University of South Carolina Libraries
\t 1 from 59 Mile Road Petersburg Railroad, Earliest Constituent Company of Present Far-Flung System, Founded 100 Years Ago.-—Interesting Story of Road That Runs Through Barnwell. i Just one hundred years ago, Mon day, February 10 t a little group of alert men, of Petersburg, Va., ventur ed a first step in railroad building which has lengthened into the more than 5,000 miles of steel highway, known as the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. More than 100 railroads were brought together to form the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Com pany, and that company today owns or controls 14.4KO miles of rails. Reaehing from Petersburg, Va., to Blakeley, Va., a point near the North Carolina lipe “a mile and a half be low the falls of the Roanoke river,” the Petersburg railroad was only 59 miles long. When completed it had no rail connections at either end. But so carefully was the location of the early railroad selected that it is today a" part of the main line of the Atlant^t* Coast Line, one of the prin cipal arteries of trade and travel be tween the North and the South. The Petersburg Railroad was one of the first railroads to be construct ed in the Sleuth, and indeed t in the whole country, for the South cars and all were hardly as long as a present-day locomotive. But as primitive and as awkward as the early railroads were they came as a Godsend to the merchants and farmers of that time. For the whole country along the South Atlantic Coast and in the Piedmont was stag nating from lack of quick and depend able transportation that would permit ready interchange qf trade and mark eting of farmcrops. The building of the Petersburg Railroad was followed by a ‘great in crease ip the trade of the City of Petersburg and by the development of the sections it served. The early railroad builders had plenty of trouble. Hardly was the Petersburg road completed before the FOOD make more trips than had been plan ned. The result was that a large part was ^ of the net earnings of the railroad very quick to adopt the railroad as, had to be* spent for new iron and a relief from the slower and uncer tain ran$postation by w’ater and pack horse and wagon. Among other thipgs •• its charter grantetd permission ‘‘to erect \ toll gates on the line f and scales at its various depots,” apparently contem plating that the public might be al lowed to use the rails over which to haul freight in equipment of its own. A charge of 12Mr cents per ton mile heavier locomotives instead of being distiibuted as dividends.<r- Then came hard times when crops were poor and money was scarce. But the Petersburg Railroad struggled along, managing somehow to keep out of the sheriff’s hands, and gradually improved its facilities until it could handle its business efficiently. In the meantme other railroads had The Wilmington and was authorized for freight, or $8.00 Raleigh, late? the Wilmington and a ton for the distance of 69 miles, j Weldon reached from a point near the This is quite in contrast to the piesent Southern terminus of the Petersburg average of a little more than 1 cent, railroad to Wilmington, chief seaport that the railroad receives for hauling a of North Carolina. It was 161 miles ton of freight if r mile. The net profit long ami at that time the longest the Petersburg Railroad was allowed railroad in the world. The Richmond to earn was to amount to a sum and Petersburg Railroad had been equal to the capital stock expended constructed from Petersburg to Rieh- with inteie.*t at 6 per cent, from the mond. Fredericksburg and Potomac time the money was paid hy the stock- carried the traveling on toward Wash- Hokler* until received hack in net ington, a boat being used to complete profits. After thia rates were to be the trip. fixed so that the railroad could earn From W’ilmington a line of steam ers operated by the Wilmington and Raleigh plied overnight to and from Charleston. At the latter point con nection was made wdth the Charleston and Hambuig Railroad and with vici ous stage lines to the South. In 1840 the trip from Montgomery, West Point. Through the Louisville and Nashville it is interested in the Nashville, Chatanooga and St. Louis is closely affiliated with the Charles ton and Western Carolina, the Northr western Railroad of South CarolinaT It owns a majority of stock of the Columbia, Newberry and Laurens, the Atlantic, Birmingham and Coast, the Jampa Southern, the Fort Meyers Southern and othfer railroads. To gether with the Louisville and Nash ville it leases the Georgia Railroad aftd the Clinchfield and controls through ownership pnd under the light strap iron began to break under of tbe Georgia Railroad, a ma- the strain of traffic. The locomotives' j° r ity of stock in the Atlanta and were built to haul only light loads and in order to take care of the business they either had to be run faster than had been originally intended, nr tn |^and other lines and has a lease hold in terest in the Westorn Railway—of Alabama. These railroads in connec tion with the Atlantic Coast Line have a total of approximately 14,480 miles of line. The Atlantic Coast Line is also in terested in the Peninsula and Occiden tal Steamship Company which oper ates a line of steamers between Port Tampa, Key West and Havana, and the Cheseapeake Steamship Company, operating steamers between Baltimore and Norfolk, Richmond and West Point, Va: Indirectly iris interested in Pan-American Airways, Inc. Its trains furnish connections at Miami with planes of this company for Havana, San Juan and other points in the West Indies as well as to Mexico, the Canal Zone and South America. Thus from a fifty-nine- mile rail- per cent on the capital stock above running expense's. So accustomed are we of today to the heavy steel rails, gigantic loco motives and steel coaches and sleep ing cht« that are in common u*e, that the equipment of the Petersburg and the other early railroads seems primi-| A i u ^ t0 Baltimore, over this route re live indeed. The track consisted of pine timber on which strips of -strap iron were nailed. Measuied by modern stand ards the locomotives were queer look ing affairs; more like a boy’s play thing than the great iron horses of the present day. The “carriages” were modeled after the stage coaches of that time and must have been vastly uncomfortable. In any evqit the old cuts show the pa-senges sit ting very stiff and erect as though they rather regretted having decided to try anything so foolhardy. Engine, BLACKVILLE FARMER INCREASES OAT YIELD Where some of the most desperate fight- lag or the war be tween the atates took place—Fort HeU” and -Fort Damnation/' near Petersburg. Va. When Petersburg fell, and railroads com- B rising the -bread ne of Confederacy 1 ' wore cat by Federal*, the caoae of tho South waa doomed. road, chartered one hundred years ago, has grown one of the largest and most important transportation sys tems of the country. Tile main line of the Atlantic Coast Line from Richmond to Jacksonville is double tracked, laid with heavy steel and ballasted with crushed stone, gravel or slag. It is protected by automatic block signals and part of the way by automatic train con trol. Interlocking plants guard all draw bridges and important railroad crossings. Train dispatching is done by telephone. The trains operated by the Coast Line are the equal in speed and equip ment of those operated by any rail road on the continent. The Havana Special, between New York and Key West, is the fastest train in the world for the distance covered. The Florida Special, operating in its 43rd season, is the oldest known de luxe tourist train. A number of other equally famous trains could be mentioned. I One hundred years ago the far sighted founders of the Petersburg Railroad foresaw the eventual de velopment of[ a' “Great Highway of the Union” that would connect the North and the South and provide a quick and dependable means of car rying on the trade and communica tion of the two sections. The enthus iasm and optimism have been more than justified by the growth of the Atlantic Coast Line from the little fifty-nine mile Petersburg Railroad. Your Corn Crop LIKES TS it just another corn crop for you this A year, or have you decided to join the ranks of farmers who make a crop that really is a crop? Now is the time to decide ... and you can just as easily make a good crop. No luck to it.,. just one single rule for success. Chilean Nitrate of Soda is the difference between a good corn crop and a poor one. A side dressing with this nitrate fertilizer (the only natural nitrate in the world) greatly increases the yield. Makes larger ears with more corn per ear and more ears per stalk. A South Corolina Farmer J. Wade Drake* Anderson, S. C„ uses 200 lbs. Chilean Nitrate as a side dressing for his corn crop. In four different corn-grow ing contests he has averaged 113 bu. per acre with this fertilizer. Mr. Drake says it will pay up to 400 lbs. per acre, even when land has been planted in cover crops. Chilean Nitrate is not synthetic. It is mined and refined in Chile, largely by American capital, brought here in American ships and sold to American farmers at a low price. Se« your local dealer. If he does not carry Chilean Nitrate, he can easily get it for you. fr— Fart!Uxor took Our new book, “How to Fertiliae Corn in tha South, tells how to make a real corn crop. It is Free.'Ask for Book No. 5, or tear out this ad and mail it with your name and address written in the margin. 1830-1930... One hundred years of fertiliser service to A merican agriculture. ... Chilean Nitrate of Soda EDUCATIONAL BUKEAU 810 Carolina Life Bldg., Columbia, S. C. In replying, please refer to ad No.69-A * "rrfc* soda MOT IUCK" & On a five-am* ou* demonstration conducted with J. U^ I^uu.-a.-tci, of Blarkville, in 1929, a yield of 53 bush- els of cats per acre was seen fed with the application of 160 pounds of Chil- qan nitrate of soda per acre applied as top dv?s?ing early in the spring. On the check plot where no nitrate was used the average yield waA 25.72 bushels per acre, or an increase of 27.28 bushels per acre in favor of ni trate top dressing. Twenty demonstrations were con ducted by the Extension Service throughout the State in 1929. The average yield for the 20 demonstra tions was 43.5 bushels per acre where 150 lbs. of nitrate of soda was used, and 20.2 bushels per acre on the plots Where ho nitrate of t-oda was used, or an average increase of 23.3 bushels per acre. Soil <rf average fertility was selected for these demonstrations. The results of the demonstrations would indicate that the low average yield of oats for the State might eas ily be doubled by top-dressing with quick-acting nitrogen.—H. G. Boyls- $t>n. County Agent. ADVERTISE IN *quired a full week, -which was con sidered a remarkably short time for the journey. During the War Between the Statts the Petersburg Railroad, the Wilming ton and Weldon, and the Richmond and Petersburg were vitally impor tant to the cause of the Confederacy because they connected Wilmington, the principal port open to blockade runners that brought supplies and munition to Lee’s tatered forces, with Richmond, the capitol of the Confed eracy, The^e three railroads became the “bread line o fthe Confederacy,” and were essential to the operations of the armies of the South in Virginia. Many raids were made by Federal forces to cut this line, and the ruins of forts erected to protect (strategic points can still be seen along—the- brntic Coast Line. AfterTftH War Between the States far-seeing Baltimore business men ac- quired controlling interest in the three roads, together with other rail roads in North and South Carolina. At that time the “Atlantic Coast Line” was the designation of the route followed by these railroads, which retained their corporate identities but which were operated under the direc tion of a common management. In 1900, however, they were brobght to gether in the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company. In 1902 this Company acquired the Plant System, with extensive lines in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama, and.assumed approximately its present proportions. By new con struction and purchase and lease of other roads the mileage of the com pany has been greatly increased, how ever and on January 1, 1930, the At lantic Coast Line operate a total of 5,193 miles of raihoad in the six Southeastern States. In 1902 the Atlantic Coast Line acquired a controlling interest in the stock of the Louisville and Nashville railroad. In addition, the Atlantic Coast Line To the Fanners of South Carolina . . In recognition of the vital necessity of producing higher yields per acre and better quality of lint, the Cotton Manufacturers’ Asoociation of South Carolina is renewing its offer of $2,000 to be given in prizes to the successful South Carolina farmers in a 1930 Five-Acre Cotton Contest to be conducted by the Clemson College Extension Service. Increased production per acre and higher quality lint is essential to the welfare of the South Carolina cotton growers. To meet the competition of Western cottons our growers must realize the following facts: We are in tjie fortunate position of having within the State a market through our cotton mills for approximately 800,000 bales of 15-16 to 1 1-16 inch cotton. During the past four years, since the inauguration of the Five-Acre Cotton Contest, our production of this type of cotton has increased faster than that of any other S(>i^Jieastem State bu^ we still are Approximately 500,000 bales short of supplying the needsour home manu facturers. Results of the contests show that the production of a quality cotton is more profitable per acre than is the production of 7-8 inch staple cotton, of which we grow almost 300,000 more bales than our mills can consume. A cordial invita^ftm is extended every farmer in South Carolina to enter the 1930 contest and to compete for the valuable cash awards to be given by the Cotton Manu facturers. Full details of the requirements and rules will be gladly furnished by the lo cal County Agent in each County Seat. W..W. Long, Director Clemson College Extension Service Comparative Profits per Acre from Various Length Averaged from Records of 1016 Contestants in 1928 and 1929 Contests Staples— Staple 7-8” \ y 15-16” 1” 1 1-32” 1 1-16” No. cf acres _ 590 1170 1110 800 1120 Ave. yield per acre lint 487 500 500 561 484 •Value in cts. per lb. __ 17.96 18.48 19.36 20.18 20.48 Value per acre__ $87.46 $92.40 $96.80 $113.21 $99.12 Increased acre value over 7-8” — 4.94 9.34 25.75 H.66 ♦Average Price Delivered Carolina Mills Last Week of December - 1928 and 1929. Per Cent of Cotton Crops In Desired Class of 15-16” Stapfo or Better State 1928 1929 South Carolina 33.3 34.3 North Carolina 20.8 24.1 Georgia 17.4 10.8 Alabama 7.9 2.8 Figures by Bureau of Agri. Economics, U. S. Department of Agriculture The Cotton This space is contributed to the Clemson College Extension Service by T Manufacturers’ Association of South Carolina and this advertipemedt is being inserted in the entire press of the State as an assurance of the continuation of the interest of the Cotton Manufacturers tn more profitsble cotton-growing in the State. Si 0 gki