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!UUlUDJbit df«iOf Wiixuat Mil Directors of the to construct aIt aEPORTn» Esq, Engineer of the Board of[ranklui Conn! Company, authorized ood to l»ako Erio.Gentlemrjc!1! The more laborious part of the duties required in your service having beou completed—tho route of your Railroad surveyod and located, the necessary drawings made, and the work lot, oa| favorable terms to respectable and generally experienced contractors* forlho grading, bridging and wooden superstructure of the ou-tire length of road—I bog most respectfully to submit the following report.A party was organized and our labors commenced on the 23d of August by preliminary examination# of Walnut, Elk, Crooked, aud Cotiiieaut CrJoks, to fix gradingpoints in tho location of the Erie division of your Railroad. ; • I ','jThe country over which it’ passes presents a peculiai; appearance, tho surface being terraced or rising iti stops from tho north and indented by doop njvlncs. !TUo high-er .parts being composed of a round gravel aud sometimes sand formation. As our liqe runs parallel with thos^teps or crosses them diagonally, the amount ofearth to fib removed is light, and easy grades have poeo- obtained. Three lines have boon traced from uie proposed depotThe aggregate ascent going west is 12Q| feot variably distributed over a distance of nearly 12 miles, the heaviest graduation being 18 foot to the mile; and tho aggregate ascent going cast is 158) feet Variably distributed over a space of 10| miles, the heaviest graduation being 18) feet to the inito.It would appear by a formula deduced from carefully conducted experiments that a locomotive capable of tukiiig 60 tons at a ralo of 12 milos per hour on a love!, will be able to ascend an 18 feot grade at the eento rate with 30 tens, or the traction on1,an IB fost grad# will be equal to one-half the power of the cugiue on alovol.Two houses betweau Sassafras aud Walnut streets will require to bo moved back from tho line of tho road. Tho only other dwelling likely to be interfered with is at Crooked creek; the site is valuable and the owner wilt of course bo liberally compensated.. In Spring fieldNho AJiddlo road” is cut ratlior badly for about a quarter of a mile, its location will require to be shifted.Having made a reconnoisatico of the valley of Frouched by the spur of the hill on one aide and the creek on thd other. Your charter gives the company tho right of ut -ing tho towpnih, berm bank, and graded bed of the canal, the township road must consequently be made elsewhere; the valley of Whitman** run t* ths turnpike may perhaps afford the best location. Between the French creek bridge and the locks near the aqueduct the road is cut badly for 1209 feet The ground her* also sidling. The public road can be laid along side of tbe railroad with but little intorferaneo to tha businesa of either.On the Erie division tbe grubbing forms a large Kent in the estimated co3i, no rock excavation is expected. Tho emeuat of earth-work fer a single track, exclusive of preparing foundations for bridging, the removal or doposit of earth to form depots. Turnouts or sUtiousi c. is estimated at, *Excavation, 216,009 yards.Embankment, 399,000 •* or 31.609 cubic yards por milo,'Ok tho Frauklin division, the grubbing will bo ’gene*crook by .Mcdnllo to Franklin tho location of that divi-, ra,1‘ W'*’ ,0“* rocl1 °*oavalion fccan• bul 007 «in the borough ofof tho Erie and North East Ruilroad,Erie, to Walnut Crock; two from Walnut Crock to Elk Creek, and two from. Elk Creek to tho west lino of Springfield. Both linos cross Walnut Crofek at the aatno place and divergod only 159 feet at Crooked Croek, As wo wore coufined to a junction with the Erie and North East road, all our lines necessarily cpmmenco at the same point in the borough of Eric.In tracing th e first line wo commenced at State street, on tho located lino of tho Erie and North East road, and followed said location, curving gently thorough thooutloiscrossed tho Ex-the intersectionwith a grade of 10 feet to the, mile, and tension Coup) a few feeMo the north of of Twelfth and Poplar streots. Thoucol with a grade of 12 foot to the milo and an easy curveJ to tho intersection jsl Cascade and Twelfth Street, from which a straight lino was run to near the *‘Oxor road,** ascending Turkov ridgo with a grade of 12 feet to the mile; tho line thon ; be a ra more to tho, south, crosses said road near Barr’s 1 house, and runs straight with light grade* to Walnut! creek which is crossed 1400 feot below the canal aquo- ; duct, .From a point ono half mile west 5f tho creek to! Trout run a grade of 22 feet to tho mi|e occurs. Troutprun is crossed a little south of Anderse n's mi!!, fromwhich light grades were obtained to Elk creek, whore two places, previously examined and apparently favorable lor crossing the gulf, presented them selves, each being about 1300 feet aeeross and 100 feot above tho bed of tho stream. Tho more northern crossing would have proved tho least! expensive, but, as tho lino would have boon taken considerably out of the direct routo owing to the unavoidable curvature necessary to carry the road from the bluff on the eastern side to that on (lie west, this was abandoned and the line (raced aeeross tho gulfsion of your road was commenced on the 5th of November. 1 was assisted ia th* surveys by Ch. Ifoydrick, Esq. whoso knowledge of tho country was valuable and his services efficient.For tho first 10 miles from Franklin tho nature of tha country is Intricate; Fronch creek winds amongst bold and projecting hills rising to some hutidradsof feet above Its bet), the face of the spurs frequently forming art augle of twenty ddgroos with tbe horizon; and thoir bar* washed by its waters, which in some places have a fa!) of ten feot to the mile. The average width of tho ” valley is about half a milo and at some places but little more than that of tho creek. Tho northeast side of the valley presented s more favorable appearance for our purpose; aiidas some of the improvements made by the State for the sjackwnter navigation could bo used, that aide was pro- . ferred, and the location made accordingly. The nature of my instructions required that I should make the location with the view of constructing a cheap railroad tonear places where the material will be wanted to form pro* tection walls. Tho amouht of osrth-work Is estimated atExcavation, 315,080 yards*n' Embankment, 240,000 ••%or 21,500 cubic yard* per mile. \This average Is amall wjten compared with that for'other railroads.’ The quantity of earth-work in teo,completed roads, forming an aggregate length of 342 miles of double track, gives ao avorage of 103,330 yards per milo; which assuming the doublo track to be 39 feot wide st grade line, will give an average of nearly 67,600 yards per mile for a single track 15 foot wide at grado line, ormore than three times the amount required on your railroad.The excess of embankment over excavation It owing to a considerable length of tho road requiring nothing mor# than common tump'diing—raising the road-bad above •Ihe general surface by cuttings from the side ditches, and(Which hi all cases has been estimated as embankment.connect llie navigation of (he Alleghany at tho ,own ofl ^ ^io dWHion i. di.ided into 26 ..ctioM and th... . .... ^____.. 1 Franklin division into 18 sections.For tho details of tho estimated cost of the several2600 feet niqfo to tho south and above M|lee* envf/mill.• Pcrossed at considerable cxpeiico. A lino of lateral levelsicei mure to mo gouin n;ra anovo nines’ saws null. Hero a second gulf (Silvertlibrn's run) required\o bewas lakon to another place 2300 feet still .further to the south, and on Digliton’s lapd, from whiclj tho line .was traced nearly, straight to Conaeaut crock| crossing Si!-vorthorn'a rujj south of the fulling mill, Crooked crock 300 feet aortl?af Webster’s mills, Raccoon croek a littJo above Patten eu*s saw mill, and tho west lino of Springfield ono milij north of the Ritjgo road. Botwcen Crooked and Raccoon crooks a gradient of 25 feot to tho milo was required, which caused another lino to ho (raced It ore aflor described.Tho Second Line follows tho course of tho firai to thecrossing of the canah and ascends Turkov* rithrn with aFranklin with that of tho French croek feeder 6 miles below Moadvilte; tho curvature ia consequently abrupt! at. come point* but not more so than that on,eomo of out1 most travelled thoroughfares tand only one of tho grades exceeds 20 feot to tho mile, it being 22, ou a tangent, and a little over a milo in length.Only ono line is located. Other exvaiinations wero made with tho view of shortening the ^istauco by having the road on higher grouod, and which in several instances, we wore obliged to abandon, owing to tho hoqyy expense of grading.Tho morb effectually, to cennoct with the navigation of the river, tho location commences on the Clarion turn-lpika, between Elk street and tho Allegheny bridge, and at at) elovation of 10) feet above tho top ofthe dam at tho outlet lock, and with at) ascending grade of 13 feet to tho mile, the line runs through the tier of lots along theriver and French creek, aud between Elk and other streets, to lot number 41 where tho creek is crossed at 23) fuel above its bed by 523 feot across. Tho grado is there love! with a curve of 839 foot radius, having a swoop of tOdogroos (this curve is much the sharpest on the wholo lino and is adopted to shorten tho length .of bridging). A cut is made in tho face of a steep hill to obtain •uffisiont earth to forin embankment botweou tho crsok and MeadviHo turnpike. The line then follows tho course of the canal to eTdistance of 2| milej; a grado of 29 foet to tho mile on a tangent occurs on the first part, and on€ Itho last a cqrvo of i 100 feet radius with a sweep of 110 degrees from which the lino skirts (ho base of a precipitous lull, part of which is washed by the creok (o tho 3d milo whero n counter curve occurs with a radius of 1450Atii I S n / I fton J wl:«____itomt required in tho construction, I respectfully refer you to tho tabular statements.For the Erio division tho aggregate estimated cost totthe grading, bridging and superstructure With the T or II rail fora single track is $365,000 being, an avarago of $14*430 per mils. ' With the plats rail the estimate is $271,500, average $10,730 per milo.For the Franklin division tha estimated cost for thd grading, bridging and woolen supers true taro is $140,-500, average $0,639 pet mite, and with tbs Plate rail the estimate is $191,600, average $9,040 per mile, 1 'The estimates aro based open fair cash prices, and ate exclusive of land damagas, cost of depots, turnouts, stations, and warehouses, and the necessary motive and Carrying stock of the road.*At tho.roquoat of several citizens residing la Girard and Springfield. A reccoti noisance, was made with the* view oflocetlng tho road neare^ to these village*, but, aa tho doing so would involve a vsjry heavy additional expenditure in crossing Elk creek, and a longer road lo buildjwiihout in my opinion, any proportionate compensating benefit, this was abandoned and instrumental examinations deemed unnecessary. Tbe located lino of the railroad ia by the nearest public road | of a mile from Fair-view, 1) miles from Girard, and Ihe earns distance from Springfield, |The Villages ofFairvietv, Girard, Springfield, Coch* rnftslort, and Utica will requiro stations with *he necessary buildings to accomodate the tSftij trade and travel. Durable streams, for the supply of water, exist near tho iuterssClions of the roads leading to each;
Newspaper Details
Erie Observer
Erie, Pennsylvania, US
Fri, Jan 25, 1850
Page 1
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Clipped by
Carnegie L.
Pennsylvania, USA 28 Sep 2020
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