:\i()i \'r \v\snf\(;T()N CAR HI A (IK 110 A J). Glass. Book. EAi ;\A/ 5 ^% stent 0f Mmwi CARRIAGE ROAD. The Charter to construct this Road, was granted by the State of New Hampshire, in July, 1853. The Surveys for the location, were commenced immediately, under the direction of Mr. Robert E. Ricker, an Engineer, whose ability and experience was such, as to warrant the belief, that neither skill, care, nor labor would be spared in faithfully executing the difficult task before him. ' The result has shown, that the Directors of th(X Company were not mistaken in the manTrTTis now known, that the very best location, both as to grade and expense, has been chosen in ascending the mountain, while, at the same, time the most interesting and magnifi- cent points of observation are obtained all along the line of the Road, to the summit of Mount Washington, the last mile of the Road being made to entirely encircle the up- per cone of the mountain, while, at the same time, the reg- ular ascending grade continues to the level plateau on the top, 6285 feet above the Ocean. It is proper here to remark, that in locating the " Mount Washington Carriage Road," from the base to the summit of the mountain, eight miles and one-quarter in length, it is believed that more care, time, skill and expense has been expended than upon the same length of MOUNT WASHINGTON, any Railroad line in the United States. The field work under Mr. Ricker, and his able assistant, Mr. Cavis, who is now the Superintendent of the Road, was not completed until late in the fall of 1853, and the map and profiles were prepared during the following winter, and this map, being about 7 feet by 3, is the first and only reliable one ever yet made of the White Mountains, in the vicinity of, and including Mount Washington. CHARACTER OF THE ROAI). The Road from the Glen House to the summit of Mt. Washington is 8 1-4 miles in length, and 16 feet in clear width between the ditching and the outer angle of the roadway or protection wall. The outside of the road is raised one foot higher than the inside, thus giving it a slope toward the mountain, inwards, of 3-4 of an inch to one foot. This prevents the washing out, or injuring of the road-bed by water ; an ample ditch being con- structed on the inside with sluices under the road, sufii- cient for drainage of rain or snow-freshets. The grade of the road in no place exceeds a rise of one foot in seven the average being one in nine and a half, and the con- struction is after the best manner of the English Mc- Adamized roads^ there being from 1 to 8 inches thickness of fine broken stone on the entire surface. The grade of this road is lighter than that constructed over the Alps by Napoleon ; but there being no tunnels to cut or heavy masonry arches to construct, as in that famous road the cost of this per mile is far less. While the surveys for theMt. Washington Road were in progress, Mr. Ste- phenson, the celebrated English Engineer, visited New Hampshire, in company with Messrs. Betts and Jackson, CARRIAGE ROAD. English Contractors on the Grand Trunk Railway,the hit- ter gentlemen having taken stock in this enterprise — Mr. Stephenson strongly recommended, that the grade of the Road should be so reduced as to enable the Company hereafter to use steam in ascending and descending, and he was at that time engaged in constructing a similar Railway over the Appenines. It was, however, deter- mined for the present, to be content with a McAdamiz- ed road of the best character. In all places where there is any dangerous precipitan- cy, a heavy protection-wall is built on the outer side of the Road, three feet thick and 2 1-2 feet high. PROGRESS AND COMPLETION OF THE WORK. As early in the Spring of 1854 as the melting of the snows would allow, contractors were notified, and an ex- amination of the line and proposals for the construction of the work invited. Such examinations were made by a number of Railroad Contractors from time to time, but the novel character of the work, (no mountain road of the kind ever having been built in the United States,) and the formidable difficulties to be encountered in its construction, together with the detailed strictness of the specifications^ ail combined to prevent a contract being entered into, until July 20th, when the Company con- cluded one with Messrs. Rich & Meyers of Massachu- setts. The work was begun in the month of August 1854, but, unlike any other road, this could only be commenc- ed at one point, the base of the mountain, as the Contrac- tors were obliged to construct a road as they progressed, MOUNT WASHINGTON over which they could haul bj teams, all their pro\dsions, tools, etc. etc. Any other course would have greatly in- creased the cost of construction, as all such provisions and tools must have been ^' backed up " by men, there being no possibility of getting a horse along the line, over the rocks. For the reasons above stated, the progress cf this work up to this time has been necessarily slow ; but as the most difficult portion is now completed, (4 miles of it vras used for horse travel during the last season) and a point above " The Ledge " reached, there will be a cer- tainty of completing the road to the Summit, so as to use carriages in July 1856. CARRIAGES FOR THE ROAD, It is perfectly evident upon reasonable reflection, that any vehicle built solely to run upon a road having a uni- form ascent of more than five hundred feet to the mile^ should be constructed somewhat different from those in- tended to run upon a level, or a slightly undulating sur- face. Upon this, much thought and care has been ex, pended by the President of the Company, and the result has been that an Omnibus has been planned, and nine of them are now being built by Downing & Sons, of New Hampshire, for carrying passengers up and down this road. The improvements are : — 1st. The body of the carriage will be level^ both w^hen ascending and descending the Mountain* 2d. The 12 inside passengers are so placed by a new arrangement of the seats, as neither to face the horses nor one another^ but will sit at an angle of 45*^ to the side of the Omnibus, each in a seperate arm-chair seat, giving free view on either side of the roadj and protected by CARRIAGE ROAD. plate -glass windows when necessary, having more than the usual room in the middle of the Omnibus to pass in and out. 3d. The safety of the Passengers is fully provided for by a new application of brakes, they being applied by the use of a wheel which is operated by the driver's feet and the '^ set^^ upon the wheels regulated by a ratch- et or clip, fitting into the shaft wheel of the brake. 4th. To insure still greater safety in descending the Mountain, the application of the brake is placed within the reach of the Passengers by a strap and ring lying on the bottom of the Omnibus, and by using which, any one inside may instantly arrest the motion of the Omnibus, by blocking the hind wheels. Thus the road is fitted to the carriages, and the car- riages to the road, for it is a mistake to suppose that hor- ses, however true and steady, can hold a load down an undeviating descent of eight miles, without a more than ordinary arrangement of safety brakes. In connection with the project of building a carriage road to the top ofMt. Washington, there is still another, which, in its grasp of importance, and interest with the whole community, far outweighs the first, and which, so far as it has become known, meets with unlimited ap- probation. It is the erection by the Road Company of a JYational Observatory for the Government on the summit of the Mountain, in connection with a large and substan- tial Hotel, and to place so much of the house as shall be necessary, together with the free use of the Road, entirely at the disposal of the Government. The arguments in favor of establishing a permanent building on the top of Mount Washington, for Scientific purposes, are numerous and weighty. Among them are : 1st. Mt. Washington is the highest accessible point of 6 MOUNT WASHlNGTOir. land in the United States, east of the Rocky Mountains^ being 6285 feet above the level of the sea, according to actual measurement, made by William A. Goodwin, Esq., Civil Engineer, in 1852, who was employed for that purpose by the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Raiboad Company. , 2d. The construction of a McAdamized Carriage Road, chartered by the State of New Hampshire,, in July, 1853, and which will be completed in 1856, will render the ascent of the Mountain easy and safe for a great portion of the year* 3d. A line of Telegraph is to be constructed to the Summit of Mt. Washington, and is already commenced connecting with the line now in operation from Portland to JNlontreal, and which line connects at Portland, with lines to Boston, New York, Washington, Cincinnati, &c» 4th. A large Hotel is to be erected on the top of the IviOuntaiUj by the Mt. W^ashington Road Company y which Hotel, together with the necessary out buildings, will occupy all the available space on the Summit, which is suitable for such purposes, and which is ah^eady laid out, and can be completed during the year 18;. 6 or '57, the company who erected the first building of any kind on the Summit, and have merged all their interests in the new building. 5th. The Mt. Washington Road Company have re- cently obtained by purchase, the title and possession of the Summit of x\lt. Washington, and hold the same by a full guarantee from those perfectly ahle^ to defend them in such title and possession, against any and all claimants ; and this purchase covers as much of Mtc Washington as may be necessary for their Road, and buildings of every kind in connexion with the same. 6th. It has beexi ascertained by experience, that it i& almost impossible to so wholly isolate the main or centre pillar of those buildings devoted to accurate astronomical observations J as to be entirely free from vibration effected CATtMAGE ROAP. "by external causes. Even at Grecnwicli (F^ngland) tliis difficulty is experienced in the use of delicately adjust- ed instruments. But it is believed that this obstacle may be wholly overcome by making the Summit of the rock-rooted Alt. Washington, the foundation of such a pillar. Tth. When the building, ^yith an Observatory attach- ed, shall be completed, and finished ^\vith the necessary instruments, scientific observations may be kept up throughout the entire year^ giving, over the Telegraph ■wires, to Washington, New York, Cincinnati, &c., three times each day (viz. sun-rise, meridian and sun-set,) the record of the Thermometer, Barometrr and Wind, and also the duration and poicer of storms. Sth. Mt. Washington has been for \ears past, and may be for years to come, the culminating point of many of the most important and interesting observations con- nected with the Coast Surveys, undei' charge of Profess- or Bache, and which are now becoming of so much ac- knowledged practical utuity to the great commercial in- terests of the United States, and of the icorld, 9th. It is evident that, if an Observatory for the use of the Government, and the benefit of the public, is ever to be erected on the Summit of Mt. Washington, it should be built in connection with the House, now about to be commenced, and both constructed in the most dur- able and permanent manner, not only to resist the force of the elements, but also, for the safety and comfort of those whom it may be necessary to station there during the winter season, for scientific observations, and who will be wholly inaccessible to those below, for at least five consecutive months. 10th. The proposition to the United States Govern- ment will embrace all the advantages of furnishing an ex- cellent road for its use, and keeping the same in repair, erecting a tower for scientific observations, with movable dome, and with a centre isolated pilUr, on which to MOUNT WASHINGTON. place instruments, Avith sufficient rooms for observations, and also for the use of any scientific corps it may be necessary to place there, with appurtenances for heating the same during the winter months. These rooms, to- gether with the Observatory, to be entirely under the control of the Government^ and, if desirable, built under the inspection of scientific gentlemen to be named by the President. The following, is an extract from the Petition of the Company, which has been prepared, and which will be presented to Congress at its next session : " The President and Directors of the Mount Wash- ington Road Company, propose to the United States Government to build for the Government and for sci- entific purposes an Observatory on the top of Mount Washington, in the State of New Hampshire, in the manner following, to wit : 1st. The Observatory to be 25 feet square, w^ith walls 4 feet in thickness, and to be not less than 40 feet liigh above the top of Mount Washington. 2d. The rooms inside to be 17 feet square, or of an octagon form, and a stone pi'lar to be erected in the cen- ter from the foundatio7i to the top, eiitirely disconnected with the walls, with stone beams projecting from it in the several stories, for the reception of Transit Instru- ment. Transit Clock, Jlrttjicial Horizon, ^x. ^'c. od. The walls of the Observatory to be built of stone in the most substantial and dur'iUe manner, with a trav- erseing dome, fitted according to the most approved scientific buildings ot this character. 4th. The Observatory to be erected as a Tower to and in connection with, a large substantial stone build- ing, drawings and plan of which are herewith submitted to be three stories high, with flat roof, and calculated to accommodate 200 visitors during the summer months. ROAD COMPANY, 6th. The " Mount Washington Road Company," un- der their charter of incorporation, a cop;>^ of whicli is herewith submitted, are buihiing a substantial Carriage Road from the base to the top of Mt. VVasington -with an average grade not exceeding one foot in nine, and eight miles long, to be completed before July, 1856. 6th. The Company will place this road at tlie ser- vice of the U. S. Government and will transport all m- struments^ furniture^ and pei'sons belonging to or con- nected with the Government Observatory, over the same jfree of charges of any kind^ at all times when the said road shall not be rendered impassable by the elements. Tth. The Mt. Washington Road Company will erect a substantial line of Telegraph wires from the top of Mt. Washington, to connect with the line ah^eady in opera- tion along the line of the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad, which is distant only eight miles from the base of the mountain, and which Telegraph line connects at Portland (Maine,) with the lines extending to New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, Cincinnati, and oth- er portions af the Uniten States, 8th. To facilitate the continuation of scientific obser- vations during the entire year on the top of Mt. Wash- ington, The Mt. Washington Road Company will place at the disposal of the U. S. Government, such portions of the building as shall be necessary for the accomodation of those who may be in the employment of the Govern- ment, or of any Scientific Society approved by Govern- ment, icithout chaage, and will transport at their own cost, over their road, all fuel, provisions, &c, for the support and convenience of such persons. 9th. To enable the Mt. Washington Road Company, to build this National Observatory for the Government, in the manner stated above, and in accordance with plans of the same herewith submitted, and fur the furnishing a Carriage Road, Telegraph communication, and all tlie facilities above stated for the use of the United State^ 10 MOUNT WASHINGTON Government, and the cause of Science throughout the Avorld, they ask in consideration an appropriatic-n of §100.000 to be expended under a joint commission of two persons, the one to be named by the Government, and the other to be the President of the Mt. Washing- ton Road Company !' The Charter of the Mt. Washington Road Company, authorizes them to continue their road over the summit of Mt. Washington and down to the County road on the opposite side. All the surveys for this continuation have been made during the past season^ and the maps and profiles are now being prepared. The number of annual visitors to the White Moun- tains, has been on the increase for the last twenty years, and during the past summer, Avas over 20,000. To ac- commodate this travel, there are now ten Hotels in the vicinity of Mt. Washington, which have been erected as Summer houses, and although most of them are large j they w^ere found entirely inadequate to accommodate the wants of vistiors during the months of July and August. It has been ascertained by experience and observation of those persons, who are recovering from protracted ill- ness -those wdiose mental and physical energies have been prostrated by continued exertions, and those who have suffered by a long residence at the South, that a visit to the White Mountains almost immediately restores health and vigor to mind and body. These facts are not of re- cent or sudden development, but have been gradually elicited by years of experience, and the result is, that many of our most eminent physicians recommend a visit to the White Mountains, 9S an almost certain cure to CARRIAGE ROAD. H their convalescing patients. The sensation of lightness and exhileration, and of strength and vigor experienced bj all those who ascend Mt. Washington, seems to look to a cause greater than tlie purity of the air and water. May not the following letter from Prof. Johnston of the Wesley an University of Middletown Conn., throw some light upon this subject : — MiuuLETowN, Ct , Nov. lOth, 1855. My Dear Sir; — You request an e.stimat€ of the difference of the average pressure of the atmosphere, upon the whole surface of the human system, at tlie Glen House and the Summit of Mt. Washington, and also at the level of the Sea aid the >uinmit of the same mountain, Dr. Lardner, (Handbook of Hydrostatics, &.c., Khiladelphia, 1851, page 7v!,) estimates (he whole surface of a full grown person of medi- um size at 2000 square inches, which, considering the ordinary pressure of the atmosphere at sea- level to be 15 pouids to the square inch* gives 30,000 pounds, as the whole pressure of the atmosphere upon the system. We will assume this to be correct, and suppose further, that at the same time, the mercury in the barometer would stand at 30 inches. Now, other things being equal, the whole pressure upon the s}stem at different stations, or at the same static n at different times, will af*- ways be exactly proportional to the height of the mercury in the ba- rometer, at these times. Dr (.'harles T. Jackson, found the barometer to stand, on the Summit of Mt. Washington, August 21st and 22d, 1840, at 24.301 inches (average of fourteen observatiors) and about the same time it stood at the base (Cravvfords) at 28.23G inches. At Portsmouth the same day, 38 feet pbove tide-water, it stood a little above 30 inches. (Final Report on the Geology and Mineralogy of New Nampsbire, pages 287, 288 and 300.) From these data we have the foilowirg reeults, viz : Pressure upon the system at Sea level 30,000 pounds, or 15 tons. Do- do. al Crawford's 2^^.236 " Do. do. at Summit, 24.301 " 12> MOUNT WASHINGTON Difference, of pressure between sea- level and Crawford's, 1764 lbs Do. do- sea-level and Summit, 5699 '' Do. do. Crawford's and Summit, 3935 *• I have no data from which to estimate the pressure at the Glen House, but I suppose it would be very nearly the same as Crawford's. Rispectfully Yours, JOHN .JOHNSTON, p. 0. i..^ACOMBER, Esq. President Mount. Washington Road Co. All who visit the White Mountains are desirous of as- cending Mt. Washington, and, it is believed, wiU do so, when the road is completed, and they can ascend with ease, safety and comfort. Mt. Washington has ever been considered as an object of national interest. The seekers of health and pleasure, or relaxation from busi- ness, from every part of the Union, and from Canada, and the Provinces meet and mingle here in quiet enjoy- ment. There is every reason to believe that this will continue and increase so long as the summer solstice brings its burning heat, and man prefers the health-giv- ing breeze of the mountain to the sultry, sickly air of the city and town. New Hampshire, Dec. 1st, 1855. I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 013 984 820 2 % ^v