| Annual Report of the Western North Carolina
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| as of July 1, 1865, |
| Committee of Inspection's Report |
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| Inspector's Report |
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| To the Stockholders of the Western N.
C. R. R. Company |
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| The undersigned appointed
inspectors of the Western North Carolina Railroad at the last annual
meeting of the Stockholders, have the honor to submit the following
report. |
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The general condition of the road bed is good, and the
whole is being rapidly repaired by the clearing of the ditches,
removing grass from the track and supplying new cross-ties where most
needed; a great number of new ties have been laid in the last twelve
months, and many more will be required before the end of another year.
We think a great mistake was made in clothing the road with Iron so
light, owing to the great weight of the locomotives used on this road,
many of the bars are wearing out and it will be necessary to supply
new ones in a short time. Your Committee would suggest whenever new
bars are required that they be obtained of the same size and weight as
those used on the Charlotte and Statesville road, and thus eventually
the road will be supplied with a heavier and consequently more durable
iron. At the point known as the "Mountain Cut," it is almost
impossible to keep the road bed in good order, owing to the character
of the soil, slides are frequent, and numerous springs submerging the
road and the difficulty of thorough drainage, requires almost constant
work and attention to make it passable at all.
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Your Committee were agreeably surprised to find that so
much had been done to repair and rebuild the structures injured and
destroyed by the raiders.
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The neat and substantial brick Depot at Morganton was
fortunately uninjured, a temporary building to serve as a depot has
been erected at the present terminus of the road, (the former one
having been burned,) which now reaches to within two and a half miles
of Morganton. The Saw and Grist Mill owned by the Company was burned,
but with commendable energy and zeal the officers of the road have
rebuilt and now have the Saw Mill in good running order. The depot at
Icard's Station is entirely destroyed. The water tank at this Station
and wherever they were demolished by the raiders, have been
substantially rebuilt. The depots and other buildings at Hickory
Station, Newton and Catawba Station are intact and in good order. At
Catawba Station the Depot has been removed from the left to the right
hand side of the road, which is a great improvement. At this place we
found about 400 bushels of corn, 2,000 pounds of bacon and about 100
head of hogs belonging to the Company; some 40 head of these hogs are
large and in fine condition, and will make by winter at a small
expense, from 8,000 to 10,000 pounds of Pork.
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We congratulate the Company that the expensive and
splendid bridge spanning the Catawba was but slightly injured, only a
small portion of the covering being ripped up near the centre for the
purpose of firing the timbers. This with some other slight repairs the
covering should be immediately attended to, as in its present
condition, the wood work will be exposed to the weather and liable to
rot. Six miles further we find the tank and wood-shed all in prime
order. Here the Company have some fifteen or twenty acres in Dorn and
Sorghum; the corn will probably yield 300 or 400 bushels. The fine
bridge crossing Third Creek near Statesville is uninjured. At
Statesville sad havoc was made by the raiders of the buildings
belonging to the Company -- the walls of the Depot are however good
and should be immediately covered to protect them from the frosts of
winter. The buildings at Third Creek Station are all destroyed,
likewise the bridge spanning that and Second Creek; both have been
replaced by plain but substantial trestle structures, which we think
are safe and will answer the purpose required, until more prosperous
times may enable the Company to substitute others of greater cost.
Reaching Salisbury we find all the splendid and convenient buildings,
erected at a great cost, a mass of ruins. The beautiful edifice used
as an office and reception room, and the shed attached, equal to any
thing of the kind in the Southern States, have both disappeared under
the inexorable hand of War. The Machine Shop and Foundry is entirely
destroyed, the walls crumbling and worth nothing except for the brick.
The walls of the Circular building (hitherto used for the reception of
the cars and locomotives while undergoing repairs, &c.,) are in
good condition and can be readily repaired. This building, as was
suggested by the Superintendent, can be made to answer all the
purposes of a Machine Shop as well as that for which it was originally
intended by some economical additions, one of which has been already
built. A new well nearly completed is so arranged that the water will
be pumped without additional labor by machinery from the work-shop, a
great improvement on the former mode, which required four hands
constantly laboring at the pump to supply water.
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The Company own an adjacent lot on which has been erected
a neat dwelling, now occupied by the Master Machinist. There is still
another lot pointed out to your Committee as belonging to the Company,
which has never been of any use to the incorporation and in all
probability never will, we would, therefore, respectfully suggest the
propriety of its being sold.
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Three of the locomotives are in good order and will be
sufficient in the opinion of the Superintendent to do all the work
required for some time to come. Two were burned by the raiders, and it
will probably cost $5,000 or $6,000 to put them in thorough repair.
All the passenger coaches except one were entirely destroyed -- this
one is badly injured but is being fitted up and will be on the road in
a few days. The officers of the road have succeeded in collecting and
bringing to Salisbury a large quantity of burnt iron which will be
very valuable for many purposes.
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In closing this report your Committee take pleasure in
stating that they believe the President and Superintendent have done
all in their power to sustain and keep the road going since the
disasters which have befallen it, and it is also their opinion that
they deserve the thanks of the stockholders for their energy, zeal and
perseverance with which they have encountered and overcome the adverse
circumstances surrounding them.
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Respectfully submitted
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T. Geo. Walton
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H. Reynolds
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Committee
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