ADVOCATE OF IN TERNAL IIiiPROVEMEN'I‘S.

565

laborious turmoil ofloading and unloadinrr.
U16)’ would have found cause to soothe
their feelings; while it; is readily allowed,
that the interruption of the trade was in
part Cl1?11‘.gt'_"rll)lt_’ to the inexperience of the
company’s oflicers, suddenly met by an
Overwliclming busiiess, under an arrange-
ment we may be pcrtnittcd to say,st1scep1i-
ble of irnproveini nt by the B .ltiniorc Coin-
pany. A supply of cars, \vitli the L’0Hlll'lU~
ance of the eiigine loaned frorn the Balti-
more railroad, eiiabled the coinpiiny soon to
meet with proinptitutle the demand for
transportation. Early in June, grateful for
the favor, we returned this locomotive, and
soon after received a new and po\vei'l'ul one.

iiiiported on private account from l*‘.1igl.ind,

in anticipiitieii of the two others, ordered
last year, and speedily expected on the
road. A very Considerable addition has
also been made to the iiuniber of our cars;
so that ent.re reliance may now be place
on our ability to ‘rill sport with tlcspntcii all
produce and iiictcli-.iiitlisc consigiicd to otir
care.

With the exct-ption of these early inter‘-
ruptions, i‘t.-l'e1‘1'ed to with re,«,rret, no disap.
poititineiit has 0('('.Ul‘l‘(.!t'l in the riegiilarity of
our transpoi~t.:itioii of burtlit».ii, and scarcely
any has iiiarried the ])lt*..'«lSl1l‘6 of the iiu-
inerous l.l‘HV6ll(%l‘S who have passed over otir
road. The depot. bell has foiletl on btit one
or two oc(':isio1is,wlic.i1 iiicesstiiit rains had
.d-reiiclicd our lit:-I, to sound its cliecriiig
note at the appointetl l1‘)l.ll‘ of arrival; not
one trip, liowtavcr, has l)t’.t’.Il lost, and the
inriil c:1i'i‘ictlli_y the Company has always
lmeii tleliverotl witliiii tlie spccilictl tinii-.~—
In these days, when we iioitr of accidents

0 i l‘tlllI‘0:t(l.'~', seldom tliiiiinislictl as they cir-

c.ilatt-., by l’t‘pf)l‘l.,-—ll. is not ijtiiwortliy ol
a passing i'iotii-.e, as it certainly is 3 sourci-
of inuoli gratitii-.atioii, to state, that no ca-
stialty, wortliy oi ht-iiig int:-iitioned, has 00..

' t-ur1'ctl,eitlit-1' to aiii-ct the safety or coin-
fort of the ti‘:tve.lle1', or the security of

gootls trzinsportcd overtlie Wincliester and
Potomac railroatl. The eiigitics have. per-
fornieil uiiconiinonly well,---—oiie of tht-in
with an amount and continuity of service

.rai‘cly known in the liistory of loconiotivt=.s.

The “ 'I‘eiiiit-ssec,” for some time our only
dopci1.rlt-=.iit~.i=., l'i't-qtit-iitl_v rrtn over the. road,
32 miles long, four titties a day. Since first
placetl on the track, she has been, on but
two or thret-, f)t‘t'.}l.‘%lt)l‘lS, sliglitly repairetl by
the lntl(5llli]lSi, and at an cxpeiisn of iioi
Inoretliiiii $20. She has (mlll.ll)l.tt‘(l to rtiii
with great satisfzictioii, and with a spt-.t>.tl
and ]il':*.(3lSltiIl not to be easily ext-cllod—-
liaviiigpasseil over, with burden and pas-
sreiitrt-r cars coiiihinetl, not mucli short of
A1O,0*.lll miles in 130 days. Eiigiiws t.llt‘l'€
at-9., no doubt, of tiiiicli grrctiter p iwer, but
we qtiestioii wlictliei‘ any reqiiiriiig less re-
pair and less fuel, important eleiiieiits in
citlcnlatingthe value of an engine, are to he
found, combining at the same time equal
e"fi-cieiicy with the “ ’I‘eiii'iessee.” ’I‘liough
ozirgsuyerbucture is of stronger inaterinls

thin those of 1‘allY'O3.‘lS generally in the,

Uiitetl States, our string pieces being 5 by
9, air] sills 11 iiiches in diaincter, we have.
seeii no cause for regret, that our eiig;iiie.s
weigh less than those coirimoiily used (‘.lSt‘.-
wlici'c—-heiiig well assured that higli ve.
licity and great weight are Ilflllllfli‘ coni-
patible with their own dtirablc ellicieiicy,
nor the stability and duration of the road on
which they move. Should our eiigines fail
titransport the lieaviest traiiis, we hope
t'icy will irialre tip the tleficieiicy, and save
the levelling and repair of our superst.i'ttc.

tom, a serious item of expciisc to railroad .

companies. The untiriiig ingenuity of the

American mechanic, StltllUlttl0(l' by the
high premium oflhrcd for all inventions to
diininish labor, and the wide field for the
display of skill, free as the political atmos-
phere in whichit grows, will doubtless soon
discover a style of locomotive, better adapt-
ed to the localities of our railroads, and the
mode of their coiistructioii, than any that
areimported from eiigiiicers, denied a per-
sonal acqnziiiitaiict-. with the wants of this
count"y. Engines have been iiiaiiufacturecl
by Ainerican citizens possessiiig valuable
qualitics——tiiose used npoii the Baltimore
road, are pai‘ticul:1rly disiiiirrtiislied for tlieir
po\vei‘,~—but the fuel they are dt-sigiietl to
coiisuirie, reiiders tlicin far too e.\peiisivt-.
for our inltind rcgioii. From i'epe2itetl ob-
servation, it is believed that, with littleinore
than a cord of pine wood, our engines will
generate as much power of steam, as a ton,
of antliracitc coal was found to produce in
the one l)t’.lt)l1glI‘lg to the Baltiinore Coin-
pziny, while in ourcmployiiit-iit—-—tlit-itquan-
tity of good dry pine heintz found sulficient
to transport to l*larper’s Ferry from 250 to
300 barrels of flour and return with the
weight of 20 barrels. The best pine wood
ought not liere to t-.xt:ecd 352,50 per cord,
while anthrttcitc coal caiiiiot gt‘.ll(‘.l‘itlly be
obtained for less than $10 the ten, delivered
at Harper's Ferry. VVitli the iinportetl iron
inouiiting for our bnrtlien cars, the Board
have had reason also to be S1lllSl‘l(!(l—fit\'l‘.(l
upon springs they can be inovi-d at the rate
of twelve or filtecii miles the hour \vitli per-
fect security to the ti‘.-.i;,;lit. geiierally two
and :1 halftons lO(‘:t(3ll car. The economy
which has attciitletl the union of thorn with
the passei’igei' cars in the same train,’ linsi
fully conviiicetl the Bo:ird ofits prop1'iet.y——
while the safety and speed of the wliolo
train, iiioving on unil'oi'tn springs, and
wlieels banded with wrouglit iron, have, it
ES_‘b(;li(a)v[)K(l’, in no instance, failterl to com-
niand the coiilidciiee of the ll‘f1V(’ll('1‘,-110
lrat-.tui'e in any \Vll(‘(}l, though all inticli
used, having yet bet-ii discovered. On rail-
road tliorotiglifares of innch greater travel
tll’lll be expected over Olll'::‘ for some time to
come, the power of locoinotive can seldom
ce fully employed in propelling passenger
cars only,——the waste of power, thus i1ici-
dt-nt, to such roads is not felt on ours, in a
country where produce is generzilly plenty,
and the business and the ability ofour popu-
lation furnislies a very coiisiderable amount
of neigliborliood travel.

Ooiiiiiiodioiis depots have been t-‘rected at
each end oftlierorid; but wantof sulficient
means of tmiisptirttition, until rei'ently, has
prevented the Bo:ird, togetlier with other
t’.}1lJS€S, from accommotlating to the extent
-if their wants the various neighborhoods
tlesi;;'netl for places ol deposite. An in-
i:re:1sud supply of cars will soon supply the
-:leni:1nds alo1i;r the line of the road: and it
is lt1l1t.'(:()l‘tlltll1.‘L‘Wlllt the design of those
lieretoforo (‘.ll‘ll'1Cti with the niantigeniciit
of the Cnnp-iny’s concerns, that ware-

houses be constructed, particularly at those
points provided with double tracks, by the
Company, or byprivate individuals, under‘
their author-ity——tlie latter system,‘ it is
thouglit, will linppily blend individual en-
terprise with a just promotion of the inter-
est of the comp:iny—bette.r acquainted with
the resources ofilie fl(ljt1GE‘IliC0ut‘ilt‘V.‘ Ow-
inzto the difficuhies ofobtaining the right
of way through the public grounds at Har-
per’s Ferry, and provitlin,r,r the supply of
timber of unusual size, of which partof the
work there is necessarily constructed, that
oortion of the road between the Island of
Virgiaius and the. Potomac is now reaching

‘tween this-Island and the Baltimore rail-
road, which has caused very considerable
expense as well as obstructions, and other
inconvenience incident to triiiisliiprrient
will soon be avoided. The cars will be
enabled in a few days to pursue their course
to the bank oftlic Potomac, and it is inten-
ded that a temporary track, thence over the
present bridge to the end of the Baltimore’
road, shall be immediately laid down,
which will allow the convenient transfer
of frei {hi from the cars, placed side by side.
ofthe two conipanies———so that merchandise
from Baltimore need be detained butan hour
or two at Harper’s Ferry, on its way to
\Vincliester. It will not be, however, until
the vl'd(lut:l, at present cons ruciing by the
Baltimore Company, is completed, that the
niutual‘iiiterests of each company will be
entirely accommodated. That period is
sincerely to be desired, and would have
been nearer its arriviil, but for the frrqueiit
high waters which have retarded the pro-
gress oftlie stone worlr. The piers have
now attained their proper heiglit—the su-
perstructure is coinmencetl——tlie timber for
the whole is providetl—one arch is in part
raised, and one track at least is promised to
be ready for the passage of cars, before the
coming winter. VVlietlier loading of par-
ticular mercliandise may not then continue
to VVinCl]€Si(‘.I‘, with the cliange only ofmo.
tivc power, will bernatter for future delib-
eration--.1ll delay at any rate can be avoid-
ed, and the agents of the two companies at
the Ferry will be enabled to liarmonizc the
interests of both, by united personal inspec-
tion.

'I‘lionqh mncli ofthe time, since the open-
ing of the road, has been what is termed the
most favorable season of the year for the
prosecution of such works—it may be as—
served, that weather more trying to the sta-
bility oftli-e road, could scarcely have hap-
pened. The breaking up of winter was in-
deed succeeded by a traclr of dry weather,
but a continuance of lieavy rains followed,
which seriously injtireil and impeded the
operations of railrorirls mncli longer con—
structed than ours. The Slienantloali, du-
riiig the highest swells, had almost re-taken
the ground, we had stolen from its contrac-
ted channels-—but ourenihankments resisted
its formidable assaults, and altliough part
ofthe worit was at one time inconsiderable
jeopardy, no darnage ofconsequence was in-
curred, nor any delay to transportation.—-
However difficnlt it may be to graduate a
railroad through a limestone region, our
limited experience would seem to pro-
-ounce, that if well constructed at first, it
will be easily ltept in repair—by its free-
dom froin slips atexcavatioiis,:1nd washing
of embanlrments, and above all by its ready
drainage tlirougli the numerous fissures
which abound in :1 limestone formation.——-
Elevated about nine inches above the grad.
uated bed, upon trenches filled with broken
stone, placing it beyond ilie general reach
offrost—-having sufficient fall at deep cuts

its completion. The drayagc required be-

to carry ed‘ the water which the crevices of
the rocks may refuse———our promises to re-
quire but little expenditure in repairs. This
property is deemed important, and ought to
afford some atoning satisfaction to the
stockholders, if the-work should have ex-
ceeded tlte expenses originally estimated.
[Concluded in our next.] «

 

From the Newburgh Journal.
Nnwntmeit R.AILROAD.—-Tile resolu.
tion passed at the last meeting of the Di-
rectors of this Road, has given confidence
to our citizt-ns——has called public atten_