First impressions of the New World on two travellers from the Old, in the autumn of 1858Trotter, Isabella Strange
History
First impressions of the New World on two travellers from the Old, in the autumn of 1858
Trotter, Isabella Strange
Canada -- Description and travel; United States -- Description and travel
On our way to the station, and in our drives about the town, we had an
opportunity of seeing the City of Washington. The town was originally
laid out by Washington himself, and divided off into streets, or rather
wide avenues, which are crossed by other streets of great breadth; but
though the streets are named, in many of them no houses are yet built,
and those that are have a mean appearance, owing to their being unsuited
in height to the great width of the streets, which are in many cases, I
should think, three times the width of Portland Place, and long in
proportion. Notwithstanding, therefore, the beauty of the public
buildings, the town greatly disappointed us.
On our arrival at Baltimore this evening, Mr. Garrett, the principal
director of the Baltimore and Ohio Railway, called upon us and brought
with him Mr. Henry Tyson, the chief engineer, or as he is called, the
master of machinery of the road, whom he was kind enough to appoint to
go with us as far as Wheeling, the western terminus of the line.
This is the most remarkable railway in America for the greatness of the
undertaking and the difficulties encountered in passing the Alleghanies,
which the projectors of the road could only do by crossing the range at
a height of 2700 feet, a project that most people looked upon as
visionary. We are to start to-morrow morning at eight o'clock.
_Wheeling, Oct. 21st._--We have accomplished the great feat of passing
the Alleghanies, and Mr. Tyson has proved a Cicerone of unequalled
excellence, from his great attention to us, added to his knowledge of
the country, and his talents, which are of no ordinary kind. He is the
engineer who has invented, or at least constructed on a new plan, the
locomotives which are used upon this road: but besides being a very
clever engineer, he is remarkably well read in general literature, and
has a wonderful memory for poetry and a great knowledge of botany.
[Illustration: Plan of Directors' car]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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