1S36.J 



FARi\IERS' REGISTER. 



55: 



town ami the Delaware line. From the Nami- 

 coke, it tbilows a very direct course to Princess 

 Anne, whence it diveriijed south- weslvvarilly to the 

 nioatii ot" Liitle Annemesic River, on 'Fantrier 

 Sound, its terminus. Its totaWeni^th is IIS) miles. 



The purpose oftliis communication limits me 

 very cursorily to remark, in relation to the charac- 

 ter of the line^ that lijr lowness of jxradc and direct- 

 ness of communication, I know of no road of its 

 lengtli by any means comparable to it. The 

 frrades rarely reach, and never e.xceed twenty-(me 

 ieet to the mile, and this onlj', on very few miles 

 of its lenixth in Cecil County, and a* the crossin<i' 

 of the principal water c'oiirsei;. On much the 

 greater part of the route, the grades do not attain 

 one half that rate per mile. 



Between the points of passage of the rivers 

 above nam^d, the hnes were intended to be traced 

 perfectly straight, and so lar as this was practica- 

 ble in an experimental survey, it has been done. 

 They are very obliciue to each other, and the 

 curves by which ihey are to be connecteil, need in 

 no case be of less radius than one nHle,'and for 

 nearly one iiundred miles of the route, very pro- 

 bably of not less thim five miles radius. 



The aimexed estimate is lounded, on the fiicts 

 collected during t!ie experimental siirvey, and al- 

 though it was not supposed that this would ibllow 

 the best ground, the stations were never; heless 

 taken at 300 I'eet apart, where the surface of the 

 country was nearly level, and at 200 leet or less, 

 where it became undulating or broken — this is 

 mentioned to sliow that the quantities staled in 

 the estmiite, are not assumed without carelul in- 

 quiry. The other elements of the es'imaie are as 

 follows, viz. tlie road-bed to be lorme;! lor a single 

 track, except at the ernliankmcnts, where it is to 

 receive a breadth of 20 leet at tiie crossing of the 

 principal creeks and rivers. The viaducss to be o!' 

 the best tind)er, ami to have a breadth ol 20 ii^-et ol 

 flooring. The rails to be ot 2^ by -|- inch iron, rest- 

 ing on wooilen ?lring pieces, 6 by 6 inches, and 10 

 by 12 inch sleepers, all of the ver\^ best qualirv. 

 The cost of materials and workmanship generailv 

 are assumed at the highest curreriL prices, and 

 wherever in iraming the estimate oi road-bed arKl 

 bridges there was a doubt as to quantity or value, 

 the sum taken was a maximum, and the price of 

 the iron is that ibr wliich it is offered by a mos* re- 

 spectable house. I am warranted, therefore. ! think, 

 in assuring the Conmiissioners, fiiat the amount of 

 the estimate need not be exceeded in the construc- 

 tion of the road. 



Ample provision if is believed is also made for 

 the transportation upon the road, and Ibr connect- 

 ing it with the gr'^at stream of southern travel, 

 which seeking its way to the nordi will find this in 

 connection with the por:s of Norfolk and Ports- 

 mouUi, and with the rivers of the south-western 

 part of the Chesapi^ake Bay, a safe and convenient 

 as well as a very expzdit'wus, and at all times too, 

 an uninierrapied channel of communication. 



In the present state of our statistical infbrn)afion 

 we are unable to present other than general views 

 of the business which may be expected to come 

 upon the road. It is, hovvever, n)ainiy to tlie 

 transportation of passengers, that this, as well as 

 all other railway.^, not directly in connection with 

 great mineral regions, are to look f^)r profitable re- 

 turns upon tiie capital invepted, and it is to this 



Vol. IV— 70 



source the friends of the road may with the most 

 undoubiinir confltlence turn thems(dves. 



From the southern seaboard, the country bor- 

 dering on the Gulf. of Blcxico, the lower JNIissis- 

 sippi and its tributaries, and from all the countrj' 

 which lies south and south-west of the slates of 

 Virginia and Kentucky, the number of travellers 

 who amuiaHy seek the north in pursuit of busi- 

 ness, of health, or of recreation, and who again 

 return back upon the south, is absolutely incalcu- 

 i.i-bie ; along the navigable water courses, they are 

 seen to crowd the numerous steam boats, and on 

 the seaboard, the packet vessels are fully occupied. 

 During tlie boating season, the travelliuL' from the 

 south and south-west is almost altogether by steam 

 boats, notwithstanding the acknowledgeil danger 

 and delays incident to this mode of journeying, west 

 of the mountains. Vv'hen this season is past, the 

 traveller has no other course, whether he proceeds 

 to the north or returns southwardly, than to take 

 the ports of the Gulf, or to cross the mountains, 

 and journey by the valley of the Tennessee, and 

 thence home. " The latter course is ofien preliirred, 

 and xhe number of travellers, and the quantity of 

 goods also by that route, often greatly exceeds the 

 means of'conveyance. Nearer the seaboard, the 

 condition of the traveller upon the road is not more 

 enviable, and the voyage by the coast is beset 

 with some danger, and much discomll)rt. Con- 

 scious of this condition of things, the inlelliircnt 

 men of the soi\ih and west are using every effort 

 to awaken and direct enterjirise. From the Gulf 

 of" Mexico, roads are in con;euipiaiion, or are al- 

 ready undertaken, the pro!o;igaliun of which, must 

 be through the pnncipal towns of the interior of 

 the staies of Georijia and the Caroliniis towards 

 the western termination of the Portsmonih and 

 Roanoke R.iil Ro;u]. With these prttjects are and 

 wid be connecred, otheis to leail to the conunercial 

 capitals of those states, and fi-om thtj Mississippi, 

 otiieis will proceed by the v^ay of Georgia, by the 

 v;dlpy of the Tennessee, or more directly by Knox- 

 ville, and all them uniting with the great line of 

 communii'ation which 1 have jusf meniioiied, all 

 of them directing themselves towards the Roanoke. 

 By the valley of the Roanoke also, and of one of 

 its tributaries, a rail road which has recently been 

 i surveyed, will be conveyed to the sa_me point, the 

 agricultural and mineia! -wealui of an extensive 

 region, and will reluru to it tlie merchandise whicii 

 it will consume. 



It is asceriained that the travel last year beivveen 

 Charleston and Savannah, and Ilie northern cities 

 aioiie, amounted to between 50 and G0,000 pas- 

 sengers. The conten)plation of this great number 

 is aione sufrifient to convey to us some idea cf the 

 multitudes who thronij: to the north, from the vast 

 regions of the south and west, the greater part of 

 whom, undoubtedly, would prefer to travel liy rail 

 roads, and wdio, as I Imve shown, would be con- 

 dncied b}' them directly towards J'our road. 

 Whether, on arriving at the Roanoke River, the 

 clioice being before tiiera ofthe route by Richmond 

 and Potomac Creek, by Norfolk and the Chesa- 

 peake Bay, to the Fronchtown Rail Road, or of 

 your road by the bay and peninsula, is a question, 

 which the friends ofthe Eastern Shore Rail Road 

 will willingly leave to the decision of the traveller. 

 That the general preference would be given to tlie 

 conveyance by rail roads over that by sea, or by 

 the iMiseiesippi and Ohio rivers durinjj the bom- 



