Chapter II: Part 2

Deerfield Dam, $244,912 29
Buildings East End, $31,688 99
Buildings West End and West Shaft, 40,010 13
Buildings Central Shaft, 12,026 83
Buildings General Account, 9,637 37
---------- 93,263 32
Machinery East End, $87,032 38
Machinery West End, 539 89
Machinery West Shaft, 57,111 73
Machinery Central Shaft, 51,364 01
Machinery Deerfield Dam, 10,820 93
Machinery General Account, 62,600 76
---------- 269,469 70
Land Damages and Land, 17,513 21
Engineering and Superintendence, 84,840 48
-----------
Total outside expenditures, $709,999 00

_Inside Expenditures._

East End Heading, $103,731 45
East End Enlargement, 17,559 46
East End Bottom, 80,317 10
-----------
$201,608 01
Central Shaft, 144,423 75
West Shaft Headings, &c., 179,041 69
West End approach cut, drifting
and arching, 247,900 75
Total inside expenditures, ---------- 772,974 20
-------------
Total expenditures to November 1, 1866, $1,482,973 20

The exact correctness of any classification of the expenditures is not very important, inasmuch as the sum total is chargeable to the construction of the tunnel; but the Committee do not see the propriety of charging the engineering and superintendence exclusively to the outside expenditure. They have seen a classification which gave,--

Amount put into buildings machinery, &c., $673,531 24
Spent in the work, 809,441 96
-------------
Total, $1,482,973 20

GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE FORCE EMPLOYED ON THE TUNNEL,

November 1, 1866.

Thomas Doane, Chief Engineer, salary, $3,600 00
He providing his horses.

Paul Hill, Superintendent of Labor, 3,000 00
His horse furnished to him.

_In the Chief Engineer's Office._

H. G. Burgess, Master Mechanic, soon to leave, $1,800 00
John Christiansen, Mechanical Draftsman, 1,500 00
Austin Bond, Clerk, &c., 1,500 00
Edward Stowell, temporarily engaged in making fuse, 1,000 00
Roswell Houghton, hostler in village, $2.00 per day.
Charles P. Bradley, hostler at T. Doane's house, $18 per month.
Roger Tappan office boy and rod-man for Mr. Granger, $1.50
per day.
_West End._--Wages from $1.25 to $3 per day, 5
_Brick-Yard._--Wages from $2 to $5.89 per day, 13
_New Shaft._--Wages from $1.78 to $3 per day, 31
_West Shaft._--Wages from $1.50 to $3.50 per day, 102
W. P. Granger, civil engineer, is resident in charge of
West Shaft, New Shaft and West End. Salary $1,350, 1
_Central Shaft._--Wages from $1.50 to $5, 83
This number includes the time-keeper and H. G.
Coolidge, resident engineer.
_East End._--Wages from $1.50 to $:1.25, 115
F. W. D. Holbrook, resident engineer, in charge at a
Salary of $1,350, 1
Add force in general charge and not confined to any
particular point, 8
----
Total in the employ of the State, 359
Add at the West End in Mr. Farren's employ, about 100
----
Total employed upon the tunnel, 459

EXPERIMENTS.

The interest awakened by the magnitude of the undertaking to tunnel the Hoosac Mountain, and the anxiety manifested for its early completion, prompted the commissioners to the discovery of means to accelerate the progress of the work. Their attention was naturally directed to the operation of drilling, and with a view of improving upon the machine drill used at Mont Cenis; scientific mechanics have been employed to devise and construct a drill that should attain that end.

As a first step Gouch's patent of the hollow piston-rod, was purchased for New England, for the sum of five hundred dollars. After which, a Mr. Gardner was employed to construct a drill; but his efforts failed of success after an expenditure of thirteen hundred dollars. A Mr. Butler was engaged to devise a machine, but in the course of studying the subject, his health failed and his services were lost.

A Mr. Hanson completed a machine which promised some success; but on trial it proved a failure.

A second machine called the Brooks, Burleigh and Gates drill, was made under the direction of the commissioners at Fitchburg. This machine was put upon the works and used for several months.

A third machine, called the Burleigh drill, an improvement upon the preceding one, was next produced, which is now at the works on the East Heading.

About $13,000 was spent upon these experiments, resulting in the construction of the Brooks, Burleigh and Gates drill, and the manufacture of four of them. About one-half of this expenditure may be charged to these last drills; the other was unproductive of anything of value.

The Brooks, Burleigh and Gates drill was patented, but the Commonwealth has the right to use them in the construction of the tunnel.

These machines will now be described.

THE HANSON MACHINE.

This machine has a cylinder and valve motion, similar to a steam-engine. The piston is hollow, the drill-bar which may be of any required length, passing through it, is moved with the piston, by means of four wedges or cams on each end of the piston; these cams are pressed on the drill-bar by means of sliding collars forced upon them by a complex arrangement operating alternately. The drill-bar is rotated by means of a ratchet operated by a spiral groove in the shield of the machine. The main difficulty in this machine was in the complex arrangement for forcing the collars upon the cams or wedges. It did not work well in a horizontal position. The machine consisted of one hundred and twenty pieces, and weighed five hundred and ninety-five pounds.

THE BROOKS, BURLEIGH AND GATES MACHINE.

This machine has a hollow piston, the drill-holder being a screw passing through the piston, moving with it, and fed through it, by means of a nut on the end of the piston-rod. This nut is held by means of a cap or union nut, as it is called, the union nut being screwed on to the coupling, and the coupling nut screwed to the piston-rod. The feed-nut protrudes through the union nut, and is allowed to turn round in it. On the end of this feed-nut is a ratchet gear covered by a ratchet-band with an arm upon it, all moving with the piston. The ratchet arm moves up and down in a spiral groove, the groove being in a shield attached by screws to the cylinder; on the ratchet-band there is a pall and two springs, one under the other. One of the springs holds the pall in gear, the other holds it out of gear. As the piston moves down, the outer spring comes in contact with a trip which is on the shield and is lifted up, allowing the under spring to throw the pall into the ratchet, and as the piston is moved back, turns the nut round, thereby feeding the screw forward. At the extremity of its backward stroke, the pall comes in contact with another trip on the shield which lifts it out of gear, the outer spring having a catch upon it which holds the pall when thus lifted out. The rotary motion is given by a ratchet on the coupling-nut, covered by a ratchet-band the arm of which moves in a spiral groove in the shield similar to the other, only having a spring to hold the pall in the ratchet; this rotates all the parts on the piston except the ratchet-bands and cross-head. The latter is held between two check-nuts on the coupling-nut. To this cross-head is attached a bar which communicates with a valve which opens the port when the piston moves back, and shuts it when it moves forward; the air is always on during its backward stroke. The piston having a greater area on the forward than on the backward stroke, overcomes the backward pressure and moves the piston ahead, and when cut off, the continued pressure forces the piston back.

This machine is automatic; generally running until some portion of it is destroyed. No part of the machine has been found strong enough to withstand the friction upon it for any considerable portion of time. The union nut has proved its weakest point, and the breaking of this generally destroys that part of the piston to which it is attached. Another point of weakness is the feed ratchet-band, the springs of which are almost continually breaking.

The machine consists of eighty pieces; twenty-three of which are screws, fifteen pins, and seven pieces of cast iron. It weighs 240 pounds, runs about 200 strokes per minute, and costs about $400. Its longest run without breaking has been five days. The run of one of them two days without breaking during the time, is considered fortunate. The average breaking is more than one a day. A table showing the list of breakages will follow this description.

The piston-head of this machine has a diameter of 4-5/8 inches. The diameter of the piston-rod is 4 inches at the large end and 2-1/4 at the small end.

So there are 12-87/100 square inches of air area to drive the drill ahead into the rock, and 4-23/100 to draw it out; but as the air is not taken off from the front end, the actual pressure is upon an area of the difference between the two, or 8-64/100 square inches.

Table showing Number of Drilling-Machines Broken, &c.

Column Headers
A. No. Machines Broken.
B. Cross Heads
C. Cylinder Flanges.
D. Coupling Nuts.
E. Feed Springs.
F. Feed Palls.
G. Ratchet Covers.
H. Valve Stems.
I. New Packing.
J. Tapper Bars.
K. Screw Spindles.
L. Union Coupling Nuts.
M. Feed Nuts.
N. Shields.
O. Piston Heads.

======================================================================
1866. [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
July 21, 32 5 2 4 3 2 2 1 10 7 - - - - -
31, 67 7 2 1 10 4 5 2 18 14 2 3 - - -
Aug. 7, 75 4 1 - 18 15 8 4 39 6 4 - - - -
14, 76 6 - 5 25 17 11 3 - 10 1 6 1 1 -
21, 65 7 1 3 28 15 13 7 - 12 - 1 2 - -
31, 102 1 1 9 64 7 18 2 - 10 2 4 5 1 -
Sept. 7, 65 1 1 - 27 4 24 - - 5 2 1 1 - -
14, 60 2 5 - 23 2 12 2 - 10 - 3 2 1 1
21, 56 1 1 1 28 6 13 - - 3 - 1 2 2 -
30, 56 3 2 1 31 3 16 2 - 4 - 1 9 1 -
Oct. 7, 54 7 - - 39 2 7 1 - 9 3 - 1 2 -
14, 53 5 1 2 28 5 10 1 - 9 1 4 6 2 -
21, 58 3 - - 28 4 13 - - 9 3 - 4 2 -
31, 77 7 1 2 63 4 11 2 - 12 1 2 6 2 -
Nov. 7, 38 2 - 2 19 3 13 - - 8 2 - 3 4 -
14, 40 1 1 - 17 2 9 - - 8 3 2 4 - -
21, 44 - 1 - 32 1 4 - - 7 - 1 1 1 -
31, 66 - - - 34 2 11 - 13 8 1 1 - 1 -
--------------------------------------------------------------
1,084 62 20 30 517 98 200 27 80 151 25 30 47 20 1
======================================================================

About forty of the Brooks, Burleigh and Gates machines have been used at the tunnel; of these eight or ten were originally vertical, and intended for use at the Central Shaft. At the commencement of their use, the machines were new and had their best wear in them; there were from twenty to twenty-four at the beginning. In a short time they began to break down, but by putting on a large repair force and converting the vertical machines into horizontal ones, a fair supply was kept up for from two to three months, at the end of which time the greatest machine progress was attained, viz., fifty-four feet and six inches, in September. After that the progress diminished very much, and in proportion to the giving out of the machines. It is the opinion of the engineer that if a constant supply of machines could have been furnished, that the progress would have reached a point much beyond that obtained by hand labor; but with the stoppage of the supply, the number of machines that could be kept in working order was daily reduced, and at last it fell down to two or three, and finally, at times, none were in condition to work. The frames were, however, kept in the tunnel to await the completion of the Burleigh machine, the reception of which was retarded till late in October; much beyond the time anticipated by the commissioners, although the work of their construction was carried on continuously night and day. They came at intervals of several weeks, two at a time; the first of which were put into the tunnel on the thirty-first day of October. Through the month of December, four of these machines were at work.

THE BURLEIGH MACHINE.

Has a solid piston (so called,) which has a hole in its back end to allow the feed-screw to pass in without touching; the drill is secured to this piston. On the back end of the piston is a section of a ball used as a cam, which works the valve and the feed-motion. The valve is rotated by a rod lying on the band of the cylinder; upon this rod are two cams which perforate the band of the cylinder. The action of the piston brings the ball on its end in contact with these cams, rocking them up and down; the rod to which they are secured being connected with the valve, imparts to that its motion. This machine is fed altogether on ways, or a bed-piece, upon which is the feed-screw; the feed-nut is upon the end of the cylinder-band. To this feed-nut is attached a feed-ratchet, which is held between two collars, allowing it to turn round. Upon the cylinder-band is a lever, one end of which passes through the band; upon the other end is a pall. The motion of the piston raises the lever up, pressing the end containing the pall against the ratchet which turns the nut on the feed-screw, thus moving the machine forward. The rotating ratchet is in the band of the cylinder and has a spline in it, and a pall on its outside. The piston having a spiral groove is turned by this ratchet as it moves down. On the return of the piston, the pall drops into the ratchet and then the piston is turned. The piston is not encumbered with any machinery, and moves alone; its area of air is greater on the forward than on the backward stroke; the alternation of the valve admits the air. The machine, like the one last described, contains eighty pieces; it has the same number of screws and pins, and weighs 372 pounds including the ways or bed-piece; without the ways its weight is 212 pounds. Its number of strokes is about 300 per minute, and its blow somewhat lighter than that of the other. This machine is not entirely automatic; the feed-motion not working regular; when it does not, it is fed by hand, which is a simple process.

These machines stand the work much better than those first made at Fitchburg. Their average time in the tunnel without repairs in the interval, is about five days; they have needed repairs in two days; one remained at work fourteen days. They accomplish double the work without repairs that those do which were made after the previous pattern. There is a further advantage in using the Burleigh machines; their breaking, when it occurs, is not very serious, the injured parts consisting mainly of cams, can generally be replaced at the tunnel; whereas for the repairs on the Brooks, Burleigh and Gates machine, the dependence to a very great extent has been upon the machine shop at Fitchburg.

The piston-head of this machine has a diameter of 4-25/100 inches. The diameter of the piston-rod is at the large end, 3 inches, at the small end, 2-75/100 inches.

So the number of inches of air area, is 8-20/800 when the drill is propelled upon the rock, and 7-7/100 when returning from it.

A full complement of men to work the machines first used, would be, perhaps, thirteen. Mr. Gates, who superintended their operation in the first instance, began with fourteen, but they were reduced to thirteen. The Burleigh machine practically requires feeding, and a full set at work would probably demand fifteen men for their successful operation.

The value of these machines has not yet been ascertained. The Committee are of opinion that when a full complement shall have been obtained, so that the workmen can have at all times a full supply upon the frames, that greater progress can be obtained by them than by hand drilling; and after a few months operation, the cost of using them, in comparison with hand labor, can be fairly tested. But as the Brooks, Burleigh and Gates machine has been abandoned, no useful results would be obtained by comparing the expenses within the tunnel during the months of July, August and September, with three corresponding months when hand drilling was carried on, and no satisfactory comparison can be made between the working of the Burleigh machine and hand drilling, until a sufficient number of machines has been introduced into the tunnel to keep the men fully employed. It is to be hoped that machines sufficient to make the test may be soon obtained, and that this desirable information may be made known.

The introduction of the first machine into the tunnel, before its capacity, strength, and expense of working had been fully tested, was unfortunate, inasmuch as its use there delayed the progress of the work. The second machine gives such promise of success, that it will be continued in use in the tunnel until a fair test has been made. But should the Burleigh machine prove unsuccessful, and further attempts with machines be attempted, the Committee recommend that their usefulness be tested outside of the tunnel, and meanwhile the excavation with hand drills be resumed.

EXPERIMENTS WITH DR. EHRHARDT'S POWDER.

The first blast was fired in the tunnel at the East End on the 20th of November, but owing to the presence of charcoal or some other substance in the article, a poisonous gas was evolved which effected the miners disagreeably, and drove them from the work. The subsequent experiments at this point were not satisfactory, and were discontinued, and subsequently resumed at the Central Shaft, where it was used most of the time for a week, varying its composition from time to time. At the close of the week, while preparing for the last blast, a premature explosion took place, resulting in the death of one of the miners, and the injury of three or four others.

The material result of this experiment was as follows:--With 261 days' work and 139-1/2 lbs. of powder, 202 buckets of stone were removed; while in the preceding week, using common powder (schaghticoke) with 251-3/4 days' labor and 236 lbs. of powder, 168 buckets of stone were taken out. The cost of the experimental powder is about twice as expensive as the common powder, and its superior strength is apparent from the above result.

EXPERIMENTS WITH NITRO-GLYCERINE.

During the summer, some experiments have been made with this explosive agent. A quantity, costing $934.29, was brought to the works by Colonel Schaffner, who exhibited the action of the material in various ways, with a view of testing its power, and the comparative safety of introducing it instead of powder. After repeated trials outside of the works, during which about three-fifths of the material was consumed, it was introduced into the tunnel at the West Shaft with the following result: It was used for three days at the East heading of the West Shaft; the advance made in the heading was for the time, 14-1/2 feet;--being an advance of 4.82 feet per day, and at the rate of 125.33 feet per month.

In these three days there were taken out of the enlargement
151.76 yards of stone. To remove this quantity
with powder would cost, on an average, per yard, $9 84
Actual cost with glycerine, 6 20
-----
Difference, $3 64

Multiplied by 151.76, gives. $552 40
In the same time there was removed of heading
60.15 yards.
To remove an equal amount by powder
costs, per yard, $16 25
Actual cost with glycerine, per yard, 6 05
------
Difference, $10 20
$10.20 multiplied by 60.15, gives 613 53
--------
$1,165 93
Cost of the glycerine used during the three days,
being 2/5 of $934.29, 350 36
--------
Saved, by using glycerine, in three days, $815 57

Which is a saving by the use of glycerine, per day,
of $276 85.4
and allowing three hundred successful working
days in the year, an annual saving of $81,557 40

The progress made at the West Shaft on the East heading the present year, ending December 31, 1866, is 626 feet and 8 inches. This progress was somewhat lessened by the influx of water in December. The monthly advance has been 52 feet and 2 inches. The average of the eleven months ending with November is 53 feet and 6 inches. Assuming the progress made with glycerine during the three days of its use to be obtainable throughout the year, the monthly progress, using that material, would be 120 feet and 10 inches, on a calculation of twenty-five days to a month, which would give an annual advance of 1,450 feet.

Without vouching for results so favorable to the progress of the work, it is impossible to overlook the importance of the experiment; and the Committee are of opinion that this material, if it can be procured, should be introduced into the tunnel and shafts, and a thorough experiment made, in order to determine whether it can be used with an advantage even approximating to that shown by the first trial.

Experience has proved that the rock at the Hoosac Mountain is of a peculiar character: comparatively easy to drill, but extremely hard to displace, and that its advantageous excavation requires a strong explosive agent. The difference in the use of weak and strong powder is at once observed, and the effect of simultaneous blasting, by the aid of electricity, is proved by the increased progress of the work since it has been used. It would seem evident, then, without the aid of experiment, that an explosive agent, possessing eight times the power of common powder, would be a valuable auxiliary to this undertaking; and that if such an one could be obtained, and safely used, no time should be lost in procuring a supply.

The use of nitro-glycerine in England is not uncommon; its components are well known; and the Committee are informed that it might be advantageously manufactured at any point where it is used.

ELECTRICAL FIRING.

The experiment of simultaneous blasting by electricity has been made with admitted success. The increased progress in the Central Shaft from an average of about 18-1/2 to 23 feet per month, demonstrates its utility, and will undoubtedly insure the continuance of that mode of firing in preference to the method formerly practised.

THE TROY AND GREENFIELD RAILROAD.

The completion of the railroad from Greenfield to the tunnel has been contracted for with B. N. Farren, for the sum of $545,000, exclusive of the cost of depot buildings, turn-tables, and engineering expenses. The road to be opened for travel to Shelburne Falls by the 15th of November, 1867, and to the tunnel by the 15th of July, 1868. A lease of the same has been executed to the Fitchburg and the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad Companies, at a rent of $30,000 per year, to expire on the completion of the tunnel, or whenever the work on the same shall be stopped, by competent authority.

Mr. Farren commenced work under his contract about the 20th of October. At this time there were about four miles of track,--exclusive of that which had to be removed with the trestle-bridges,--built by Mr. Haupt. Some portions of the track were in fair condition; but the larger part of it must be relaid. Many of the ties are of hemlock; they are all decayed and must be removed, and new ones substituted. None of the bridges were strong enough to be used, and the timber of which they were constructed is too much decayed to be used for building purposes: There is on hand in addition to the track laid, chairs, or connecting joints, sufficient to lay five miles of rails; also about ten thousand chestnut ties. Such of these as had been properly piled are sound. Many of them, however, are so much decayed, as to be unfit for use.

The road-bed has in many places been injured by rain and frost. At exposed points near the river, it is entirely destroyed. Comparatively speaking, there was little masonry on the line. With the exception of one pier, the bridge masonry at Green River will be taken down. All the deep ravines were crossed by trestle work, and consequently there were but few culverts. Of these some small ones are still standing in good condition. Of the bank wall built, about one-half remains,--the remainder has either fallen down, or will be taken down and rebuilt.

Very little alteration will be made in the general location of the line or its gradients. The curvature will be very much modified and improved. Some sharp and reversed curves will be entirely saved by the substitution of straight lines. Others, where the expense of reduction is not very heavy, will be materially changed. The alterations below Shelburne Falls are substantially as follows:--

A straight line substituted for one 2°, one 4° and one 6° curve.
One 2° curve substituted for one 4° curve.
Four 4° " " " four 6° "
One 3° " " " one 6° "
Three 3° " " " three 6° "
Five 5° 30' " " " five 6° "
One 3° 30' " " " two 6° "
One 4° and two 2° curve substituted for three 6° curve,
saving 45° and 60 feet.
One 5° 40' curve substituted for one 7° curve.
One 6° " " " one 7° "
Three 7° " " " three 8° "
One 5° " " " two 5° and one 6° curve.
Two 3° " " " two 6° curve,
saving 30° and 40 feet.

The same plan for improving the line above the falls will be pursued, so that when completed, the road combining the alignment with the gradients will, in the judgment of the engineer, be "superior for doing economically a heavy traffic, to any railroad in New England which runs east and west."

At Green River there will be substituted for Mr. Haupt's bridge of 700 feet built on a curved line one of 470 feet, to be constructed on a straight line. The remainder of the ravine to be made a solid embankment. All the bridges on the line are to be "Howe's Truss," and equal in strength and durability to any in New England.

The trestle-work has been removed, and the ravines where it was placed are being filled with substantial masonry and solid embankments.

On the first day of November Mr. Farren had about fifty men employed; on the first day of December, two hundred and seventy-five, and on the 14th of December, when one of the Committee visited the line, he had over three hundred.

About one-third of the masonry for Green River bridge has been built, and the stone is quarried for the other bridges. Nearly one thousand yards of culvert masonry and three hundred yards of bank wall have been constructed, and from forty to fifty thousand yards of earth removed.

The timber for Green River bridge is sawed and will be framed in January. The material for all the bridges below Shelburne Falls has been contracted for, to be delivered early in the spring. Twenty thousand ties have been purchased, together with posts and boards for fences. The work at the rock-cut near Shelburne Falls will be commenced in the month of January.

On the line below Shelburne Falls, there will remain in the road, the following sharp curves, to wit: In the track as laid and not disturbed, four of six degrees, and in the remainder of the line, six of six degrees, three of seven, and two of eight. One of the eight degree curves, is through a long heavy cut, and cannot be reduced without great expense. The other is near the Deerfield River crossing, where all trains will be required to run slow. It cannot be avoided without a tunnel or a curve over the entire bridge. The three seven degree curves occur in heavy rock-cuttings, and these are all the sharp curves that are contained in a space of thirteen miles.

Above Shelburne Falls the alignment and grades are more favorable. From the tunnel to the Deerfield River crossing, below Shelburne Falls, a distance of twenty-two miles, there is but one ascending grade going east; its location is about two miles west of the falls; it is one-half mile in length, and is thirty-five feet to the mile. Within the same space going east, there are the following descending grades, to wit: One of forty-five feet per mile for 2,000 feet, one of forty feet for 6,000 feet, one of twenty-eight feet for 2,500 feet, and one, near the village of Shelburne Falls, of fifty feet per mile for 5,300 feet. The remaining grades are from five to twenty feet per mile.

The sharp curves remaining after the proposed improvements will be as follows, to wit: Near the depot grounds at Shelburne, and running through the village, there is necessarily one eight degree curve, and on the seventeen miles between the falls and the tunnel, there occur thirteen six degree curves. A slight change in laying the track will increase the radius of these curves to 1,000 feet. This in some cases can be done.

The county commissioners have been called out and have made an adjudication in regard to the public crossings and alterations of highways between Greenfield and Shelburne Falls.

The whole work below the falls is under good progress, and is being prosecuted with great vigor. The laying of the track can be commenced as early in the spring as the season will admit, and its extension to Shelburne Falls, may, in the opinion of the engineer, be expected early in October.

It appears from the foregoing, that of the work now in progress on the road and tunnel, their is performed by contract,--the construction of the railroad from Greenfield to the East End of the tunnel; the enlargements east and west in the tunnel at the West Shaft; the excavation of the New Shaft; and the arch masonry and excavation at the West End; while the work at the East End, at the Central Shaft, the heading and lifting at the West Shaft, the lifting at the New Shaft, and the work at the brickyard has been performed by the State. No criterion has been afforded enabling the Committee to determine upon the comparative economy of the different modes of operation.

The commissioners in their able report in 1863, speaking of the manner of constructing the tunnel, say: "It would not be wise nor according to any precedent for the State to expect to get the work done at the contract price if it should turn out to cost more. It would certainly get no abatement if the price was found to be exorbitant. We are clearly of the opinion that it should not be constructed by contract, excepting in so far as parts of the work may be in detail to the men actually at work upon it, and even such contracts should' not be permanent in their character." That the commissioners in April last entertained the idea of inaugurating and continuing the contract system so far as the same should prove economical for the State, satisfactorily appears in the following letter:

BOSTON April 25, 1866.

Hon. TAPPAN WENTWORTH, _Chairman of Hoosac Tunnel and Troy
and Greenfield Railroad Committee._

DEAR SIR:--Hearing that questions have arisen in regard to the propriety of contracting the work upon the Hoosac Tunnel, it may not be improper for me to say that that subject (contemplated in the Act of 1863,) has for a long time engaged the serious attention of the commissioners, who have already a contract for constructing a portion of the West End, before the governor and council, awaiting their approval under section 3 of chapter 214 of the Acts of 1863.

When the economic value of their new facilities shall be demonstrated, they expect further to avail of this system 80 far as the interest of the State (as represented by the rapid, economical and certain progress of the work,) shall warrant.

While the high prices now prevailing will probably render the letting of large jobs at this time injudicious, they are not of short contracts, or of letting portions of the work to the miners by the piece.

Very truly yours, J. W. BROOKS, _Chairman_.

The Committee coincide with the views of the commissioners. And the justness of their remarks, that the State must not expect to have the work done at less than its cost, is borne out by the operations under the contract for the West End enlargement, where the State has increased the contract from four to seven dollars and fifty cents a perch, in order to insure the miners a compensation for their labor.

It may be proper to state in this connection, that the labor done upon the road and tunnel by early contractors, has not tended to a "rapid, economical and certain progress of the work," and that if even the whole work should be put under contract, the interest of the Commonwealth would require the continuance of a commission, and the services of an engineer of the highest skill and integrity to superintend its performance in order to avoid a loss and damage similar to that which occurred to the State while the work was under the nominal control of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad corporation.

The retirement of all the gentlemen who comprised the board of commissioners, first appointed under the legislation of 1862, affords the Committee an opportunity to acknowledge the eminent talent and ability which they respectively possessed for the discharge of the important duties assigned to them, and to bear testimony to the industry and intelligence displayed in their elaborate and comprehensive report upon the subject of the railroad and tunnel in 1863. It was fortunate for the State in that crisis in the affairs of this enterprise to be able to command so much practical information upon a question so interesting and important, and at the same time so difficult of solution.

But in addition to the duty of furnishing an opinion of the feasibility and mode of constructing the tunnel, and of the propriety of opening this line of railway communication with the West, the commission was instituted to carry on and superintend a most important and difficult public work, involving the expenditure of several million dollars. Yet each of the gentlemen composing the board was engaged in other duties requiring substantially their whole time and attention. Under these circumstances their personal observance of the progress of the work could not be given to a degree satisfactory to the public, or essential to the interests of the State, and the responsibility of the operations came to devolve upon the engineer at the works, and the chairman of the commissioners in Boston. These irksome labors were discharged with diligent faithfulness, and as the event has proved with a physical suffering to one of them that has called forth a general expression of regret and sorrow.

By chapter 214 of the Acts of 1863, the governor is authorized to draw his warrant on the treasurer for such sums as may be required, from time to time, by the commissioners, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of law for the completion of the tunnel and railroad. The commissioners under this enactment have made monthly requisitions upon the governor, transmitting at the same time vouchers for the expenses of the preceding month; and upon this information and requisition the warrants have been drawn. By the 293 chapter of the Acts of 1866, a general supervision of the work is vested in the governor and council, with power to "correct abuses, remedy defects, and impose and enforce requirements in such manner as the interests of the Commonwealth shall, in their judgment, require." As the commissioners exercise a delegated power, there would have been a manifest propriety in requiring of them, from time to time, a report upon the progress of the work, and of their own doings even under the Act 1863, so that the governor might have been more fully provided with information touching the necessity of the requisitions. But under the Act of 1866, it appears essential that the commissioners should report monthly to the governor and council the general plan of operations pursued, the progress of the work, and the manner and extent of their own superintendence of the same.

The Committee are therefore of opinion that the commission should be reorganized in such manner that the State could command the whole time of its members: that a greater degree of personal attention should be given by them to the work than it has heretofore received: that the commissioners should keep minutes of their doings which shall be open to the inspection of the governor and council, and the appropriate legislative committee: that their monthly communications to the governor and council should embrace, in addition to the past, and the requisition for the current month, a report of the operations, the progress of the work during the previous, month, and the manner and extent of their own superintendence of the same.

The Committee are also of opinion that a due regard to economy in conducting the enterprise requires that the commissioners should at once, by experiment, ascertain the probable time required to excavate the enlargement of the tunnel, and that the work upon the enlargement be regulated and pursued with a view of avoiding any unnecessary delay in operating the road after the heading is removed.

* * * * *

In concluding this Report, the Committee cannot forbear to express their obligations to Mr. Doane, the engineer in charge of the work, for the assistance rendered by him in aid of their labors, nor withhold their approbation of the faithful and able manner in which he has discharged the duties of his office, so far as they have come under their observation. The Committee are indebted to Mr. Hill, the superintendent of labor, for his uniform attention during their examinations, and they fully recognize his capacity for his position, and his interest in the operations. They are likewise indebted to Mr. Hall, the intelligent master of the machine shop, for very valuable information concerning his particular department. And also to Mr. Field, the able and efficient engineer of the railroad, for a very satisfactory report upon that portion of the work under his direction.

TAPPAN WENTWORTH,

----- -------,[C]
WILLIAM L. REED,
_Of the Senate._

MOSES KIMBALL,
GEORGE B. LORING,
SYLVANDER JOHNSON,
B. F. TAFT,
E. H. CHISHOLM,
SILAS JONES,
JAMES R. GLADWIN,
_Of the House._

[C] Hon. ALVAH CROCKER has not acted on the Committee since his appointment upon the commission.

APPENDIX.

[A.]

_Sketch of the Proceedings of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad
Corporation, from its organization to the surrender of the Road
under the mortgage, and the adoption of the work by the
Commonwealth._

The charter of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad, was granted in 1848, and authorized the construction of a railroad with one or more tracks, from a point on the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad, at or near Greenfield, to some point on the line of New York or Vermont, convenient to meet or connect with any railroad that may be constructed from any point at or near the city of Troy, on the Hudson River in the State of New York. Its capital stock was limited at $3,500,000.

The corporation was authorized to contract with the owners of any contiguous railroad leading into or from either of the States of Vermont or New York, for the use of the whole or any part thereof, or for the running and operating the two railroads conjointly, or for the leasing of such contiguous road, or for any other road, or for the letting or hiring of their own road to the owners of such contiguous road, or of any other road which composes a part of the railroad line between the cities of Boston and Troy, of which the Troy and Greenfield Railroad shall be a part.

The first meeting under the charter was held June I, 1848, at which subscription papers were voted to be issued and circulated, in order to organize the corporation. In 1849, March 16, the subscribers to the stock held their first meeting, and organized under the charter.

At the annual meeting, February 6, 1850, the stock was apportioned among the neighboring towns as follows:-

Ashfield, 60 shares.
Charlemont, 400 "
Colrain, 150 "
Conway, 50 "
Greenfield, 700 "
Hawley, 120 "
Heath, 120 "
Leyden, 30 "
Monroe, 50 "
Rowe, 100 "
Shelburne, 400 "
Buckland, 150 "
Florida, 120 "
Adams, 1,000 "
Williamstown, 800 "
Clarksburg, 40 "
Hancock, 50 "
Deerfield, 150 "
Bernardston, 40 "
Gill, 80 "
Whitingham, 00 "
Reedsborough, 00 "
Stansford, 00 "
0,000 shares.

It was also voted to apportion the directors among the towns in the following manner, to wit:--

North Adams, 3; Florida, Rowe, Heath and Monroe, 1; Colrain, Buckland and Hawley, 1; Shelburne, 1; Greenfield, Deerfield and Conway, 3; Williamstown and Whitingham, 2; Charlemont, 1; and one director at large.

Before the annual meeting in 1850, the directors had voted to assess three per cent. upon each share of the capital stock. This vote was passed April 11, 1849, and on the first day of October in the same year, they voted that the construction of the road from the State line at Pownal, Vermont, to Adams, and from Greenfield to Shelburne Falls, be put under contract as soon as sufficient subscription shall have been obtained therefore, and that the two ends aforesaid shall be constructed simultaneously.

1850, January 28, the treasurer had received the sum of $2,203.94, and had paid out on bills approved by the president, $2,203.57, leaving a balance in the treasury of $0.37.

Sundry assessments amounting in all to 75 per cent. upon the subscriptions, were afterwards voted, the last on the 6th of May, 1852. These assessments were rescinded by a vote passed July 23, 1858, and it also voted that the several amounts heretofore paid by individual stockholders, except on assessment laid April 11, 1849, be credited to their several accounts on assessments now or hereafter to be made.

1850, October 28, the contract with Messrs. Gilman and Carpenter, was ratified, and on the 29th, the president was authorized to execute it.

The Committee have not found this contract nor any record stating its provisions.

December 27, 1850, a committee reported that the whole amount of stock subscribed, was $250,800, of which $7,200 was payable in land damages and materials for the road; and that Messrs. Gilmore and Carpenter had subscribed for 500 shares of stock, to wit, $50,000.

On the 7th day of January, 1851, the directors voted to break ground the next day, and on the 27th of May in the same year, they voted to expend a sum not exceeding $25,000, in experiments upon the east side of the mountain, at or near the mouth of the proposed tunnel.

In 1851, the corporation petitioned the legislature for a loan of the State credit for two million dollars; but the application was unsuccessful.

The failure to secure the aid of the Commonwealth, appears not to have discouraged the corporation, for on the 7th of August, 1851, the directors voted that they would proceed forthwith from Adams to the New York line, and simultaneously incur all the necessary expenses to make thorough experiments with such machines as promise to facilitate the construction of the tunnel, and when the road is begun from Greenfield, it shall be after an arrangement is made to construct it to the foot of the mountain in Florida and connect in some way with the road at North Adams.

The Troy and Greenfield Railroad Corporation having directed its attention to a connection with the Troy and Boston Railroad Company through a portion of the State of Vermont, and a charter having been obtained from the legislature of Vermont, incorporating the Southern Vermont Railroad Company, whereby such connection could be made, a committee of the directors of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company and of the Southern Vermont Railroad Company made an agreement, subject to the modification or ratification of the stockholders of each company, "that the stock of both of said companies and their franchises from said Greenfield to the west line of Pownal, in the State of Vermont, shall become and be one joint, consolidated stock and interest, with equal and common rights and privileges to the stockholders of both companies;" it being understood that an application shall be made to the legislature of Vermont for a change of the name and style of the joint corporation mentioned in the said Act of the Vermont legislature. This report was made to the board of directors, and it was voted that the same "be accepted and adopted, recorded and placed on file." Subsequently the Southern Vermont Railroad was leased to the Troy and Greenfield Corporation on a perpetual lease for $12,000 per year; and the 21st of April, 1860, it was purchased by the Troy and Greenfield Corporation for the sum of two hundred thousand dollars, with money advanced to the last named corporation by the Commonwealth. In the report of the commissioners on the Troy and Greenfield Railroad and Hoosac Tunnel, the Southern Vermont Railroad is estimated to have cost from $110,000 to to $125,000 only.

In 1858, another application was made to the legislature for a loan, but with the same result as in 1851. In both instances, committees reported in favor of the application.

In 1854, the application was renewed, and was successful. The Act was passed on the fifth day of April, 1854. By the first section, the treasurer was authorized to issue scrip, as certificates of debt, for the sum of two million dollars, to be expressed in the currency of Great Britain or in federal currency, as the directors of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad should elect, to bear an interest of five per cent., payable semi-annually, and redeemable in thirty years, for the purpose of enabling the Troy and Greenfield Company to construct a tunnel and railroad under and through the Hoosac Mountain, in some place between the "Great Bend" in Deerfield River, in the town of Florida, at the base of Hoosac Mountain, on the east, and the base of the western side of the mountain, near the east end of the village of North Adams, on the west. The scrip was to be delivered to the treasurer of said Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company in the manner and upon the conditions following:--$100,000, when it should appear to the satisfaction of the governor and council that said company had obtained subscriptions to their capital stock in the sum of $600,000, and twenty per cent. upon each and every share of said six: hundred thousand dollars should have actually been paid in, and seven miles of their railroad and one thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel under the Hoosac, in one or more sections, of size sufficient for one or more railroad tracks, should have been completed.

$100,000, when ten miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, and ten thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections, should be completed.

$100,000, when fifteen miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, and three thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections, should be completed.

$100,000, when twenty miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, and four thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections should be completed.

$100,000, when twenty-five miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, and five thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections, should be completed.

$100,000, when thirty miles of their railroad, in one or two sections, and six thousand lineal feet of their tunnel, should be completed.

$100,000, when thirty-two miles of their railroad, in one or two sections, including all the line east of Florida, and seven thousand lineal feet of their tunnel, in one or more sections, should be completed; and for each additional portion or portions of said tunnel of fifteen hundred feet, in one or more sections, completed by said company, $100,000, subject to the condition that the last $200,000 should be reserved until said company, or their successors, should open their railroad for use from Greenfield to the line of the State in Williamstown; and subject also to the condition, that, prior to the second delivery of scrip, thirty per cent. of the same shall have been paid in cash to the treasurer of the company by the stockholders thereof, in addition to the $120,000 to be paid prior to the delivery of any scrip; and that upon each application for scrip, in pursuance of the law, and prior to the delivery thereof, thirty per cent. of the scrip then applied for shall have been paid by the stockholders to the treasurer of the company until the $600,000 subscribed for has been paid by the stockholders.

The Act further provided, that the treasurer of the company, within three months from the receipt of any scrip, should pay to the commissioners of the sinking fund created by the Act, ten per cent. on the amount of scrip so taken as a sinking fund; and after the road should be opened for use, twenty-five thousand dollars should be annually paid to said commissioners for the same purpose.

The Act further provided, that the said company should execute an assignment, as a pledge or mortgage on the railroad, with its franchise property and income, conditioned to pay the principal sum of said scrip, or so much thereof as the sinking fund should be insufficient to pay, and the interest, as the same became due; and that said company should assign all the interest it then had, or might afterwards obtain, in the Southern Vermont Railroad Company.

In 1855, the legislature authorized certain towns on the line,--to wit: Ashfield, Buckland, Conway, Colrain, Charlemont, Deerfield, Greenfield, Hawley, Heath, Rowe, Shelburne, Adams, Florida, and Williamstown,--to subscribe three per cent. on their valuation, respectively, to the capital stock. This Act was not fully complied with on the part of the towns, and $125,000 only is reported to have been realized from that source.

In 1855 a contract with E. W. Serrell to construct the work was reported to and accepted by the directors. This contract does not appear among the papers of the corporation, and its terms cannot be stated.

At the same time the capital stock of the corporation was by a vote increased to $1,500,000, and a location designated as the east line on the railroad near Cheapside was adopted. This singular resolution was also passed:--

_Resolved_, That the direction of the engineering operations within the Hoosac Tunnel after the location of the line is adopted, and plans perfected for the same, be left with the contractor, excepting the measurements for monthly and final estimates and the final acceptance of the work.

1855, July 18. Mr. Serrell having proposed to subscribe the sum of $600,000 (less the amount of the new subscription made by others,) provided the company would make such allowances as would enable him to dispose of the proposed issue of $900,000 of bonds advantageously, the directors voted to add $300,000 to the contract prices of the work, and that said $900,000 bonds as provided by the contract should be issued as soon as authorized by the stockholders, and placed in bank by the trustees to the credit of such persons as shall deposit against the same cash or railroad iron equal in value to sixty-five cents on the dollar. The said bonds to be taken by said Serrell at par and so estimated in his contract.

At this time sixteen hundred and thirty-five shares of new stock had been subscribed, amounting to $163,500.

The trustees alluded to in the foregoing vote were selected by a committee appointed for the purpose, and with power to execute to them a mortgage. They were J. V. C. Smith, Paul Adams and John G. Davis, all of Boston. The mortgage was executed, and is known in the history of the road as the "Smith mortgage." A resolution explanatory of this transaction was passed August 16, 1855, in the following words:--

"_Resolved_, That, whereas by the terms of the provisions of the resolution of July 18, 1855, by which it is provided that the bonds of the company to be issued, are to be placed in bank, &c.; therefore, as explanatory thereto, be it