The first rail-road attempted in the United States, was that constructed in Quincy, for the purpose of transporting granite from the quarry at that place. It extends from the quarry to the Neponset river, a distance of about three miles. It is a single track road, and the distance between the rails is five feet. The rails are of pine, covered with oak, and overlaid with thin plates of wrought iron. When first constructed, the passage from the quarry to the landing of a car carrying ten tons, with a single horse, was performed in an hour. It was completed in 1827.

The Boston and Lowell rail-road commences at Boston, near the entrance to the Warren bridge. Twenty acres of flat have been purchased at this place to accommodate the various depots of the company. The rail-road crosses Charles river by a wooden viaduct, and terminates at the basin of the canal in Lowell; whence branches extend along the several canals to the factories. It is constructed of stone and iron, in the most substantial manner. The company to form this road was incorporated in June, 1830.74

The Boston and Worcester rail-road was commenced in August, 1832. In this road, the greatest degree of inclination from a level will be at the rate of thirty feet a mile; the average inclination will be but ten and a half feet, the main street in Worcester being but four hundred and fifty-six feet higher than Charles street in Boston. The length of the route is forty-three and a quarter miles.

The Boston and Providence Rail-road company was incorporated in June, 1831, with a capital of a million of dollars, for the purpose of constructing a rail-road from Boston to the boundary line of Massachusetts, in the direction of Providence. Acompany has been formed for the continuation of this road to Stonington. Rail-roads have been projected from Boston or Lowell to Brattleborough; from West Stockbridge to the boundary line of the state of New York, to meet a rail-road from Albany; from Boston to Salem, to be continued to the northern line of the state; from Troy, in New York, at the head of navigation on the Hudson river, to Bennington, a distance of thirty miles to the town of Adams; and from Boston to Ogdensburg, in New York.

The Hudson and Mohawk rail-road extends from Albany to Schenectady, and affords a communication between the tide-water of Hudson river and the Erie canal. It is a double track road, about sixteen miles in length. It commences at the termination of the city line on the Hudson river, and about thirteen acres of land are owned by the company in the vicinity, for depots of transports. About four miles from Schenectady, there is a curve in the road of twenty-three thousand feet radius; there are six principal embankments. The descent from the Schenectady summit to the level of the Hudson, is three hundred and thirty-five feet. The soil through which the road passes is sandy. Several ravines are crossed, and some considerable elevations are cut through. Both locomotive engines and horses are used upon this route. Alocomotive has travelled upon it, with a load of eight tons, at the rate of thirty miles per hour. In October, 1831, the number of daily passengers averaged nearly four hundred. The cost of this road was between six and seven hundred thousand dollars.

The Saratoga and Schenectady rail-road forms a continuation of the Mohawk and Hudson rail-road, extending from the city of Schenectady to the villages of Ballston Spa and Saratoga, and uniting these places with the line of steam navigation upon the Hudson. It is twenty miles in length; was commenced in 1831, and completed in the following year.

The Ithaca and Susquehanna rail-road is to extend from the village of Ithaca, near the south end of Cayuga lake, to Owego, on the Susquehanna. The distance is about twenty-eight miles. The Ithaca and Catskill rail-road is to extend a distance of one hundred and sixty-seven miles, from Ithaca to Catskill, on the Hudson. The Catskill and Canajoharie rail-road is to extend for the distance of seventy miles, from Catskill to Canajoharie, on the Mohawk. The company was incorporated in 1830, with a capital of six hundred thousand dollars. The Harlem rail-road is about six miles in length, extending from Twenty-third street, New York city, to Harlem river.

The New York and Erie rail-road company was incorporated in April 1832, with a capital of ten million dollars. It was the original design that the road should extend from the city of New York, or some point in its vicinity, and continue through the southern counties, through Owego, in the county of Tioga, to the shore of lake Erie, at some point between Cattaraugus creek and the Pennsylvania line. It is to be commenced within four years from the date of the act of incorporation, one fourth to be completed within ten years, one half within fifteen years, and the whole to be completed within twenty years, under penalty of forfeiture of the charter.

The New York and Albany rail-road company was incorporated in April, 1832, with a capital of three millions. It is to be completed within ten years; commencing at New York city, opposite the termination of the Fourth avenue, and ending on the Hudson, opposite Albany.75 ‘The proposed route of this road,’ says the Boston Advertiser, ‘passes through the county of Berkshire, in this state, from West Stockbridge to the northern boundary of the state of Connecticut, following the valley of the Housatonic river from Stockbridge to Sharon, in Connecticut. It will thus afford an additional inducement for the extension of the Boston and Worcester rail-road from Worcester to Springfield, and thence to the western boundary of the state. This latter rail-road will meet the New York and Albany road at Stockbridge or West Stockbridge, and will thus come in contact with a continued line of rail-roads, interrupted only by the Hudson river, extending northwardly to Saratoga, westwardly to Utica, and southwardly to the city of New York. It will thus afford the means of direct and rapid intercourse between Boston and the towns in Berkshire county, along the fertile valley of the Housatonic, and with the rich marble quarries and beds of iron ore in that region, as well as with the vast country which will be opened to this mercantile market, beyond the limits of the state. The distance by the rail-road from West Stockbridge to Albany will be about forty miles, of which distance over sixteen miles will be a perfect level. From West Stockbridge to Utica, the distance by the rail-road will be one hundred and thirty-seven miles, over a country a great part of which is level. From Albany to Schenectady, and thence to Saratoga, the rail-road is already finished. From Schenectady to Utica, the road is yet to be made; but the company for building it is formed, with an adequate capital. About seven times the requisite amount of stock was subscribed. The required amount has been apportioned by commissioners among the subscribers, and the subscription money for the surplus shares has been returned.’

The Camden and Amboy rail-road commences at Camden, on the Delaware, opposite to Philadelphia, and passing through Burlington, Bordentown, Highstown, and Spotswood, over South river, terminates at Amboy. It is sixty-one miles in length, passing through a very level country. Being designed for steam locomotives, it is to be constructed in the most improved and substantial manner, though at present wooden rails are laid over a great portion of the line, in order that the embankments may be consolidated before laying the permanent track. Adouble track of rails is to be laid ultimately through the whole distance. Between Bordentown and Amboy, there is a cut varying in depth to sixty feet, extending nearly two miles. In the vicinity of Bordentown, there are stone culverts and viaducts. It has been calculated that five hundred thousand dollars per annum will be received for the conveyance of light freight and passengers. As the Delaware is frequently closed with ice during part of the winter, and the Philadelphia trade is consequently diverted to New York, it is supposed that vessels destined to Philadelphia, may put into Raritan bay, which is open at all seasons, and the cargoes be conveyed at once upon the rail-road to the place of their destination. To secure this object, large lots on the Raritan and the Delaware have been purchased by the company for the convenience of ships and steamboats.

The Patterson and Hudson river rail-road extends from Patterson, on the Passaic, to Jersey city and the Hudson river, opposite New York, fourteen miles. After the expiration of fifty years, the state of New Jersey has a right to take this road at an appraised value. The Elizabethtown and Somerville rail-road company was incorporated in 1830, with a capital of two hundred thousand dollars, with the liberty of increasing it to four hundred thousand. The West-Jersey rail-road is to extend from the Delaware river, in the county of Gloucester, or from some point on the Camden and Amboy rail-road, to the township of Penn’s Neck, on the same river, in the county of Salem. This company was incorporated at the same session with the above, with a capital of five hundred thousand dollars, and liberty to increase it to two million. The New Jersey rail-road is to extend from New Brunswick, through Rahway, Woodbridge, Elizabethtown and Newark, to Hudson river. It was incorporated in 1832, with a capital of seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Acharter was also granted to a company to construct a rail-road connecting the Morris canal with the Patterson and Hudson river rail-road.

The Mauch Chunk rail-road was the first rail-road constructed in Pennsylvania. It was commenced and finished in the first five months of 1827. It extends from the coal mines near Mauch Chunk, along the side of the mountain, down an inclined plain of various declivities, to the Lehigh river. The mines are nine hundred and thirty-six feet above the point where the boats receive the coal, of which from three hundred to three hundred and fifty tons are delivered daily. From the river to the mines, the road is nine miles in length; and its branches at the ends and sidelings, four and a half miles more. The Mount Carbon rail-road company was incorporated in the spring of 1829, and the rail-road was commenced in the succeeding October. At the termination, the road is elevated upon thirty-one piers of masonry erected upon the landings. The Schuylkill Valley rail-road commences at Port Carbon, and terminates at Tuscarora, being ten miles in length. It is intersected by fifteen lateral rail-roads, whose combined distances amount to about thirteen miles. The Schuylkill rail-road consists of a double track, is thirteen miles in length, and cost seven thousand dollars a mile. Mill Creek rail-road commences at Port Carbon, and extends up Mill creek four miles; it has but a single track. The West Branch rail-road commences at Schuylkill haven, and terminates at the foot of the Broad mountain. It is fifteen miles in length, with five miles of lateral roads that intersect it; only the main stem has a double track. The Pinegrove rail-road extends from the mines to the Swatara feeder, a distance of five miles. The Little Schuylkill rail-road commences at Port Clinton, and extends up the stream to the mines at Tamaqua, a distance of about twenty-three miles. The Lackawaxen rail-road commences at the termination of the Lackawaxen and Delaware and Hudson canal, and connects that canal with the coal bed in Carbondale. It is sixteen miles in length, and overcomes an elevation of eight hundred feet. The road consists of a single track of wooden rails, capped with iron.

The Alleghany Portage rail-road is intended to connect the eastern and western sections of the Pennsylvania canal, and complete the direct line of communication between Philadelphia and Pittsburg. The route adopted commences at Frankstown, crosses the Alleghany mountains at Blair’s gap summit, and descends in the valleys of Laurel run and the Little Conemaugh, to Johnstown, a distance of thirty-eight and a half miles. Atunnel of one thousand feet is projected at one of the bends of the Conemaugh, which will be crossed by two bridges. This road is to be constructed by the state of Pennsylvania.

The Philadelphia and Columbia rail-road is intended to connect the Delaware navigation at Philadelphia with that of the Susquehanna at Columbia, passing through the counties of Delaware, Chester, and Lancaster. It is about eighty-three miles in length, and it is proposed to continue it fourteen miles further, across the Susquehanna, by the Columbia bridge, to the borough of York. About seventy other rail-roads have been projected in Pennsylvania, and companies for constructing several of them have been incorporated.

The Newcastle and Frenchtown rail-road extends from Newcastle, on the Delaware, to the Elk river, near Frenchtown, in Maryland; it is nearly parallel to the Chesapeak and Delaware canal, and is in direct competition with it. This road consists of a single track, with the requisite number of turn-outs, and is about sixteen and a half miles in length—only eight hundred and fifty-three yards longer than a perfectly straight line drawn between its two extremities. It consists of six curve and six straight lines. The curve lines vary in length from one thousand, nine hundred and thirty-nine to eight thousand, two hundred and ninety-six feet. The radii of the three smaller curves are of ten thousand, five hundred and sixty feet each; the radius of the largest, twenty thousand feet. The aggregate length of the curves is five miles and one sixth; that of the straight lines eleven miles and three tenths. The graduation of the road departs from a perfect level, by ascents and descents varying from ten feet six inches to sixteen feet four inches a mile; at one place, for about four thousand feet the slope is at the rate of twenty-nine feet to the mile. The whole amount of excavation is about five hundred thousand cubic yards of earth, exclusive of the side drains. The amount of embankment is four hundred and twenty thousand cubic yards. The road crosses four viaducts and twenty-nine culverts, all constructed of substantial stone masonry. The width is twenty-six feet, exclusive of the side drains. It was completed in 1832. Cost, including land, wharf, depots, and locomotive engines, four hundred thousand dollars.

The Wilmington and Downington rail-road was incorporated by the legislature of Delaware, in 1831, with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, with liberty to increase it to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, for the purpose of constructing a rail-road from Wilmington to the boundary line of the state, in the direction of Downington, in Pennsylvania.

The Baltimore and Susquehannah rail-road was commenced in 1830, and is to extend from Baltimore to York, in Pennsylvania, a distance of seventy-six miles. The company has the right of constructing a lateral rail-road, commencing at the main stem, within ten miles of Baltimore, through Westminster, to the head waters of Monocacy river.

The Baltimore and Ohio rail-road is intended to connect the city of Baltimore with some point on the Ohio, thus affording a communication between the waters of Chesapeak bay and those of the great western river. Active operations on this great work were commenced in the autumn of 1828. The road begins at the head of the basin in Baltimore. In the city it consists of a single track, and is to be confined to horse power, branch railways are to be constructed in various directions. On the portion of the rail-road within a few miles of the city, several magnificent viaducts are constructed, of substantial stone masonry. The Carrollton viaduct, over Gwyn’s falls, is constructed of granite; its whole exterior is hewn, it consists of two arches, and is three hundred and twelve feet in length. Its height, from the foundation to the top of the parapet, is sixty-three feet nine inches; from the surface of the water to the top of the parapet, fifty-one feet and nine inches. The width of the railway travelling-path is twenty-six feet six inches; the chord of the arch springing from the abutments, eighty feet three inches. It is a structure of great beauty and solidity. The bridge across the Patapsco is a stone structure, consisting of two arches of fifty-five feet span each, and two of twenty feet span each. There are also several deep cuts and extensive embankments.

Upon the route selected for this rail-road, there are only two summits for the distance of one hundred and eighty miles. The approach to the first of these summits, at Parr Spring ridge, is by an acclivity so gradual as not to exceed eighteen feet to the mile. From the western side of this ridge, to the coal mines near Cumberland, the route for the whole distance is adapted to steam locomotive engines. From the eastern base of the Alleghany mountain, a series of inclined planes will be required to overcome a summit of twelve hundred feet; from thence the road may be constructed upon a line so nearly level to the Ohio river, as to be traversed by steam locomotive engines without difficulty. The progress of the rail-road beyond the Point of Rocks has been interrupted by a lawsuit between the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-road company, and the Chesapeak and Ohio Canal company, which has been decided in favor of the latter. The road is to be extended to the mouth of the Shenandoah. Afurther extension of thirty miles will carry it to Williamsport, and another of seventy-five miles to Cumberland, and a country abounding in rich bituminous coal. From this point to Pittsburg, the distance is one hundred and forty miles, making the whole length three hundred and twenty-five miles.76

The Baltimore and Washington rail-road is a branch of the Baltimore and Ohio rail-road, and its completion has been undertaken by the same company. Its length from the point of intersection, at Elk ridge landing to Washington, is about thirty-three miles.

The Manchester rail-road is in Chesterfield county, Virginia. It extends from Manchester to the coal mines. It consists of a single track, and is thirteen miles in length. The Petersburg and Roanoke rail-road was undertaken to counteract the injurious effect which the Dismal Swamp canal has had upon the trade of Petersburg.77 It affords a rapid and easy intercourse between the James and Roanoke rivers, and has become a most important link in the chain of communication between the North and the South. Rail-roads have also been projected from Richmond to Lynchburg; from Lynchburg to New River; from Suffolk, in Nansemond county, to the Roanoke river, opposite to the town of Weldon, in North Carolina; and in several other directions.

The Fayetteville rail-road company was incorporated by the legislature of North Carolina, in 1830, with a capital stock of twenty thousand dollars, for the purpose of constructing a rail-road from Fayetteville to Campbelltown, on Cape Fear river. Rail-roads from Cape Fear to the Yadkin; from the Yadkin to the Catawba; and from Wilmington to the iron mining districts, near Statesville, have been projected, and are in progress.

The Charleston and Hamburg rail-road, extending one hundred and thirty-six miles, from Charleston, South Carolina, to Hamburg, opposite Augusta, in Georgia, was opened in October, 1833, for its entire length. The passenger train leaves each place every morning, and arrives on the evening of the day of departure. This enterprise was undertaken by the South Carolina Canal and Rail-road company, which has received pecuniary assistance from the state. Asecond rail-road of about the same length, to extend from Charleston to Columbia, is also embraced within the objects of this company.

Companies have been incorporated by the legislature of Alabama, to construct a rail-road from Montgomery to Chattahoochie, opposite Columbus, in Georgia; and from Selma, on the Alabama, through Elyta and Montevallo, to Decatur, on the Tennessee. Rail-roads have also been projected between Augusta and Heshman’s lake, a distance of fifty miles; and between Augusta and Columbus, on the Chattahoochie.

The Lexington and Ohio rail-road was commenced in 1831; it is to extend from Lexington to Frankfort, and thence to the Ohio river, just below the falls, near Shippingport, which is two miles distant from Louisville. Its length is about eighty miles. The company by which it was undertaken was incorporated by the legislature of Kentucky in 1830, with a capital stock of one million dollars. Mad River and Lake Erie rail-road is to commence at Dayton, at the head of the Miami canal, and extend to Sandusky, on lake Erie, thus, by means of the canal and rail-road, opening a communication between Cincinnati and the lake. The distance is about one hundred and seventy-five miles.

The Illinois and Michigan rail-road is to commence at Chicago, on lake Michigan, and continue in a south-westerly direction eleven and a half miles to the summit level: in this distance the ascent is only twenty-five feet. After passing the summit level, it is to cross and continue along the river Des Plaines, to the foot of the Illinois rapids, the distance of eighty-five miles, with a descent of exactly two feet a mile; thus giving, in a distance of ninety-six and a half miles, only one hundred and ninety-five feet of rise and fall. Acompany has been formed for the construction of a rail-road between Detroit and Pontiac, a distance of twenty-five miles. The Tuscumbia rail-road extends from Tuscumbia to Decatur. The Lake Pontchartrain rail-road extends from lake Pontchartrain to New Orleans four and a half miles. It consists of a single track, is perfectly straight and nearly level. Aport of entry has been established on the lake, and an artificial harbor and breakwater have been constructed at the termination of the rail-road. The West Feliciana rail-road company was incorporated by the legislature of Louisiana, for the purpose of constructing a rail-road from the river Mississippi, near St.Francisville, to the boundary line of Louisiana and Mississippi, in the direction of Woodville, Mississippi.

The materials for the history of rail-roads in the United States are now so scattered and uncertain, and the roads themselves are so rapidly changing their aspect, that it is in vain to hope for any thing like an authentic account, till all the great systems and chains are completed throughout the country. We have not attempted to give a description of all the rail-roads now in existence; besides those described, there are many completed and in progress in various parts of the Union, so that most of the principal cities are intimately connected, and internal communication is greatly facilitated. Nor is the spirit of rail-road enterprise at all abated; new routes are continually projected, and we trust that the time is not far distant when all parts of the Union will be thus connected, and the distance between the remote parts be as it were annihilated.