry and tunnels in South 
 Carolina and Georgia were contracted for, upon proposals invited by ad- 
 vertisements, generally circulated in the newspapers, and scientific 
 journals. 
 
 15. The bridge masonry comprises the abutments and piers of twelve 
 bridges, viz. : the bridge over Twenty-six Mile Creek, one pier, 90 feet 
 in height, abutments 60 feet in height, and length of bridge 300 feet; 
 Twenty-three Mile Creek, abutments 36 feet high, length of bridge, 150 
 feet; Eighteen Mile Creek, abutments 20 feet high, length of bridge 
 150 feet; Seneca River, three piers, 35 feet high, abutments 35 feet 
 high, length of bridge, 600 feet; Caue Creek, abutments 17 feet high, 
 length of bridge, 100 feet ; Village Fork of Chauga, height of abutments, 
 35 feet, length of Bridge, 150 feet; Middle crossing of Whetstone, abut 
 ments 17 feet high, length of bridge, 100 feet; Lower crossing of Whet 
 stone, abutments 13 feet high, length of bridge, 100 feet; Chatuga River, 
 two piers, 92 feet high, abutments, 13 feet high, length, 450 feet ; Lower 
 crossing of the Warwoman Creek, abutments 28 feet high, length of 
 bridge, 60 feet, and the Upper crossing of Warwoman, height of abut- 
 ments, 43 feet, length of bridge, 150 feet. Good stone is found conveni. 
 ent to every site, except for the bridge over Twenty-six Mile Creek. In 
 order to hasten the completion of this work, which involves the largest 
 amount of masonry of any bridge on the line, stone will be drawn from 
 Honea Path, and transported by the Greenville and Columbia Rail Road, 
 17 miles to Anderson, and thence six miles on the Blue Ridge Rail 
 Road, at a cost not exceeding that of three miles of wagonage on a com- 
 mon road. When the rail road reaches Pendleton, it is proposed to ob- 
 tain the rock either at Hayne'sor Warley's quarries, both about the same 
 distance from Pendleton, one a mile to the south, the other a mile to the 
 north, when the rock will be transported entirely on the Blue Ridge 
 Rail Road. 
 
 Not much progress has been made in the building. The western 
 abutment of the bridge over Twenty-three Mile Creek, and the western 
 pier of the bridge over Seneca River, have been raised each 14 feet, and 
 both are rapidly progressing. But it is not the number of yards laid that 
 always indicates the advancement in masonry jobs, or the expense incurred. 
 The chief labor generally consists in opening quarries, and in dressing 
 the stone, nor is the delivery always a criterion by which to judge of the 
 progress : the quarry may be in close proximity to the work, or it may be 
 
distant from it. In the one case, the transportation may not enter 
 into the estimate ; in Ihe other, it should be taken into the account of 
 progress. Oftentimes, in the work of preparation, the masonry is more 
 than half done before a stone is laid, or the work taken into the estimate- 
 Such is the case on many of the contracts now under consideration ; a 
 great deal has been expended in opening quarries, and a large amount 
 of stone has been quarried and dressed for many of them, of which no 
 note is taken, for the reason that, as a general rule, no payment is made 
 until the stones have been laid in the wall. For the bridges across the 
 Warwoman, Whetstone, Seneca, Eighteen Mile and Twenty-three Mile 
 Creeks, a considerable quantity of stone has been quarried and prepared. 
 For the masonry over Twenty-six Mile Creek, much has been expended 
 by the contractor in opening a quarry, which turned out to be unsuitable, 
 and he is now actively engaged in preparing stone at Honea Path, none 
 of which appears in the estimates. Though the work done bespeaks 
 well for the energy and perseverance of the contractors, and their pro 
 gress is satisfactory, I have said thus much on this subject in justification 
 of the contractors, and in order to disabuse in advance any opinion that 
 may be formed to their prejudice on account of the small amount of 
 work which' seems to be done towards the masonry, from the meagre 
 shewing of the estimates. 
 
 16. The tunnel work embraces five tunnels, three in South Carolina, 
 viz. : the Saddle Tunnel, 475 feet in length ; the Middle Tunnel, 425 
 feet; and the Stump House Tunnel, 5,862 feet, and in Georgia, the 
 Dicks Creek Tunnel, 2,314 feet, and the Warwoman, 1,794 feet in 
 length, making in the aggregate in South Carolina, 6,762 feet, and in 
 Georgia, 4,108 feet of tunelling. 
 
 The rock through which the tunnels pass is of a gneiss formation, 
 thickly stratified, with quartz largely predominating ; the approaches are 
 all so far advanced as fully to develope the character of the rock. The 
 approaches of the Saddle, Middle, and Dick's Creek tunnels and War- 
 woman tunnel, and the western approach of the Stump House tunnel are 
 all in progress; on the approaches of the Stump House, Dick's Creek, 
 and Warwoman tunnels, a night and day force is worked. The heading 
 of the Warwoman tunnel has been excavated to a distance of 75 feet. 
 At the entrance and at a point 40 feet from the portal, the rock is some- 
 what friable, and to remove all apprehension of danger to the workmen 
 from falling fragments, it has been thought advisable to give a slight 
 support to the roof. At the Middle tunnel the roof will also require sup- 
 port for thirty or forty feet in from the western portal ; the Saddle and 
 Dick's Creek tunnels will require no supports. The Stump House tun- 
 
9 
 
 nel will be operated by four shafts, counting from the east : No. 1 has 
 been sunk 115 6-10 feet, total depth of shaft, 161 6-10 ; No. 2, 39 feet, 
 total depth, 226 3-10 feet; No. 3, 50 feet, total depth, 213 feet ; No. 4, 
 66 feet, total depth, 189 feet. This was the state of the work on the 1st 
 of October. Here, as in the masonry, the chief work is in the prepara- 
 tion. The contractor has applied himself with energy and industry to 
 his task. The result, however, is not so much in cubic yards and depth 
 in feet of the shaft excavation, as in machinery transported and put up 
 at great labor and cost. Two of the shafts will be worked by steam en- 
 gines, and two by horse gins; these have been provided and are now in 
 operation, the work at each shaft, at the western approach, and in the 
 eastern stem of the tunnel, is now carried on night and day. The total 
 depth of shaft sunk by the contractor is 80 feet; 91 feet of tunnel has 
 been excavated at the eastern end, and 10 feet of heading at the western 
 end. After making this progress in the heading of the western end, it 
 was not thought advisable, nor was it necessary to proceed farther, until 
 the approach was excavated, to grade up to the portal. The work in 
 the heading was, therefore, suspended. 
 
 I would here observe, that the work done by the contractor has been in 
 rock, with the exception of one shaft substituted for No. 2, (heretofore 
 mentioned as having been commenced by Messrs. Bangs & Co.,) which, 
 for a better position, and to more nearly equalize the distances between 
 the shafts, I found it advisable to abandon. I would here advert to the 
 fact before stated, for it should be borne in mind, that the shaft and ap- 
 proach excavation, made by Messrs. Bangs & Co., consisted in a large 
 proportion of earth ; and the tunnel excavation was so imperfect and ir- 
 regular in sections, as to exhaust nearly as much time, and require nearly 
 ly as great an expenditure to enlarge and trim it into shape, as would 
 have been requisite for its entire excavation. No springs, and but com- 
 paratively little surface water, have been encountered in the shafts, and 
 none in the tunnel. Indeed, it would be an anomaly, if water should oc- 
 cur in any large quantity in the rock formation through which the tun- 
 nel passes. The rock is now exposed at both ends of the tunnel ; and 
 through the medium of the shafts at four intermediate points, the for- 
 mation and texture is precisely the same ; so that we may, with perfect 
 safety, infer that we have before us a fair sample of the character of the 
 rock, and that there will be no change throughout the entire excavation 
 of the tunnel. Quartz, the most durable of rock, is, as before observed, 
 the predominating constituent, so that we have all the favorable elements 
 and considerations in subterranean excavations combined — freedom from 
 water, a rock that will resist the corroding hand of time, and form an 
 
10 
 
 unyielding support for the roof and sides of the tunnel, and from its 
 horizontal position, no danger of fragmentary falls. The contract time 
 for the completion of the Stump House Tunnel is two and a half years 
 from the first of January, 1 857. It will be worked from ten points each 
 way from the four shafts, and at each end. If a full force can at all times 
 be commanded, its completion may be effected by the time stipulated 
 The line is not fully provided, but hands are now coming in ; the Con- 
 tractors are paying liberal wages ; and when it comes to be known, that 
 the region of country through which the road passes, and every part of 
 the line, is free from epidemics of all kinds, and is as healthy as any line 
 of rail road in the country, I have no doubt the work will be fully sup- 
 plied. With the exception of the Middle and Warwoman Tunnels, a 
 portion of which, as heretofore noticed, will require supports, the rock 
 through which the tunnels pass is as durable and as favorable as the rock 
 of the Stump House Tunnel. The Saddle and Middle Tunnels are to be 
 completed by the terms of the contract on or before the first day of July, 
 1858 ; the Dick's Creek Tunnel by the first day of January, 1859 ; and 
 the Warwoman Tunnel by the first day of July, 1859. The progress 
 already made, and the character and energy of the Contractors, leave no 
 room to doubt the timely completion of these contracts. 
 
 17. The grading between Anderson and Twenty-Six Mile Creek has 
 been pressed ; but with all the force that could be brought to bear upon 
 it, it has been impossible to complete it. On the cut through Anderson, 
 but a limited force could be employed ; and the haul being long, and the 
 bottom of the cut very wet, has also contributed greatly to the delay, so 
 that it is only just now completed. The cut four miles from Anderson, 
 heretofore mentioned as having been abandoned by the sub-contractor 
 of Messrs. Bangs & Co., was let early in April, and although diligently 
 and vigorously prosecuted, with the advantage of skilful management, 
 yet owing to rock, as well as water, which has been encountered, will not 
 be completed for several months, though the contractor will in a few- 
 days commence working a night force. Between Twenty-Six Mile Creek 
 and Pendleton, a large portion of the graduation will be ready for 
 the superstructure by the first of January next, and the remainder 
 will be completed early in the spring. Between Pendleton and Seneca 
 River, the grading will be finished in the course of six months ; the em- 
 bankment across Seneca bottom, which it has just been determined to 
 substitute for the trestle work, originally contemplated, will occupy fully 
 eighteen months, and the masonry of the Seneca Bridge perhaps a longer 
 time ; I have not, therefore, pressed the graduation beyond the Seneca ; 
 ^ -il be completed to Walhalla, the first station beyond Pendleton, be- 
 
11 
 
 fore the Seneca Bridge can be passed. Between Walhalla and Locust 
 Stake, on the North Carolina and Georgia line, the Contractors have 
 been permitted to make such progress as best suited their interests, and 
 for the reasons heretofore stated, in my remarks upon the unprecedented 
 and irregular course of Messrs. Bangs & Co. — that of pushing the grad- 
 uation too far in advance of the bridge masonry and tunnels. I shall 
 only be mindful that it is completed at the same time as the tunnels and 
 the bridges. 
 
 18. The cross-ties for six miles of the road, extending as far as Twenty- 
 six mile Creek, six miles from Anderson, are in place; nine hundred 
 tons of iron, sufficient for ten miles of road, have been delivered at An- 
 derson, and the spikes and chairs are now on the way. A force is en- 
 gaged in laying cross-ties, and the road will be completed to Twenty-six 
 Mile Creek as soon as the intervening cut before mentioned is finished. 
 
 19. It having been determined recently to run the cars through to 
 Pendleton in advance of the masonry, for the bridges over Twenty-six 
 and Twenty-three Mile Creeks, which intervene ; timbers for the trestle 
 work as a substitute for the permanent bridges over these water-courses 
 have been contracted for ; contracts for the cross-ties between Twenty- 
 six Mile Creek and Pendleton will be entered into on the 15th instant, 
 and timely contracts will be made for the iron, spikes and chairs for this 
 portion of the road. These arrangements ensure the opening of the road 
 to Pendleton the ensuing year. Beyond Pendleton, owing to the great 
 length of the trestle work that would be required over the Seneca bot- 
 tom, it is not thought advisable to cross that stream by trestle work in 
 advance of the permanent structure of a covered bridge, supported by 
 masonry. 
 
 20. The cost of the trestle work over Twenty-six and Twenty-three 
 Mile Creeks, will be in part compensated by its serving for false works 
 for raising the permanent bridges; which falseworks, particularly at 
 Twenty-six Mile Creek, would cost nearly as much as the trestles for the 
 support of the trains. The false works must be constructed to a height 
 of twenty-six feet below the grade of the Road. So that the trestle 
 work for the running of the trains will be little more than the addition 
 of a top section of twenty-six feet in height, to raise the false works to 
 the level of the track. 
 
 21. The following is a statement of the work clone from the 1st of 
 April to the 1st of October, rendered in cubic yards, viz: In South-Caro- 
 lina, 300,013 cubic yards of earth, excavation 25,277 of loose rock, 
 15,473 of solid rock, 955 of tunnel and shaft excavation, 339,773 of 
 material hauled, 1,460 of square drain masonry, 160 of bridge masonry; 
 
12 
 
 and in Georgia, 118,670 cubic yards of earth excavation, 13,718 of 
 loose rock, 28,939 of solid rock, 100 of tunnel excavation, 161,428 of 
 material hauled, and 1,239 of square drain masonry. 
 
 This statement does not represent fully the amount of work which 
 has been done towards the completing of the bridge masonry, nor the 
 amount of grading which might have been accomplished ; a recurrence 
 to my remarks under these heads will show why it does not. 
 
 22. The amount of work remaining to be done in South-Carolina 
 and Georgia, will appear in the estimates of cost under their respective 
 heads. The line, in these States, has been carefully revised ; some im- 
 portant changes which were contemplated, and others which suggested 
 themselves, have been made ; and every measurement necessary to accu- 
 rate results has been taken. This work proved to be most tedious and 
 laborious, much more so than would have been required for an original 
 location, and has occupied the unremitted labours of a party of Engi- 
 neers, assisted by the Resident Engineers, during the past five months. 
 Upon the data thus obtained, I submit the following estimate of the 
 work remaining to be done, the details of which, as well as of all the 
 estimates, will be filed in the office of the Company in Charleston : 
 
 T.— IX SOUTH-CAROLINA— 52 miles 484 feet. 
 
 Graduation, - - - - - - - - $417,108 00 
 
 Tunnels and Shafts, ------ 512,11700 
 
 Bridge and Arch Masonry, - 256,42100 
 
 Square Drains, Slope Walls and Cattle Guards, - - 13,78100 
 
 Bridge Superstructure, ------ 50,047 00 
 
 Railway Superstructure, including Iron, Chairs, Spikes, 
 
 Cross-ties and Laying, - 385,568 00 
 Ware Houses, Section Masters' Houses, Wood Sheds, 
 
 Wells and Tanks, .-__-_ 32,000 00 
 
 Contingent Expenses, ------ 53,000 00 
 
 Total, -----.. $1,720,042 00 
 
 II.— IN GEORGIA— 16 miles, 5,230 feet. 
 
 Graduation, - - - - - - - $331,313 00 
 
 Tunnels, -------- 264,513 00 
 
 Bridge and Arch Masonry, - 73,430 00 
 
 Square Drains, Slope Walls, and Cattle Guards, - 33,672 00 
 
 Bridge Superstructure, ------ 7,700 00 
 
13 
 
 Railway Superstructure, including Rails, Chairs, Spikes, 
 
 Cross-ties, and Laying, - 149,976 00 
 
 Ware Houses, Section Masters' Houses, Wood Sheds, 
 
 Wells and Tanks, - .... 7,50jO 00 
 
 Contingent Expenses, - - - . - - - 17,000 00 
 
 Total, - $885,104 00 
 
 23. The work, both in South-Carolina and Georgia may be charac- 
 terised as heavy, and may startle those not accustomed to consider such 
 large aggregates. But when it is considered that the passage of the 
 Blue Ridge is achieved ; and when the line is brought into comparison 
 with that of other roads penetrating the Alleghanies, the result will be 
 found so much in its favor as to excite surprise that the cost is no 
 greater. The chief cost in South-Carolina is incurred between Cane 
 Creek and the Chattuga River ; on this portion of the Road the Stump 
 House Mountain, with its offshoots, stretch across the track, two of 
 which, besides the main mountain are pierced by tunnels heretofore 
 described, and much cutting and filling is encountered. In Georgia, the 
 expensive portion lies between the Chattuga and Clayton — on this sec- 
 tion the line passes from Dick's Creek into the valley of the Warwoman, 
 and from the Warwoman, on to the head waters of Sticoa. Having to 
 tunnel through the dividing ridges between these water causes, and being 
 necessarily thrown upon a high level, much excavation and embankment 
 is encountered in its ascent up the Warwoman, and its passage across the 
 streams making into the Sticoa. On attaining Rabun Gap, two and three- 
 fourths miles west of Clayton, although it is the summit and culminating 
 point of the Road, the mountains on all sides are seen in the distance- 
 The difficulties of the Road are overcome, and a champaign country con- 
 tiguous to the line succeeds the bold and rugged features which have 
 hitherto characterised it, and the line passes into the valley of the Ten- 
 nessee River, upon a level with the Gap. Pursuing this vallev, in close 
 proximity to the river, the course of which is twice changed by short 
 canals, it reaches, without further difficulty, the " Locust Stake," a point 
 in the line dividing Georgia and North-Carolina. 
 
 24. The location of the Road lying in North-Carolina and Tennessee 
 has also undergone revision. The centre line has been carefully re-ad- 
 justed, leveled and laid off in stations of one hundred feet in length, from 
 beginning to end ; cross or transversal sections have been made at every 
 variation in the slope of the ground; in many cases eight cross sections 
 have been taken in a station ; every measurement and observation has 
 been made, necessary to an accurate calculation of the amount of exca- 
 
14 
 
 vation and embankment ; the tunneling, bridge masonry, culvert, slope 
 and retaining walls, cattle guards, road crossings, changes of road, and 
 all the minor works incident to, and entering into a proper consideration 
 of the cost of the Railroad, have been accurately estimated. 
 
 25. In North-Carolina, the Road is laid in the valley of the Little 
 Tennessee River, which, taken as a whole, presents a very favourable route. 
 It is remarkable for its freedom from high bounding cliffs which charac- 
 terise every other water course laying on the western slope of the 
 Alleghany. The valley is formed of narrow strips of low ground and 
 alternate spaces, where the mountain sides encroach upon the stream. 
 The character of these hill sides is favorable to the object in view. 
 They rarely expose a vertical cliff of rock on which the grading will 
 have to be effected. In order to avoid the circuit of the river at some 
 points, save distance, and place the line on more advantageous ground, 
 it was deemed advisable to lay the line through the necks of several 
 bends, and cross the river several times. 
 
 26. The passage of the Smoky Mountain, which comprises a distance 
 of twelve miles — three in North-Carolina and nine in Tennessee — involves 
 much less expense and difficulty than has been supposed. The least 
 radius of curvature is 955 feet, except at three points, where it was 
 found advisable to reduce it to 716 feet. This, however, is 116 feet 
 greater than the mininum radius of curviture of the Road. The length 
 of curved and straight lines in the pass is, as nearly as may be, equal — 
 that is, six miles of curve, and six miles of straight line. But one cliff 
 extends into the water, and that is passed by a tunnel of 100 feet, with 
 approaches involving an excavation of only 3,338 cubic yards. The 
 mountain sides, for about five miles, present the usual appearance of 
 loose rock intermixed with earth, in some instances overlaying solid rock. 
 For the remainder of the distance, they consist almost wholly of sloping 
 surfaces formed of fragments of rock, which have apparently been de- 
 tached from higher points of the mountain, and rolled down in their 
 present position. 
 
 The grading along these slopes will not be difficult of execution. The 
 Road-bed will be formed of the loose rock, which, reduced to a proper 
 size by the blast and the sledge, will be laid with some regularity on the 
 lower side, at points where such a precaution may be necessary to 
 protect it from injury from freshets. Through Rabbit Creek, about 
 midway, and Summit Creek, three miles from the eastern end of the 
 mountain, wagon roads from the line may be opened, at a moderate 
 expense, to the turnpike which passes over the mountain. 
 
 27. There will be required in North-Carolina seven tunnels and six- 
 
15 
 
 teen bridges, the location, length, and height of which will be found in 
 the accompanying tabular statements, marked (A and B). 
 
 The materials through which the tunnels pass, consist chiefly of com- 
 pact sandstone, and hard slaty sandstone. 
 
 In fitting the line around several bends of the river, to avoid heavy 
 rock-cutting, it was found advisable to adopt a curvature of twenty-seven 
 feet less radius than the minimum. 
 
 The cost of this section of the Road will be as follows, viz : 
 
 III— IN NORTH-CAROLINA— 73 miles, 2,012 feet. 
 
 Graduation, $993,722 00 
 
 Tunnels, - - 176,705 00 
 
 Bridge and Arch Masonry, - 197,44100 
 
 Square Drains, Slope Walls and Cattle Guards, - 39,507 00 
 
 Bridge Superstructure, - 158,355 00 
 
 Roadway Superstructure, including Iron, Chairs, Spikes, 
 
 Cross-ties, and Laying, - - - - - 666,560 00 
 Ware Houses, Section Masters' Houses, Wood Sheds, 
 
 Wells and Tanks, ------ 24,000 00 
 
 Contingent Expenses, ------ 74,000 00 
 
 Total, ------- $2,330,790 00 
 
 28. The Railroad in Tennessee, after emerging from the Smoky Moun- 
 tains, the passage of which is described in the preceding paragraph, con- 
 tinues in the valley of the Tennessee River, passing alternately through 
 long stretches of low grounds and along the slopes of the hills and 
 mountain sides which occasionally impinge on the stream. On this por- 
 tion of the line no difficulty occurs worthy of note. Eleven and a half 
 miles from the Smoky Mountains, and twenty and a quarter from North- 
 Carolina, the line leaves the river, and finds a very eligible route to 
 Knoxville, through and across the waters of Little Four Mile, Four Mile, 
 Six Mile, Nine Mile, and Pistol Creeks, Little River, and Stock and Knob 
 Creeks. 
 
 There are on this section of the Road one tunnel 100 feet in length, 
 and four bridges, the length of which will be found in table (B) before 
 referred to. Minimum radius of curvature, 716 feet. The cost of the 
 Road will be — 
 
 IV.— IN TENNESSEE— 53 miles, 113 feet. 
 
 Graduation, - - - - - - - - $756,987 00 
 
 Tunnels, ..-----.. 5,185 00 
 
16 
 
 Bridge and Arch. Masonry, - - - - <• 123,819 00 
 
 Square Drains, Slope Walls and Cattle Guards, - 36,915 00 
 
 Bridge Superstructure, - - - - - - 61,325 00 
 
 Roadway Superstructure, including Chairs, Spikes, Cross 
 
 ties and Laying, --.... 4*74,687 00 
 Ware Houses, Section Masters' Houses, Wood Sheds, 
 
 Wells and Tanks, ..--.. 24,000 00 
 
 Contingent Expenses, ------ 54,000 00 
 
 Total, $1,536,918 00 
 
 SUMMARY COST OF THE RAILROAD. 
 
 1. Amount paid out and due to the 1st November, 1856, $1,102,823 00 
 
 2. Estimated cost of work remaining to be done in South- 
 
 Carolina, ------- 1,720,042 00 
 
 3. Estimated cost of work remaining to be done in Georgia, 885,104 00 
 
 4. Estimated cost of the Railroad in North-Carolina, 2,330,790 00 
 
 5. Estimated cost of the Railroad in Tennessee, - - 1,536,918 00 
 
 Total, ------- $7,575,677 00 
 
 6. Cost of Work-shops, Engine and Car Sheds, &c, 150,000 00 
 
 7. Fifty Locomotives, .---.- 500,000 00 
 
 8. Six hundred Burden Cars. - - . 360,000 00 
 
 9. Thirty Coaches, ----- . 75,000 00 
 
 10. Baggage and Mail Cars, ----- 16,000 00 
 
 11. Fifty Gravel Cars, ------ 15,000 00 
 
 Total, ------- $8,691,677 00 
 
 29. I have endeavored to embrace in the foregoing estimates every 
 expenditure that is likely to occur. I feel confident that the quantities 
 which compose the several items are correct, and that the prices affixed 
 are ample and sufficient to complete the work, and meet the contingency, 
 should it arise, of an increase in the price of labour and provisions, which 
 has proved in many cases to be a fruitful source of cost, exceeding esti- 
 mates. Wherever there has been any doubt as to the character of the 
 excavations, I have assumed it to be solid rock. Although the geologi- 
 cal formation of the country and the character of the cuts which have 
 been opened, would remove all doubt, and afford every assurance of ex- 
 emption from springs of water in the tunnels, and deep rock cuts, and 
 freedom from hill slips and land slides, I have, nevertheless, provided for 
 their possible occurrence. It has been my aim to make a full and liberal 
 
17 
 
 estimate, and to place before you all the difficulties attending the work. 
 
 1 am not conscious of having omitted anything, and feel entirely confi- 
 dent that the road may be constructed within my estimate. Regarding 
 the work as of equal importance to any in the country, I have estimated 
 for a "first-class" road. I feel confident it will prove to be so— in its 
 trade and income — in its commercial and political influences, and in its 
 combination of all the advantages now universally conceded to Rail 
 Roads. 
 
 The motive power and equipment provided for in the estimate, is ade- 
 quate to the transportation of 500 tons daily, and to the running of two 
 dailv passenger trains. This may not be sufficient for the first year's opera- 
 tions, but it is a greater amount than is usually embraced in original es- 
 timates. Indeed, "the rolling stock" is frequently omitted altogether in 
 first estimates, the general custom being to anticipate the receipts of the 
 road, and draw on its income in advance, for locomotives and cars. 
 
 30. In the general construction of the road, the material and work- 
 manship has been designed with a view to the utmost stability and per- 
 manence. 
 
 The masonr} 7 is of the description denominated " first class," and the 
 superstructure of the bridges combine a just reciprocal action of timber 
 and iron, giving by their union great strength and durability. 
 
 The Railway track consists of a T rail of 60 lbs. to the yard, with 
 wrought iron chairs, spiked upon cross-ties 8 feet long, 7x8 inches, placed 
 
 2 feet apart from centre to centre, bedded in broken stone ballast, in 
 North Carolina, and Georgia, where liable to be deranged by frost. 
 
 The wood sheds, station houses, warehouses, engine houses, car sheds, 
 shops, section-masters' houses, and houses for the watchmen for the 
 bridges, are all provided for, and are designed to be amply capacious 
 and of the most permanent description, of wood or brick, accordino- as 
 circumstances or locality may dictate. 
 
 Wherever trestle work entered into the original plan of the work, it 
 has been dispensed with, and superseded by embankments and perma- 
 nent bridges. 
 
 31. Upon the whole line of the Rail Road, from west to east, being in 
 the direction of the heaviest traffic, there will be no grade exceeding 
 45 feet to the mile ; and from east to west, being in the direction of the 
 lightest trade, there will be no grade exceeding 70 feet to the mile. 
 
 The length of straight line is 115 miles, 4,241 feet, and of curvature 
 79 miles, 3,598 feet. The minimum radius of curvature is 600 feet, 
 which has not been departed from, except in several instances before re- 
 fore referred to, where the radius was reduced to 574 feet, 
 2 
 
2,151 feet abov< 
 
 3 tide water. 
 
 2,168 
 
 u 
 
 2,187 
 
 u 
 
 2,340 
 
 " 
 
 2,371 
 
 u 
 
 2,218 
 
 u 
 
 3,024 
 
 u 
 
 2,337 
 
 u 
 
 2,700 
 
 u 
 
 2,325 
 
 (( 
 
 18 
 
 32. The grades on the Virginia and Tennessee Rail Road, going east- 
 ward, are 68 feet to the mile, on the Virginia Central Rail Road, 72 
 feet, on the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road, 116, on the Pennsylvania 
 Central Rail Road, 53 feet, on the Sunberry and Erie Rail Road, 52 
 feet, and on the New York and Erie Rail Road, 60 feet to the mile. — 
 The minimum radius of curvature is about the same on all these roads 
 as on the Blue Ridge Rail Road. 
 
 33. The following is the elevation above tide on the Blue Ridge Rail 
 Road, compared with the heights of other Gaps, through which rail 
 roads have been built, or are in contemplation. 
 
 Elevation of Rabun Gap, 
 
 " of Butt Mountain Gap, 
 
 " of Gap Creek Gap, 
 
 " of Saluda Gap, 
 
 " of High Tower's Gap, 
 
 " of Reedy Patch Gap, 
 
 " of Laquey's Gap, 
 
 " of Swannanora Gap, 
 
 " of Virginia and Tennessee R. R., 
 
 " of Covington & Ohio Rail Road, 
 
 " of Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road, 2,626 
 
 " of Pennsylvania Central R. R,, 2,160 
 
 34. The length of the Blue Ridge Rail Road is 195 miles, 759 feet; 
 at Knoxville, it unites with the East Tennessee and Georgia, the East Ten- 
 nessee and Virginia, and the Knoxville and Kentucky Rail Roads. The 
 last mentioned Road connects with the Danville and Lexington, and Lex- 
 ington and Covington Rail Roads ; thus forming a line to Cincinnati — 
 from which there are arms thrown off to the Ohio, at Louisville and Cai- 
 ro, and to New Madrid, on the Mississippi. Assuming Cincinnati as the 
 starting-point, as in fact' it is, of all the rail roads between the Ohio and 
 Atlantic border, the distance to Charleston will be about the same as to 
 Richmond, Baltimore and Philadelphia, with the advantage on the side 
 of Charleston of an hour's sail to the ocean, against probably several 
 days sail, or the expense of a steam tug to an offing from either place. 
 To New York, the distance in favor of Charleston is 200 miles, and to 
 Norfolk 80 miles. 
 
 35. From the brief description here given of the character of the 
 route proposed for the Rail Road, and the hasty parallel I have drawn, 
 it must be apparent to all, that, by means of such moderate grades, low 
 summit, equal curvature and distance, and small extent of mountain re- 
 gion, it might not only challenge a comparison with, but might justly 
 
 2* 
 
19 
 
 claim preeminence over, all other lines of rail road communications, 
 whether executed or projected, between the eastern and western waters. 
 
 36. The object, especially aimed at by this improvement, is to put 
 Charleston in direct communication with the Ohio River, to draw the 
 vast trade by the way-side, now diverted to points less congenial, and to 
 enable her, by a line possessing superior advantages, not only to grasp 
 the rich stores south of the Ohio, but to compete for the trade north of 
 the Ohio to the lakes, and west of the Mississippi and the Missouri. 
 
 That she will be enabled to do so successfully, I entertain no doubt ; 
 for the trade south of the Ohio river, and extending west on a parallel 
 with the mouth of the Ohio, across the Mississippi River, even to the 
 confines of civilization, from its geographical position must come to Char- 
 leston, and may be looked to with confidence, both as a profit to the 
 Road, and an increase of the trade of the City. At Cincinnati, with 
 rail road distance about the same to Richmond, Baltimore and Philadel- 
 phia, with the advantages of her greater proximity to the ocean, Char- 
 leston may boldly enter into competition, with a confidence of partici- 
 pating in a full share of the one hundred and twenty millions of trade, 
 import and export, which centers there. On the north of the Ohio, taking 
 Indianapolis as a centre, and the distance to Charleston as a radius, it 
 will be found by sweeping the circle around the coast, that Charleston 
 maintains her equality of distance with Richmond, Norfolk, Baltimore 
 and Philadelphia, reckoning to the Atlantic border, and maintains her 
 advantage of rail road distance over New York. Surely, then, she may 
 count on the extension of her trade to the north of the Ohio River, from 
 Louisville, as tar as Lake Michigan, to the east, reckoning from India- 
 napolis, as far as the State of Ohio, and to the west and north-west, to 
 an indefinite extent, embracing the upper waters of the Missouri. But for 
 those who may not be disposed to take so wide a range — though I con- 
 sider it within legitimate bounds — I would submit that the " Blue Rid<re 
 Rail Road," as the connecting link to this vast chain of railway commu- 
 nication, now in progress in the north-west, and destined ultimately to 
 reach the Pacific, will, at least, be to Charleston and South Carolina 
 what the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road is to Baltimore and Maryland, 
 the Pennsylvania Central Rail Road to Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, 
 and the New York and Erie Rail Road to the State and City of New 
 York — a copious source of income — a vast influx of trade, and an im- 
 mense expansion of commerce. 
 
 37. The increase in the value of property in Charleston, and in the 
 State generally, consequent upon the comparatively small amount of 
 trade derived from the South Carolina Rail Road, may serve somewhat 
 
20 
 
 as an illustration of the value of the trade, and the concomitant benefits 
 of the "Blue Ridge Rail Road." I find on this subject, an article in 
 DeBow's Review, which, for useful statistical information, and its able 
 advocacy of the South and its institutions, is deserving a place on every 
 Southern man's table. The statement to which I refer, will be found in 
 a volume recently published, •' embracing a series of papers, condensed 
 from the earlier volumes of DeBow's Review," and is as follows : "A ref- 
 erence to the statistics of Carolina roads will show that property and 
 trade has, within the last fifteen years, and since the completion of our 
 rail road, increased in a greater degree on the Neck, in Colleton, Barn- 
 well, Orangeburg and Edgefield, than in any other portion of the State, 
 &c. " I shall show that trade has expanded, and the value of real es- 
 tate increased, since the establishment of the rail road. Any one who 
 will make the inquiry, will find that land all along the road to Hamburg 
 and Columbia, for five miles each side of it, has appreciated in value since 
 its construction, 50, 500, and in some cases, 5,000 per cent., and where 
 before its construction, there were not twenty thousand dollars of trade, 
 there is now upwards of $250,000. The valuation of property on the 
 South Carolina Rail Road, compared before and since its construction, 
 shows 1830,-111,337,012; 1846, $19,075,157 ; gain, 17,638,154. The 
 city of Charleston shows real estate, 1830, $8,366,914; 1840, $13,527,- 
 743 ; gain, $5,160,829. This increase in trade and the value of real es- 
 tate, I insist, has been principally attributable to the introduction of rail 
 roads, and if the saving were added to the gain, the advantages would 
 appear almost inappreciable." This estimate, it should be borne in mind, 
 embraces the period between 1830 and 1840, sixteen years ago. I leave 
 it to those, having access to the assessment books, to bring it up to this 
 time. The increase must be enormous. 
 
 While on this subject of the increase of the value of property, and the 
 new stimuli given to trade, by the construction of rail ro«ds, I beg leave 
 to cite one or two examples, showing the results of railroads in other 
 States. For instance, the value of real and personal estate in Boston was 
 increased $168,540,244 from 1841 to 1S50. In a single year, the real 
 estate of Mobile advanced $5,000,000. In New Jevsey, where the rail 
 roads are constructed mainly for transit through the State, the increase in 
 real estate is estimated at $150,000,000. In Virginia, " owing chiefly to 
 the impulse imparted to the industry of the State, by the facilities which 
 her public works have afforded to her citizens for transporting their produce 
 to market," the value of lands in the State has been increased $62,- 
 749,718 from 1838 to 1850. "Portions of the State, which twenty 
 years ago were scarcely inhabited, are now thickly settled, w r ell cultiva- 
 
21 
 
 ted and prosperous." See an extract from Governor Floyd's message, in 
 DeBow's Review, before referred to, page 439. 
 
 Innumerable instances could be cited, going to show, as regards rail 
 roads, that speculative views yielding to realities, predictions verified by 
 corresponding results, and theory reduced to practice, have established a 
 formula, by which the advantages of rail roads can now be deduced be- 
 forehand, and carried out into figures, with almost the certainty aud ac- 
 curacy of an arithmetical problem. It is now a fact, " stubborn, true 
 and inevitable," as a mathematical demonstration, that the wealth of a 
 country keeps pace with the progress of its rail roads, that they are an 
 ever-increasing and inexhaustible mine of wealth, that labor, the old 
 standard of the wealth of nations, has given place to the number of 
 miles run by the locomotive. A new era has dawned in political econo- 
 my, when rail roads mete out the wealth, and the census of a country 
 may be taken by the number of miles of superstructure. Governor 
 Floyd has shown how they are filling up the wilds of Virginia, and create 
 " a tax paying fund, which will constitute through all time a valuable 
 addition to the permanent capital of the commonwealth." And Mr. De 
 Bow, the value they have given to the "pine barrens" of South Caro- 
 lina. 
 
 iUthough I have these unerring principles of calculation before me, I 
 do not feel myself at liberty to transcend my province, and enter into the 
 details of an estimate of the probable dividends of the Blue Ridge Rail 
 Road. I will say, however, that I have no doubt of an immediate in- 
 come, for a large trade is now ready to take the Blue Ridge Rail Road 
 to Charleston, as soon as completed. A legitimate estimate, based on the 
 foregoing considerations, with a view to arrive at the vast amount of 
 the commerce of the region coming within the influence of the Rail 
 Road, when filled with inhabitants, would excite the incredulity of the 
 most sanguine, by results far transcending what we are accustomed to 
 contemplate. And that, under its creative influence, tillage, in the moun- 
 tain region, would take the place of grazing, the settlement of the coun- 
 try would be hastened, wild lands cleared, the arable surface widened, 
 population extended, and the annual product of land and labor rapidlv 
 and greatly augmented. Internal commerce would progress in a cor- 
 responding ratio, giving rise to the speedy growth of towns alonp- the 
 line, villages in the interior, and a more improved and extended system 
 of roads, connecting the settlements and counties with each other, and 
 with the principal depots on the line of the road. An augmented and 
 steadily increasing annual surplus would reward the labors of the people, 
 in all that part of the State through which the rail road passes ; and at 
 
22 
 
 the same time, the public resources and power would keep pace with the 
 progress of individual prosperity and wealth. And besides all these 
 manifest results, there is another active influence it would exert, not less 
 important to the whole South than to South Carolina — that is, the pro- 
 duction of a large foreign trade, which must necessarily spring up from 
 the great excess of the trade which would flow from the west, over and 
 above the domestic demand. This excess will remain as a basis of a 
 foreign trade ; so that, apart from all other considerations, discarding 
 dividends even, who can doubt that, if carried to completion, the rail road 
 would re-imburse its cost manv times over, in the activity and vigor it 
 would give to the trade of Charleston, in the extension of her foreign 
 and internal commerce, in the increase of the agricultural productions of 
 the State, and in the rise of real estate ? 
 
 38. The project of connecting Charleston by Railroad with Louisville 
 and Cincinnati, in which the Blue Ridge Railroad forms the most impor- 
 tant link, it may be interesting to know originated in Cincinnati. This 
 fact, so commendatory of the scheme, I learn from one of a series of 
 letters so late as 1852, addressed by Prof. Edward D. Mansfield, of Cin- 
 cinnati, Editor of the Railroad Recorder, to Job R. Tyson, Esq., of Phil- 
 adelphia, on the Railway connections of Philadelphia with the Central 
 West. Mr. Mansfield, in enumerating the great lines from Cincinnati to 
 the Atlantic seaboard, says, " The grand iron highway from Cincinnati 
 to Charleston, S. C, was planned in this city, in 1836, and the late Dr. 
 Daniel Drake, Governor Vance, of Ohio, the late General Hayne, of 
 South-Carolina, the late General James Taylor, of Kentucky, Judge Hall, 
 of this city, and other eminent citizens, were zealous coadjutors. In 
 this enterprize, and with such associates, longo intervallo, I took a zeal- 
 ous, if not an efficient part. I looked enough into the subject to be tho- 
 roughly convinced that it was one of the most important enterprizes 
 which could engage the attention of the commercial public." We have 
 here the opinion, of not only a disinterested, but one of the best informed 
 and most enlightened men in the country, on the subject of Railway 
 connections and their influences. 
 
 39. Although the work was planned in 1836, a» Mr. Mansfield informs 
 us, at Cincinnati, the citizens of Cincinnati had held meetings and 
 resolved upon " the extension of a Railroad from the Ohio River into the 
 State of South-Carolina," in 1835. For I have before me the proceed- 
 ings of a meeting of the citizens of Charleston, held on the 22nd day of 
 October, 1835, responding to "the proceedings of the citizens of Cin 
 cinnati," and the proceedings of the Chamber of Commerce of Charleston, 
 held at an earlier day in October. The result of these proceedings and 
 
23 
 
 others which were held in different parts of the country, led to the 
 obtainment of charters in South-Carolina, North-Carolina, Tennessee 
 and Kentucky, for the " Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad," 
 in 1836, and subsequently, in 1837, Acts of the same States were passed, 
 conferring banking privileges. The records of 1836 are most luminous 
 and interesting. On the 4th of July, the great Knoxville Convention 
 was held, numbering 380 delegates from nine States — never did any 
 improvement combine so many interests, or call forth such an array 
 of talent in its behalf. The illustrious Calhoun, one of the great trium- 
 virate whose talents, for more than a quarter of a century, balanced and 
 held in check the powers of the Federal Government, took a conspicuous 
 part in the public meetings and newspaper discussions, exhibiting in 
 this, as in all other subjects which he touched, his wonderful prescience 
 and sagacity, and, with his characteristic zeal and ardour, actually doffed 
 his senatorial robes, and took the field as a rodman. I am indebted to 
 Col. Win. Sloan for an interesting reminiscence of this great man, to 
 which I beg leave to refer. (App. No. 1.) 
 
 The company was organized in 1837, and Gen. Hayne appointed 
 President. The most elaborate surveys were made, and the route proved 
 to be practicable and feasible, at a cost within what it was supposed the 
 magnitude and importance of the work would justify. But the failure 
 of the United States Bank, and other causes combining, signalized the 
 early days of this company as an era of unparalleled commercial dis- 
 tress, which paralyzed every branch of industry, and prostrated not only 
 this enterprise, but almost every improvement in the country sunk under 
 its pressure, some to rise again, others have never recovered from the 
 blow, and have long since past into the catalogue of things forgotten. 
 But not so in regard to the " extension of a Railroad from the Ohio 
 River to Charleston." 
 
 From its first inception, twenty odd years ago, it has never ceased to 
 engage the attention of the people of this State and of the West. There 
 have been times within that period, when the deepest and most intense 
 interest prevailed upon the subject, and at those times some of the 
 most eminent citizens of the State and of the country have taken part 
 in the deliberations and discussions which it elicited. No improvement 
 has ever undergone such thorough and searching investigations. Whe- 
 ther upon the broad and enlightened view of its commercial and political 
 importance, nationally, its bearing upon State policy, its binding influ- 
 ence upon Southern institutions, or the narrow policy of a monied insti- 
 tution, the public archives exhibit, in regard to it, evidences of perse- 
 vering and laborious research, unparalelled in the history of the State. 
 
m 
 
 The companies incorporated for Railroads from Louisville and Cin- 
 cinnati to Knoxville, have been cheered and stimulated in their progress 
 by the fond recollections of the past; the undying eloquence of the 
 lamented Gen. Hayne, the deep researches of the lamented Col. Bland- 
 ing, (whose essays pourtrayed with the inspiration of a prophet what has 
 come to pass,) have never ceased to act on the public mind. I might 
 enumerate others of the illustrious dead who foreshadowed the impor- 
 tance of this great work. There are also many living who took an 
 active part, and contributed largely in bringing it forward to the atten- 
 tion of the country, among whom stands foremost Col. Memminger, so 
 eminently distinguished as the Commissioner from South-Carolina, to 
 North-Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky. 
 
 The spirit infused into this great scheme by the great and distinguished 
 men who first embarked in it, has never died ; their deliberations and 
 resolves have descended as a rich inheritance ; the wisdom of their coun- 
 sels have been vindicated by Kentucky and Tennessee, both following 
 out the original design of the old " Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston 
 Railroad ; " Kentucky in her two lines from Danville to Louisville and 
 Covington; and Tennessee, in her road from Danville to Knoxville, and 
 in the aid she has so generously extended to the Blue Ridge Railroad 
 Company. 
 
 The incorporation of this Company by South-Carolina, its subsequent 
 successful organization, the space it has occupied in the public eye, the 
 loud and repeated calls for the resumption of the work, conspire to shew 
 that a connection of Charleston with Louisville and Cincinnati has lost 
 nothing of its original importance, and is still a cherished and favourite 
 enterprise with the people of the State. An interest as lively, as deep, 
 as vital, is now felt as to the result, as at any former period. The able 
 and elaborate reports of committees to the conventions, to which I have 
 referred, held twenty years ago, present the subject in all its aspects, and 
 shew that it is no ephemeral scheme — like many gotten up with no 
 better result than to distract public attention. Upon a theme which, for 
 a long series of years, has engaged so large a share of public attention, it 
 is difficult to present any views that would not be familiar to every intel- 
 ligent and reflecting man for whom the subject possesses any interest. 
 Surely no farther development of the extensive utility and vast impor- 
 tance of the undertaking can be necessary. 
 
 The little that I have said falls far short of that which it is conceived 
 it demands, and is far less than it admits. 
 
 The line is now designated by two Divisions, cut up into Residencies, 
 with a Principal Assistant Engineer in charge of each Division, and an 
 
25 
 
 Assistant Engineer in charge of a Residency, the length of the Resi- 
 dencies being dependent upon the character of the work. Mr. James 
 L .Randolph is the Principal Assistant in charge of the 1st Division, and 
 Mr. Francis Lackland Principal Assistant of the 2nd Division. These 
 gentlemen, together with the Assistants, who have been employed during 
 the past season, in the location, revision and construction of the Road, it 
 affords me pleasure to say, have discharged their duties, in their respec- 
 tive spheres, in the most satisfactory manner. Their energy and untiring 
 industry entitle them to the highest commendation. 
 I am, gentlemen, very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 WALTER GWYNN, 
 Chief Eng'r B. R. R. R. Company. 
 
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APPENDIX No. 1. 
 
 Anderson Court House, Nov.. 15th, 1856. 
 Col. Walter Givynn : 
 
 Dear Sir, — Permit me to give you some interesting incidents con- 
 nected with the project of connecting Charleston with Cincinnati by 
 Railroad — which transpired in the summer of 1836, and which have an 
 important bearing on the line adopted by the Railroad Company. 
 
 The Hon. J. C. Calhoun was of opinion at that day, that the Rabun 
 Gap route was the best, both as to the facility of passing over the Blue 
 Ridge and because it lay more westerly, and afforded facilities for reach- 
 ing the great rivers of the West at a lower point than by other projected 
 routes. He however had no hopes of getting permission to pass through 
 Georgia, (which it was necessary to do to reach this Gap,) and hence he 
 became extremely solicitous to explore the mountains east of Rabun 
 Gap, with a view to find some practicable pass which would obviate the 
 necessity. This desire led to a correspondence between Mr. Calhoun and 
 Gen. Gadsden, (who concurred with him in his opinion as to the route,) 
 and it resulted in the determination to make a trip of exploration, in 
 which trip, at their solicitation, I joined them. 
 
 We approached the Chattuga Ridge from the rido'e dividing the 
 waters of the Keowee and Little Rivers, passing over the Chattuga Ridge 
 into Cashier's Valley, and through the valley to the McKinnie Gap in 
 the Blue Ridge, and thence down the Tuckasege to the point where it 
 unites with the Little Tennessee. 
 
 After our return Mr. Calhoun became so extremely solicitous to ascer- 
 tain whether the route we had examined was practicable, that we pro- 
 cured a cabinet maker to construct a level of wood, which, upon trial, 
 we found to be sufficiently accurate to answer our purpose. We set out 
 on our survey : I took charge of the level, having the Hon. J. C. Cal- 
 houn for one of my rodmen, and his son, Col. A. P. Calhoun, as the 
 other rodman, with two negroes for chainmen. Thus equipped, we con- 
 tinued our survey from the ridge dividing the Keowee and Little Rivers, 
 
 Microfilmed _ 
 SOLINET/ASERL PROJECT 
 
32 
 
 across the Chattuga Ridge into Cashier's Valley, where we stopped— 
 rinding the elevation too great for the Railroad. 
 
 On the route of exploration, we were joined by Col. W. H. Thomas, 
 of North-Carolina, to whom Mr. Calhoun expressed himself very fully, 
 and with great force, as to the importance of the enterprise, and as to 
 the advantages of the Rabun Gap over the competing routes — but was 
 hopeless as to the co-operation Of Georgia, or of obtaining permission to 
 pass through that State. 
 
 Col. Thomas was so forcibly impressed with the views and opinions of 
 Mr. Calhoun, that on an interview with him some years after, and after 
 the Cincinnati Railroad project had been abandoned, he declared his 
 intention, if his life was spared, to devote his best energies to the con- 
 summation of this great project. At that time he was earnestly engaged 
 in prosecuting claims in favor of a portion of the Cherokee Indians, and 
 he said so soon as these claims were disposed of, he would declare him- 
 self a candidate for the Legislature, with a view to carry out this great 
 project. 
 
 Col. Thomas proved true to his pledge ; and so soon as his Indian 
 matters ceased to require his attention, became a candidate, canvassed the 
 election district, made speeches in favor of internal improvements, gene- 
 rally, and particularly in favor of a Railroad running along the Tennessee 
 to form one of the links in consummation of the great Cincinnati project. 
 The charter was obtained, and forms one of the connecting links of the 
 Blue Ridge Railroad. Having effected thus much, he sought an inter- 
 view with Col. Coffee, Senator from Rabun, Georgia, explained to him 
 his views and objects ; and through the instrumentality of Col. Coffee, 
 obtained a charter from the State of Georgia. 
 
 It was thus that the barriers to this great enterprise, so ardently sought 
 in 1836, were removed by the efforts of a single individual, who at a 
 Railroad meeting at Anderson Court House, in a public speech, had the 
 magnanimity to declare that he had received his first ideas of the impor- 
 tance of the enterprise, and the direction of the route, from Mr. Cal < 
 houn. 
 
 Very respectfully, yours, &c, 
 
 WILLIAM SLOAN. 
 
Photomou 
 Pamphlet 
 Binder 
 
 nt 
 
 Gaylord 
 
 Makers 
 
 Bros. 
 
 fUM ' 'Tim