| From the Richmond Sentinel |
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| October 24, 1863 |
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| [From the Danville (Va.) Monitor] |
| The Railroad Link of the New Interior Line {Piedmont
RR} |
| We were invited a few days ago to
accompany the "Gen. R. E. Lee" on the trial trip up this
road. We left town about 8 o'clock P. M., and proceeded cautiously up
the road to its present terminus, about thirteen miles. The road seems
to be well constructed, and we were particularly pleased with a piece
of trestle work, about 1,000 feet long, over a ravine on the line
between Virginia and North Carolina, which displays a degree of skill
highly creditable to Capt. Myers, the accomplished Chief Engineer of
the road. As the "Gen. Lee" is the largest engine, by about
ten tons weight, that has ever been seen in this region of country, on
reaching the trestle work, the strength of which had never been
tested, it was deemed prudent for the passengers to alight; but it
proved to be an unnecessary precaution, as was seen on our return, as
we passed over it with scarcely a jar, notwithstanding our number had
been greatly increased by a large company of ladies and gentlemen who
had been attending a protracted meeting in the neighborhood and who,
upon the conclusion of the services, joined our party, many of them
for the purpose of taking their first ride upon a railroad. By the by,
if we were not a little past the matrimonial line, we should be
tempted to say some flattering things about those ladies, but, as the
little boy said upon a certain occasion, "ain't no use now." |
| It will be remembered that the "R. E.
Lee" is a Yankee engine {Baltimore &
Ohio RR # 226}, which was captured by our troops on the
Baltimore & Ohio railroad. It has undergone thorough repairs at
our machine shop, under the superintendence of Capt. W. Isetta, one of
the best machinists in this country, and it has been handsomely
painted by Mr. John Synco, whose skill and taste in that line cannot
be surpassed. Upon the whole, this superior engine is now as good as
new, is capable of drawing about forty heavily laden cars, and we
hope, it will soon make its appearance at Greensboro', to the
astonishment of the natives of that region. The work upon the road is
progressing rapidly, and it is supposed that a passenger train will be
able to connect with the stage line at Reidsville about the first of
November, and that the entire work will be complicated in the
beginning of the next year. |
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