|
Corinth April 20, 1862
|
| |
| General B. Bragg |
| 2d Grand Div |
| Army Missi. |
| |
| General, |
| I have the honor to report as
follows concerning the Railway connection between Meridian and Selma
as per your order of the 12th inst. |
|
The route from Meridian to Selma is 108 1/2 miles long
and composed as follows
|
| From |
Meridian to Reagan |
NE&SW RRd {Northeast
& Southwest Alabama RR} |
27 1/2 Miles |
| " |
Reagan to McDonalds Landing |
Ala& Miss {Alabama
& Mississippi Rivers RR} |
24 " |
| " |
McDonalds Landing to Demopolis |
Steamboat |
4 " |
| " |
Demopolis to Uniontown |
Ala&Miss RRd |
22 " |
| " |
Uniontown to Junction |
" |
16 " |
| " |
Junction to Selma |
" |
15 " |
|
Total |
|
108 1/2 " |
|
| From Meridian to Reagan, the
grading, masonry and bridging is nearly done and 14 miles of track
laid. A large force is now at work completing the grading and laying
the track and iron is on hand for this purpose. |
| From Reagan to McDonalds
Landing a distance of 24 miles the road passes over only two bridges
the work is light and easily done. Soil black sand with occasional
prairie soil underlaid with rotten lime stone. The heavy work on the
Bridges is already under progress but as the R. Rd Company pay no cash
the work goes on slowly. There remains to complete this Section ready
for the track: |
| 120,000 |
cub yds of earth excavation |
| 244,000 |
"
" "
" grub'k't |
| 8,000 |
"
" " soft rock exc |
| 17,000 |
"
" " hard
" " |
| 2800 |
linear feet of trestle work |
| 200 |
" " of
truss bridge |
| 34 |
wooden culverts |
|
| No iron or spikes have been
purchased for this section. |
| From McDonald's Landing to
Demopolis a distance of four miles, it is their intention of the R.
Rd. Company to use a Steamboat for the present, thus saving the
expense of building a Drum Bridge over the {Tom}Bigbee
River and long trestle work across the swamp. |
| From Demopolis to Uniontown --
22 miles of the grading masonry and bridging is nearly complete and
track is laid from Uniontown west 11 miles. The force now at work is
laying 1/5 mile per day. Iron and spikes are now provided to lay track
within four miles of Demopolis with all necessary bridging. |
| From Uniontown to Selma, 31
miles, crossing the Marion & Cahawba Railway {Cahaba,
Marion & Greensboro RR} at the Junction, the track is laid
and the road in fair running order. |
| The Railway from Marion to
Cahawba, 28 miles long crossing the Ala & Miss R Rd at the
Junction is in fair order but at present not making expenses, the iron
is 50 lbs per yard, at Marion there are now 400 tons of iron and 400
kegs of spikes, {there is a page break here and
the flow of the sentence gives me the impression that a page is
missing} all from the pressures of the times in chancery.
Parties wish to sell but are not allowed. Also the Ala & Missi R
Road desires to purchase an Engine and are willing to pay fair prices
but the parties charge too much. The Engine belongs to the {Montgomery
&} Eufaula R. Rd Co and is now at Montgomery. |
| Respectfully Yr obt Servt |
| J. W. Goodwin |