USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > Centennial history of the city of Washington, D. C. With full outline of the natural advantages, accounts of the Indian tribes, selection of the site, founding of the city to the present time > Part 34
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4. To tunnel through the mountain spurs.
After a great deal of trouble and delay and perverseness on the part of both companies, an adjustment was at length made by the passage of a law by the State of Maryland, March 22, 1833, by which the
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railroad company was to pay the canal company $266,000 for all claims under the law, which was called the compromise act, this adjustment being brought about mainly through the influence and efforts of Charles F. Mayer, effectively assisted by B. S. Pigman, of Allegheny County. May 9, 1833, therefore, the canal company commenced the joint con- struction of the canal and railroad, from the Point of Rocks to Harper's Ferry, and on December 1, 1834, the road was opened for travel and freight transportation to Harper's Ferry.
In the meantime, the corps of engineers, under the direction of Benjamin II. Latrobe, were rapidly bringing to a close the surveys of a branch of the road to Washington, and on March 9, 1833, an act was passed under which this branch was constructed, and by which the Washington and Baltimore Turnpike Company, the destruction of whose interests were so much feared by some, was permitted to subscribe for a certain amount of the stock of the railroad company. The bridge over the Patapsco River was immediately put under contract. When completed, this bridge was a magnificent granite viaduct, consisting of eight elliptical arches, each of fifty-eight feet span, with the roadway sixty-six feet above the surface of the water. It was designed by Benjamin H. Latrobe, and was at that time the largest structure of the kind in the United States. In the ease of this viaduct, as well as that of the branch road to Washington, the expense of construction was actually within the estimate.
This lateral branch of the railroad from Baltimore to Washington was in an advanced stage of progress in April, 1835. The contractor for that portion of it that lay within the limits of the District of Columbia was Mr. Ennis, who broke ground upon his portion of the road April 21. Mr. Belt had the contract from the limits of the Dis- trict to Bladensburg, and had then considerable of his work com- pleted. On July 1, the president and directors, together with the principal officers of the railroad, accompanied by several citizens of Baltimore, made a trip of inspection over this road, coming down to Bladensburg, at which place they were met by the Mayor of Wash- ington and others. The rails laid down on this branch were of improved construction, and greatly superior to any previously in use. The locomotive which brought the party down from Baltimore was "of great power," and each car comfortably accommodated sixty passengers. The road would have been completed to Washington by that time, but for the delay in the arrival of a cargo of iron, which did not sail from England until May 16, but which should have sailed a month earlier. On Wednesday, July 8, 1835, the company
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began running passenger trains between Baltimore and Bladensburg, passengers being taken from Washington to Bladensburg by stage coaches.
" By applying our modern mode of computing distances, -by hours, instead of days and miles, -the distance between the two cities of Baltimore and Washington is henceforth to be two hours; that from Washington to New York, twenty-six hours; and from Wash- ington to Boston, forty hours! Are we in a dream?"
On Monday, July 20, 1835, trains commenced running down to the District line, twice each day, occasionally making twenty miles per hour. The first locomotive run on the Baltimore and Washington Railroad was named the "General Washington," and others succeeding this one were named after the Presidents of the United States. Wil- liam Gwynn was the engineer of the "General Washington," which locomotive was a kind of marvel of the times, running thirty succes- sive days, conveying a train of passenger cars more than seventy miles per day, without requiring to be repaired!
On August 25, 1835, occurred the opening of the Baltimore and Washington Railroad to Washington. "Two cars will leave the ticket office at the intersection of Second Street West and Pennsylvania Ave- nue this day [ Sunday] at 4: 00 P. M., to convey the invited guests to Bal- timore, to join the train from Baltimore on Tuesday. A car will leave Washington on Tuesday morning at ten o'clock to convey the members of the corporations of Washington, Alexandria, and Georgetown to Bladensburg to meet the trains from Baltimore." August 25, 1835, was a great day in Washington. "It was a glorious sight to see four trains of cars, each with its engine, extending altogether several hundred yards in length, making their entry by this new route, to the delight of thousands, to a spectator on elevated grounds north of the Capitol." The number of persons brought in on the trains from Baltimore was about one thousand, accompanied by two brass bands. They marched to Gadsby's and Brown's hotels, at both of which bounteous and sumptuous entertainments had been provided. The trains arrived in Washington about one o'clock, and started on the return trip about four o'clock.
On September 15, 1835, the trains began to run on schedule time, leaving Washington at 9:00 A. M., and 4:30 p. M., and leaving Baltimore at 8:15 A. M., and 4:00 P. M. "As there is no standard time in Washington, it is recommended to passengers to be at the depot before the hours named for the departure of the cars."
The receipts of this road for the following four months in 1836
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were as follows: April, $19,230.33; May, $22,189.45; June, $18,613.91; July, $17,648.07; total, $77,681.76.
In July, 1842, an arrangement was made with Messrs. Baring Brothers, of London, England, by which they agreed to furnish the iron requisite to finish the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to Cumberland, on a credit of seven years, $50,000 to be paid each year, thus, it was thought, placing the construction of the road to Cumberland to that point, early the ensuing fall, beyond doubt. In 1849, the road was extended west of Cumberland twelve miles. When it was determined to extend the road from Cumberland to Wheeling, T. W. Ward, attorney for the Barings, of London, under date of December 31, 1849, telegraphed to Thomas Swann, president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, "The contract is made at five pounds ten." Twenty-three thousand tons was the amount purchased at this price.
This company, in 1851, erected some valuable improvements in this city: First, an engine honse; second, a car house; third, the main building, which was 119 feet on New Jersey Avenue, was two stories high, and had a tower 100 feet high. J. H. MeMachen, of Baltimore, superintended the work, and M. G. Emery, of Washington, executed the granite work.
A most interesting experiment was made on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad on the last Tuesday in April, 1851, by Professor Charles G. Page, with his electro-magnetic locomotive, running it from Washington to Bladensburg and back. It was made, however, with only half the power the engines and batteries were capable of yielding. Each engine was estimated by Professor Page at twelve horse-power, which would make the locomotive twenty-four horse-power. The locomotive, with batteries full charged, weighed ten and a half tons. With the seven passengers taken on the trip it weighed eleven tons. Under the most favorable arrangements, eight pounds were required to start a ton on a perfectly level rail, and seven pounds would barely keep a ton in motion. The magnetic locomotive, the first of its kind ever made, being imperfect and full of stiffness in all its parts, ran very hard. A horse- power, on the usual estimates, is one hundred and fifty pounds running two and a half miles per hour, or three hundred and seventy - five pounds running one mile per hour. The speed of the magnetic locomotive was fifteen miles per hour on a level road, and its traction was two hundred pounds. It was therefore estimated that this locomotive developed eight horse-power, when in motion. But it had a greater power at a lower speed. After the engine was on the road
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it was found necessary to throw out of action five of the helices, and these at the most important part of the stroke. This difficulty could not be overcome without taking out both of the engines, which could not be done at the time. Another difficulty encountered on this experimental trip was the breaking of the porous cells in the battery, causing a mixture of the two acids and the interception of a large portion of the power. In all, seven of the porous cells broke, which took away one-half of the power. Going to Bladensburg the locomotive was stopped five times, or the run would have been made in thirty minutes. One very important and interesting feature of this magnetic locomotive was that its reversing power was greater than its propelling power, nearly twice as great, in fact, which Professor Page had demonstrated several years before.
In October, 1851, Professor Page presented his locomotive to the Smithsonian Institution, which, with its accompanying electro-magnet, forms one of the most prominent and interesting features in the phil- osophical department. This is the same engine that worked the Morse telegraph in 1844. It was constructed with reference to the maximum quantity of electricity to be obtained by magneto-electric excitement, to ascertain whether the electricity so obtained would be sufficient to operate an electro-magnetic engine, which in its turn should furnish sufficient magnetic power to keep the magneto-electrie machine in motion, but it was never tested for this purpose.
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was so far completed in De- cember, 1852, that. the first train passed over it from Baltimore to Wheeling on the 31st of that month, in fifteen hours and fifteen minutes.
On March 3, 1853, Congress passed an act providing that when- ever Maryland should incorporate a company to lay out and construct a railroad from any point in connection with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, at or near the Point of Rocks, to Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, the right of way should be granted to such company, provided, that before any such road, or its depots, or its fixtures should be located in Georgetown, the consent of the citizens of that place should be obtained. May 5, 1853, the Maryland Legislature incorporated the Metropolitan Railroad Company, naming John W. Maury, W. W. Corcoran, W. W. Seaton, David English, Francis Dodge, and Frederick W. Risque, of the District of Columbia; Charles E. Trail, Jacob M. Kenkel, and Meredith Davis, of Frederick County; Robert T. Dade, William Lingan Gaither, and Frances C. Clopper, of Montgomery County; David Weisel, James Wason, and Elias Davis,
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of Washington, as commissioners to receive subscriptions to the capital stock of the company, requiring them to keep the subscription books open, the first time they were open, for at least ten days; and then, if sufficient subscriptions were not received, they might keep them open from time to time for twelve months, or until a sufficient amount of stock were subscribed to warrant the organization of a company. The capital stock was fixed at $2,000,000, in shares of $50 each, and as soon as ten thousand shares should be subscribed the company was declared incorporated, by the name of the Metropolitan Railroad Company.
The commissioners held the first meeting at the Union Hotel in Georgetown, and it was there determined to open books for sub- scriptions June 6, and to keep them open until the close of the 16th of the month. The banks at Washington, Georgetown, Frederick, Maryland, Boonesborough, and at Hagerstown were to act as agents to receive subscriptions. The result of the subscriptions for the first ten days was that at Washington there were subscribed 1,806 shares; at Georgetown, 6,723; at Rockville, 220; at Hagerstown, 216; and at Frederickstown, 115; total, 9,080. Thus there was a deficiency of 920 shares, and a necessity for a second opening of the books. These books closed the second time on July 2, 1853, at which time the subscriptions stood as follows: Georgetown, 7,057; Washington, 2,200; Montgomery County, 388; Frederick County, 140; Washington County, 224; total, 10,009; though in order to make up this number the commissioners from Georgetown and two of those from Washington, themselves, on July 5, took about 400 shares. The counties through which the road was to pass took very little interest in the road, as may be seen from their subserip- tions. The number of shares having been subscribed, a meeting was held at Union Hotel July 28, for the purpose of electing twelve directors, who were elected, as follows: John W. Maury, W. W. Corcoran, George Parker, and Joseph Bryan, of Washington; David English, A. II. Dodge, William M. Boyce, A. II. Pickrell, and H. C. Matthews, of Georgetown; F. C. Clopper, of Montgomery County; Meredith Davis, of Frederick County; and Daniel Weisel, of Wash- ington County.
June 28, 1854, at a meeting of the directors, the report of the engineer on the subject of the location of the route was received, the following route having been selected: Leaving Georgetown on Prospect Street, passing around south of the college, up the Fountain Branch and on toward Drover's Rest; thence to the easterly part of
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Rockville; thence passing on near Gaithersburg, about one mile cast of Barnesville; then passing the west side of Sugar-Loaf Mountain and running to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, about five miles west of Monocacy Viaduct; thence direct to Frederick; from Frederick to Ilagerstown by way of Getzenstanner's Gap, on the Catoctin Mountain, and Turner's Gap, on the South Mountain, passing east of Boonesborough to Hagerstown.
The route having been selected, the great question still remained, which could only be determined by the public, and that was: Should the work of construction be commenced. It could not commence without substantial aid from the upper counties through which it was to pass, and they had shown how much interest they took in the project by the number of shares of stock for which they had sub- scribed. Francis Dodge was president of the company at that time.
In January, 1863, President Lincoln sent a message to each branch of Congress on this subject. Its great benefits to Washington were fully and graphically set forth in the public prints, and an estimate was made of what it would have saved the Government had it been completed before the war. So far, of course, all efforts to construct this road had resulted in failure.
July 1, 1864, an act of Congress to incorporate the Metropolitan Railroad Company was approved, and amended by an act approved March 3, 1865, three years being given in which the company might complete the road. In March, 1865, an act was passed by the Mary- land Legislature naming as commissioners to receive subscriptions to the stock of the company, G. W. Riggs, Richard Wallach, and Henry Willard, of Washington; Henry Addison, Henry D. Cooke, and John T. Mitchell, of Georgetown; Francis C. Clopper, Walter M. Talbott, Allen B. Davis, Thomas Lausdale, and Nicholas D. Offut, of Mont- gomery County; and Charles E. Trail, Jacob M. Kemkel, and Robert II. McGill, of Frederick County, Maryland. The capital stock of the company was as before fixed at $2,000,000, in shares of $50 each, and when ten thousand shares were subscribed the commissioners were to call a general meeting of the subscribers for the purpose of selecting directors to manage the affairs of the company.
The Metropolitan Railroad afterward became a part of the Bal- timore and Ohio Railroad system, and is now operated as such. It was completed May 28, 1873, and is forty-two and three-quarters miles long.
The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Company was organized under a charter granted by Congress, May 6, 1853. December 18, 1858, at
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a meeting held at Upper Marlborough, seven directors were elected, as follows: Edward Robinson, of Virginia; J. S Sellman, of Anne Arundel County; Edmund J. Plowden, of St. Mary's; John W. Jenkins and Walter Mitchell, of Charles County; W. D. Bowie and W. W. Bowie, of Prince George's County. The contemplated road was to extend from Baltimore to a point on the Potomac River opposite Acquia Creek, and to have a branch running into Washington. But little was accomplished on this work for a number of years. About March 1, 1867, the first five miles were graded, extending from the crossing of the Annapolis bridge to the Patuxent River. It was then taken hold of by Northern capitalists and pushed forward with considerable energy, and the road was so far completed that it was opened for travel July 2, 1872, the first train leaving Baltimore at 9:15 A. M., and reaching Washington at 1:00 p. M. Trains from Alexandria and Fred- ericksburg also began arriving at the Sixth and B Street depot on the same day. The road was completed to Pope's Creek January 1, 1873. The main line, extending from Baltimore to Pope's Creek, is 73.13 miles long, and the branch running from Bowie Station to Washington is 18.93 miles in length. This railroad is a continuation of the Pennsylvania system, and connects with the Southern railroads through the National Capital and over the Long Bridge.
The Washington and Alexandria Railroad Company was incorpo- rated by an act of the Legislature of Virginia, passed February 27, 1854, the commissioners to receive subscriptions, named in the act, being James S. French, John W. Maury, A. J. Marshall, Cornelius Boyle, George French, Edgar Snowden, and R. W. Latham. The capital stock of the company was limited to $300,000, in shares of $100 each. The purpose of the company was to construct a railroad on the plan of J. S. French, "as set forth to the House of Delegates in document No. 65, session of 1850-51," and whenever two thousand shares should be subscribed the company was to be considered incor- porated, under the name of the Alexandria and Washington Railroad Company. Mr. French claimed for his plan greater security for passengers, and the ability to use lighter machinery.
This road was completed so that the first train passed over it November 1, 1856. The first train consisted of four cars drawn by the locomotive "John T. Towers." Cars commenced running on regular time November 25, 1856. The road was eight miles in length. It was sold April 10, 1862, to Alexander Hay, of Philadelphia, for $12,500, subject to a judgment of $250,000. May 3, 1862, the company was reorganized under the name of the Washington and
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Georgetown Railroad, with a board of five directors - Alexander Hay, Joseph Thornton, Horace M. Day, Silas Seymour, and Joseph B. Stewart. Mr. Hay was elected president, Mr. Stewart secretary, Mr. Thornton treasurer, and Mr. Seymour general superintendent.
The gentlemen thus placed in charge of the interests of the company endeavored to secure from Congress a new charter for the company, for the erection of a branch across the Potomac River and the right of way through certain streets of the city of Wash- ington.
This was in time accomplished, and the road received the name of the Washington City and Point Lookout Railroad Company, under the charter granted in 1871. The company was required to build a railroad from Washington to Point Lookout, a distance of eighty miles. The work of grading this road was commenced in 1872, and that portion of the road extending from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at Hyattsville to the Potomac River, opposite Alexandria, completed in 1875. It was leased to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company for $36,000 per annum, payable in gold, one-tenth part of which was annually appropriated to extinguishing the issue of bonds maturing June 1, 1913. Default of interest was made July 1, 1882, and under a decree of foreclosure granted September 1, 1885, the road was sold for $75,000 January 13, 1886, and the bondholders formed a new railroad company in April, 1886, under the name of the Wash- ington and Potomac Railroad Company.
The Washington and Chesapeake Beach Railway Company was chartered in 1882, with an authorized capital of $100,000. It has very recently secured power to establish a seaside resort at Chesapeake Beach, in Calvert County, Maryland, and will construct a railroad twenty-eight miles long, connecting with the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad at Upper Marlborough, and with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad near the east line of the District of Columbia. It is expected that the road will be completed about August 1, 1892.
The first bridge across Rock Creek was built in 1792 or 1793, by the commissioners of the District of Columbia. It was on K Street, and consisted of a single arch, the arch being composed of stones representing the several States of the Union, as they were then. The keystone had upon it the shield of Pennsylvania, and it is believed that it was from this fact that Pennsylvania has always been known as the "Keystone State." The theory of making K Street as wide as Pennsylvania Avenue was, that a great deal of wagoning would cross the creek and go on out toward Bladensburg.
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In the winter of 1807-08, an act was passed by Congress author- izing the construction of a bridge across the Potomac River within the District of Columbia. Subscription books were opened at Stelle's Ilotel, April 1, 1808. Subscriptions were authorized up to two thou- sand shares, $10 of each share to be paid at the time of subscribing, and the residue to be paid in installments of $10 each when called for by the commissioners. The commissioners appointed under this act were Robert Brent, Daniel Carroll of Duddington, Thomas Munroe, James D. Barry, Frederick May, Samuel II. Smith, Jonah Thompson, Jon- athan Swift, Thomas Vowell, Cuthbert Powell, Elisha Janney, and Charles Alexander. These commissioners were authorized to open subscription books for raising a capital stock not to exceed $200,000, in shares of $100 each, for the purpose of erecting a bridge over the Potomac between the city of Washington and Alexander's Island. Whenever nineteen hundred shares of stock should be subscribed for, in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress, they were to be considered a corporation under the name and style of the Wash- ington Bridge Company; and as soon thereafter as practicable the commissioners were required to call a meeting of the stockholders for the purpose of electing five directors, a clerk, and a treasurer, and such other officers as might be deemed necessary. A meeting was therefore held on Monday, May 2, 1808, at Stelle's Hotel, for the election of the above-named officers, the directors being Daniel Carroll, George Blagden, Frederick May, William Harper, and Robert Young. Daniel Carroll was elected president. On May 4, the company advertised for timbers of various kinds with which to build the bridge, and also for the iron work, carpenters, and laborers. Thomas Vowell was elected treasurer, and Samuel Elliott, Jr., clerk. The bridge was so far completed as to be opened for travel May 20, 1809, but as it was not quite finished, passage to and fro was free for a few days.
Up the Potomac River, about three miles above Georgetown, a bridge was built across the river by Mr. Palmer. It was of wood, and in about seven years fell to pieces from the natural processes of decay. The second bridge erected at this place was by Mr. Burr, architect of the celebrated Trenton bridge, and on the same principles, and was also of wood. This bridge lasted about six months, having cost about $80,000; but the abutments were not destroyed when the bridge itself gave out. The third bridge was erected upon the principles of that built a few years before by Judge Findley near Uniontown, Penn- sylvania, over Jacob's Creek. It was a suspension bridge, supported solely by iron chains thrown over piers erected upon the abutments
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about twenty feet high. These chains were four in number, and the pendents were hung upon the chains alternately about five feet apart, so that each chain received a pendent in every ten feet. This manner of construction was, however, in violation of the instructions of the inventor, Judge Findley, who said that one chain on each side would have been sufficient, and one-half the pendents, so that the bridge as constructed had more than twice the strength that it would ever need, and of course cost a great deal more than was necessary. The four chains, hanging as they did, were able, according to Judge Findley, to sustain from 225 to 280 tons, and from the manner in which the pendents were strung on the chains it was next to impos- sible that any one of the pendents would ever have to bear one- fortieth of what it was able to bear. The span of this bridge was 1283 feet, the width 16 feet, and the weight 22 tons. The cost was less than $4,000. The wood part of this bridge could easily be repaired, and it was confidently expected that the iron portion would last a century. Judge Findley's plan of bridge building was con- sidered the most valuable then discovered, combining great strength and durability, and also extreme cheapness.
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