From the Cortland Standard of Cortland, NY
Tuesday, November 15, 1870

   Editor Standard : - A flying visit to Norwich, Chenango County, enabled us to make some observations pleasing to ourself, and we will furnish your readers with some jottings by the way. After a morning carriage ride of some four or five miles, we found ourself at the Otselic station, on the Norwich and DeRuyter branch of the Midland railroad, waiting the arrival of the construction train to convey us to the works on Crumb Hill, about four miles west of this point. The loud, shrill whistle soon notified us that we had not long to wait. On came the train, slowly making a curve across the valley, over the trestle fifty feet high, and halted at the station.

   Here we met Messrs. Sage and Williams, the gentlemanly contractors constructing the road, who invited us to their very best accommodations, which was a seat three feet high in the engine room. From this elevation we enjoyed an outlook upon the country while the train moved on over the unballasted track to the end of the rails at Crumb Hill. From this point to DeRuyter some three to four hundred men are now employed in excavating, building trestles, laying rails and ballasting the road. To one inexperienced in such business it is really marvelous to see the vast amount of work done on this line the past season.

   Our curiosity led us early to examine the steam shovel - a new excavating machine capable of doing the work of 150 men; moving about two cubic yards of earth per minute. This shovel consists of an iron scraper and box, about a yard square, attached to a derrick, and by means of cables and pulleys easily managed by one man. It is mounted on four car wheels and is readily moved on the iron rails. The company own the patent of this shovel and are having several manufactured to order -- themselves using to or three on their works. The machine carries its load from the bank and empties it in the cars.

   The rails are laid from Norwich to the summit of Crumb Hill, though the most of the road is yet unballasted. The summit is 1,000 feet above Norwich. It is thought that in 30 days the track will be laid to DeRuyter, unless there should be a failure in the supply of iron. Three construction trains are run over the road and although there are no accommodations for passengers, yet people will ride; so that many ladies and gentlemen are seen on every train. Considerable freight is being transported over the road.

   To expedite the work, trestles are built over the low valleys and deep ravines, all of which are to be filled with earth after the track shall be laid. These trestles are, many of them, very imposing structures of timbers; some of them 60 and 70 feet high. The material excavated for this road I observed was not the most easily worked. Rock, quicksand and hard-pan, which they were drilling and blasting with powder as if it were solid rock.