AMERICAN RAILROAD JOURNAL.

929

Inter-colonial Raihvay.

‘I‘he Intercolonial Railway, so long ago pro-
jected, and solong in building, has been open for
traffic a few days, and will be formally opened to-
day by the winning ofexpress trains from Quebec
to St. John and Halifax, and from St. John and
Halifax to Quebec. Perhaps no railway route
was ever more cordially abused,‘ and perhaps no
railway has ever approached completion amid a
more nearly unanimous expression of adverse
opinion as to its commercial prospects. It is,
therefore, especially interesting to note the prac-
tical prospects of the work, as indicated by the
freight and passenger traffic drawn to it at the
beginning, because we are all deeply interested in
its success. A member of the News staff went
over the road last week, from St. John to Riviere
du Loup, where the Intercolonial meets the Grand
Trunk, and back, and saw enough to disprove
many gloomy predictions. Most of the road looks
as though it might be easily kept free from snow;
the exposed portions are protected by snow fences,
and the principal cuts are securely covered. The
road is remarkably straight, often stretching away
before and behind the cars until the gap in the
trees seems no wider than the hand. There are
some long bridges, some very expensive rock cut-
tings, and some long and high embankments; but
the number of these works is not out of propor-
tion to the length of the road, and the route, on
the whole, must be considered a favorable one for
railway building. From Monctou to Miramichi,
78 miles, the road passes over an almost level and
seemingly barren waste, the flre having been the
only previous traveller over the region. The
country, if good for nothing else, is just the thing
for easy railway building. Much of the land is
said to be fair, and a few settlers are locating
along the route. At Weldford five or six new
buildings are going up, and several acres of land
are preparing for cultivation. A few patches are
chopped at other points, and, in time, much of
this portion of the route may be bordered with
farms. At present, however, the traveller sees
nothing of interest until the great Miramichi
bridges are reached, when the noble rivers, the
town of Newcastle, and Chatham in the distance,
combine to form a picturesque and interesting
prospect.

From Miramichi to Bathurst, 44 miles, the coun-'

try is undulating, the vegetation rich and varied,
the scenery attractive, and evidences of civiliza-
tion considerably more frequent than the stations.
At Bartibogue the appearance on a side track of
several carsused as family residences by railway
ernployes, attracted considerable attention. Child-
ren were playing around the wheels, women stand-
ing in the doors, and men sitting outside and
smoking. Life in that moving village must be a
study for the seeker after the curious phases of
civilization.

From Bathurst to Metapediac, 76 miles, the
road skirts the Bay Chaleur and the Restigouche,
passing through a beautiful and well cultivated
farming country, crossing many lovely streams,
and afibrding frequent glimpses of the bay and
river with their ships, weirs and boats. The view
at Metapediac, 13 miles beyond Campbellton.
where the road crosses theltestigouche into Que-
bec territory, is a charming combination ofgrand-
eur and beauty. Hills with precipitous wooded
sides and round tops, the passes between them
being but little above the water level, nearly en-
close the spot, the Metapedia valley forming an
opening towards the- north and the Restigouche,
showing an outlet to the east. ’ ‘
. The valley of the Metapedia, which the road
traverses for the next sixty or seventy miles, pre-
sents many fine views. It is shut in by lofty hills,
and possesses a wild beauty that is, perhaps ren-
dered all the more weid by the light of the moon

V and stars, the trains passing through it each way

in the night. The valley is almost uninhabited.
Leaving the valley, the road crosses the water
shed between it and the St. Lawrence, winding
around rugged hills, crossing high embankments,
and passing through deep, rock cuttings. a
At St. Octave, 83 miles from Metapediac, where

9

the St. Lawrence is sighted, the road winds over
a long and high embankment and then enters a
deep and roofed rock cutting of great length. A
site for a station building is excavating here, there
being no level land to be had without excavating
or filling. ~.There the signs of ancient French civ-
ilization are visible, and the road runs almost an-
interruptedly across the narrow farms of the hab-
itants for the 93 miles intervening between St.
Octave station and Riviere du Loup.

St. Flavie, 9 miles from St. Octave, is consider-
able ofa village. Rimouski, 18 miles further up

‘the St. Lawrence, is the railway.hea.dquarters for

the entire section between Gampbellton and Rivi-
ere du Loup, and the point of departure and ar-
rival of the European mails. A short branch
runs down to the pier, where a steamer, built for
the purpose, lies ready to intercept the outgoing
and incoming steamers. The mails for New
Brunswick and Nova Scotia, via the Canadian
line, are received 48 hours earlier than formerly.

Otte Bay, three miles from Bic, which is con-
sidered a splendid site for a watering place, much
more attractive in every respect than Cacouna,
has already attracted the attention of speculative
capitalists, and may at no distant period he a
fashionable resort.

The road hugs the side of Bic Mountain, 280
feet below the top, and about 100 feet above the
level of the water, and there is said to be consid-
erable danger from falling fragments of rock.
This is the famous diversion that was made for
the benefit of McDonald, the original plan being
for an embankment that would have made the
road bed free from danger.

After passing through the Valley of the Bio and
the St. Fabien "Valley, broad strips of level land
shut in on either side by ranges of low bills, the
road sights the river again, follows it for some
distance, and then, crossing the base of a small
promontory, comes to the St. Lawrence-again at
the mouth of the Riviera du Loup, and effects a
junction with the Grand Trunk.

The time between Moncton and Riviera du
Loup, 374 miles, is 21% hours, including stoppages,
which is pretty good time for a freight and accom-
modation train. -

Not much local traffic has been developed on
the Quebec part of the line so far, the Frenchmen
having little to send to market and few wants to
be supplied by imported articles. But the through
traffic offering surprises the most sanguine. On
Thursday fifteen loaded cars arrived at Riviere du
Loup by the Grand Trunk for the Maritime Prov-
inces, and the train that left that point on Friday
had nineteen Grand Trunk cars with loads for va-
rious points in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
The present prospects of the road are, therefore,
bright, and there is every reason to suppose that
its traflic will increase.——St. John News, July 5.

Co1'rugn.i'.ed Iron.

Specimens of a new style of corrugated iron for
building purposes have been submitted by an
Austrian engineer named Pitze. to the Austrian
Association of Architects and Engineers. The
chief novelty in Pitze’s patent is the shape of the
corrugations; the walls of each being higher than
their distance from each other, and having a vert-
ical profile when the corrugated sheet is placed
horizontally. This vertical position of the walls
of each groove enables the corrug_o,ted sheet to

bear its maximum load, and thus to fit it for gen-
eral use in construction. It is being used for
roofing in a new building in Vienna, at the cor-
ner of the Lichtenauergasse.

 The Orange Branch of the Montclair Rail-
way was opened on the 10th, inst. This road,
formerly known as the Watchung Railroad. was
started as an opposition to the Morris and Essex
company, but the projectors failed, and it -laid
idle for a long time, and is now-leased by the
Montclairlflailway 00.

A Home and A Fortune.

The Kansas Land and Immigrant Association,
with a Capital stock of $1,000,000, Chartered by
the State of Kansas, 3. most laudable enterprise,
started in our city for the promotion of immigra-
tion by the free» distribution to the shareholders
of the Association of $770,800 in cash and some
of our most choice and valuable real estate, farms,
brick blocks, residences, &c., is meeting with un-
precedented success. From every section of the
country orders for shares or tickets are coming
thick and fast. The inducements offered are un-
paralleled. Tbere will be no postponement. The
drawing and distribution of the prizes will take
place positively Aug. 25, 1876, or the money will
be refunded in full. The managers of this enter-
prise are gentlemen of undoubted integrity, hon-
esty, uprightness and ability to do exactly what
they say. They are gentlemen who are prominent
in our State, and whose public and private char-
acters are beyond even suspicion, and the man-
agement of this stupendous distribution will be
conducted with an impartiality that cannot and
will not be disputed. ' '

The Atchison Board of Trade, composed of all
the leading business men of our city, at a recent
meeting, unanimously adopted the following on-
dorsement :

“Knowing the several persons composing the
‘ Kansas Land and Immigrant Association’ we
cordially endorse them as gentlemen of honesty
and integrity, and recommend their erterprise as
worthy the support of the public.”

Every ticket holder will be fairly represented
at the drawing. Price of the shares of tickets
are put at the low price of $5 each. Parties de-
siring a more particular description of this merit-
orious enterprise, inducements offered, terms to
Agents, special offer to clubs and purchasers of
two or moreshares, manner of drawing, refer-
ences, 6r.c., send their address to S. M. Srnrcxrmn,
Secretary, Atchison, Kansas, and they will have
mailed them free an elegant four page illustrated
paper “ The Kansas Immigrant," describing the
enterprise and the advantages "and resources of
Kansas, 620. Sand for it.—From the Atokison,
I((m., Daily Patriot.

Scioto Valley Railroad.

The Ohio State Journal saysvthat the earnings
of the Sciuto Valley Railroad for J une increased
fifty per cent. over May. The earnings for July,
with the increased length of road to Chillicothe,
are making material increase in the income of the
road. The passenger travel is good, and the
amount of freight carried is much larger than was
at first anticipated. The Journal adds:

Two corps of engineers are‘ out on the read-
one running a line on the coal branch, and the
other oh the main line below Chillicothe. The
coal branch will probably come in near Circleville
———at least that is the intention at this time. The
engineers on the line below Chillicothe have
reached Portsmouth. The line, as surveyed, runs
on the west side of the Scioto river, leaving Wav-
erly about two miles to the east.

 

E” The Teharna Tocsin of June 29th says the
track is laid for thirty eight miles on the road
from Woodland to Williams, which latter point is
eight miles west of the town of Colusa. That
completes the work of the Central Pacific Compa-
ny on the west side of the Sacramento valley for
the season. The road from Ioue to Gait, thirty
miles, will soon be completed, and that from Oak-
land Point to Berkely, nine miles also. This will
probably complete the__s_eason’s work of the Cent.
tral Pacific Company, which will thus have built
about 216 miles of road in California in 1876, and
if we estimate the average cost at $80,000 per
mile, we have a. total expenditure of $6,000,00
‘for the construction account of -the year. -