Early railroading : it was quite a different thing from that seen today

EARLY RAILROADING IT WAS QUITE A DIFFERENT THING FROM THAT SEEN TODAY Fred A. Olds What a peep one gets at other days than these in reading what at first glance would seem to be very dry reading indeed — the proceedings of the meeting of the Stockholders of the Wilmington, Charlotte & Ruth¬ erford railway October, 1800./ In the older days every railway had its dis¬ tinctive name, but who nowadays knows of or speaks of that road! It’s just ri part of the Seaboard Air Line, and so are the Raleigh & Au¬ gusta Air Line and the Raleigh & Gaston. Who speaks of the Wilming¬ ton & Weldon? It is now merely a part of the Atlantic Coast Line. Who speaks of the Western North Caro¬ lina? Now it’s only the Southern. The Atlantic & North Carolina is only a link in the Norfolk Southern. In the earlier days the engines were kept ns bright as new pins, and all had names. In front, on the pilot- bar. was apt to be a half life-size figure of a darkey, one of whose hands was made to hold a flag. At the breakfast, dinner and supper stations a real darkey, with white apron and broad smile, beat a tre¬ mendous gong. You went in and for 50 cents got a meal which makes most of thd modern ones look like a last year's bird nest. “Won’t you have another partridge?” queried the attentive waiter, when you had eat¬ en the one provided. But to get back to those ‘proceed¬ ings”. at the meeting. It seems queer that labor was scarce in those days, with so many slaves, but in Decem¬ ber. 1859, agents were sent out by the board of directors to hire 400 slaves. So great, however, was the demand for labor that, with the best prices offered, only 160 could be se¬ cured. The directors say that with reluctance they yielded to the neces¬ sity of procuring “emigrant” la¬ borers” and accordingly organized two white forces on the eastern di¬ vision and one on the western; these being Irishmen. There was a sur¬ prising difficulty in getting cross-ties abend of the track-laying and this too in a region in which the finest tim¬ ber abounded. They had to haul ties 20 to 50 miles and even then labor under the disadvantage of having them behind the track-layers. November 30, 1859, the first sec¬ tion of 25 miles, from Riverside, was completed and the- state. aid, $200,000, was received from the State Treas¬ urer for that section. The charter prohibited the sale of bonds at less than par and this compelled the di¬ rectors to bid for them, so they bought the entire lot. The “aid” therefore came to them in the form of state bond I'lie second section was finished in ■Inly, 1860, and another $200,000 came from the State Treasurer. The track •was in October, 1860, laid to я point three miles west of I.umberton. Three entire sections were gruded by the Irishmen (in Mecklenburg county) and three by the hired slaves. Work on the masonry of the Pee Dee river bridge was in progress. Five other sections had been lei to contractors, leaving ten more to bo provided for. The stone for the Pee Dee river bridge was quarried in the river bed. very aear the bridge. With the view of accommodating citizens who had gone into the tur¬ pentine business on the faith of the railway taking the products to mar¬ ket, the directors in May, 1860, char¬ tered a steamboat by the month to pi v between Riverside and Wilming¬ ton. July 5th a regular tri-weekly freight, and passenger train was put on. There were five locomotives, the “Old North State,” “Rutherford," “Cleveland,” “Brunswick," and “Gas¬ ton,” each of from 18 to 20 tons. In July a passenger steamer, the “Clar¬ endon,” was bought, for §7.000. to run between Riverside and Wilminjj- ton. as the directors did not have the I money to build the road between these 1 two points. A barge, carrying 6 loaded freight cars, was built, and was towed by the "Clarendon. VThe latter could carry 8 loaded ears on her deck. An agent was sent to London to buy directly from the manufacturers the iron rails for the 50 miles of road from Charlotte to Shelby, and ho bought 4,500 tons, and nearly all this iron had bean delivered and the track had been laid from Charlotte across the Catawba river, 13 miles. On this the western division, there were two locomotives, the “Bladen” and the “Wilmington.” each of 20 tons. They figured on getting the road done to Shelby by April. 1861. Anson coun- | ty subscribed $150,000 to the road, Union $60,000, Mecklenburg $30,000. The cost of the construction in Anson was for 27 1-1 miles. $515,- 755; in Union 25 2-3 miles, $385,781; Mecklenburg 12 2-3, $302,235; bridge across the Pee Dee river $65,000. The length of the road, Wilmington to Rutherfordton. is 268 3-4 miles and the directors say: “In the northern states such an enterprise would not tremble at a debt of $20,000,000, while we have the whole cost of our road provided for except $1,007,000. “We must look to the state for the necessary help, for if wo turn to northern capitalists our bonds must he sacrificed at a discount of 50 per cent. The state now lends us $8.000 a mile, but it is riot enough. ' To the North Carolina road the state sub¬ scribed capital, requiring no interest, to the extent of $13,500 a mile, to the Atlantic & North Carolina road $15,000 and the Western North Caro¬ lina road $16,000 and her aid to the extent of $11,400 a mile is necessary j for our road." Henry W. Guion was j president; John C. MacRae chief en- I gineer. и , in