NEW EN€^L.ANB FAMMER. 



Published by John B. Russell, at JVo. 52 JVorth Market Street, (over the Agricultural Warehouse).— Tho^ias G. Fessenden, Editor. 



VOL. VII. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 1829. 



No. 26. 



INTEKNAL, IMPROVEMENT. 



RAILWAYS!. 



(By Ui? Edilor.) 



There are few subjects of more importance to 

 a civilized community than those which relate to 

 roads, avenues, carriages, and other ways and 

 means of transporting commodities, and facilitat- 

 ing domestic and foreign intercourse. No vil- 

 lage, town, or city in New England, can long re- 

 main wealthy and populous unless it is easy of ac- 

 cess by land as well as by water ; and, other 

 things being equal, that portion of the interior, 

 which is favored with the most safe, cheap and 

 expeditious means of conveying its produce to a 

 flourishing seaport will be most wealthy and pros- 

 perous. 



Of all the means of conveyance which ingenui- 

 ty has invented, or industry put in practice, we 

 believe Railways are best adapted to the climate 

 and face of the country in New England. We shall, ' 

 therefore, otTer some sentiments relative to this ' 

 kind of highway, premising, that we have not the^ 

 means, leisure, nor information necessary to v.rite 

 a complete treatise on this topic. Our desultoi^y, 

 hints, however, may be the means of tui'ning the^ 

 attention of some others to this branch of nation- ^ 

 al economy, who are more capable of giving it 

 that high consideration, and thorough investiga- i 

 tion, which its merits re(|uire. i 



By the term Railway is understood a road j 

 formed by laying distinct tracks of timber, iron, 

 or stone, for wheel carriages to run upon. In the 

 construction of railways, stone is more particularly 

 applicable to conmion roads, and the use of tim- 

 ber is now almost wholly laid aside ; while iron 

 is very generally employed, in Europe, though, 

 we believe, stone will be deemed preferable in 

 the United States. 



" When we consider," says the Edinburgh En- 

 cyclopedia, the great projiortlon cf labor, which is ! 

 unavoidably spent in the carriage of the nccessa- ' 

 ries and conveniences of civilized life, in all its | 

 varied forms, we at once see the importance of 

 every measure tending to facilitate and improve 

 commercial intercourse. All are aware of the 

 benefit, which Great Britain has derived from her 

 inland navigation. Such, however, are the ditii- 

 culties aud expense of canal operations, that an- 

 other substitute for the common road has long 

 been sought after by the public. The attention 

 of the engineer has accordingly of late been much 

 directed to the construction of railways ; a mode 

 of communication which will be found more sim- 

 ple and economical in all its details than thfc ca- 

 nal. 



" The speed of canal carriage must always be 

 limited, by the destruction which rapid motion 

 occasions to the banks. In this respect railways 

 have great advantages over canals ; for where 

 the rails are strong, and the wagons light, the ra- 

 pidity of conveyance may be conceived to keep 

 pace with the impelling power of steam. The 

 value of the economy of time is measured and 

 proved by the vast exertions used and sums ex- . 

 pended in Britain to accommodate the public, and ' 

 the ample harvest reaped by those, who best ful- 

 fil its wishes in this respect. In this commercial j 



country the economy of time, and that of power is 

 felt to be the same thing ; and the numerous car- 

 riages established in England to convey goods at 

 speed, shows that the rapid conveyance is not con- 

 fined to passengers alone. From the obstacles 

 abiive mentioned, then, however managed or im- 

 proved, we can never much increase the present 

 rcte of motion on canals, which must ever form a 

 sbw mode of conveyance, independently of its oth- 

 er advantages. 



" The facility with which temporary railways 

 may be laid for short distances from manufacto- 

 ries, ffranaries and other works, to communicate 

 with great public lines of railway in their neigh- 

 boi-hood, is another advantage belonging to the 

 railway system ; for the expense of a canal branch 

 would in almost b;11 cases, be much greater than 

 any temporary or private object would repay ; 

 while branch railways would, when in general 

 upe, become readily saleable after the local object 

 was obtained, and the principal expense incurred 

 would in many situations, be merely that of lay- 

 ing and forming them into a road. When branch 

 railways are connected with canals, much labor is 

 lost in loading and unloading, besides damage oc- 

 casione<l by these operations to the articles con- 

 veyed. 



"Railways again, will benefit by every im- 

 provement in the use of the steam engine, may 

 **« jised in all situations where any mode of con- 

 Joyince is possible, and in practice give about 

 double the despatch of canal conveyance without 

 increasing the working power. Indeed the an- 

 ticipation of a speedy adoption and general use of 

 steam conveyance on railways of iron and stone, 

 would seem at present far more natural, and like- 

 ly to be soon reahzed, than was imagined but a 

 very few years ago, owing to the projected revo- 

 lution now going on by the use of steam in the 

 coasting trade. 



" Under all circumstances, it is found that a 

 horse works only with about three times the load 

 upon a canal that he does on a well constructed 

 level railwaj', which is now sought after as the 

 highest improvement of which the interior com- 

 munication of a country is susceptible. In proof 

 of this we further notice that one person is suflt- 

 cient to conduct the horse-load upon a railway, 

 while three individuals are generally required for 

 •.he same purpose upon a canal. We may also 

 nention that inland navigation is subject to inter- 

 ■uption by the frosts of winter and the drought of 

 summer. The comparative facility of loading 

 and discharging is likewise much in favor of the 

 traffic on a railway ; while nearly the same pro- 

 portion of labor in the trackage of empty or re- 

 turn boats and wagons is incident to both. With- 

 lut calculating on the immense loads, extending 

 10 fifty tons, [since this article was written to 

 ninety-four tons] which have been tracked by the 

 Heam wagon, or of thirty tons and upwards, 

 which have occasionally been moved by the horse 

 u[)on a level railway, we can state that an active 

 lioree weighing ten cwt. conducted by only one 

 man, upon a well constructed level edge railway, 

 will work with ten tons of goods. In the same 

 manner we may take thirty tons as employing the 

 effective labor of one horse and three persons 



upon a canal ; from which it will therefore ap- 

 pear, that the expense of trackage per ton is pret- 

 ty much the same in both systems, while the first 

 cost and consequently the toll or dues must be 

 greatly in favor of the railway. For very weighty 

 and bulky goods the canal is allowed to be more 

 suitable ; yet in practice many such articles may 

 be so placed as to bear upon the wheels of more 

 than one wagon on a railway. Upon the whole 

 we are of opinion, that in every case it is better 

 to construct a railway than a small canal, except- 

 ing where the-ujKon of similar works is to be ef- 

 fected. The case is difterent where it is intend- 

 ed to transport sea-born ships across a country, 

 from shore to shore, as on the Forth and Clyde, 

 the Crinan and the Caledonian canals in Scot- 

 land." 



The Legislature of Massachusetts, at their June 

 session in 182G, appointed a Committee, on mo- 

 tion of Dr Abncr Phelps, a Representative for this 

 City, " To take into consideration the practicabili- 

 ty and expediency of constructing a Rail Road 

 from Boston, on the most eligible route, to the 

 western line of the County of Berkshire, in order 

 that if leave can be obtained of the Government 

 of the State of New York, it may be extended to 

 the most desirable point on the Hudson river, at 

 or near Albany." An able and interesting Re- 

 port, prepared by Dr Phelps, Chairman of this 

 Committee, was published by order of the Legis- 

 lature. This Re|)ort "states many facts and argu- 

 ments which coroborate what is stated above, rel- 

 ative to the preference to which, in most cases, 

 Railways are entitled, when put in competition 

 with Canals. The following is extracted from that 

 document : 



" The numerous Railways, which have been for 

 several years in successful operation in the hilly 

 and mountainous districts of Wales, and in the 

 north of England, prove their fitness for an un- 

 even and undulating country. They are not like 

 Canals, confined to a supply of water, and a series 

 of levels, but tliey admit of a variation like other 

 roads. True, a level road, where the transporta- 

 tion is equal both ways is the best. But iinlefs 

 the deviation generally exceeds 27J teet to a 

 mile, it is ]>racticably considered, a level way. — 

 This deviation is nearly equal to three and an 

 half locks on a mile of Canal." * * * * 



" If the adoption of some measure to increase 

 the means of intercourse between Boston aud the 

 Hudson be necessary ; the question arises, shall it 

 be by a Canal or a Railway ? 



" With respect to a Canal, your Committee re- 

 fer to the able Report of the Inle Board of Canal 

 Commissioners communicated to the Legislature 

 on the 11th of January last. By that Reitort, it 

 ajipears that the only route for a Canal between 

 Boston and the Hudson river would be ITS miles 

 in length — would require one thousand nine hun- 

 dred and fifty nine feet lockage between Boston 

 and the Connecticut river — one thousand three 

 hundred and 22j^'jf*j feet between that river and 

 the Hudson, amounting to three thousand two 

 hundred and eighty-one -jW feet Lockage, and a 

 Tlnxf.l of r.i least four miles in length, through 

 Honsack mountain. The work of forming a Tun- 

 nel is limited in its nature, to a certain number of 



