310 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 5 



the great object, so much the better for the com- 

 monwealth, as well as for those particular places. 

 So tar I fully and readily yield to the claims ofpri- 

 vate and separate interests — and not a jot farther. 

 The scheme which I shall advocate, comes in con- 

 flict with some of'the private interests, or the more 

 dearly cherished amimercial prejudices, of every 

 town east of the JJlue Ridoe, that will be affected 

 by the improvement: and therefore, thouffh a hea- 

 vy balance of" advantages may still he otlered to 

 ail of" them, it is probable that my views will not 

 be acceptable to an}' one. 



There have been two routes proposed for the 

 eastern pait olMhis railway, (from I'irlimond to 

 Lynchburir,) and each has been advocated by 

 friends, and opposed by foes, with that warmth ol 

 zeal which is kindled by self-interest. These are, 

 1. Along tlie valley of James River, and of course 

 along side of the great canal now in the course of 

 construction. 2. Along the ridge of highland 

 which separates the waters of the Appomattox 

 from those of James River. 



The capital objection to both these plans, is, that 

 a railway so near to James River, as either of 

 these, would be a dangerous rival to the canal, in 

 which the state has so great a pecuniary interest, 

 and in the success of which, Virginia at large, and 

 Richmond in particular, have interests much great- 

 er than merely the money invested, or hereafter to 

 be invested in that great work. Tliis objection is 

 so manifest to the valley route, that we miy safe- 

 ly assume the position that lhepowerobtainedl"rom 

 the legislature by the James River Company, to 

 construct the valley railway, was asked for, not to 

 effect, but to prevent the construction — to obtain 

 possession of, and to keep inert and harmless, a 

 power that would be most fatal if wielded by hos- 

 tile hands. The only present effect of the exist- 

 ing charter to construct the valley railway, is to 

 array another vested right in opposition to a char- 

 ter for a railway on the ridge route — to which lat- 

 ter route is also opposed, but with less force, the 

 objection that it would take away the business and 

 profits, and thereby hazard the very existence of 

 the canal now constructing. How far this objec- 

 tion to the ridge route is justly charged, I cannot 

 pretend to say, or even to hazard a supposition: 

 but to that extent, the objection ought to be allowed 

 its full weight and force, by the Richmond interest, 

 by the Legislature, and by the peo])le of" Vir- 

 ginia. 



Cannot these objections be respected, and these 

 opposing interests be reconciled — and yci be ob- 

 tained, by another route, the great benefits of the 

 south-western trade and travel, increased, as both 

 would be, by such facilities? Such a route, free 

 from all important objections, promising new be- 

 nefits to all interests, and injury to none, I conceive 

 is presented on the ridge which separates the wa- 

 ters of James River, from those flowing into Albe- 

 marle Sound. This route, (which has been recent- 

 ly proposed in the newspapers,) in connexion with 

 the Riciimond and Petersburg railway, would still 

 make Richmond the termination, and doubtless 

 the principal receiver and outlet of this long line of 

 trade and travel : and such being the case, Rich- 

 mond ought not to object to a feature thnt would 

 surely be beneficial to the country fiirnishing the 

 supplies of" commodities and of travellers, viz: 

 that the route would pass tiirou^h anotlior town, 

 Petersburg, and thereby would permit, whenever 



desirable, a different destination to travellers, or to 

 the products of the country. If this road, on the 

 whole, was more profitable to the stockholders, and 

 was not more expensive of time or money to their 

 customei's, surely it would be highly advantafreous 

 that there should be two or more markets oflered, 

 instead of" one only. 



But it will be at once objected to this southern 

 route that it is much longer, and therefore, that a 

 railway thereon would be much more expensive, 

 both to construct and to use, than on the ridge 

 north of the Appomatox. If so, then it certainly 

 ought not to be adopted, unless, indeed, there 

 should be other sources ol" additional profit to the 

 stockholders, and of advantage to the public, 

 more than equal to any possible increase of cost 

 on the former route. Such advantages and disad- 

 vantages cannot be estimated and compared, with 

 even an approximation to truth, until after a cor- 

 rect survey of both routes. But with the present 

 imperfijct light on the topographical features of the 

 country, it may be well doubted whether Rich- 

 mond would not be reached as quickly, easily, and 

 cheapl}', from Abingdon, or f"rom New London, by 

 passing through Petersburg, as on the ridge north 

 of" the Appomattox. I ask attention to mj'' rea- 

 sons from those who may be ready to pronounce 

 this opinion as not only incorrect, but absurd and 

 ridiculous. 



Let us first consider the comparative facilities of- 

 fered by both routes for railway construction, and 

 for the after transportation on both. 



The route between the James and Appomattox 

 being on the ridge which separates the tributaries 

 of the two rivers, may be supposed to be not very 

 f"ar from level. But to keep on that ridge, the route 

 must have many curves — and it would be ge- 

 nerally within a few miles distance of £!:ood na- 

 vigation, either on Appomattox, James, or Wil- 

 lis' river — all being in the same direct ion, and hav- 

 ing the same eastern termination, with the railway. 

 It follows, necessarily, that a region of country to 

 which three navigable rivers, and hereafter the 

 canal, will be so accessible, will f"urnish scarcely 

 any country produce to the railway, and will as lit- 

 tle require its aid to bring back tbreijrn commodi- 

 ties. This is, indeed, fully admitted by the advo- 

 cates of" that route, who make use of that admis- 

 sion as ground to maintain that such a road could 

 not take away business from, and therefore Avould 

 not affect the success of the James River canal. 

 When the improvements of the James and Ajipo- 

 mattox, (both now in progress,) shall have (teen 

 completed, no counties in central Virginia Avill be 

 so well supplied with facilities for transportation to 

 market, as Chesterfield, Powhatan, Cumberland, 

 Buckintrham, and Prince Edward, through which 

 this railway is to pass — and therefore, to aid the 

 transportation of commodities, the railwa}' is not 

 wanted, and would be in that respect of no value.' 



The ridge south of the Appomattox is remark- 

 able for its long-continued level, and not far from 

 direct course, as far west as New Jjondon. Be- 

 tween that place and Petersburg, if the traveller 

 will keep on the dividing rido-p, he will not cross a 

 single stream, a ravine, or a hill. Such is the re- 

 port of the remarkable features ol" this line by 

 those who know it best. Such level ridges are not 

 rare in middle, and are still more frequent in lower 

 Vn-giuia: but it is seldom that one so long, or so 

 direct, as this IS found in a similar region. The same 



