For six miles along the South Carolina Railway (A) the damage to the line, though indicative of a strong shock, was of little consequence. In the first half of this distance no repairs were required, but at 3-2/3 miles the rails were bent and the joints between them opened; at 5 miles, the fish-plates were torn from their fastenings and the joints between the rails opened seven inches; and at nearly 6 miles the joints were again opened, and the road-bed depressed six inches. After this point, deflections of the line and elevations and depressions of the road-bed were no longer rare. Near the 9-mile point, the intensity of the shock seemed to increase most rapidly; lateral displacements of the line became more frequent as well as greater in amount. The distortions of the lines were probably greatest between 10 and 11 miles; here they were often displaced laterally, sometimes depressed or elevated, and occasionally twisted into S-shaped curves, while many hundred yards of the track were shoved bodily towards the south-east. "The buckling always took place when this lateral shoving encountered a rigid obstacle, usually a long rigid trestle. At the north-western end of the trestle the accumulation of rails resulted in a sharp kink. Corresponding extensions of the track by the opening of the joints and shearing of the fish-plate bolts occurred some distance to the north-westward." At 11-1/2 miles, the lines were again stretched and the joints opened by about seven inches; but, from this point for more than four miles, the sharp kinks revealing a sliding of the track were entirely absent, though there were still long slight flexures in the lines and changes of level in the road-bed. The railway in this section traverses a district which is partly a swamp and partly a rice-field; and thus it may be, as Major Dutton suggests, that the ground was less fitted to preserve the effects of the shock.[41] At about 18 miles, the line reaches higher and firmer ground; and, from here to Summerville (21-2/3 miles), there were many sinuous flexures. For six miles farther, violent distortions of the rails ceased to occur, the rate of decrease in intensity being most marked near the 23-mile point. The last flexure occurred at Jedburgh (27-1/2 miles) at the south end of a long, heavy trestle (Fig. 27). [Illustration: FIG. 27.--Flexure of rails at Jedburgh. (_Dutton._)] There is thus a certain symmetry in the damage to this line with respect to a point about 15 or 16 miles from the Charleston terminus. The changes of intensity are most rapid at distances of about 9 and 23 miles from the terminus. Also, on the south-east side of the 16-mile point, the longitudinal displacements of the line are always to the south-east; on the other side, always to the north-west. Major Dutton therefore infers that the epicentre must be on a line drawn nearly through the 16-mile point at right angles to the railway.