The Northern Traveller, and Northern tour. 4th NY: 1831
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
One of the principal objects that will attract the attention of the traveller who spends a little time in Baltimore, is the great railroad, commenced under such flattering prospects, to connect the city with the Ohio river. Cars with sails sometimes go at the rate of 25 miles an hour, and can move within four points of the wind.
About twelve miles of it were completed in
1829; and various cars are in operation upon it, some moved by steam, and some
by wind. The route from Baltimore to the Potomac, 60 miles, will have but a
single summit, requiring stationary power; and even the route up the Potomac
valley, to the coal mines in Alleghany county, without another—in all, a
distance of 180 miles—a thing unprecedented in Europe. The work will be
executed to Ellicott's mills early in 1830. The stranger will find a passage of
a few miles very novel and interesting.
The Carrollton Viaduct, which crosses Gwynn's Falls, about a mile from the city, is a fine specimen of mason work, and is said to be unequalled in the United States, for strength, size, and beauty. It is 312 feet long, 63 feet 9 inches high, and 26 feet 6 inches wide on the travelled part. The great granite arch of 80 feet span, springs from abutments 20 feet in thickness, and 14 feet above the water. The key of the arch is 47 feet above the water. The arch stones are all of dressed granite; the number of layers of stone is 87, many of the stones weighing two tons; and the parapets are coped with large slabs of granite.
The Jackson Bridge is a single arch, 109 feet long, of entirely novel
structure, the invention of Col. Long, of the Company's board of engineers.
The Deep Cut through a high and broad ridge of land, is about
three-fourths of a mile in length, its greatest depth 70 feet, and its width,
at the summit of the ridge, 184 feet. Quantities of carbonized wood were found
60 feet below the natural surface, and the stump of a tree with its roots at 40
feet. The entire excavation is 263,848 cubic yards.
The Great Embankment at Gadsby's Run [Herbert's Run] five miles from Baltimore, is
nearly a mile in length, its greatest elevation 56 feet, and its greatest width
191 feet. At the top the usual width of 26 feet is preserved for a double set
of rails.
Gadsby's Run Viaduct affords a passage to the waters of the run through
the embankment. The arch, composed of dressed granite blocks, is of the
extraordinary width of 120 feet from opening to opening.
The Patterson Viaduct is an
immense structure of granite, by which the road is carried to the opposite bank
of the Patapsco. It is built of granite
blocks, from one to seven tons in weight, and its entire length is 375 feet. It
has four beautiful arches, the two centre ones each a span of 55 feet, with
extensive wings and water-walls, abutments, &c. The height from the water
to the crown of the arches is 30 feet. The corner stone of this structure was
laid on the 6th of May last, and on the 4th of December it was crossed on
horseback by Wm. Patterson, Esq. for whom the honour had been reserved, and
whose name it bears. It embraces nearly 10,000 perches of masonry.
Besides these are the embankment at Stillhouse Run, two granite
viaducts, the rock side cutting at Buzzard’s Rock, &c. &c.
This is truly a great work; worthy of the age, and highly creditable to
the enterprise and public spirit of the company; and from which the citizens of
Baltimore may very reasonably expect extensive and durable advantages.
In passing from the valley of Gwynn's falls to the Patapsco, the
excavations and embankments have unavoidably been very great; the deepest cut
is 79 feet, and the highest embankment is 57 feet; the quantity of excavation
between the city of Baltimore and the valley of the Patapsco, in a distance of
seven miles, is 655,568 cubic yards. The embankments along the same distance
are 628,629 cubic yards, making together 1,284,187 cubic yards. The masonry on
the section within the city, and on the first and second divisions of the road,
is upwards of 56,000 perches of stone work, and is executed in a very superior
style of workmanship.
Along the valley of the Patapsco it has, in many places, been found
necessary to conduct the road through, extensive beds of hard granite or
limestone, and at the Buzzard Rock the road has been carried through a solid
mass of rock rising 58 feet above its surface.
There were four routes originally proposed from Baltimore to the valley
of the Potomac. The aggregate height of the adopted one is only 885 feet—much
smaller than the others. The road to the valley of the Potomac, it is expected,
will be completed by the end of 1830. It will meet it at the Point of Rocks. A
portion of 50 miles may after that period be completed every year. The increase
of business in Baltimore will therefore be rapid, and a large addition will be
made every year to the attractions of travellers in that direction.
The latest improvements have been obtained from England, in relation to
the mode, materials, &c., for constructing railroads, by Mr. Jonathan
Knight, Civil Engineer, and Captain Wm. Gibbs M'Neill of the U. S.
Topographical Engineers, with Lieut. George W. Whistler of the United States'
army, who were sent thither in November, 1288 [sic?1828], and minutely examined
every railroad of note or consequence in the United Kingdom.
In the first part, the inclination of the road will be at the rate of
15,086 feet per mile, or 9.8 minutes of a degree, ascending from Baltimore
towards Cumberland. Between Cumberland and the Ohio river, the probable
transportation to that stream is estimated at one-half that of the
transportation from it eastward; and the general inclination of the road at 8
feet and 12 hundredths per mile, or 5.29 minutes of a degree, ascending towards
the Ohio.
Things as they are; or, Notes of a traveler… NY: 1834
There are several fine sights presented on that part of the Baltimore
and Ohio railroad which lies along the Washington road for three or four miles
before we reach the former city. In one place it passes a broad and deep valley
on the top of a great embankment, while a stream and a country-road cross its
route through arched openings far beneath. It is travelled to the "Point
of Rocks," on the Potomac. The scenery to Fredericktown, 60 miles, is
constantly varying, and often wild and romantic. Ellicott's Mills may be
compared with Little Falls on the Erie Canal.
Books online by Theodore Dwight - HERE
©2019 Patricia Bixler Reber
Forgotten history of Ellicott City & Howard County MD
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