STRAIGHTENING THE RAILROADS

The Germantown Telegraph says :

Straightening some of our old railroads, which were built when civil engineering in this country was, as it might be said, in its infancy, has for years been in operation. Every person who has traveled to and fro between Philadelphia and New York, by both the Jersey City and Amboy lines, must have observed how much these roads have been shortened, and by avoiding sharp curves, how much has been added to the general safety of passengers. The old Columbia road, when first operated, was a model of engineering inefficiency, beginning with the ‘inclined plane,’ stationary engine and ropes for hauling up trains, &c., thence there were at once commenced a series of windings around every little elevation, sometimes coming out of one of these dangerous curves almost at the point of starting, until passengers, in the absence of the sun or a compass became so confused as not to know the direction they were traveling, only that the object point was being approached. The straightening of this line was one of the first concerns of the Pennsylvania railroad company after purchasing it, and this has been steadily going on for several years, shortening the distance a number of miles and greatly adding to the general comfort and safety. And it is only now that the work of straightening the road between Eagle station in Delaware county to Paoli in Chester county, is about to be entered upon.

9/15/1876

Notes: Found and transcribed by Heidi Sproat.