IMPOLICY 
 
 OF BUILDING 
 
 ANOTHER RAIL ROAD 
 
 BETWEEN 
 
 (' ft 
 
 WASHINGTON AND NEW YORK. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 KING & BAIRD, PRINTERS, No. 607 SANSOM STREET. 
 
 MDCCCLXIV. 
 
 

0-5" «+=>>J if 8h, 
 
 Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Bail Eoad. 
 
 Philadelphia, February 9th, 1804. 
 
 Wow. CXwvvYes Svvmwev*. 
 
 1)eah Sir : 
 
 No one appreciates more fully than myself 
 the importance of a safe, expeditions and 
 comfortable route between Washington and 
 New York, and no effort has been spared by 
 the Company, which I represent, to attain 
 that result. 
 
 The establishment of a double track between 
 Philadelphia and Baltimore is already far ad¬ 
 vanced ; twenty-seven miles of the second track 
 have been completed ; the permanent way has 
 been graded for the additional distance of thirty 
 miles, on which the rails will be laid as soon as 
 they arrive from England, where they were pur¬ 
 chased on account of inability to procure them 
 in this country, and the work will be consum- 
 mated with the utmost diligence. 
 
 £ in 
 
4 
 
 The Susquehanna Ferry will be superseded 
 by the erection of a bridge at that point, for 
 which undertaking the soundings and surveys 
 have already been completed, the land for the ap¬ 
 proaches and the right of way have been secured, 
 a large quantity of stone has been quarried and 
 dressed, two piers have been constructed, one 
 of which was built in water forty-two feet 
 deep, and the foundations of five other piers 
 and one abutment have been prepared. There 
 will be required thirteen piers, two hundred and 
 fifty feet apart, and two abutments. The sub¬ 
 structure will be finished during the present 
 year in case the requisite materials. and work¬ 
 men can be procured, and it is anticipated that 
 the bridge will be ready for travel in 1865. 
 
 An improved mode of transit through Phila¬ 
 delphia, for some, of the through trains, has 
 lately been introduced to obviate the transfer 
 of passengers and baggage from one railroad 
 to the other by street cars or ferry. 
 
 This railway connection is temporary in its 
 nature, and although a decided improvement 
 over the previous arrangement, it is designed 
 to be used for a few months only, when the 
 Junction Rail Road will be completed. 
 
5 
 
 This railroad is located on the West bank of 
 the river Schuylkill, and extends from the Phil- 
 adelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Rail Road 
 near Gray’s Ferry to the Richmond Branch of 
 the Reading Rail Road, and, when finished, 
 trains will pass through the rural districts of 
 Philadelphia without interruption or delay. 
 
 The Junction Rail Road would have been 
 finished during the last year but for the in¬ 
 vasion of Pennsylvania, in which emergency 
 the engineers and workmen were sent to the 
 interior of the State to lay out and build 
 fortifications, and, moreover, an extensive 
 earthwork, designed for city defence, was 
 erected upon the line of the railroad, which 
 caused a delay of four months in the work of 
 construction at that point. 
 
 A railroad, known as the Connecting Rail¬ 
 way, has been located and commenced to unite 
 the Junction with the Philadelphia and Trenton 
 Rail Road, and when finished, the line through 
 Philadelphia will be faultless ; in the mean¬ 
 time the Richmond Branch of the Reading Rail 
 Road will be used as the connecting link be- 
 tween the two railroads. 
 
 The improvements of the railroad between 
 
6 
 
 Philadelphia and Baltimore, effected within the 
 last year, involved the expenditure of five hun¬ 
 dred thousand dollars, while those in progress, 
 to be completed within the next two years, will 
 require an outlay of fifteen hundred thousand 
 dollars more, and then this railroad will be 
 excelled by none in the country for safety, 
 expedition and comfort. 
 
 In addition to the improvements of the 
 permanent way, liberal expenditures have 
 been made to provide for the welfare and 
 convenience of travelers, and the equipment 
 and furniture of the several railroads forming 
 the route between Washington and New York 
 have been largely augmented. In common 
 with other railroads, however, the companies 
 have experienced the utmost difficulty in pro¬ 
 curing locomotives and cars in consequence of 
 the immense demand created partly by the 
 requirements of the Government. 
 
 At an early date thirty passenger cars were 
 ordered expressly for the through trains; these 
 cars were to be built in the most approved 
 style, with every appliance for comfort and 
 luxury and to be delivered early in December, 
 but owing to the scarcity of material and 
 
7 
 
 labor the contractors were unable to complete 
 them at the stipulated time. Nor have they as 
 vet been able to deliver them. 
 
 t/ 
 
 It is the settled policy of the several com¬ 
 panies to enlarge and improve their rolling 
 stock and furniture and render their line 
 unexceptionable in all its appointments. 
 
 The anomalous state of affairs resulting 
 from the war has produced a marked effect 
 upon railroads. The demand for men for the 
 army and navy has caused a scarcity of work¬ 
 men, and the enhanced wages of laborers have 
 rendered them indifferent to constant employ¬ 
 ment. The construction of an immense fleet 
 for naval service, and the rebuilding, repairs 
 and operation of railroads by the Government 
 have withdrawn vast supplies of raw mate¬ 
 rials, manufactured articles and skilled labor, 
 from private parties. 
 
 Engine-drivers and machinists have entered 
 the Government service and their places have 
 necessarily been supplied by men possessing 
 less skill and experience. The loss of so many 
 of these trained men and the substitution of 
 less experienced employes have tended to de- 
 
. 8 
 
 range railroad operations generally and inter¬ 
 fered with their proper management. 
 
 The scarcity of raw materials, the demand 
 for railway equipment and supplies, and the 
 extensive employment of skilled labor by the 
 Government, not only augment prices but in¬ 
 duce. the use of inferior materials and the 
 employment of less skilful workmen in the 
 manufacture of locomotives, cars, rails and 
 equipments. 
 
 Such defective materials and workmanship 
 have proved a prolific source of accidents 
 and caused irregularity and confusion in the 
 movements of trains, for which the railroad 
 managers are personally censured, notwith¬ 
 standing they strain every nerve and lavish 
 money to overcome the difficulties incident to 
 the disturbed condition of the country. 
 
 During the year this Company purchased 
 eight locomotives at enormous prices, most of 
 which proved to be inferior in material and 
 workmanship. In consequence of their defec¬ 
 tive construction, five accidents have occurred 
 within the past two months from the breaking 
 of tires and wheels; some of these mishaps 
 
9 
 
 occurred within a few days after the engines 
 were placed on the road. 
 
 On the 23d of December, the western span 
 and draw of Gray’s Ferry Bridge were burned, 
 causing a derangement in the movement of * 
 trains, and, as a temporary expedient, com¬ 
 pelling the use of portions of two other rail¬ 
 roads and the transfer of passengers and lug¬ 
 gage a distance of a quarter of a mile from 
 one train to the other. The construction of 
 an alternative connection, to serve until the 
 bridge should be repaired, was immediately 
 commenced, and in seven days and nights 
 nearly a mile of railroad was built, requiring 
 extensive excavation and trestlework. During 
 that period, stormy weather prevailed for two 
 days and nights, and Christmas and Sunday 
 intervened, while the men were induced to 
 work only upon payment of double wages for 
 night work, Christmas and Sunday. The 
 re-opening of Gray’s Ferry Bridge, which 
 has been repaired, furnishes two railroad ap¬ 
 proaches to Philadelphia, and in the event of 
 a similar casualty hereafter, the transit of 
 trains to, from and around the citv will suffer 
 little interruption. 
 
 2 
 
10 
 
 Before the laborers had recovered from their 
 fatigue and exposure in building the tem¬ 
 porary connection, they were summoned to 
 contend with an ice-freshet which obstructed 
 the passage of the ferry-boat across the Sus¬ 
 quehanna river, and defied for a few hours all 
 attempts to cross. 
 
 No sooner had this difficulty been overcome 
 than a second ice-freshet was precipitated upon 
 us, interrupting for several hours the transit 
 of the boat, and when this impediment was 
 surmounted, the weather became intensely cold, 
 and a strong north-west wind forced the water 
 out of the Susquehanna, causing the ice to 
 form in large masses upon the flats; this ice 
 was carried up the stream by the reflux of the 
 tide, and a considerable quantity adhered to 
 the hull of the boat, causing it to ground in 
 eleven feet of water, although its draught, 
 when loaded, is only five and a half feet. 
 This obstruction resisted our efforts from 2| 
 A. M., to 4J P. M., on Sunday, January 3d, 
 when we succeeded in floating the boat and 
 landing the passengers. 
 
 The unusual severity of the weather has 
 seriously impeded all railroad operations and 
 
11 
 
 rendered high speed exceedingly unsafe. At 
 such times, accidents are of frequent occur¬ 
 rence, resulting from inevitable causes. 
 
 Excessive labor and exposure disabled a 
 number of our best men; the road-master 
 was ordered away by his physician; the 
 General Superintendent was confined to his 
 house, in a critical condition, for a number of 
 days, worn out with anxiety and over-exertion, 
 and several others, whose services were almost 
 indispensable, were absent from duty in conse¬ 
 quence of sickness and exhaustion induced by 
 unremitting toil and exposure during the last 
 month or more ; while in addition to my own 
 official duties, I was obliged to perform the 
 task of one or two others, although personally 
 suffering from fatigue, anxiety and exposure. 
 
 The failure of the mails and passengers to 
 arrive with their usual promptness, and the 
 discomforts to which travelers have been 
 subjected, have not resulted from a want of 
 exertion on the part of the railroads or their 
 officers. In other sections of the country the 
 railroads have suffered with equal severity 
 from the same causes that have impeded our 
 own. In some of the Western States, in con- 
 
12 
 
 sequence of the inclemency of the weather, 
 operations were wholly suspended for several 
 days in succession; the progress of trains 
 was arrested on the prairies by snow-drifts, 
 and passengers were exposed to cold and 
 hunger for hours, and narrowly escaped with 
 their lives, the limbs of several having been 
 frozen. 
 
 Numerous accidents of a serious nature 
 have resulted from the breaking of machinery 
 and rails, caused by the inferior quality of 
 materials and the intense cold, and yet these 
 accidents, numerous and severe as they were, 
 escaped the notice of members of Congress, • 
 because they did not happen on the line be¬ 
 tween Washington and New York. 
 
 Under ordinary circumstances, a railroad can 
 not be managed with its usual promptness, " 
 
 regularity and comfort in the winter, and es¬ 
 pecial allowance should be made for the 
 derangement of railroads during the present 
 season, when, in addition to the disadvantages 
 of snow, ice and inclement weather, they suffer 
 from a scarcity of equipments and employes, 
 and casualties result from the inferior quality 
 
13 
 
 of the locomotives, cars, rails and supplies 
 which are now manufactured. 
 
 The exercise of vigilant caution, the profuse 
 expenditure of money, and a zealous determi¬ 
 nation to subserve the interests of the public 
 are baffled by the elements and the disturbing 
 influence of the National convulsion. 
 
 It is, however, a source of gratulation that 
 not a single mishap on this railroad has re¬ 
 sulted in the loss of life or limb. 
 
 In a recent debate in the House of Repre¬ 
 sentatives, one of the members alleged, on the 
 authority of some anonymous individual, that 
 the railroad companies between Washington 
 and New York had practiced extortion on 
 the Government. 
 
 This accusation is utterly unfounded, and the 
 company, which I represent, courts the most 
 rigid investigation of its conduct in its relation 
 to the public service. 
 
 As early as the month of December, 1860, I 
 anticipated the outbreak of the insurrection, 
 and deeming it impracticable, in that event, to 
 forward troops, for the protection of Wash¬ 
 ington through the City of Baltimore, I became 
 
14 
 
 convinced that the only feasible route to the 
 
 «/ 
 
 Capital would be by the way of Annapolis. 
 
 The result of my investigation, together with 
 a map and memoranda bearing on the subject, 
 I transmitted by special messenger to General 
 Scott, at Washington. On the 13th of April, 
 1861, I again communicated to that officer, the 
 information in my possession, of a plot to 
 destroy the railroad bridges between Baltimore 
 and the Susquehanna river. Six days after¬ 
 wards, the Sixth Regiment of Massachusetts 
 was assailed on its passage through Baltimore, 
 the railroad Bridge at Canton was destroyed by 
 lire; a train of cars was seized by a lawless 
 band led by J. R. Trimble, now a Major General 
 in the Confederate service, who proceeded to 
 burn the bridges over Bush, Gunpowder and 
 Back rivers, and thus effectually severed all 
 railway communication between the Susque¬ 
 hanna river and Baltimore. Late at night, 
 in company with Admiral Du Pont, and my 
 brother, whom I had requested to accompany 
 me, I called upon General Butler, who had 
 arrived at Philadelphia that evening with the 
 Eighth Massachusetts Regiment, and informed 
 the General that I had received a telegram 
 
15 
 
 from the Mayor and Police Commissioners 
 
 %j 
 
 of Baltimore, requesting me to send no more 
 troops through Baltimore or Maryland, to which 
 the General replied, that “if Colonel Lefferts 
 (of the Seventh Eegiment of New York) 
 will join me, we will fight our way through 
 Baltimore.” I told the General that, from 
 information received from our detectives, the 
 bridges between the Susquehanna river and 
 
 Baltimore would be destroyed before he could 
 
 § 
 
 arrive at Havre de Grace, and urged him to go 
 to Washington by way of Annapolis, embarking 
 at Perryville, for which purpose I tendered him 
 the use of the Company’s ferry boat Maryland. 
 I advised him to take and hold possession of 
 the railroad from Annapolis to Washington, and 
 promised to forward reinforcements and sup¬ 
 plies. Admiral Hu Pont explained to the 
 General that he could land at the grounds of 
 the Naval Academy under cover of the frigate 
 Constitution. These considerations induced the 
 General to adopt the proposed route to Wash¬ 
 ington, and accordingly his command embarked 
 the next day on our ferry boat Maryland, and 
 proceeded to Annapolis. 
 
 Being cut off from all intercourse with the 
 
16 
 
 authorities at Washington, J. Edgar Thomson, 
 Esq., and myself, on our individual responsi¬ 
 bility, collected all the available transports at 
 Perryville to forward troops and supplies. 
 Provisions were procured at the expense of the 
 railroad company and sent to the soldiers at 
 Annapolis. Engines, cars, railroad iron, coal, 
 horses, carts, and laborers were furnished by 
 myself and dispatched to General Butler. The 
 expenditures incurred by the Railroad Com¬ 
 pany, on my personal accountability, amounted 
 to many thousand dollars, and I did not hesi¬ 
 tate to inquire whether the amount would be 
 refunded or not. The safety of the Capital 
 was the paramount object. 
 
 On the 23d day of April, 1861, I telegraphed 
 to the Governors of Massachusetts, New York, 
 Rhode Island, Maine, Connecticut, and New 
 Hampshire, urging them to hasten forward 
 troops and supplies to Annapolis. 
 
 In a letter to me, dated “War Department, 
 April 25tli, 1861,” the Secretary of War thus 
 acknowledged the value of the services ren¬ 
 dered in this emergency:—“I hasten to express 
 my thanks for your energetic, patriotic and 
 prompt conduct, in connection with Messrs. 
 
17 
 
 Thomson and Sanford, in pushing forward men 
 and supplies for the defence of the Capital. 
 Let me assure you that this Department has 
 the highest appreciation of your meritorious 
 conduct, and that the Government will assume, 
 fully, the pecuniary responsibility which you 
 have incurred.” 
 
 Instead of charging “four times the usual 
 rates for Government service,” as has been 
 falsely alleged, this Company, in connection 
 with the Camden and Amboy Railroad, vol¬ 
 untarily reduced the price of transportation 
 for troops and supplies to two-thirds of their 
 usual rates, notwithstanding the business of 
 the Government was spasmodic and generally 
 in one direction only, requiring empty trains 
 one way and a large surplus of cars to be kept 
 in readiness for the public service; so that in 
 reality the business of the G overnment netted 
 the Company little more than one-third the 
 revenue which would have accrued from its 
 usual business. 
 
 After the battle of Bull Run, fearing that 
 communication with Washington might a 
 second time be interrupted, I consulted with 
 Admiral Du Pont and made arrangements to 
 
18 
 
 re-opcn the Annapolis route in case of neces¬ 
 sity, which, fortunately, was not required. 
 This Company, in co-operation with the United 
 States Sanitary Commission, was the first to 
 provide Hospital Cars for the transportation 
 of sick and wounded officers and soldiers, and 
 the success of this humane measure in allevi¬ 
 ating the fatigues and hardships of travel and 
 promoting the comfort and welfare of the 
 invalids on their journey, caused its adoption 
 in other sections of the country. 
 
 Throughout these troublous times, the offi¬ 
 cers and employes of the Philadelphia, Wil¬ 
 mington and Baltimore Railroad Company, 
 together with its equipments and entire re¬ 
 sources, have, unreservedly, been placed at 
 the disposal of the Government, and the 
 public service has been faithfully performed 
 even to the exclusion of all other business 
 when necessary. No person connected with 
 the Company has sought Government pat¬ 
 ronage or been interested in any contract or 
 derived a single farthing from the public 
 service. The united efforts of officers and 
 employes have been cheerfully rendered to 
 sustain the Government in its struggle to 
 
19 
 
 maintain the integrity of the country, without 
 any expectation or desire of personal gain or 
 aggrandizement. 
 
 I claim no merit for the Company nor its 
 officers in performing the duty incumbent on 
 all good citizens to support the Government in 
 times of trial and danger, nor should I have 
 referred to these matters except in defence of 
 the Company against the calumnious charge of 
 unfair dealings towards the Government. 
 
 Since the commencement of the war, a 
 project has been devised to induce the Gov¬ 
 ernment to build a rival railroad between 
 Washington and New York. 
 
 To accomplish their purpose, the originators 
 and advocates of the scheme have endeavored 
 to excite animosity against the existing route, 
 and the press has teemed with abuse, mis¬ 
 statements and falsehoods. 
 
 The non-arrival of the mail at the schedule 
 time serves as a text for tirades against “the 
 Railroad Monopolieswhile a failure of a 
 single train to connect raises a clamor about 
 the discomforts and imperfections of the rail¬ 
 way lines. No allowance is made for the 
 severity of the weather, the scarcity of skilled 
 
20 
 
 labor, the prevalence of snow or ice, the 
 ravages of lire, or the inferior quality of the 
 materials and workmanship of railroad equip¬ 
 ments and supplies arising from the Govern¬ 
 ment demand and the exigencies of the times. 
 
 An impartial investigation of the subject 
 will show that the existing route between 
 Washington and New York is the nearest 
 practicable approximation to an air line, and 
 that more favorable grades are unattainable; 
 that the railroad companies are unremitting 
 in their efforts to serve the Government and 
 accommodate the public; that no expense 
 has been spared to remedy defects and over¬ 
 come impediments; that improvements are now 
 in progress, which will require the expendi¬ 
 ture of several millions of dollars, and that 
 on their completion, the route will be unsur¬ 
 passed in continuity, comfort and appointments 
 by any in the country; that in consequence 
 of the enhanced value of real estate, labor and 
 materials, a railroad between Washington and 
 New York could not now be built and equipped 
 by private enterprise, for less than fifty millions 
 of dollars; and if constructed by the Govern¬ 
 ment, its cost would be greatly enhanced; that 
 
21 
 
 the projected railroad could not be finished 
 within four years, before which time, national 
 tranquility, it is hoped, will be restored, when 
 the army will be reduced, and business will 
 subside to its natural proportions, affording 
 inadequate support for two railroads. In that 
 case the United States would not only sink 
 the entire capital invested in the project, but 
 be required to make annual appropriations to 
 defray the operating expenses of the railroad 
 and maintain a horde of greedy partisans. 
 
 The present route between Washington and 
 New York through Philadelphia and Baltimore 
 is the most direct line practicable. It varies 
 but little from an air line, and that only where 
 such variation is necessary to retain the rail¬ 
 road on fast land and avoid running many 
 miles in the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, 
 through which a straight line between these 
 two cities would pass, from a point consider¬ 
 ably east of the Susquehanna river to a point 
 west of Baltimore, a distance of more than 
 forty miles, and would, therefore, be utterly 
 impracticable. The nearest approach, conse¬ 
 quently, to a straight line that can be attained 
 is the existing route, passing through Phila- 
 
22 
 
 delphia and Baltimore. Any route avoiding 
 those cities would not only be longer than the 
 present line, but would obtain a part only of 
 the through business between Philadelphia, 
 Baltimore and Washington, and would prove 
 unproductive to its proprietors if they were 
 individuals, still more so if owned by the 
 Government. 
 
 Independent of these considerations, there 
 are other grave objections to the scheme for 
 a rival railroad to be constructed by the Gov¬ 
 ernment. With the country burdened with 
 debt increasing at the rate of nearly two 
 millions of dollars per day, and the industry 
 and property of the citizens subjected to 
 onerous taxation to sustain the national credit, 
 it would be unwise policy for the Government 
 to embark in a project of little or no practical 
 utility, and involving an outlay exceeding fifty 
 millions of dollars. If the Government were 
 in a condition to engage in the construction 
 of railroads, the public interest would be 
 better subserved by building the Pacific Rail¬ 
 road and lines traversing the now inaccessible 
 regions of the West and Southwest, thereby 
 opening immense tracts of fertile lands to set- 
 
23 
 
 tiers, and developing their resources to the 
 advancement of the general welfare and pros¬ 
 perity, rather than by building rival railroads 
 through populous districts already provided, 
 by private enterprise, with facilities for inter¬ 
 communication. 
 
 It is not, moreover, a legitimate function of 
 
 Government to enter into competition with 
 
 private enterprise, to sacrifice vested rights 
 
 and destroy capital expended by its citizens 
 
 upon works of public improvement conducive 
 
 to the growth, development and wealth of the 
 
 countrv. 
 
 «/ 
 
 If a national route between Washington and 
 New York be deemed a public necessity, and 
 it be the legitimate province of the Govern¬ 
 ment to own such a route, it should be the 
 policy of the Government to purchase the 
 existing railroads and establish them as a 
 military and post road. They could doubtless 
 be obtained at less cost than a new line, and 
 would yield an immediate revenue to the Gov¬ 
 ernment, whereas the establishment of an 
 independent route would involve the loss of 
 four years’ interest upon the capital invested 
 without any income, and would be of no 
 
 
2 098480947 
 
 24 
 
 utility to the Government in the present exi¬ 
 gencies. 
 
 Such purchase would he a simple act of 
 justice to the stockholders whose enterprise 
 and liberality have created these public works 
 and whose property it is the duty of the 
 Government to protect and not annihilate; 
 it would also be treating with proper respect 
 the rights and interests of the several states 
 and cities owning stock and bonds of these 
 Companies, from which they derive an annual 
 revenue. 
 
 Faithfully yours, 
 
 S. M. FELTON, 
 
 President P. W & B. R. R. Co.