State

The Oxen Did the Job 11 required eight yoke of them to pull a loco¬ motive across the crest of the Blue Kidg'e. hut the job was done in two weeks and the railroail was completed shortly thereafter. AFTER Inking for granted for so . long iho luxurious trains that k glide smoothly across the blue Ridge divide between Morganton and Asheville, it is difficult for the present generation to realize that the first locomotive to negotiate the steep grades in that section was drawn by eight yoke of oxen. But that's what actually happened. Construction gangs were at work on both sides of the ridge. The men on the eastern side were able to make much faster progress because of the assistance rendered by locomotives. On the western side were no locomo¬ tives and the work progressed very slowly. It was then that the con¬ tractors decided that an engine would have to be moved across the divide somehow or other in order to expedite operations. How to get the locomotive across the ridge was the big problem. To dis¬ mantle it. haul it over the mountains piece-meal and then reassemble it would Ik- a long and complicated process. There was one other method of accomplishing the undertaking, and this was finally decided upon. Used Temporary Tracks Temporary tracks were put down on the old stage turnpike. It was a hurry-up, haphazard kind of a job. The cross-ties were thrown on the ground, the rails were spiked down and eight yoke of oxen were fastened to the front of the locomo¬ tive. The oxen pulled the engine to the end of the first short section. Then the rails in the rear were torn up and hauled out in front. Same with the cross-ties. This operation was repeated many times until the locomotive finally was brought to its destination. T. B. Creasman, of Chunn’s Cove, near Asheville, vividly recalled the incident of 60 years ago. and W. F. Marshall, of Raleigh, reported that . he was told a similar story by the late John Robertson, former Seaboard railway engineer of Raleigh. As a youth of 16, or thereabouts, hauling goods from Asheville to Henry’s station, near Old Fort, Mr. By j- B. IIH KI IX Oceanian remembered seeing the loco¬ motive. “The Little Salisbury." drawn for nearly three miles on temporary tracks over the old stage turnpike by oxen to the present Ridgecrest. “The cross-ties were put on top of the ground without any preparatory grading." he said, “The railroad irons were fastened down and then the engine was drawn over this tempor¬ ary track across the mountain ridge by eight yoke of oxen.” He explained that this temporary track was put down in sections until the locomo¬ tive was drawn the entire distance. More than two weeks were consumed in the transfer. Mr. Marshall’s Account “The story of this highly interesting occurrence, of which I had never heard liefore, was related to me by John Robertson, Seaboard Railway engi¬ neer. ns having come from his father who. I believe lie said, had a part in the grading and tunneling our first railroad through the Blue Ridge." said Mr. Marshall. “The construc¬ tion forces were at work — one on t lu- east side of the ridge, the other on the west side. On the east the con¬ struction force had the great ad¬ vantage of a railroad engine in their work; but on the other side there was no engine, and no railroad over which to bring one. So a locomotive was run from the east as far as cross- ties and rails could take it. and then drawn across by toiling ox teams. The work on the west side was thus greatly accelerated and soon the two ends were brought together in a com¬ pleted railroad.” Should Be Marked "If this trail can 1ч- traced at the present day," continued Mr. Marshall, “it should by all means lie marked and the historic event be appropriately celebrated.” I he Western North Carolina Rail¬ road Company, organized August 30, 1855. was constructing the road. . . . C. Turner, grandfather of the late Mrs. Haywood Parker, of Ashe¬ ville. was appointed chief engineer of the company, and. on October a, 1855, he was authorized to commence a survey to locate the first section of the line, from Salisbury to Mor¬ ganton. The second section called for a survey from Morganton to some point on the French Broad River adjacent to the Blue Ridge. This survey In- undertook in 1858 with a group of outstanding engineers Maj. James W. Wilson. T. O. Coleman, J. C. Turner, and S. S. Kirkland. War Halts Work The survey was halted in 1S61 bv the outbreak of the War Between the States. At this time the road had reached Morganton, and $27,000 had I »een invested in the project. At the conclusion of the war, though much of the road and equip¬ ment had !»oen damaged, trains were still operating as far as Morgan¬ ton, then the western terminus. In I860 the railroad had been ex¬ tended Ю Old Fort. A stage coach, drawn by six beautiful white horses and driven by Jack Pence, met trains there and conveyed the passengers over the crest of the Blue Ridge to Asheville. This coach line, operated by Ed T. Clemmons, continued in use until after 1870. the year when the tunnel was completed and the rail¬ way extended, first to Henry’s Station, then to Azalea and finally to hunting¬ decked Biltmore and Asheville in 1 880. It reached Waynesvillo in 1 8S2. Major -lames W. Wilson was in charge of the railroad construction when the tracks reached the Swan- nanoa tunnel. In spite of the steep¬ ness of the climb, the locomotive was drawn by the oxen over the old stage road, or turnpike, that followed Swannunoa Creek from Henry's Station to the crest of the ridge, a distance of nearly three miles. Five hundred convicts were assigned to tin- tunnel project.