TABLE, showing the Number of Railroads in the United States, Miles in operation, Total Number of Miles, Number of Locomotives, Amount expended, Amount required for completion, Total Cost, and the Average Cost per Mile, from the Report of Von Gerstner, carried up to 1840.

The following extracts, illustrative of the railway system of the United States, are compressed from an able article on the subject by Mr. J. H.

Lanman.

"If we survey the map of the United States, we shall find that the termini of these lines, at both ends, rest at the principal commercial towns of the country, both in the east and west. The principal termini of each track upon the Atlantic seaboard may be found in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Norfolk, Wilmington, Charleston, and Savannah. From these grand points of shipment, the railroad tracks run across the interior, and intersecting in their course the most prominent villages or cities, terminate at the grand marts of western commerce, and the shores of their navigable waters.

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Passing by the routes which have been laid out in the British provinces, commencing at Quebec, and running across the English and American territory, designed as they are to connect the river St. Lawrence with the ocean, and the railroad already constructed from Orono to Belfast, in the state of Maine, we proceed at once to describe the grand tracks which have already been laid out, and some of them completed, along the Atlantic seaboard, and diverging across the republic to the interior of the west. And, in the first place, it is clear that population, production, and commerce, are the three causes which warrant the construction of works of such expense and magnitude. Accordingly, we find that these works have been commenced along the Atlantic coast, which is the most densely populated, the most commercial in its character, and the most distinguished for its accumulated wealth. There must necessarily be an intimate connexion in trade and commerce between the principal cities of our Atlantic ports; and the intermediate territory not only contains a comparatively dense and travelling population, but is studded with frequent villages, and even by incorporated cities, linked in various forms, all going to swell the amount of trade and transportation. These facts have all combined to induce the establishment of the most important lines of railroads upon the Atlantic frontier. Although this portion of our territory abounds in water-communication, still the tracks of the railroads, running in direct lines from place to place, furnish means of transportation during the whole of the year.

"The commencement of the grand Atlantic line of railroads already constructed, except for a few miles at its northern point, we find at Portsmouth, in the state of New Hampshire. From this point, extending a distance of about forty miles, a railroad has been completed to the city of Boston. Here a northward diverging track reaches to Lowell, where cars and railroad engines are manufactured to a considerable amount; the length of which line is about twenty-six miles; and from this great manufacturing city another track is laid out to Concord in the same state, thus furnishing a valuable channel of transportation from the place which has been justly entitled the American Manchester,' to the commercial metropolis of New England. Boston seems to be the grand terminus of the railroads in New England, and the nucleus from which diverge the two great western and southern routes.

"The first section of what we shall denominate the Atlantic railroad line, extends from Boston to Norwich, in the state of Connecticut, and also from the former city to Stonington, in the same state. The line of the Boston and Worcester railroad runs through a beautiful, though broken country, highly cultivated, although not remarkable for its fertility, for the distance of forty-four miles, to the flourishing inland town of Worcester. Here it meets the Norwich railroad, that extends a distance of fifty-eight miles through a picturesque and broken territory, enlivened by pleasant farm-houses, a very large number of manufacturing villages, which are upon its immediate borders, and by numerous waterfalls, which, from the speed of the cars, seem to glance in the sun in continuous succession, like some scene of enchantment. At Norwich, the line unites with steamboat navigation, and furnishes a rapid conveyance to the city of New York. The other line to which we have alluded, as running from Boston to Stonington, combines like advantages, both on account of the directness of the route to the steamboat navigation of Long Island sound, and from the fact, that it passes through some of the most flourishing towns of Massachusetts, including Dedham and Roxbury, to the manufacturing capital of Rhode Island, the city of Providence. Its length to that city is forty-seven miles, and it furnishes a certain and safe mode of travel and transportation from Boston to New York, through Long Island sound, which, of course, is always open to navigation, even during the winter. From Stonington a most convenient line of travel will be furnished by the Long Island railroad, twenty-seven miles of which are now completed. This track is laid out along the

whole extent of that island, and commencing at the South Ferry, in Brooklyn, will terminate at Greenport, upon the shore of the sound.

"Passing from the city of New York a short distance, we soon arrive at the track of the railroad which leads directly to Philadelphia, and from this a line extends to Baltimore, and from Baltimore one to the city of Washington. Crossing the Potomac, we have yet another track marked out in Virginia, from Alexandria to Fredericksburg, from Fredericksburg to Richmond, from Richmond through the low and level pine lands of North Carolina to Wilmington, in the same state, with a diverging track to Norfolk, at the mouth of the James river; and also two lines marked out across the whole length of the state of Delaware. From Wilmington, a railroad is laid out along the shores of South Carolina to Charleston, in the state last named. Thus we have a continuous line of railroad projected, and in the greater part executed, along the Atlantic seaboard, including the most populous and powerful states, which, when completed, will afford the most splendid route of travel to be found in the world, extending from the metropolis of the north to that of the south, furnishing ample means and motives for communication between the widely extended sections of the country, a cheap channel of transportation for the productions of its several parts, and thus binding together in fraternal bonds of trade, commerce, and social interest, the northern and southern portions of the territory.

"Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, are in fact made the factors of the great west; and, were the western market cut off from the eastern cities, there would be a sensible diminution of the mercantile prosperity of our most important commercial emporiums. Accordingly, it has long been a matter of rivalry with those cities to secure the largest portion of the western trade, by furnishing the most prominent inducements to western merchants to visit them for the purpose of making purchases of their goods. To further this object new and convenient steamboat routes have been opened, and canals and railroads have been projected and carried out.

"Massachusetts, which appears to have been considered heretofore in an insulated position, exporting, in the words of a distinguished statesman, nothing but 'granite and ice,' seems recently to have started upon a new and brilliant career of internal improvement by railroads, which is properly backed by its vast accumulated capital. The fact is doubtless within the remembrance of our readers, that but a few years since, it was a matter of reasonable doubt whether the city of Boston, its commercial metropolis, was not, in fact, retrograding in population; and it is only until recently that the keen forecast and energetic enterprise of its citizens have burst forth in the establishment of works which, considering the time in which they have been commenced, appear almost unexampled, and that are destined to add greatly to its wealth. Besides the introduction of a line of steamships from England to that port, there has recently been nearly carried out a line of railroads that will connect that city with the shores of Lake Erie.

"With a view to unite the trade of the west with Boston, a railroad line has been completed in its several sections, between that city and Albany, which is connected with sections running directly to Buffalo, upon the shore of Lake Erie. This railroad continues the line from Boston to Worcester, running through the country to West Stockbridge, and here it intersects the Hudson and West Stockbridge railroad, passing by the towns of Charlton, South Brookfield, West Brookfield, Palmer, and Wilbraham. The length of the section of this railroad east of the Connecticut is fifty-four miles, and of that on the west of the river is sixty-two miles, the whole length from Worcester to the state line being 106 miles. The line which this last-named railroad meets, commencing at West Stockbridge, in Berkshire county, Massachusetts, possessing, as it does, a branch to Pittsfield, and passing through Lebanon Springs, and through Rensselaer and Columbia counties, proceeds in a south-easterly direction, to Greenbush, opposite to Albany, the length of the line from Albany to West Stockbridge being forty-one miles. This railroad will come into keen competition for the western trade with the navigation of the Hudson, which, it is well known, is now one of the most important channels of travel in the nation.

"Having arrived at Albany, we reach a series of railroads that is continued from that city to Buffalo, which terminates the great chain of communication from Boston to the lakes. The first link in this chain is the Mohawk and Hudson railroad, extending for a distance of fifteen miles from Albany to Schenectady, that work having been commenced

in 1830, and a double track finished in 1833. From Schenectady, a diverging track branches off to Saratoga, a distance of twenty-one miles, giving to the crowds of beauty and fashion, who resort in summer to the medicinal springs that distinguish this favourite point, an elegant and convenient channel of travel to the fairy scene. The Rensselaer and Saratoga railroad also reaches the same point, commencing at Troy, and with the Schenectady line terminating at Saratoga. From Schenectady, a railroad has been finished to Utica, a distance of seventy-seven miles, running through a fertile portion of the valley of the Mohawk, and passing several thriving villages, such as Caughnawaga, St. Johnsville, Manheim, Little Falls village, and Herkimer. Here it reaches a viaduct, by which it crosses the Mohawk, and thence proceeds through a fertile and picturesque territory to Utica. The Syracuse and Utica railroad is an extension of this line for the distance of fifty-three miles, and is deemed the most productive work in the state of New York. It passes up the southern acclivity of the Mohawk, nearly parallel with the Erie canal, which it crosses when entering Rome. Leaving Rome, it recrosses the Erie canal, and passing through the villages of Canistota, Sullivan, Chittenango, Fayetteville, and Orville, terminates at Syracuse. This railroad route is continued to Buffalo by the Syracuse and Auburn railroad, which runs a distance of twenty-six miles, through a beautiful, rolling, and densely-settled country, and then unites with the Auburn and Rochester railroad. This work, which is eighty miles in length, is now under contract, and a considerable portion has been already graded. About three-quarters of the line between Rochester and Canandaigua, a distance of twenty-nine miles, have been completed, and workmen are engaged upon the heaviest sections of the track. The great western track from this point is continued by the Tonawanda railroad, extending from Rochester upon the Genessee river to Attica, traversing the townships of Gates, Chili, and Riga, in Monroe county, and those of Bergen, Byron, Stafford, Batavia, and Alexander, in Genessee county, for the distance of forty-five miles. From this point the Attica and Buffalo railroad terminates the grand chain of intercommunication from Boston to the lakes. This last-named work is thirty miles in length, and is now in progress. Numerous causes may, of course, operate which will retard the progress of the great northern line of railroads to the west, but it is believed, that as early as July, 1841, it will be completed throughout its whole extent; so that a magnificent avenue of communication will then be furnished, both for travellers for pleasure, who can now visit the Niagara Falls by a railroad already constructed from Buffalo, and for the transportation of agricultural products and manufactured goods throughout its whole line, from the Atlantic to the lakes!

"In this brief view of the great northern railroad line to the west, we have not referred to the minor railroads along its track, and designed to connect the principal towns of the states through which they pass. In the state of Connecticut, besides the great line, forming links in the national chain, cars are now regularly plying between Hartford and New Haven, on a railroad constructed between the two places, for the distance of about forty miles; and a charter was also granted by the legislature of Connecticut, in 1836, authorising a company to construct a railroad from the north line of the state, near the town of Sheffield, through the valley of the Housatonic by New Milford to the town of Brookfield, and from that point to the city of Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield. Nor have we alluded to the diverging track from the great northern line to the shore of Lake Ontario, which has been projected, or to that from Saratoga to the banks of Lake George.

"We now pass the second grand track, which has been projected to unite the western trade with the eastern market. New York, so admirably situated for foreign and inland trade, a state which has always been foremost in the ranks of internal improvement, it is well known has long held an almost undivided sceptre over the western trade. With its magnificent Hudson, and its Erie canal, furnishing a free navigation from the ocean to the lakes, this state has called into keen competition the enterprise of her now rival cities, and it befits her to bestir herself, unless she desires to see that sceptre shaking in her grasp; for while other states, perceiving the advantages which have been produced to this state by convenient channels of communication to the west, have nearly completed important public works extending into that quarter, New York has been too often satisfied with their mere projection. The first step which New York has taken, in the line of railroads calculated to secure to herself the western trade, is the Harlem railroad, commencing near the city

hall in New York, and running a distance of eight miles to Harlem strait. From this point, a bridge crosses the strait to Morrisania, at which place the New York and Albany railroad commences. This road, starting at that point, proceeds through the county of Westchester, midway between the Hudson and Long Island sound; and from the northern boundary of that county, it passes through a portion of the rich counties of Putnam and Dutchess, by the centre of the county of Columbia; and from that point to Greenbush, opposite to Albany, and thence to Troy. The whole distance of this line of railroad, from the city hall in New York to Albany, is 147 miles. It passes through a country rich in agricultural and mineral resources.

"We have not here alluded to the several minor intersecting lines established by the enterprise of the state of New York, which are designed to connect important points, and all made tributary to the principal tracks. We may mention, however, the Hudson and Berkshire railroad, which commences at the city of Hudson, and terminates at West Stockbridge, in Massachusetts, a distance of thirty-three miles, where it intersects the great western railroad, extending to Worcester. To this may be added the Catskill and Canajoharie railroad, extending from Catskill to Canajoharie, a distance of seventy-eight miles. The Albany and West Stockbridge railroad, commencing at Greenbush, and to which we have already referred, is a work of considerable importance. Nor are the minor works, such as the Rensselaer and Saratoga railroad, the Troy and West Stockbridge, the West Troy and Schenectady, the White Hall and Saratoga, the Buffalo and Niagara Falls railroad, the Lockport and Niagara railroad, the Buffalo and Black Rock, the Rochester railroad, the Ithaca and Oswego railroad, the Bath, the Ogdensburg and Champlain railroad, the Oswego and Utica, and the Port Kent and Keesville railroad, some of which have been completed, and others in the process of construction, of less consequence to this great state, uniting, as they do, important points, and intersecting the principal lines east and west.

"We now proceed to the consideration of the other great railroad line, which has been projected to connect the trade and commerce of the west with the city of New York, and denominated the New York and Erie railroad, because it is destined to unite Lake Erie with New York by a continuous track from the shore of that lake to a point within twenty-five miles of the latter city. This projected line commences in Tappan, Rockland county, upon the Hudson, and pursuing a north-westerly course through Orange county, passes over the Walkill by Mount Hope, crosses the Hudson and Delaware canal, and traverses for a few miles the valley of the Nevisink. Starting from this point near Monticello, in Sullivan county, it proceeds in a north-westerly direction to Oswego, and following a western course through the southern tier of the counties of the state of New York, Steuben, and Cattaraugus, it is designed to terminate at Westfield, in Chautauque county, upon the shore of Lake Erie. The whole distance of this gigantic work is not less than 450 miles, and when we view the motives for its ultimate completion furnished by the growing population of the country, and the fact that it passes through a territory rich in resources, we do not despair of its ultimate success, although by the charter granted by the legislature of New York, furnishing the credit of the state for its construction, to the amount of 3,000,000 dollars, the whole track is not required to be completed until a period of twenty years.

"Pennsylvania has also projected works which traverse the surface of the state like an iron network. Besides numerous intersecting lines meeting the railroads of other states, she has planned and partially carried out a grand western line, extending from Philadelphia to Pittsburg, her remotest western boundary, at the junction of the Alleghany and the Monongahela, constituting the head waters of the Ohio, and designed to connect the commerce of the west with its commercial capital, and running from that city not only to Pittsburg, but also to Erie, upon the shore of the lake which bears its name. The first section of this chain is comprised in the Columbia and Philadelphia railroad, which commences at the intersection of Vine and Broad streets, in the last named city, meets those of the Schuylkill, Brandywine, and Conestoga, and passes through the counties of Philadelphia, Chester, and Delaware, and the towns of Downington and Lancaster, the Westchester branch leaving the main track about twenty-two miles from Philadelphia, and the track to Harrisburg at the city of Lancaster. At Harrisburg, a continuation of this route is furnished in the Cumberland valley railroad, a length of fifty miles, and terminates