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Printedby Order 'of the Govsrr;nent of Prince Edward Is'iand* A- .. , "* OHARLOTTETOWN : J' B. V'MTCaKR, PRIIfTCR, QUEKN STKXST, 1875: »f I It '■»»rtiUn#w», ■#' -= Yii*f5ia ot 2?soiaa s'asAYums .at srnT ^-f) wijiifl Qto iAinifi^fj f« ^^stm h iamnm^ ^i^ ^^ i ;1 i f '>Wm J 1 1 1 REPLY TfO MB. S WIHYIRD^JS REPORTS ON THl PRINCE EDfARD KLAM RAILWAY, BY JOHN EDWARD BOYD, Chief Engineer. o CHA.RLOTTETOWN 1876: M e 'fif- Ottawa, 19th April, 1875. The Honorable The President of the Executive Council, Prince Edward Island. ', Sir:— I have the honor to submit the following explanatory remarks on Mr. Swinyard's " Report on the Prince Edward Island Railway" addressed to the Hon. the Minister of Public Works of Canada, and referred to me by your letter of 13th April, 1875. Although there are some points in the Report of 25th June, 1874, which it may be necessary for me to notice, it must be remembered that, at that time "the work had not been finally examined by the Engineer, nor had it been regarded by him as finished." 1 had been frequently over the work that sea- son, was perfectly aware of its " exact condition," and had never represented it, oiaficially or unofficially, to any one, as ready for final inspection, nor had any one connected with the work, so far as I am aware, claimed that any part of it was completed according to contract. The division between Char- lottetown and Summerside was, nevertheless, in a much better condition than were most of the lines in New Bruns- wick or Nova Scotia when first opened for traffic. LOCATION. In order to place the whole subject in a proper light, it is necessary j give a short sketch of the proceedings from the inception of the works. The Act, 34 Vic. Cap 4, authorizing the construction of the Trunk Line between Cascumpec and Georgetown, was passed in April 1871. I was appointed Chief Engineer on the Ist May 1871, and arrived ii!i Charlottetown on the 10th of that month. 1 4 REPLY TO I found tl)f Government atixious to have actual operations commenced that season ; I informed them that I could not undertake to make surveys, locate the line, furnish quantities of work, drawings of structures, &c., in time to meet their wiehes in this respect. After some deliberation they decided to put the line under contract as soon as possible, without waiting for surveys, or giving any information to ContractofB, further than could be afforded by a speciBcatiob of the works, and u rough definition of the route which the line was to fol- low. The General Specification was mnde as full as possible as a guard against extra claims, and the control of the loca- tion kept, as much as it could be, under that mode of letting, in the hands of the Government. In June twc parties of Engineers were sent out to make preliminary surveys, so as to ascertain whether the routes desired by the Government were practicable, as well as to enable comparisons to ba made, where opinions differed, as to thfe best route, but no attempt at a final location was made at this time nr prior to thp letting of the "'^ntract. Tenders were advertised for on 23rd May, and on the 11th 3eptember, 1871, the contract for the Trunk Line was signed. The Railway Act states that the length of line to be constructed would be "about 120 miles." How this was arrived at does not appear, but 'air lines joining the several objective points, afterwards named in the orders in Council, ^pould make the whole distance 130 miles. I had no means of knowing this at the time the Genera! Specification was written, but supposed the distance given in the Act to be correct, and inserted it merely as an intimation ^0 Contractor;? of the probable extent of the works. The specification states that ''the jgeneral route of the Railway will be defined by the Commissioner*!, and the Con- tractors will be required to locate the line as nearly on that route as the nature of the country will permit." Grading was not to be commenced until the Contractor had received notice in writing from the Engineer that the location had been ap- proved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. As sopn as possible I submitted for the consideration of the Government several routes surveyed under their orders and practicable within the limitation of the Act, which expressly provides that " no contract shall be entered into for the con- 9b*uctioci of ihe said 'Railroad, conditioned on the payment of any greater Bum than £5000 currency ($16,222) per mite for at MR. SWINTARD 8 REPORT. || the whole dii^tance, including all surveys, and locating the line and all suitable Stations, vStation houses, Sidings, Turii- tabk'fl, Rolling Stork, Fences, and all the necesbary appliances suitable for a first class Railroad, and the construction ot suit- able wharves at Cascumpec, Summerjiide, Charloftetowu and Geor5 letting of the contracts, by Engineers directly ' under my control, the general route being Hxed by the Gov- ernment. Mr. Cox, ihe Engineer in charge of those surveys^ bap had great experience in 3uch work, and his ability in that; branch of the profession is undoubted. IJ^'iT'!:^'^ I considered it necessay, in order that the cost of the whole; work might not exceed the limit fixed by the Statute to keep> the quantities of earth down down to 8,000 cubic yards per mi'e, but Mr. Cox had instructions to spare no time or trouble' to* get the oest line possible within these prescribed limits, and- this I believe has been done. Yet, in gradients and curves *' the utmost limits given in the first contract " wer«i found) necessary, and between Harmony and Souris ^9^, to .be cXtI ceeded. • ,.?;.;■ .^^ The Eastern F-xtension has been slightly reduced in length; by the change of Station at Souris. The increase of two miles and a half in the length of the Western Extension, was caused by an entire change of route. The line on which th© contract was based (order in Council 20ih Dec, 1872,) raa, within a short distance of the N. E. coast. Before any work had been done a change of Government took place, and the- present route running more inland (order in Council 7th June, 1874) was adopted, the Contractors receiving the same rate per mile, but deducting $11,586.75, the price of a bridge across the Kildare River and adding $2,080 for extra clearing. The whole Railway has been carefully rechained, and a stake driven and marked at each mile. Mile posts are not mcluded in the contracts. Prince Edward Island, with the exception of the District west of Summerside, is not, by any means, an eas', country in which to build a cheap line of Railway There are no regur lar ranges of bills, but the surface is broken into wide, deep, and abrupt hollows by the numerous streams which, owing to the soft nature of the formatior, have cut down almost to the sea level soon after leaving their sources. * In the 44 miles between Summerside and Royalty Junction, two summits, 301 and 307 feet above the sea respectively, Lave to be crossed. Thesa summits are eight miles apart, and between them the line descends to within 65 feet of the sea level. Several minor summits between 160 and 190 feet * ' MR. SWINTARD S REPORT. high, are encountered on this and the Easter ii Division, while the line, in several places, falls to within a few feet of high wai-er. In the first five niiles out of Souris, the line rises 220 feet. The frequent and abrupt changes in the natural surface necessitated constant curves and ejradients, unless works were undertaken which would be considered excepaonally heavy- on any line, and such as were quite out of the question under a, limitation of $16,222 per mile. p. It will be seen by Mr. Swiriyard''.. synopsis that after all 132 miles, or two thirds of the length, consist.-* of. straight lines. If a large proportion is on gradients, this was unavoid- able except by increasing the quantities of work or lengthen- ing the liue. The legal limitation in cost per mile prevented thefiratjthe total costof tlie Railway would have been increased by the second alternative. The elevation of the Road bed above the natural surface, is, in my opinion, a point of sufficient importance to warrant an increase of gradient in special cases ; this was kept in ?iew, and has been effected; 140 miles of the line being on embankment and only 60 in cutting. It should also be borne in mind that this is a narrow guage Rail- way, and that it is claimed by the advocates of that system that the small cost of construction is arrived at by adapting the alignment to the natural surface of the country, by the use of sharper and more frequent curves than are admissible, or at least expedient, on a broader guage. TVio limits adopted on other lines of the same class, have not been exceeded or even arrived at. The Australian h ail-J ways have curves of 330 feet radios uud grades of 132 Jfeet per mile; the Norwegian Railways, curves of 750 feet radius, and grades of 11^5 feet per mile; the Ontario Railways, curves of 400 feet radius, and grades of 105 fe^t per mile ; and the South American Railways, curves of 1 87 and 235 feet radius, and grades of 169 feet per mile, Gradients of 70 and 75 feet per mile are not uncommon in the neighboring Provinces. On the P. E, Island Railway, the j teepest gradient is 66 feet per mile, with the exception of one near Souris of 74 feet per mile, and the radius of the sharpest cur\e 604 feet, with the exception of one curve of 300 feet radius at Harmony, and one of 573 feet radius near Charlottetown The exceptional cirve and gradient on the Eastern Extension are necessitated by the natural formation, and are unavoidab.e. The curve 40 REPLY TO ll near Charlottetown was put in to lessen the land damages which are paid by Government. Ab regards the general route, Mr. Swinyard admits in his first Report, page 21, that '^ although the line is very circuit- ons, it is undoubtedly well laid out to serve the general inter- ests of the country." With this I have nothing to do, bu< I maintain that the details of locaiion are in accordance with the recognized principles of the narrow guage system ; any excessive application of those principles being forced on mo by its being made imperative that the Rnilway should pass through certain fixed points. As regards safety, the Road has been run over by construction and other trains for nearly two years, at much higher rates of speed than the ordinary traffic will require, without any accident, which was attribut- able to either the alignment or construction. If the subject of location has been dwelt on at greater length than the re- marks in Mr. Swinyard's Report may seem to warrant, it is because this has been made a constant ground of attack, not only by those who, knowing ncthing of the features of the country, the restrictions of the Act, or the nature of the con- tracts, are totaly unqualified to pass an opinion, but by those who have a full knowledge of the circumstances, and from whom, therefore, a more impartial judgment might be expected* CLEARING. .■??j;) I do not claim that the clearing is completed according to contract. I have constantly urged upon the Contractors the necessity of 6nishing this part of the work, and they have repeatedly promised that it should be done. They claim, how- ever, that, owing to some failure on the part of the Govern- ment to put them in legal possession of the land the first season, they could not burn the brush as soon as it was cut, and that, after becoming soaked with water by lying on the ground, it would not burn. This excuse I declined to admit, and I have stopped $300 in the final settlement. As the rubbish is nearly all piled and ready for burning, I think this amount will be found sufficient to pay for the work. The greater part of the clearing is very well done. The cutting of standing timber outside the Railway fence was not included in the contract, but all trees whica seemed in danger of falling were cut by my orders. MS. swintard's report. u ges FENCING. The contract for the trunk line provided for board fencing throughout. This was changed to wire fencing by order of Council, 12th December, 1871, on the ground that the kiter was better adapted for Railway purposes, especially in a coun- try where the snow drifts so much as in Prince Edward Island. riufcui. r.iH Mr. Swinyard has dealt so thoroughly, and, I may add, so fairly with the merils and defects of the Fence in his prelimi-,, nary report, pages 18 to 21, that it is only necessary for me to explain a few points. Although the posts were inspected and marked by in- spectors appointed by the Government, and the Fence built under the supervision of men similarly appointed, much of the work is done in a very slovenly and ineflficient manner, I voluntarily pointed this out to Mr. Swinyavd, as he states at page 4 ot his report, and told him of the difficulties that had arisen. His experiments were, I believe, the result of our conversation. I approved fully of his suggestion for the im- provement of the fence, and would willingly have adopted it, but the contractors declined to do so, without extra remunera- tion, which it was not in my power to give, I was, therefore, obliged to fall back upon the next best method of having a post driven in the centre of each panel, wherever the small size of the original post enabled me to demand the improve- ment. The fence was a source of great trouble from the begin- ning. No doubt, much of the prejudice against it arose from the way in which it was at first built, but this was much in- creased by other conditions quite distinct from the question of defects in the fence, which appeared to be regarded by many as a fair object for the exercis MR. swinyard's report. 13 ^^ to the specification, and the slopes properly formed, and, from the nature of the material, they will, no doubt, remain in good condition. The ditching and drainage of the Road has been, on- the whole, carefully carried out, but the enobankments, at some places in lf>w lands, should, in our opinion, have been, at least, one foot higher, in order to have kept the Road bed well abave any accumulation of water that may take place during the spring or very wet weather." The grading of the line was modt carefully attended to. Gangs were put on to trim and finish in advance of the ballasting. The rounding up of the Road bed is a point to which I attacii great importance, and I gave the matter my personal attention. The drainage was made as complete as possible ; water was not allowed to lodge any where if it could be by any means drained off. There is no ground for apprehending any drainage from the accummu- lation of water in low lands. With the experience of two seasons as a guide, the embankments were raised wherever they appeared too low. The making up of embankments at the ends of bridges and over culverts, is very generally done in the later stages of the work, and additional filling is almost always required at such points, but this is surely part of the cosi of maintenance. The statement that " absolutely nothing has been done," in the grading of the station grounds, is an exaggeration. As much has been done as will answer for the present require- ments of the line. I do not consider that I could, under the contract, compel the Contractors to grade the whole area taken, amounting, in some cases, to several acres. ■'**;5i Roads from the highways to the station grounds are not in eluded in the contract, and, in some cases, the land for them was not appropriated, the Government intending to take it under the Highway, and uot under the Railway, Act. CULVERTS AND DRAINS. iv<,.?^ ,lmf * * - ir. Swinyard says page 46 "The culverts ' ^ftd draitrt (323 in number) throughout have been well and substantially constructed. The culverts, with five exceptions, which are of timber, have been built in masonry, with stone of large and good quality, and compare most favorably with culverts of a similar character on other Railways. We were not person- ally enabled to judge of their eufiiciency in size for the passage of water during heavy fres^-iLs, but, from the care and atten- tion bestowed, we believe suflScient water way has been giren." 14 REPLY TO jm Messrs. Newton and Mechan, who examined the work wh'Ie in progress, say, in their Report, page 25, " the charao^ ter of the masonry is very good * * * The masonry in the abutments in process ot construction was well executed ;. it is evident those in charge were taking pains to do good work. * * * The drainage of the Road appears to have been carefully considered ; we think it will be found to be ample" Wherever it appeared from observations made during the progress of the works, and extending over three years, that the original water ways were insufficient, they were ea-j larged or additional culverts were built. ; .;j-j,g« f BRIDGING. t:ii,. ':J' iCi Mr. Swinyard says, *• The general character of the bridges is good, having stone ' foundations ' and abutments with tim- ber * superstructures.' There are forty-six bridges of spans ranging from 20 up to 100 feet, ot which lattter there is now only one." In order to make the structures as durable as possible,, care was taken to keep all timber from contact with the earth. "Where trestle^are used, they stand on stone piers, and the ends of the strmgers rest on masonry built on piles driven into the embankments. I think Mr. Switiyard over wtes the objections to the situation of Midgell Bridge, the location of which is unavoid- able, as can be seen on the ground. The construction trains have be'^n run over it, without accident, during the past sea- son, in every possible way, and at high rates of speed. It will be quite unnecessary *' for safety to bring the trains to a stand before passing on to this structure in either direction."v It would be more correct to say that the bridges are '' near to " than " at " the foot of gradients, a position they neces- sarily occupy in spanning streams which run in valleys. The Bridge is either on the grade or on a " piece of leveL? Two descending gradients never meet on a bridge* Speaking from memory, for I have now no plans in my possession, only six out of the forty-six bridges are on curves and this will hardly warrant the assertion that " in many cases bridges are placed on curves." PUBLIC CROSSINGS. The public crossings, all of which are provided with cattle .*,' ._, .\ MR. 8WINTABD S REPORT. 15 guards, nnd which average one at every mile and two-thirds in the length of the line, are, as Mr. Swinyard agrees, '^ all fairly up to specification," PRIVATE OR FARM CROSSINGS. sWnr . The law enables land owners to demand one private cross- ing on every farm, and two on farms exceeding thirty chains in width. The consequence is thai no less than 759 private crossings or nearly four to the mile were required. Mr. Swinyard is right in supposing that they '' will be a source of much inconvenience and expense," especially if stringent rules, obliging proprietors to keep the gates shut, are not enacted and strictly enforced. Under the provisions of the law the number could not be lessened. . . .. SLEEPERS OR TIES, ^''t'^'^^,,^ As regards the size of the sleepers, I bad, long prior to Mr. Swinyard's first visit, drawn Mr. Gregory's attention, both verbally a»id by letter, to their deficiency in this respect. I pointed them out to Mr. Swinyard myself, and informed him of my iotention to have the matter put right, before the line wasiakenoff the contractors' hands. Owing to disputes about the Government inspection, the nature ol which I reported to you in my letter of 6th October last, there was some difficulty in getting the contractors to carry out my orders, but in the end most of the small sleepers were removed or supplement- ed by an extra number. To cover any remaining deficiency, I required the contractors to deliver 1600 additional sleepers, and have deducted $400.00 from the final eslnizate to cover jthe cost of putting them into the t.rack. n In respect to the number per mile, I must re-iterate the statement already made, that, when I wrote the specifica- tion for the trunk line, I intended the number *' about 2500 " to include an allowance for sidings. To cover the want of fall information and to avoid any chance of extra claims, I deemed it prudent to make all allowances as full as possiblCr The clause was so explained to parties who asked for informa- tion and thoroughly understood. The drawing of the track showing 2200 ties to the mile, was subsequently prepared in my office, and sent to the contractors, and that number was used as the b^sis ot the schedule quantity. I never had any inteDtion of requiring 2500 ties per mile in the main line, i^.; In the specification for the Branch Lines^ . drawing pre* !l u 1 RErLT TC vioualy prepared was referred to. and tho nuffibeir 2200 per mile showD by that drawing, was therefore given. About this there could be ao misunderstanding. The cases aiC quite dissimilar, and will not bear the analogy Mr. Swinyard seeks to establish between them. Apart from the fair presumption that I know the meaning, I intended the disputed clause to convey, the contract makes my decision final " on all questions in dispute with regard to the meaning or interpretation of plans and specifications." I do not admit any deficiency in the number of sleepers, beyond that provided for by the stoppage in the final estimate, --'p >^i&vfiuci yJir-iriJa htm ■ BALLASTING. Mr. Swinyard says, page 49, " While we found that the quality of the ballast used was fairly up to specification, it was my duty to report that the result of the tests we made showed a considerable deficiency in quantity, particularly between Hunter River and the Western terminus of the line, Tignish, a distance of 96|^ miles. From the notes taken at each mile, we estimate that the deficiency will not be less than 30,000 cubic yards which, at the prices fixed in the schedule, would amount to a loss in value of about $15,000." The drawin of the track show the centre depth of the ballast to be 12 inches, the rounding of the grading bringing up the average cross section depth to 15 inches, which, with an average width of 9 feet (8 feet top and 10 feet bottom) gives the contract quantity of 2200 cubic yards per mile. Over 96^ miles, Mr. Swinyard makes a moan centre depth of 10^ inches, which would give an average depth of 13^ inches'* By Mr. Swinyard's own measurement the average width of the ballast on this part of the line is 9^ feet, instea-d of 9 feet, and this, multiplied by 13|- Inches, will give 2090 cubic yardfii per mile, or a total deficiency of 10,587 cubic yairds, instead of 30,000, and the value of which at the schedule prices, woul^ be less than $5,000,instead of ''about $15,000." Three quarters of an inch in depth would make up this deficiency, and I do not believe that, with the best intentions, the depths could bd measured as closely as that. In many cases, the ballast dif- fers but little in appearance from the material in the cutting Of enbankment. In others^ inorder to save the best ballast as much as possible for the top lift I had a shallow bottoiA lift of somewhat inferior material run on. >< MR. SWINY4IW>'e> HBPORT. 17. m I offered these facts in explanation, but as Mr. Ridout de- clined to receive thcui, I did not press the matter, feeling con- fident that the contract quantity of ballast had been put on the line. The pit measure nnents show a large excess, an4^, though part of this may liave been used to " make up '* en^,, bankments the margin is still ample. On the remaining disr., tance of 102 miles, Mr. Swinyard's measurements would show an excess of about 36,000 cubic yards over the contract,, quantity. This, to my mind, only proves how impossible it; was for him to arrive at a correct estimate of the quan^|tj|., ac^vjally on the line. •• W -^ifi&iti RAILS, &c, The contractors were furnished with a ppeciQcation for the mai^ufacture and testing of the rails, 6sh plates, bolts an^ spikes. The rails were insp.^cted by Mr.Heory Caerth, C.E., of Londop, 9nd stamped on the ends with his branjd, each cargo being also accompanied by bis certificate. The spikes wej:upplying covered sheds at the Sta- tions in Charlottetown, Summerside, Alberto n and George- town, in the stead oi those provided for in the contract be- tween the Government of this Island and Mr. Schreiber, the Contractor." I accordingly made such alterations in, and additions to, the- plans as seemed absolutely necessary, and the designs, thus ameuded, were approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, April 9th, 1872, and were regarded thenceforth as tbe contract plans. They were submitted to the Consulting Engineers in July 1872, and, by them, approved as "adequate for the buaioeBS oi the Road." ^^ mii li^iumfUimll Without giving any opinion in the matter, I submit that I cannot be held accountable, in any way, for the change in de^'^ sign which has caused the deficiency in living room and ofiSe^ ' aecommodktiou, of which Mr. Swinyard complains. The ak^atien was made contrary to my expressed wiiftfaes, and H HB. 8WINYARD 8 REPORT. 1» N r solely to meet the views of the Government with reaped to the coveted Stationfl. The question of the der vision of the line at Summettilo WM not connected with the chantre in the buildings, and did not come up until t>ome months af'terwards. The Siation houses on the br>in(;h lines are built in accord- nnce with the contract plans, which are copies of those adopted by the Government for the trunk line. Mr. Swinyard says, page 8, that '*the sites of the way Stations have not, in all cases, been very judiciously selected, having regard to the easy stopping and starting of trains. Most ot them are on inclines." Messrs, Newton and Mechan say, page 29, of their Report, " Looking at the maps with reference to the popuUtion, and the number, and direction of the highways in the neiglibor- hood of the general location of these Stations, they appear to . us to be properly placed." The Stations are necessarily situated near the points where tha public roads cross the Railway, and though some of them are not perhaps in desirabk- positions with respect to the gradients, I do not eee (low they could well be differentiy located. They are more numerous than on most Railways, being 64 in number, or at the rate of one every three miles. The sites of the principal stations demand particular notice. With Tignisb, I believe, no fault can be found : the statioD yard is large and well arranged. Alberton station was located first by the Pope-Governraent in 1871, changed, in 1872, by the Haythorne-Government, on the recommendation of Messrs. Newton and Mechan, and, finally removed to its present site, near the junction of the Tignish branch, on the change of Government in 1873. "fhere IB ample room in the station yard for all time to come. When the extension to Tignish was decided on, Alberton was no longer a terminal station, and the engine and car sheds provided for in the contract became unnecessary. Aii my request the contractors erected instead six extra tanks and tank houses at different points on the line. The station at Summerside was located in 1871, by the Pope-Government, The site chosen was nearly a mile^aok 20 RKPLT TO from the water front, and was connected with the wharf by a branch. In 1872 the matter was referred, by the Haythorne Government, to the Consulting Engineers. They say '' dispensing with the branch at this place, running the road along the water front, on or about the preliminary line staked out while we were on the Island, with the main depot near the railroad wharf, would be a better location than the present one for the businejs of the town, and the com- munity generally. In considering this suggestion it is ex- pected that the additional cost will be duly considered and balanced with the advantages that may be anticipated from the change*" , lay order in Council, 2ndf August 1872, I was •* directed to proceed to Summerside and make an exact survey and esti- mate of the cost of the route leading to the Railway wharf at that place, also of the part ot the shore required for the station as recommended by Messrs. Newton and Mechan, and to re- port in detail to the Lieutenant Governor in Council, specify- ,ing the kinds and quaiitities of materials required, their value aiid the cost of labor." The contractors claimed $60,000 extra as compensation for work done on the first location, and for additional work on the new lice, but fitiaily consented to take $40,000, the amount of my estimate of thd difference in cost. Mr. Swinyard, speaking of this new line, sa^y, page d of his rdport : '' A worse location it could hardly be po()gible to con- oeive," and proceeds to give, at sonie length, his reasons for holding that opinion. I ,],,Iii May 1873, a 'V petition from, the inhabitants of Sum- . fiqiersidei praying for the lemoval of the Railway Station," to a : Ihird site at the back of the town was referred to me by '^^ Government. I accordingly made a i>urvey and estimate of the CQSt of a line through the proposed site. This line is shown on the plan referred to by Mr. Swinyard, page 6. I'his lilkt), with a few additions to fit it for his u^e, is a copy of one flijlbmitted by me to the Government, 2l8t May 1873. As tnV work on the shbre line was, by that tln^e, far advauced, it Wis decided to lie^ the station r6hiaiii' whebe if h'eW is. ^ Mr* Swinyard says, " The station yard is much too limited and insdfi&cieiit for the requireinaents of (he tramc." The land for the statioa was taken and laid 08" by the Com- > I > i : r MR. SWINTARU'S REI-ORT. n {I > 4 • miflpionpra. I remonstrated at the tirnn, point in{]; ont tlio in- sufficiency of the area, and rfCoinmendinL' ih** piircliH-je of the corner lot referred to I y Mr. SwinvHid. Ir wn*, with «<>me difficulty that the engine and car sheds M'ere fi ted on to the grotitjd tHken, as thfir positioti > roves. Th«' en' tmoiis AhvcI's ages awarded for all prop^ry n this nei}»hbtii iiood hwd. no doubt, great weight in limiting the qnHntity H|»propriated. Tha station at Chwrlottetown was locHted in accordance with an order from the Commissioners, duted 18th March, 1872. The conveninnc ■ of the site for business purposes is indisputable, and, if my design for the extension of the yard were carried out, the whole arran^zement would be extremely commodious. Much of the ground which now forms the station yard is '• made >&nd." The contractors remonstrated very stronjrly against the site as an expensive one for them and considerable discusHion ensued. An agreement was finally come to and all the work included in the contract under that agreement Las been performed. I always contemplated extending the area of the yard as an extra work, and prepared a pla»i showing my design, a copy of which I gave Mr. Swinyard on his first visit to the works. This extension has nothing to do with the contract. In the spring of 1872, 1 wa« sent to Georgetown to try and arrive at some rnderstanding as to the most convenient site for the station. I mm directed to call on the leading men of the place, and ascertain their views on the subject. This I did, and the result of the matter was that the public square, which is Government property, was selected as the site. The inconvenience on having to detach the engine before running the train into the passenger station I foresaw, but after all this will not be a very great matter at a station, where the the arrivals will not exceed two trains a day. It can b^ avoided, if necessary, by extending the track across the street, the property on the east side of which also belongs to the Gov- ernment. The passenger house could not be moved back or west, as suggested by Mr. Swinyard, without being thrown on to a curve. But, while disapproving of the present arraniements, Mr. Swinyard admits that the necessity for any change *' is likely to arise only in the far future." The room at the west end of ^he station is a mere baggage room, about 16 feet square, and 22 REPLY TO was not designed for a freight room. The line first located ran straight to the shore. Had this line been retained, the paasenger station might have heen near the wharf, hut it wcuid have been immediately at the foot of a steep gradient. On account of the gh land to the north of th^ town, Souris is dii?iculi of approacn. The station was originally located on the upland in the village of East Sonris, but subsequently chang- ed to the beach in boih cases by order of the Government. It is quite possible that the whole plnn may be found to require re- arrangenjent, when the site of the breakwater i« d'termined. The present location, which carries the Railwaj' to the only harbor that now exists, is probably as good as any that could bo {'lade for the time. In his preliminary report, page 35, Mr, Swinyard says : — " There is one matter of great import- ance which requires immediate consideration, namely, the necessity there is for establishing repair rhcps at C'.iarlotte- town, no provision for which has been made, I beg to submit a plan prepared by Mr. Boyd showing the accommodation re- quired." I am fully alive to the importance of providing well furnish- ed repair shops, but as they were not mentioned in the Act, it appeared they could not be included in *he contracts. 1 kept the matter constantly in view, hov7ever, and had draw- ings of the shops prepared, and estimates made of the cost of the buildings and tools. In June li573, I brought the subject to the notice of the Government by letter, and submitted a plan showing the shops, and an extension of the station yard at CLarlottetown. This plan was a!so laid before the Minister of Public Works io October 1873, and led to an order to build the breastwork between the Ferry and Rall-vay wharves, as an extra work. No further steps were, however, taken in the matter. I gave Mr. Swinyard copies of these plans and estimates on his first visit to the Island. Tliis matter is net, in any way, connected with the contract, and I refer to it merely because Mr. Swiny.ird has done so, and to show that the absence of repair shops is not due to anj neglect or want of forethought on my part. SIDINGS. The total length of sidings ^o be laid was specified to be equal to about one tenth of the length of the main line. \ t • IL * MR. 3WINYARI> S REPORT. \ !. I « M. * m This wa9 intended as a raaxi'inm) Jiipit^ and not aa, ,^n absolute condition, and was so explained before tiie lettiug of i'ne contract3. I anticipated a demand for a large number of sidings, and retained power to put in as many as were neces- •sary. * '"''^' " At the Way vStations there are 17 tRrough sidings, 14 of which will hold 16 cars each, or two ordinary trains, and three of which will hold eight cars each. Several of these have a blind siding: which will hold two or three cars in addition. There are also 47 spur siiiings at Flag Stations, each capable of holding four freight cars. This is at the rate of one siding for every three miles of the line. The average distanoe between the stations where trains can pass, is 9^ miles. In ray ^opinion, this is a liberal allowance of siding anc6U^ inodation, and quite as much as the country will require for several years to come, '^ Semaphore and lamp signals were not provided for by the contract ; they" belong to outfit rather than construction. J''* *• '*' At the time the conli^ftct for the trunk line was signed, even the sites of the wharves bad nol been determined. But, as it seemed desirable to give approximate lengths in the specificar iion as a guide to partie* tendering, I measured the wharvei, then standing in the several harbors mentioned, allowing an additional length to carry the Railway wharf out to deep water. I thought the allowance made would be ample, but the sites afterwards selected by the Government, were at some dis'taneso from the wharves on which I had based my estimate of length, and the length of wharfing bu'lt is nearly 950 feet in exeeps of that anticipated by the specification. A claim lor extra payment has been made by the con- tractors, disallowed by me, and referred, among other matters to arbitration. " Mr. Swinyard may be right in saying that " the wharf at Summerside is unnecessarily long, and too much exposed/' but the 16 feet of water, required by the Government order, could not be reached with less length of wharf. The end was damaged by ice in the winter of 1873, btit has since been 24 ATgtttTO '^eeted with close piling which, it is believed, will protect it for the future. Dredging along the sides of the wbarvep was &ot provided for by the contract. ROLLING STcic^. The minor criticisms, in Mr, Stronach'a Report on the En- ^nes, I pass over as matters of opinion, on which mechanical v^Engineers may legitiraatelv differ, and with which, I am not !^^^pected to deal. The English Engines were built by well established firms and weie favorably noticed by " Engineering.'* ^ The An^eriean Engines were built at the "Baldwin" Works in Philadelphia. I: ' The princrpal fault found appears to be that six of the Tank Engines are too light for winter service. On a line which, during the summer, will have a large proportion of light traffic, these Engines will be very useful. The ordinary passenger trains connecting with the steamers will never con- sist 01 more than one postal, one second class, and baggage and ,'two first class car^ Mreighing say 50 tons, or less than two- thirds of the load the Engines have been working under, it would eertaiuljr rot be good policy to run heavy Engines with such trains, and I maintain, therefore, that I have been guided by correct principles in providing the si^,,, light 'Engines. The eight heavy Engines, wh;'^h are as powerful as the Ijgauge of the Road will admit, will be quite sufficient to work tpie winter traffic The contract provides that " The Contractors shall be allowed tc use the Engines and cars for purposes of construe- tion, and shall return ihem at the termination of the contract in perfect order .^nd repair, failing which, such a sum shall be deducted fro^ the amount of the contract as shall, in the opinion of the Tilngineer, be sufficient to pay for the necessary irep...'8." By Mr. Swinyard's permission, I employed Mr, Stronach, the Mechanical Superintendent on his staff, to examine the 'Engines, and report to me what repairs were nece'>sary uiider ^'tbe above clause. Hd did so, and I forwarded a copy or hia r6- > t 1 MB. SWINtAItb'fir ftEPOBT. 25 (. > 1^ t ff \ pd)rt to the Odtattiaictors with instlructions to act in accordance %ith it. When the Contractors reported to me that the Engines wer^ ready for final inspetition, I examined them in company with Mr. Stronaeh, and fouad that they had been repaired in aecordance with his Report, except the turning of the tyres of the wheels of nine of the Engines. The Contractors haT> ing no wheel lathe could not do this, and T have, therefore, de4ttcted from the final estimate $450, the value placed on this work by Mr. Stronach. I do not know what else I could %ave done to protect the interests of the Qovemment in this matter. MThe repairs spoken of by Mr. Stronach, in his Report to •Mr* Swinyard, January 11th, 1875, h^^ive been rendered necessary by damages reeeived after the liual inspection and aoeeptauce of the Engines, and in trafiic service, a matter 'Which has no connection with the contract, and over whicb I have no control. i' PASSENGER SERVICE OARS. There were no contract plans in the ordinary sen&e of either 'Engines or cars. The drawicgs for the latter were furst^hed during the progress of tke work. '^' The outfit, m WR swtnyard's rfport 29 bear me out in the assertion that, in adaptatioti to the wants of the country — in mechanical works — and in general con- struction, the Prince EdwQid Island Railway will compare favorably with more costly lines in the neighbouring Fro- ▼inces. I cannot be held responsible in cases where my opinion was not taken, or in which my judgment was fettered by orders which I was bound to obey. I have purposely r jfrained, as far as possible, from express- ing an opinion on such matters, as I do not feel called upon to discuss the policy of my official superiors. The inspection of the Line was not made in the inefficient manner to be inferred from Mr. Swinyard's letter of Decem- ber 2nd. At the beginning of July last, I directed Mr. Cox, my prin- cipal Assistant, to walk over the whole line and report to me on its condition. He was occupied constantly until the middle of October in this duty. Copies of his Reports were sent as received to the Contractors, with orders to make good any deficiencies therein noted. With these Reports in my hand, besides frequent visits to special points, I went over the whole line several times, The consequence was that, by the time my final inspection was made, the points which it was neces- stry to examine, were reduced to a very small number. On the trip referred to by Mr. Swinyard, we stopped at and examined every Bridge and Station House on the line. I frequently asked Mr, Swinyard whether they were any other places at which be desired to stop, and whenever he expressed such a wish, it was attended to. He, having previously made such a detailed Examination as he deemed proper, had also, I presumed, noted any points which in his opinion, required attention, I did not go over the Georgetown section because, on my last visit, I had found that all my instructions had been carried out. If my course, in declining to permit Mr, Swinyard to assume complete con- trol of the works, and to determine when and how I should perform my duties, did become " uni^atisfactory and painful " to him, I have at least the satisfaction of knowing that it met 30 BBPLT TO with the approval of the GovernmeDt, to whom alone I was respooBible. 11 1 I have the honor to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, (Signed,) (Certified) JOHN EDWARD BOYD. William C. DesBrisay, Asst. Clerk Ex. CoanciL i « I A 1 i f > i^ A' 1 >*> J- ,t