Winchester & Potomac RR Work has Begun

OUR IMPROVEMENTS
The Winchester and Potomac rail road is now successfully begun. The corps of engineers returned to this town, from Harpers-Ferry, on Saturday last, having completed the experimental lines preparatory to the final location of the road. We are informed that one mile of the distance, as laid down in the former surveys, has been saved, leaving the whole distance of the road from this place to Harpers-Ferry, thirty-one miles– the distance by the ordinary road is about thirty miles, so that not more than one mile is added in the selection of the best ground for the location of the rail road. This is encouraging, when we remember that the distance by the turnpike from Baltimore to Fredericktown is forty-five miles, and that distance is necessarily increased to upwards of sixty miles on their rail road. The route is also much improved from that contemplated by the original surveys– the engineers, in their location, having departed from the former line in various places, and in some instances to the distance of a mile. The road can be constructed so as to admit the use of locomotives, and the board look to that as the only mode of transportation. The contracts for the actual construction of the road will be put out at an early day; indeed, there are contractors now in town, waiting to take up the work with spirit at once. The fact that the contracts are in demand by those who have had experience in constructing other rail roads, is pretty strong evidence that there is no serious difficulty to be encountered on the route.

On this day or to-morrow, the President of the Baltimore and Ohio rail road company, and some of the directors; are expected to arrive in town. We hope that this visit may promote the interest of both companies.

Our western improvement, also– the Winchester and Parkersburg road– is rapidly “being made.” The enterprising and industrious contractors, Messrs. Brannan, have completed three miles from this town, and are now at work on the fourth. The whole road to Clarksburg is under contract, as we understand, and being distributed to various contractors, it will soon be completed, so that our communication with the Ohio river will, no doubt, be perfected probably sooner than the rail road from this to Harpers-Ferry.
[Winchester Virginian, June 19.