A collection of pamphlets and a map relating to the construction of the Hempfield Railroad

1. The Hempfield Rail Road, and the bonds of Ohio County, Virginia and Washington County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: John C. Clark, 1852. Quarto (9 11/16" x 5 7/8", 246mm x 149mm): A4 B-D4 [$1 signed]. 16 leaves, pp. 1-5 (title, blank, officers and directors, blank, text) 6-31, blank. Bound in the publisher's printed blue wrappers. Splitting at the spine, with some losses. Chips generally, with some peripheral tanning. Tanned generally, with damp-staining to the fore-corners. 2. An act to incorporate the Hempfield Rail Road Company, with the supplements thereto, and the act of the Virginia Legislature, granting the right of way through that state. Philadelphia: John C. Clark, 1853. Quarto (9 7/16" x 5 7/8", 241mm x 149mm): A4 B4 C2 [$1 signed]. 10 leaves, pp. 1-3 (title, blank, text) 4-20. Bound in the publisher's printed pink wrappers. Chips and splits along the spine, with old tape repairs. Peripheral losses to the wrappers, with some tanning and staining. Tanned internally. 3. Answers of the President of the Hempfield Rail Road Company, to the interrogatories of the Finance Committee of the City Councils of Philadelphia, January 25, 1853. Philadelphia: John C. Clark, 1853. Quarto (9 1/2" x 5 13/16", 241mm x 148mm): A4 B2 [$1 signed]. 6 leaves, pp. 1-3 (title, blank, text) 4-12. Bound in the publisher's printed light blue wrappers. Some peripheral chips and tanning. Mildly evenly tanned internally. 4. Charles Ellet Jr. Map of the western railroads tributary to Philadelphia with their rival lines. Philadelphia: W. Williams, 1851. Folding hand-colored engraved map (sheet: 17 9/16" x 33 9 1/6", 447mm x 853mm; neatline: 16 1/4" x 31 1/4", 413mm x 793mm). With some peripheral chips and repaired splits at the folds. The Hempfield Railroad is a type of railroad that is emblematic of mid-XIXc American railroading: the bridge line. Bridge lines were constructed across the country to connect two rival railroads (in this case, the massive Pennsylvania RR and smaller western lines in Ohio), which might refuse to connect their own lines with each other. Many of these lines were miniscule and are now long-abandoned, but the Hempfield Railroad's story is different. Unlike many other small railroads, which had issues recruiting talent in engineering, the Hempfield's chief engineer was Charles Ellet Jr. (1810-1862), a prolific civil engineer who later led the first federal survey of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. One of the marvels he constructed was the still-standing Wheeling Suspension Bridge in West Virginia, the western terminus of the Hempfield Railroad. While they were the first to open across the northern WV panhandle, they were not the only line: by 1871, they were a part of the much larger Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and most of the line is now abandoned in favor of faster (and hillier) routes via Pittsburgh. The first pamphlet describes the railroad's route and why it should be built, the second is a transcript of the legal document allowing for construction of the line, and the third records a hearing with the finance committee of the Philadelphia City Council with the president of the line. The map (spanning Ontario in the north, Nashville in the south and the Mississippi River in the west) which is sometimes circulated with the first pamphlet, shows the Hempfield's relatively small footprint, but promises that "within the next three years, all those important lines of communication will be open for trade and travel," a promise that was largely fulfilled.Catalogued by Jonah Kramer. …