| Engr and Supt's Office Petersburg Railroad Company |
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Corner Washington and Union Streets |
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Petersburg, Virginia, April 4th 863 |
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Wm. T. Joyner Esq |
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Prest Petersburg Rail Road |
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Dear Sir, |
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You have referred to me a letter addressed to you by the
Secty of War C. S.A. in reference to Govt freight at Gaston and request
me to give reasons why govt freight cannot be transported without delay. |
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I will first answer the question in regard to the Gaston
freight. |
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Some time since I was applied to by Maj C. S. Carrington to
transport 30,000 bushels of corn weekly over our road from Weldon and I
answered that it would be done provided our cars were not to be run over
other roads and get beyond control, and suggested that if the same
promise was made by the Rich & Petg RR and the Wilmington & Weldon RRoad
the 30,000 bushels would be transported over the whole distance from
Tarboro, to Richmond this arrangement would require for a short time
nearly the whole of the rolling stock at our command & unless cars were
sent home which had passed to other roads, we could not transport
private freight or any freight from Gaston. We have on two occasion
since making the arrangement taken all the corn away from Weldon, and we
are now taking every thing from Gaston so that by the early part of next
week the Gaston depot will be cleared of Government freight, as well as
from other points on the Gaston branch. |
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2nd The reasons for our road not being as efficient as it
should be are as follows |
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During the war military officers and officers connected
with the Govt. have taken our cars and in several instances our engines
to other roads and at times to points of danger such as Manassas,
Portsmouth, Newbern &c by which 25 of our 120 freight cars were
destroyed, leaving say 95 cars for freight, we hired of the Seaboard & R{oanoke}
RRoad 40 cars making 135 cars, out of which for the reason given above
we can seldom count on our road more than 50 to 60 cars.-- and from the
same cause our engines and comparatively few cars are kept in motion
when they should be placed in shops for repairs, and our engines in
consequence will not draw more than to third the cars that they drew
before the war. |
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When cars or engines of one road are taken to other roads
and become injured it is almost impossible to get them returned, the
patterns of castings and other parts are not the same on different roads
and the proper castings &c cannot be made, and there are other reasons,
one more I will give that no human power will ever make the men of one
road take the same care of the trains of other roads as of the road they
are engaged upon. |
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Our road in common with nearly every main road is in want
of engines, cars, Rail Road Iron and men, at present, oils, grease, wood
most other matters can be bought and we have no objection to pay market
prices. But rail road iron we cannot buy, engine tire, boiler plate and
in a word nearly all the metal in the rough or in proper form cannot be
procured in any quantity sufficient to keep our road & rolling stock in
order, and in pains me sir to see our road rapidly depreciating day by
day. |
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I applied to the iron establishment at Richmond for new RRoad wheels, axles and other irons and was answered that these works
were engaged on Government work, and I have not received a new wheel or
axle from them during the war. I also applied for a very small quantity
of 20 pounds of block tin, in possession of the Ordinance dept but could
not get it unless it was to be used for Government work, and I have not
been able to get one pound of any metal from the Government, altho as
far as I can learn they have secured the Iron of the furnaces of
Virginia & I am told by the proprietor of a furnace just gone in
operation in North Carolina that the Govt. wish him to use all his iron
for cooking utensils for the army. |
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Engine runners and machinists are now dying of camp
diseases or killed in battle who cannot be replaced, we are in want of 8
men on 80 miles of road, at this rate the 400 miles of important road
would require 400 men, which could not make much difference in our large
army, and yet not a man can we get. |
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But sir I will stop & simply say that unless the Government
will take measures to get back our cars & order that they are not again
to leave the line of our road, give us men & materials, the time is not
far distant when the road will be broken down & then it will be too late,
for there are not planing & turning & other machines for iron work
sufficient for the large number of men to work at, that would be
required to build & repair the wear & losses. |
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Very respectfully |
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C O Sanford |