AMERICAN RAILROAD JOURNAL.

597

with a hostler, and the keeping upa num-
ber of int'er’se"cting tracks, equal at least to an
additional mile and. a. half of. road. . This,
it must be recollected-, constitutes but a por-
tion of the expense, the greater part growing
out of the delay and detention,‘ necessarily in-
cident to suchxan establishment.

“With a view of ascertaining, with some
degree of ‘accuracy, the extent of delay occa-
sioned’ by: the inclined 'plane, the committee
caused a statement to be kept, noting precise-
ly the time ofthe departure andarrival of all
the cars to and from Charleston, Hamburg,
and Columbia, from the ls't'of'March to the
31st, inclusive. This statement was kept in
Charleston, by that most efficient and valua-
ble ofiicer, the chief agent, Mr. John King,
and may'_'bei_i'e,lie'd on with entire confidence.

“ From. this it appears, that a train leaving
Charlestenfor Columbia, will,on,an average,
perform the trip in 28 hours and .10 minutes,
while a t:ra'in_ from Charleston to Hamburg
will occupy 32 hours and 52 minutes, mak-
ing a difference in favor of the Columbia
trip of 4 -hours and 43 minutes. - -

Q “But the disparity in the downward trips
is immeasureably. greater. From the same
tahle it appears that a train from Columbia to
Cl1'arleston,..Will consume .33 hours and 37
minutes, »whi-le-—one-from- I-Iamburg to the
same point, will occup‘y'53 hours and 14 mi-
nutes, leaving a diffet'ence of 19 hours and
37 minutes.

“ It must be here observed,-that though
there is in fact a--difference of six miles in
the length of the two roads, that is to say.
Columbia_ being distant fr_om,,Ch’a‘rleston 130
miles, and Hamburg 136, yet that the regu-
lations requiring the cars to pass over the
trestle wo_r'k‘across the C‘-ongaree swamp at a
diminished speed, removes this inequality,
and the passages should be accomplished in
the same -time, except -so -far- as the inclined
plane would make a difference. "Thus it will
be seen that there is a loss of time amount-
ing to 16 per cent._against the trips to Ham-
burg, and 60 per cent. against those from
Hamburg to ‘Charleston, as compared with
the trips between Columbia and r Charleston.
This difi'e‘rence,the committee-are compelled
to attribute to the difficulties and delay occa-
sioned byithe inclinedgplane, and they think
.this is more clearly established by the fact,
that the principal loss of tirnejis incurred by
the trains whichtleave I-Iamburgfor Charles-
ton. The period selected for-this compara-
tive test, was the month of March, when

gthere-lwasvby no means a press-of business,

orany other _ cause existing tojoccasion "unu-

sual detention. , _ . -

. “Another very serious evijlarising» from
the inclined plane, is felt-in.the.delay.and
confusion produced at the depot at Charles-
ton, by the separation of consignments which
takes placeat Aiken; ‘This W0’W1ll attempt
to illustrate. * -A train o‘f"2O cars-are loaded
at Hamburg, _and*two or more'of‘ these con-
tain the producelof one planter, consigned to
‘his,fac_tor in Charleston. They all arrive

together atthe foot of the ,plfl,I_)t3,__l?ll,1lL in the

confusion incident to the hurry of business,
and the difficulty of gettingthem on the pro-

per track, (which can only be understood by
those who have witnessed the operation) one
of these very cars is separated from the rest,
and is delivered to a different train coming‘
down. The trains arrive separately, at diffe-
rent periods, and are discharged at different
parts of the yard at Charleston. The con-
signee calls for his consignment, and is only
enabled after a long and laborious Search to
find it, portions at a time, in -different parts. of
the yard, and frequently under heavy piles
of produce, which, from want of room, have
been thrown upon it. This is a serious an-
noyance to the merchant, a vexatious embar-
rassment to the agent, and a source of heavy
expenditure to the company, a great part of
which is justly chargeable to‘ the plane at Ai-
ken. -

“ The divided responsibility which this
system involves is, in the view of your com-
rnittee, another of the evils growing out of
the inclined plane. The conductors are
obliged to transfer the one to the other along
the line of road, and by the time that goods
arrive at the point of destination, either at
Charleston or Hamburg, they have passed
through so many hands, that it is by no
means an easy matter to fix the responsibility
when loss occurs.

“ The risk encountered by the large recu-
mulation of goods and produce necessarily
detained at Aiken by this obstruction, is also
a matter for grave consideration. It is fresh
within the recollection of all, that cotton and
cars to the amount of $10,000 were a few
years ago destroyed by fire at the head of the
plane, for which the company were responsi-
ble; and there is no security against the re-
currence of similar disasters. So long as
this establishment is continued, merchandise
and produce must_ be liable to detention and
exposure, and the company must encounter
all the hazards, great as they are, resulting
from such causes. , ,

“From these facts it must be evident that
sound policy, as well as economy, demands
that the inclined plane should be dispensed
with, as soon as the "company are in a condi-
tion to lay down’ a continuous ‘track. Even
if it be admitted -that by extraordinary exer-
tions and atgreal_ ad_d,iti_onal,expense, the com-
pany are at presentenabled. to pass the busi-
ness ofthe road at -this point, -yet it is-certain
that the difliculty ofdoing so must have the
effect of preventing: a:riy;rnaterial increase of
that business while this obstacle is permitted
to remain; and when the contemplated con-
nection with the fertile valleys of the Tennes
see and Cu.rriber.land.rivers.shall have been
effected, it-wi-ll.be-utterly impracticable teac-

3commo,date*the*acld~itional: business that may

be-expected from these sources.

“The committee feel it to be a solemn du-
ty to urge upon th'e-stockholders the removal
of such an obstacle tothe present and future
prosperity of the road, and to express the
opinion, deliberately formed from a careful
examination-of the subject in all its aspects,
that it is utterly ‘vain to expect any consider-
able imp,'rovet_nent in the operations of the
line until we imitate the policy which expe-

-rience and progressive knowledge have dic-

tated to other roads, of dispensingwith in-
clined planes wherever practicable. whether
managed by stationary power or otherwise.”

We give their remarks entire upon this important
subject, and agree fully with themthat it is better
always to avoid planes, if it can be done without (L
g7‘cale7‘ sacrifice. But what constitutes a greater sa-
crifice, is a question upon which there are different
opinions—as will be seen by the remarks, evidently,
of a practical and intelligent man, though his name
is not given——which will appear in our next,num-
her, in connection with the remainder of this article.
—after having kept them along time on our table. 0
The subject is an important one, and we shall be
pleased to hear from others of the profession onitne,
subject——as we know there is, even at this late day,
quite a diflerence of opinion on the subject.

In speaking of the Camden branch, they say:

“ The committee passed over that portion
of the Camden branch which was completed
at the time of their examination, and would
submit to your consideration one or two re-
marks in regard to its construction. The
method which has been adopted and pursued
in that construction, they cannot but regard
as highly objectionnbe. Longitudinal tim-
bers, hitherto considered as indispensable in
such structures, have been entirely dispensed
with, and the cross ties, instead of resting on
parallel sills, disposed lengthwise on the road,
are made to lie on the bed ofthe road, with
no other foundation than that afforded by the
earth itself. [These remarks are intended to
apply to that part ofthe road beginning at the
trestle work beyond the river, leading to

Camden, and now in progress of construc.
tion] It will at once be perceived that one
of the principal supports to these ties is omit-
ted under this plan, and that they must the
more readily yield to the pressure from above,
and sink into the ground, particularly on the
embankments, where the foundation is neces-
sarily less firm and compact, and which must
be in progress of settling for a period of sev-
eral years. . . r . . Z
Petersburg Rullrond Report for *1 84-7., ' '‘
We referred, in N o. 32 of tliislournal, to there%-
port of this company, showing a very favorablestate
of its affairs; we novv"give the report entire——so
far as it relates to the business of the company-—omif-
ting whattrelates to the controversywitli another
company. . ' ’ 1 . - . i ,'
From this report we find a prosperous and ima-
proving state of business, andtrust that the good old
town of Petersburg shares" fully in this improvement.
- If the people of Petersburg were alive to their
own interest, they would, it seems to us, make an
eflort to induce the people on the line, and at Lynch;
burg, to build a railroad .cljt'rc_ct .to I/ync/tlmrg---thus
drawing the business‘ from the. westto themselves,
since the peopleof Richmond do-not move ingthe
,r_nat,ter.l fA-railroad to Lynchhurg, and thence to the

‘,0/I-1:0,1"i'U,B7‘, would be of mu_ch more importance to

Petersburgthan the one now in use soutlt,-A as the
former -would bring, both fre,igh_ta'nd,passenge1's, to
an immense amount, from which Peitersburg would
derive great benefit.‘ We. have seen ‘no indication
of such a contemplated, movement; but have read
with deep interest the letter of Mr. Maury, inirelai
lation to the7connection,of the Ohio with Norfolk,
making that old city the depot, and shipping port,

for a largersection of country lying west, and south-
west of it. ' ‘ . - ~ 3