IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) i^.^ ^ 1.0 IA£12.8 |2.5 — I^ia 1.1 l.*^!^ L25 1 U. 1.6 « 6" ► o^. ^V>/ ■^-''^^ %. > V 7 Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STR!«ET WEBSTJS.W Y. :<$eO (716) S/i-WSOa # \ V.N 4^ 4^ ^\j^ ^ "-^ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notas tachniquaa at bibliographiquas Tha Instituta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat original copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may be bibliographically uniqua, which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha reproduction, or which may significantly changa tha usual method of filming, are chackad baiow. Q Coloured covers/ Couverture de coulaur r~n Covers damaged/ D D D D D n Couverture endommag'. ■-.-• >•■_ •■ • . ■_ I ■^^v?' •«■ V .■•, l^^' ju.uypi i.u^,.. ^ j.jii^.M ■-:>•"> 1 i ^'."'' ;'*;. I'l' )! WESTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY Provincial Secrbtary's Office, December 3rd, 1878. James Odell, Esq., Civil Engineer i I 4 Sir,— I have it in command to inform you that you have been ap- pointed to make an examination of the Western Counties Railway, extending from Yarmouth to Annapolis, and to make a report upon the present condition of the said Railway to the Govern- ment. It is desired that the Report shall embrace the following infor- mation : — The width and slopes of all cuttings and embankments. The Drainage. The sufficiency of Embankments on marshy grounds and otherwise. Wooden structures, as to the policy of having such, and char- acter of those built. Grades — at such locations as Sissiboo Bridge. Amount and quality of rolling stock, rails, and all other ma- terials employed in connection with the railway. "Value of the work done, and cost of completing the road, and • utting it in efiEicient working condition. iL'l--'!'^- ititii M r hiii^^''-^'*^" ■ ■ "' ■ Such other ohservations as may occur to you in your examina- tion of the line. ' The report to embrace caloulations from Yarmouth to Digby, and from Digby to Annapolis, separately. The estimate to be made as accurate and correct as can be conveniently done, with a view to present the actual present con- dition of the work on the Railway. I have the honor to be, &c. S. H. HOLMES Provincial Secretary. r- ( . :• .-. ,1'! i REPORT OF EXAMINATION or WESTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY. By JAS. ODELL, Esq., C. E. Halifax, 6th February, 1879. To THE Hon. Provincial Sbcrbtary: Sir,— In accordance with instructions contained in your letter of 3rd ol December last, I have made an examination of the con- dition of the Western Counties Railway, and have the honor to report as follows : Proceeding from Yarmouth for a distance of fifteen miles, I found that the grading, generally, had been fairly done. From thence to the Meteghan Kiver, about fifteen miles further, it has not been so well done, as I found several portions of the road-bed' formed of logs and poles covered with about one foot of earth, es- pecially in the vicinity of Jessie's Lake, and also between the Sal^ mon and Meteghan Rivers, where the ground was of a boggy na^ ture, and should have been excavated and filled with earth, which would have rendered the material sufficiently firm. In some of the cuttings also, poles, which had been apparently laid for con- venience of carting during the construction of the work, have been left in the ground, and the track laid upon them. In some of the shallow embankments, stumps have been left standing in the road-berl, and in others, I endeavored to ascertain whether they contained perishable material, but abandoned it, as owing to the depth of the frost, it would have involved much time and labor, to have made the necessary excavation, but ^here were sufficient indications to convince me that many of the embank- ments were improperly constructed, nnd in those places where logs, poles, &c', were observed, the track must be removed and the road-way re-constructed, as, in its present condition, it is un- safe for traffic. .\k At Lake Annis, about seventeen miles from Yarmouth, the line passes along the margin of the lake, and requires better pro- tection to guard against the action of the water, which has wasned away a portion of the embankment. Between the Moteghan and Sissiboo Rivcrn, the grading is of a better character, and the material for the formation of the roud-bed is of better quality. Beyond the Sissiboo River, near Thibeau's road, the line runs along the margin of a mill-pond, and has been protected by an embankment which, however, has proved in- sufficient, as the water from the pond has washed away the road- bed for some distance. All the earth-work has sustained soriona damage through want of attention to remedy the effects of frost and rain, which have caused the slopes of the cuttings and embankments to slide considerably. Many ot the embankments have apparently never been made more than fourteen teet wide on the road-bed, wliich, from the frequent sliding, has been considerably reduced, the width at present, in some places, not exceeding nine feet. The cuttings as a rule, have been excavated to a width of fif- teen feet, but the slopes never having been properly finished, the earth has fallen in, necessitating the removal of the material, and the formation of surface drains through the cuttings. Between Yarmouth and Hebron, some of the cattle guards and box culverts are built of dry masonry, but beyoid that, both the Beam and Box culverts are built of wood, and therefore cannot last beyond four or five years from the present date. All wide ravines are crossed by trestle bridges on pile foundations, ofwhich there are twenty-one, making an aggregate length of about five thousand feet ot bridging. Of the^e the bents at the ends where they have come in contact with the embankment, there are al- ready indications of decay. The Bridge over the Salmon River appears to be too low, as the space between the corbel and the surface of the water is only nine inches. The same objection applies to the bridtre crossing Dean's Brook, at Grossecoque River. The caps on the piles of one of the bent's are split, and require to be renewed. In other respects the structures will suffice, so long as the timber remains sound, but wherever trestles have been substituted for embank- ments, the ravines should be filled with earth as soon us practicable. The most objectionable feature in the line is the crossing of the Sissiboo River, as the bridge is approached from the west side on a sharp curve with a descending gradient of one foot in sixty-six feet, or seventy-nine feet per mile. Upon the east side of the river, and ai^oining the bridge, there is a reverse curve with an aseeuding gradient of one foot in sixty-nine feet, or seventy-six feet per mile. The bridge, which is also on a curve, and for which eighteen bents of trestle work have been erected, will be about twelve hundred feet in length, and forty feet above high water, twenty-five feet in depth, and must be provided with a *'Draw" for the passage of vessels. / J_ 1 _i Being situated, as it is, at a bend in the riyer, rendering tha approach very inconvenient for vessels goinff down stream from Weymouth, and in further consideration of its being a wooden structure, the location of this bridge is so exceedingly objection- able that, in my opinion, it should, if possible, be avoided. This, from the limited observation that I was enabled to make, appeared to be practicable by following the west bank of the river from Journey's Lake, and crossing at a point higher up the stream, above the post road bridge, and thereby saving the expense attending the draw bridge and avoiding any interference with the navigation. That, however, and the difference in cost between it, and completing the line as at present located, can only be determined by an instrumental survey. Between Yarmouth and Weymouth forty-four miles of track are laid. For a distance of twenty miles, or to Parish's Lake, many of the ties are of small size, but from thence to the termina- taion of the track, the ties are of a better quality. Between this point and the Sissiboo Biver there is an un- finished cutting involving excavation of about five thousand cubic yards. Between Digby and Weymouth there are about eleven and a hulf miles of track laid, and also one mile from Raquette Brook aloDg the first location of the line towards the strait, which latter has been used for the conveyance of ballast. A number of sidings have also been laid along the line, Mteunuring in all about one and one half mile. Between Journey's Lake and Digby there are now about eleven miles of track yet to be laid, for which a considerable number of ties have been distributed alon^ the road-bed ready for use. For a distance or ^ight miles from Yarmouth the track has been ballasted, and for about twenty miles further about half ballasted. Between Digby and Weymouth six miles of the track have been partially ballasted, leaving fifty-eight miles unfinished, or allowing for that portion where half the ballast only has been deposited, an actual length of forty-eight miles to be ballasted. There are about six and three quarter miles of the line which have been enclosed with a board fence and fifty-eight miles of rail teneintr, but the greater part of the board tence is in a dilapidated condition, having been so insecurely built that in many places it has fallen down, thereby revealing the fact that the posts have only been set into the ground for a depth of from fifteen to eigh- teen inches. At various points along the line there are numbers of piles of ties, which however will speedily decaj' from exposure to the weather in consequence of their being very compactly piled. There are also rails and faslenings sufficient for laj'ing about fifteen miles of track. The works remaining to be done, to render the line available for traffic, are the following: — :'W \ Pf^r Drainage, fto., throngh cuttings $8,460 Oompleting Embankments 19,000 Excavation W. of Sissboo River 1,250 Sissiboo Bridge 64,000 Trp.cktobe laid 8,860 Ballasting required 81,200 Repairs to Fencing 200 Rip Rap required 2,000 Rolling Stock 109,550 Station Accommodation 25,260 Total $259,760 MATERIALS DELIVERED. Ties piled and diptributed, 56,140 =27 miles. Rails and Fastenings =15 " ROLLING STOCK. 2 Locomotives. 85 Platform Cars. Between Digby and Annapolis, detached portions of the earth- work have been done, making in all a distance of about fourteen miles, but none of the cuttings have been finished, and many of the embankments are deficient in width upon the road bed, and those which had been carried out into the water of the several rivers to be crossed, have been washed away up to high water mark. Five and one half miles of rail fence, and one half mile of board fence, have been built. The box culverts, which are of dry masonry, are very roughly built, and some of them must be rebuilt as they have already begun to fall. There are six hundred ties delivered upon this port'on of the line. Nothing has been doni; towards the construction of the bridges required. The works remaining to be done to complete the roadway are, •,^ Site,/ •280,000 Eartfiwork 40000 Track laying eo87 Ballasting 11212 J«°°»°« 4,400 Sleepers 2 112 Rails and Fastenings ;*.;; 57;465 Rolling Stock.. . 42,660 Station Accommodation 7 75Q Total .1451,616 I have the honor to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, JA8. ODELL, 0. E.