USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Pittsfield > The history of Pittsfield (Berkshire County), Massachusetts, from the year 1800 to the year 1876 > Part 51
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The route recommended as feasible, lay across northern Wor-
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cester, up the Deerfield river, through the Hoosac mountain, and, by the valley of the Hoosac river, to the Hudson, near Troy. The plan included a tunnel-nearly at the same point where a similar work has been constructed for a railroad-to be four miles long, twenty feet wide, thirteen and a half high; total of excavation two hundred and eleven thousand two hundred cubic yards. The elevation of the mountain-ranges which still remained was to be overcome by a stupendous series of locks, whose total rise and fall was three thousand, two hundred and eighty-one feet.
The boring of the Hoosac Tunnel has since furnished us some clue to what the actual cost would have been ; and enables us, in some measure, to appreciate the magnitude of the undertaking. The commissioners estimated the entire cost of the canal, of one hundred and seventy-eight miles length, at only six million, twenty-four thousand and seventy-two dollars, including that of the tunnel, which they put at nine hundred and twenty thousand eight hundred and thirty-two dollars.
The estimates of the commissioners were gravely impeached in influential quarters ; and a writer in the Boston Courier showed that upon their own data, it would take fifty-two years to finish the tunnel. It is to be doubted, nevertheless, whether an attempt to carry out the project would not finally have been made, so strong was the public desire for cheap intercommunication between Boston and the west, had no other means of satisfying that desire presented itself. But, not long before the assembling of the legislature, news arrived that engines for the use of steam as a motive-power, which had for some little time been in use upon the English railways, had been carried to such perfection, that a locomotive upon the Stockton and Darlington road had drawn a train of ninety tons at the rate of ten miles an hour. It was not yet supposed that steam could be made available on a route like that between Boston and Albany, without resort to stationary-power at the mountain-grades ; but a discussion of the comparative merits of railways and canals sprang up in the English newspapers, and extended to those of America, with a result largely in favor of the railroads.
In the Massachusetts legislature, five days before the commis- sioners' report in favor of the grand canal, an order passed both houses directing an inquiry, "whether any practical and useful improvements had been made in the construction of railways, and
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of steam-carriages used thereon, so as to admit of their being suc- cessfully introduced into this commonwealth; and, if so, whether it is expedient to extend thereto the aid and encouragement of the legislature."
A resolve was also reported, in response to a petition from Bos- ton, authorizing the governor to appoint a commission to make surveys for a railway between that city and Albany ; but, after passing the senate, it was indefinitely postponed in the house, on motion of Henry Shaw of Lanesboro, who was, from the first, bitter enemy of all railroad-projects.
At the June session, however, a committee, consisting of Dr. Abner Phelps, and George W. Adams of Boston, and Emory Washburn of Worcester, were appointed to inquire, during the recess, into the practicability and expediency of constructing a railway from Boston to the western line of Berkshire county, with a view, if leave could be obtained from the State of New York, of extending it to the Hudson river. The committee worked with great fidelity, and " their chairman, Doctor Phelps, was from that time ardently devoted to the object." 1
Berkshire furnished to the same cause a champion equally zeal- ous, able and influential; Hon. Theodore Sedgwick, of Stock- bridge. Mr. Sedgwick early informed himself thoroughly upon all that was then known concerning railways; and, becoming con- vinced of their unspeakable value to the commonwealth, and especially to his native county, he devoted himself to their advo- cacy before the people and in the legislature, both by his pen and his voice. A long series of articles, published at first in the Berkshire Star, and afterwards condensed into a pamphlet which was scattered throughout the commonwealth, had, in particular, a powerful effect.
The first time that the citizens of Berkshire were formally addressed upon the advantages which railroads would bring to themselves, appears to have been in a communication of Mr. Sedgwick to the Pittsfield Sun of May 4, 1826, briefly introduc- ing a long letter from John L. Sullivan of New York. Mr. Sul- livan's letter exhibits much familiarity with the achievements which had been made in the science of building, equipping, and managing railroads, and is remarkable for its clear foresight; but it forcibly illustrates how crude that science yet was.
1 Historical Memoir of the Western Railroad, by George Bliss.
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Mr. Sullivan's immediate object was the building of a railroad from New York to Pittsfield, "and perhaps to Bennington." But it was to be of a peculiar construction, which he thus describes :
The " American railway," invented by Colonel Sargent, is called " elevated and single," because, to avoid the expensive foundations requisite on the parallel English railway, posts or pillars of wood, stone, or iron, are substituted to support one rail, which, by its eleva- tion allows of carrying two loads, balanced, or nearly so-on each side 'one-below the rail, suspended by stiff bars from strong cross-bars ; so that the whole machine is inflexible, and moves on two wheels fol- lowing each other on the rail, which is wholly of iron or, for the sake of economy, of the most durable wood, with a plate of wrought-iron, four inches broad.
A road of this class had been constructed in England, and operated with some success; but Mr. Sullivan considered the invention peculiarly adapted to the American climate, and to the economical requirements of long routes through our sparsely popu- lated country. He knew of no route to which it could be applied with more probability of success and profit, than that between Pittsfield and New York ; a distance of one hundred and forty- two miles.1 He estimated the cost of building it at one million, seventy-eight thousand, two hundred and six dollars, or less than half that of a canal. But, if they were of equal expense, he con- tended that the railway, by its continuity of operation, its capa- bility of branches, its little liability to interruption, and its three- fold speed, ought to have the preference. The imperfection of railway-engineering, at the time, is shown by the fact that he considered it necessary to overcome elevations, one of fifty-four feet, and another of eighty-four, by obliquing the track, or by stationary-power.
He was in advance of the Massachusetts Board of Commission- ers, in regard to the use of steam. " Although " said he, " horse- power is used with advantage on railways, it is the combination of the steam-engine with the railway, which has given it a decided preference over canals, in England." He found it necessary to argue the advantages of railways to the interior country on account of the saving of time and expense in bringing their prod-
1 A railroad of similar description is now in operation in California, and one each in England and Turkey.
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ucts to market. "This mode of producing like effects at less expense will," he said, " when fully explained and investigated, strike every section of our country with equal surprise and pleas- ure ; because it will be seen that those districts which are without the means of water-carriage, have an equivalent in the railway." " Suppose a railway constructed; if horses be used, seven days' travel will transfer loading from Pittsfield to New York; if steam-engines, two and a half days, without traveling by night; to which, indeed, there is no objection with steam- engines." * "I am aware of the elevation of the coun- try, and that deep snows are to be provided against. The eleva- tion of this railway is above the general level of the snow. While other railways would be buried in it, this would be high enough for continued operation. A machine to move on it and clear away the drifts, is easily contrived."
The proposition thus plausibly stated, seems not to have attracted general attention. Mr. Sedgwick was too cautious to positively commend it. Indeed, two years later, he was found, with the great majority of the friends of railways in Massachu- setts, basing his calculations upon the use of horses. And this, although the Lenox Star of March 30, 1826, after recounting the achievements of the locomotive in England, prophesied that within five years, there would be a line of intercourse over the Berkshire hills, between Boston and Albany, with merchandise and passengers traveling each way at the rate of ten miles an hour. It is possible that Mr. Sedgwick may have been the author of the Star's article ; for many who, in the enthusiasm created by Stevenson's successful experiments in England, antici- pated the immediate triumph of steam in America, soon, under various influences, abandoned, or pretended to abandon, that hope. It is hardly probable, however, that he made such a prediction, as he must have been well aware of the obstacles, both physical and moral, which would render its fulfillment impossible.
In 1828, the Massachusetts Railroad Board, having thoroughly examined the subject, concluded that the cost of railroad-trans- portation, in this country, by horse-power, would be less than it would be in England, either by horse or steam power; but, that horse-power would be the more economical of the two, in America. All the earlier plans for railroads, in Massachusetts, were based upon this opinion. That this should be so, in the face of English
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experience, is in part accounted for by the rude condition of the manufacture of machinery, and by the lack of skilled engineers (engine-drivers). But one cannot help suspecting that the opin- ions of leaders in these enterprises were modified in order to quiet the clamors of a large class of farmers, who cried out that the market for horses, then a favorite farm-product, would be destroyed if the new method of transportation should prevail. It was necessary to build the railroads, if they were built at all, by the aid of legislative grants; and the legislature was largely composed of, and still more largely elected by, a class which it took years to educate up to the desired point. It is to be noted, in this connection, that none of these roads were actually equipped for horse-power. Their managers were all converted to the use of steam as soon as it became expedient.
The early idea of the construction of a railroad was as faulty as that of its equipment. The Boston Advertiser, in 1826, thus described the Quincy road :
The road is constructed in the most substantial manner. It rests on a foundation of stone, laid so deep in the ground as to be beyond the reach of frost; and, to secure the rails on which the carriage rnns against any change in their relative position, they are laid upon stones eight feet in length, placed transversely along the whole extent of the road, six or eight feet apart. The space between these stones is filled with smaller stones or earth, and over the whole, between the rails, a gravel-path is made. The rails are made of pine timber, on the top of which is placed a bar of iron. The carriages, run upon the top of the iron-bars, are kept in place by a projection on the inner edge of the tire of the wheel. The wheels are considerably larger than a common cart-wheel.
When, in 1829, the state-board recommended the building of a railroad from Boston to the Hudson, the plan of construction was similar to the above; requiring for its substructure a greater out- lay than now suffices to obtain much greater security.
The Berkshire fathers of 1826-30, in their efforts to introduce railroads, only looked to transportation at a very moderate speed, by horse-power, over a track solidly, but faultily, constructed. The greatest benefit which they anticipated was cheap and sure carriage of their ponderous wares and natural products to mar- kets from which their weight had before practically excluded them. Some, doubtless, indulged in more brilliant visions ; but
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this was all that the more prudent leaders deemed it wise to prom- ise. The usual means of affecting the popular mind were em- ployed : pamphlets, newspaper-articles and public meetings, fol- lowed each other in rapid succession. What the writers and speakers had to teach is briefly summed up by Mr. Sedgwick : " first, the effects of internal improvements generally; secondly, the peculiar benefits arising from facilitating communication with the market, and the superiority of the railroad to every other method of accomplishing this object; thirdly, the mechanical effects of railways, and their application ; and, lastly, their pecu- liar local advantages."
The discussion of the turnpike-system had, in some sort, pre- pared the minds of the people for the consideration of the first of these topics ; but in the others, the teachers, often themselves but imperfectly informed, were obliged to commence their lessons with the very rudiments; and, moreover, to meet in many instances inveterate prejudice and obdurate regard for selfish interests. While large masses of the people readily received the lessons of the day, and entered heartily into the spirit of the new enterprise, other large masses, less intelligent, opposed it bitterly, and found able and learned leaders in doing so.
The strenuous efforts of the early friends of railway-enterprise in Berkshire were, therefore, necessary; if not to secure a major- ity of the people in their favor, at least to make that majority as large as was desirable : especially when it came to the matter of subscriptions for stock. In these efforts, two classes of men took part; one with minds better adapted to the establishment of gen- eral principles, and to scientific instruction regarding the matter in hand; the other capable of practically judging of the best methods and the best routes, and influencing their adoption. Both were equally necessary, and occasionally an individual com- bined the qualities of both classes.
Stockbridge has the honor of being the first town in the county to move in favor of the introduction of railroads ; others of its cit- izens, besides Mr. Sedgwick, becoming deeply interested in the subject.
In the legislature of 1826, a petition, originating in Stock- bridge, and signed by James Whiton of Lee, and others, was pre- sented, asking for the incorporation of a railroad from Berkshire to Boston, taking the Housatonic turnpike for its western begin-
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ning, and passing through Stockbridge, Springfield, and Wor- cester.
During the next summer and fall, Richard P. Morgan of Stock- bridge made a volunteer survey from the Connecticut to the Hudson, which he presented to a meeting held on the 21st of September. The line, he proposed, ran from Springfield, up the Westfield and Little Westfield rivers, to Otis ; thence through Lee, Stockbridge and West Stockbridge. The highest summit was in East Otis, being thirteen hundred feet above the level of the Hudson. Although the distance by turnpike from Spring- field to Albany was only eighty-four miles, this route was ninety miles long ; and yet ten miles shorter than that finally adopted.
Mr. Morgan had an original device for overcoming the formid- able grades to be encountered. He would divide the line into a succession of levels, and raise the loads from one to the other by water-power; for which an abundant supply was generally pro- vided in frequent lakes and streams. When the water-power was deficient, he preferred horse-power to steam; and oxen to either. Representations of the required machinery accompanied the report.
The meeting thanked Mr. Morgan for his spirited and patriotic efforts in making the survey, and instructed their representative, Samuel Jones, to communicate the information contained in it to the legislature, and urge the most efficient measures for the nec- essary surveys and estimates ; that the people might be enabled to judge of the expediency and practicability of a railroad from Albany to Boston.
Throughout the commonwealth, railways gained greatly in favor under the judicious discussions of 1826. In Berkshire, many individuals declared " that they never were acquainted with a subject which so well bore investigation ; and that, although a railway from Boston to Albany at first appeared quite visionary, they now looked upon it, as not only extremely desirable, but as a work which would elevate the public and private interests of the whole state." 1
At the opening of the legislative session in January, 1827, the committee appointed the previous year reported that they were unanimous in their opinion that it was practicable to construct a railway from Boston to Albany. They did not undertake to des-
1 Western Star, January 11, 1827.
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ignate any route; but, referring to the labors of Mr. Morgan, they said : "Upon one route at least, a survey has been made by an intelligent and enterprising citizen of Berkshire, and by him a railway has been pronounced, not only practicable, but highly expedient." At the June session of 1827, resolves were passed for. the appointment of two commissioners and an engineer, "to cause the necessary surveys, plans, and estimates, to be made on the best practicable route from Boston to the New York line, and thence (with leave obtained) to the Hudson river at or near Albany;" and ten thousand dollars were appropriated for the purpose.
Nahum Mitchell of Boston, and Col. S. M. Mckay of Pittsfield, then one of the governor's military-aids, were appointed commis- sioners, and James F. Baldwin engineer.
The commission made explorations through two entire rontes. The first, which was then called the southern - but which afterwards, by the prominence acquired by the route through Lee and Stockbridge, became the northern - was substantially that now followed by the Boston and Albany railroad. The " northern," of this report, extended from Troy via Adams to the Connecticut at Northampton. Instrumental surveys were made only upon the southern route; and that only between Springfield and Albany, and for twelve miles west from Boston. The length of the entire road was stated at one hundred and eighty miles. The length, as since built, is two hundred miles ; the difference being all east of the Connecticut.1
The highest summit-that in Washington-was given as having an altitude of fourteen hundred and seventy-eight feet above tide- water.2
The extreme southern route appears to have been left to what Mr. Morgan's report could do for it. The labors of the commis- sion were based " exclusively upon the use of animal-power, as better adapted to the transportation of the endless variety of load- ing, which a dense and industrious population requires."
The evident favor shown to the route through Pittsfield led Mr. Sedgwick and other gentlemen interested in a more southern location, to aid in the change, which was made in the following year, from a board of special commissioners upon the Boston and
1 Bliss.
2 See vol. I, page 8.
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Hudson River railway, to one of nine directors of internal improve- ments for the commonwealth ; of which Colonel Mckay was not one.
The change was, however, proposed by the commissioners them- selves; and the committee on roads and canals, in submitting their report to the legislature, pay a high compliment to its authors when they say that the railroad, as applicable to Massa- chusetts and New England generally, has, since the making of said report, assumed a new and greater importance; that it will prove a new creation of wealth, power and prosperity to the state. Colonel McKay soon afterwards had an opportunity, as president of the Pontoosuc Turnpike Company, to make his influence felt in favor of the Pittsfield route.
During the year 1827, the railroad-agitation continued to in- crease in Berkshire and the adjoining New York counties. On the 25th of January, hundreds attended a meeting at Canaan, when the enthusiasm ran so high that, if a corporation had been authorized, all the stock for a railway from the Hudson to West Stockbridge would have been taken on the spot. A large meet- ing at Lee, April 30th, adopted a strong memorial in favor of the road from Boston to the Hudson. All the members of the com- mittee which drafted it were residents of southern Berkshire ; but it favored no particular route.
The first Berkshire county railroad-convention was held at Lenox, November 16th, Hon. William Walker presiding ; and, although the weather was inclement, it was fully attended; some gentlemen riding twenty miles in order to be present. Henry Hubbard of Pittsfield, addressed the meeting especially upon the effect which railroad-communication would have upon the busi- ness, political and social relations of the people of Berkshire with the citizens of the commonwealth east of the mountains. The Star says that his remarks upon this point were peculiarly inter- esting, and in unison with the sentiments of all present. Richard P. Morgan of Stockbridge, treated the subject in all its important bearings, giving the meeting the full benefit of his laborious inves- tigations. Theodore Sedgwick gave a general and striking view of the whole argument in favor of the road.
Messrs. Sedgwick and Hubbard, with William Porter of Lee, were appointed to report a series of resolutions to an adjourned meeting at Pittsfield, December 12th. The attendance at this
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meeting was large and respectable ; Pittsfield, Stockbridge, Lenox, Lee, West Stockbridge, Dalton, Lanesboro, and Adams, being represented. Hon. Edward A. Newton presided, and Mr. Mor- gan exhibited models of the different forms of railways, and also of an ingenious railway - carriage, invented by himself, and designed to lessen friction. The descriptions were animated ; and resolutions, reported by the committee, were adopted, expressing in the strongest terms, a sense of the value of the projected road, and of its special importance to Berkshire; a decided approbation of the measures of the legislature in its behalf; and an approval of such farther appropriations as might be necessary. The Star says of the meeting :
Nothing could be more satisfactory than its spirit. It was an earnest of the public sentiment of the whole county. We have never doubted as to what that opinion would eventually be. It is advaneing in favor of the project as fast as its discreet friends could desire. The railroad-sys- tem is a novelty in this country, and the people of Massachusetts will not adopt it till they understand it. This information, they are seeking ; and the friends of the contemplated movement will, in due time, and not remotely, realize what a little while since they thought far distant.
In April, 1828, the New York legislature passed an act to facilitate the construction of the railroad, pledging itself that if Massachusetts should build it from Boston to the New York boundary, the State of New York would continue it thence to the Hudson river, or authorize the State of Massachusetts, or some incorporated company, to do so.
In the winter of 1829, the commissioners of both states reported surveys and explorations, to their respective legislatures. The New York surveys were for two lines : one from Troy through Pownell to Adams; the other with two branches, one starting from Hudson and one from Albany, uniting at Chatham, and continuing to West Stockbridge. The Massachusetts commis- sioners considered three lines. Two of them ran north of Pitts- field, and, as stationary-power would have been required upon either, the commissioners preferred the southern, which was in general the same that was recommended by their predecessors.
Some local surveys were made in Berkshire with a view, if pos- sible, to vary the route in the interest of certain towns south of Pittsfield. One of these variations ran from West Stockbridge,
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through Stockbridge, Lee and Lenox, to Pittsfield ; but was found to be too circuitous. Another ran from Lee to the summit in Becket; but this summit was two hundred and forty feet higher than that in Washington, and would require stationary-power. In other respects both of these local surveys presented favorable points.
Upon the route through Pittsfield, the commissioners, there- fore, recommended "the construction of a double railway, with a flat, iron-rail, laid upon a longitudinal rail of granite; the rails of each track to be five feet apart, with a space between them graded for a horse-path ; the elevation in no case to exceed eighty feet per mile. Generally one horse only to be used; but two upon the higher grades. An alternative upon the higher grades was the introduction of stationary-power, on inclined planes, rising at an angle of five degrees, and operated by water or horse power. Two horses would be required for about two-fifths of the way for a load adapted to a single horse on the level portions." 1
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