1837] 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



11 



are ubout one thousaiul oiulit huiulred perches of 

 stone in tliis siructure, and tlie whole cost was 

 about >? 10,500— which, wiien we conir^uler that 

 the stone liad to be conveyed tiiree uiik-s, is very 

 nioierate. Tlie euibauiinient at either end ol'this 

 briiiife is very heavy — about thirty six li'et hi^ili, 

 auil in all, contains two thousand eigiit hundred 

 cubic yards ol' earth. 



From No. 4 to 5, tliere is a beautiful straiiiht 

 stretch of n(!ar!y Ibar miles. The cuttinjj; in sev- 

 eral places on this i)ortion, is as much as twelve 

 feet. Where the line crosses the head of Lynch's 

 swamp, the riiige bemir nmch to the ri^dit, there 

 is a very heavy embankment, thirty tJiur leet high 

 in its deepest part, and containing nearly five thou- 

 sand eight hundred cid)ic yards. Under tiiis bank 

 there is an arched culvert, (six feet span, ninety 

 feet long, and containinir tlu-ee hundred to three 

 hundred and filiy perches,") whidi is a most beau- 

 tillil specimen of masonry. The cuts on this por- 

 tion, were principally ol'clay. In them were some- 

 times encountered large isolated blocks of granite, 

 measuring Trom five to ten leet in diameter, which 

 had the ajipearance of having been, at one time, 

 much subjected to iJie li-iction of water At one, 

 place, also, the earth is impregnated with a good 

 deaiol'iron ore, which rendered it exceedingly hard. 



Prom No. 6 to 7, the first half is heavy cutting, 

 the remainder a he;ivy bank. Here, alter snikiiig 

 the cuts eiirht or ten leet, throuirh clay, there was 

 reached a stratuni of sand, which scarcely needed 

 the plough or pick. On this portion is situated the 

 first de[)ot, seven and a ludf miles Irom the junc- 

 tion of the two roads, and midway between Eel- 

 field and Gaston. 



The sliorl cut ve li'om No. 7 to 8, is on a heavy 

 bank. 



From No. S to lo, which includes all that por- 

 tion of the rail road from near Puckett's cross 

 roads, to the summit, near the Roanoke, a dis- 

 tance of seven miles, the location is most favora- 

 ble — the country at one time, undulatiiiir so gen- 

 tly and regularly, that the hills just serve to fill up 

 the small valleys, and at another, so regular and 

 level, that the road- way scrai'es alonirthe surlace, 

 sometimes a foot or two above, at others, a toot or 

 two below. The texture of the soil, very sandy 

 and light. 



Between No. 12 and 13, these is a second depot. 

 Another temporary depot is constructing at 15. 



The curve from No. 13 lo 14, brings you to the 

 proper direction lor sinking the head of the ravine, 

 by which the descent is made to the Roanoke, and 

 the curve from 15 to 16, brings you into the direc- 

 tion of that ravine. Tins ravine is then lidlowed to 

 the flats of the river, and the same straight line 

 pursued across these flats, which are here three- 

 fourths of a mile wide, to the river. 



From 15 lo a point one thousand four hundred 

 feet south of 16, there is a heavy cut, as much as 

 thirty-one fi?et deep in one [ilace, and containing 

 nearly seventy thousand cubic yards. The top is 

 of a sUff clay — the middle third, stiff' clay mixed 

 with large gravel — and the lower third, a mixture 

 of clay and sand — the sand however prevailing. 

 Next to this cut, the work consists principally of 

 heavy embankment, till you reach the flats, across 

 which there is a bank averaging about eight feet 

 high. 



After passing through the last curve, or on 

 reaching point No. 16, a spectacle no less re- 



markable than beautillil strikes the eye. The 

 straight si retell of road does not slop at the river, 

 but continues on in the same straight line, nearly 

 to the summit on the other side — a thing unparal- 

 leled in the annals of rail roads: not only that a per- 

 lectly straight line could be obtained in the de- 

 scent on this side — but that a valley should be so 

 disposed on the opposite side, that this straight 

 line, conlinueil, should allbrd the very best location 

 lor the ascent to the next summit — and this too 

 across a valley, the flats of which are two hun- 

 dred liiet below the summit on either side. 'J'his 

 straight line, when completed, will be tliree and a 

 half miles long, and the Roanoke bridge, when 

 completed, which is now in the course of construc- 

 tion, will greatly add lo the beauty of the view. 



About the last seven hundred leet of the straight 

 line between No. 16 and 17, is a [lartof the Raleigh 

 and Gaston Rail Road. Just belbre reaching the 

 Roanoke, the Greensville road curves down the 

 rner and runs into a noble warehouse, which is 

 now const ructing, three hundred leet by sixty. — 

 This depot is immediately on the water's edge, 

 and the Vthart, only filieen leet wide, will reach 

 water sufficiently deep to float the largest bateaux. 

 Cranes wul be fixed on the wharf iIjp raising produce 

 Irom tlie boals to the level of the floor ol the ware- 

 house, which is made as higli as the beds of the 

 i cars, so tliat the produce can be loaded on them, 

 I with but iitle additional trouble or ex|)ense. 

 I At the point where the continuation of thia 

 straight line strikes the Roanoke, the river ig 

 aooul one thousand ieet wide at the water level. 

 1 A Itriilge is now constructing across it, which will 

 j be completed in the course of the coming year — 

 built on the plan of Townes' lattice bridiz'e, with 

 ■double lattice, to consist of six spans — the piers 

 ' and abutments of the finest granite, which is Ibund 

 here in the greatest abundance. These piera 

 and abutments will be Ibunded on the solid rock 

 I which Ibrnis the bed ol" the river. Along the 

 { whole of this line, stone is Ibund in great abun- 

 ', dance and of the best (|uality. This was a most 

 iortunaie circumstance, lor on the latter half of the 

 ; road, the number of drains is almost unjirecedent- 

 jed. Wherever the line varies the least from the 

 I summii of the ridge, the head of some small ravine 

 1 is crossed, which calls tor at least a dry stone drain. 

 The iiem of hauling, even now, is very considera- 

 ble, but had stone been scarce, or only found at a 

 distance, the expense of all the masonry, would 

 have been very much increased. This stone most 

 I frequently occurs in the shape of large isolated 

 blocks, chiefly of g-ranite, varying much in de- 

 j grees of hardness. 



Located as this road is, between two creeks, an 

 abundant supply of white oak sills was easily ob- 

 tained. Rails had to be obtained at a greater dis- 

 tance; but the Felersbuig Rail Road and the Ro- 

 anoke river furnished ready means for their deliv- 

 i ery at either end of the line. Tlience they had 

 I to be wagoned to the |;oints at which they were 

 wanting. 



Grades. — The following table shows the beauty 

 of the grades on this road. The first column con- 

 tains mere points of reference, not corresponding to 

 the similar numbers in the last table, but as thoso 

 denoted points of curvCy or changes ofdirection, so 

 these the chanires of grade. The second column, 

 the elevation above tide vvaler at Petersburg, of 

 the point on the same line. The third, the length 



