AR, WNC 7/1/1861 CE

Annual Report of the Western North Carolina RR
as of July 1, 1861,
Chief Engineer's Report
 
Report of the Chief Engineer
Chief Engineer's Office
Salisbury, Aug. 28th, 1861
 
To the President and Directors of the Western North-Carolina Railroad
 
Gentlemen,
   The approaching annual meeting of your Company may seem to require of me a statement of the progress and affairs of the road under my supervision. I shall therefore submit it briefly, referring only to what has been done and reported upon since the last annual convocation, for the purpose of keeping up a proper connection of events. The survey for the extension of your road west of Asheville having been completed, the result, presented for your action and decision, has been duly recorded. Predicated upon that, an application was made to the last Legislature for such legislation as was necessary for carrying into effect your wishes, and as you have already been informed at a special meeting for that purpose, the Legislature, with enlarged views of the great importance of the enterprise, made such amendments to the charter as would have enabled you to push boldly forward this great State work. A link in the chain of this important scheme was yet to be located, to wit: from the western portal of the Swannanoa Tunnel to the French Broad River.
   A corps of engineers were put in the field as soon as the weather would permit, who were making diligent prosecution of the work; other arrangements preparatory to letting the work to contract had been made, and the friends of the improvement were cheered with the prospect of its early extension, when lo! the tocsin of war was sounded in our ears. The unholy Proclamation of Abe Lincoln claimed our attention -- 75,000 men were called for to violate the Constitution and subjugate the South. I took the responsibility of suspending the work, which was subsequently ratified by the unanimous vote of your board, and with electric speed every member of the engineer corps offered his services to the State for the defence of freedom and the institutions of the South; and in that capacity which it seemed most suitable there should fill, in company with some of our best contractors and other employees of the road, are now and have been most patriotically and honorably battling for our rights, our homes, and our firesides.
   Indeed, to such an extent did this patriotic spirit prevail, that at one time I apprehended some difficulty in keeping a sufficient number of the right kind of men on the road to discharge the duties to a successful prosecution of its business.
   On that part of the road under contract between Morganton and the Swannanoa Gap, the work has been, in accordance with your order, suspended. But in two cases the contractors, Messrs. McKesson and Neal, have continued to work their force on their own account.
   The work done on this part of the line amounts to upwards of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), for which the contractors have not been paid anything; and I take this opportunity of saying that they deserve great credit for their energy and generosity, and merit every attention the company can bestow to relieve their burdens. I would therefore most respectfully suggest that every effort be made on the part of the board to induce the authorities of the State to grant relief by the payment of the instalments already due the company on this account.
   That part of the line east of Morganton is yet incomplete; and, although this work was not suspended, it has, from various causes been delayed, and there remains about ($40,000) forty thousand dollars worth of grading yet to be done, and is nearly all embraced within a distance of five and a half miles east of the town of Morganton. It is scarcely necessary to repeat to you the causes of delay, yet it may not be improper to allude to two leading causes -- first, the failure on the part of the State, up to this date, to pay its proportion of the instalments called for for the prosecution of the work and secondly; the sacrificing part that the contractors for this work has acted in the great national and political tragedy now passing in view before the country. Without the means of meeting his demands on the Treasury for the vigorous prosecution of this work, we could not ask him to remain when his country called him to lead, where his patriotism and bravery inclined him to go, even unto death.
   The cars are now running to Icard's station and west of that point for five and a half miles. Including some of the heaviest and most costly work on the line, the road has been graded and is nearly ready for the iron, which is now being laid down. The grading on that part of the line yet to be done, is now being pushed forward, though not as vigorously as we could desire, owing to the loss of some of the hands hired for the purpose.
   The station at Morganton has been commenced, the brick and lumber are now on the ground and being put up. This done leaves us only the iron to lay down, a part only of which is on hand to complete the road to Morganton -- a consummation devoutly to be wished.
   The rolling stock of the road is now all in good condition, and consists of five Locomotives, two first-class Passenger Coaches, two second class or Mail Cars and two Baggage Cars, besides Box Cars, Flat Cars, Gravel Cars and the requisite number of Section Cars. We are now building two good Passenger Coaches, so that we already find an additional advantage in having a repairing shop to supply our wants; and as we are now dependent upon our own resources for such things as we have been accustomed to look Northward for, it is a matter of no small consideration to know that we are so far independent of them. There are, however, many things for which our ingenuity will be greatly taxed to supply the place of -- such as machinery, oil, brass, babbet metal, &c.
   But always remembering that necessity is the mother of invention, we hope to be able, from our own resources, to supply our wants as they may arise. The road is now in good order, and with the assistance of the gravel train and ditching force, we expect to have it in such condition as will enable us to run with greater safety than usual during the winter. I cannot refrain from calling the attention of the board to the fact, and it is one of no inconsiderable importance, that up to this time, with one exception, we have had no serious accident on the road.
   The services of every assistant engineer on the line have been dispensed with, except one, who has been retained to superintend the tracklaying now going forward. Every other officer and employee in the service of the company has been dispensed with who was not indispensably necessary to the successful operation of the road -- the station agents and section masters alone being retained, in addition to the shop force and locomotive engineers -- so that the expenses have been reduced to the minimum figure. But the events that have led to this reduction, have already, and may still further render it necessary to employ other assistants to adjust and settle up the affairs of this Company.
   This great and important enterprise, it is true, is virtually suspended, but it is not crushed or beyond resurrection, for the very events which have transpired, leading to this result, may, and in all probability will, at no distant day, be amongst the most important reasons  why it should be resumed again and pushed forward to an early completion. Every national government has its Capitol, and there is certainly none more deserving than the Southern Confederacy. Cast your eyes over a map of the country and what place within its limits, and to what locality, can you point with more unerring certainty for its location, than to some point on the extension of this road, and perhaps within the boundaries of your own Carolina.
   I cannot close this report without extending to the assistants and other officers and employees of the road who have so faithfully served this company, but now gone to the war, my heartfelt acknowledgements. Other companies have retained like officers nominally in their places. But I ask only of you, what I feel assured they will receive, whether they fall or return to bring peace and gladness to your homes and mine, an acknowledgement that they have been faithful officers and tried patriots.
I have the honor to be
Respectfully, your ob't serv't,
James C. Turner
Chief Engineer Western N. C. R. R.

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