1852 North Carolina Rail Road manuscript construction
specifications. bridges - Contemporary copy - Signed
North
Carolina Rail Road – 1852
– “Memorand (sic) of the First Division of the N C R R / Grading & Road bed”
Manuscript Document Signed. Stith, William H.
4 pages. 12-7/16 x 7-7/8 inches. Pale-blue paper, in
ink.
“The above was copied by me this 23rd day
of Aug 1852 verbatim et literatim from the original by Col Walter Gwynn. [Signed] “Wm H Stith, asst. engr. N C
R R””
The text consists of 27 numbered specifications,
including in part: “The slopes of embankments; graded surfaces in the
excavations; the ditches in cuts; graded surface for turnouts; the embankments;
the road bed; the spoil banks; culverts; abutments; the preparation of cement
and lime mortar; the brickwork; timber; Superstructure of Bridges. . .”
Historical
notes:
1848: NC Legislature passed a railroad bill calling
for an east-west railroad to connect the coastal plain with the piedmont
opening the state for economic and industrial development.
1849: NCRR chartered as a 223-mile long corridor
between Charlotte and Goldsboro, NC.
1851: Groundbreaking ceremony held in Greensboro.
1852: Railroad construction occurred simultaneously
from each terminal point of the road with local landowners contracting the
labor.
NCRR is the oldest corporation in North Carolina. William H. Stith was involved with several railroad companies in Virginia.
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