Keowee courier. (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, August 25, 1871, Image 1
r
BY KEITH, HOYT & CO.
WALHALLA, SOUTH CAROLINA, FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 18?L
---I ?? I I I I | ?.|I11.II<1|..M",,||^
VOLUME VI_NO. 35.
^Professional Osurcls.
STP. DENDY,
Mtoracy usuel 4) o si ii * c ?1 o v
AND
^Solicitor in Eqiarty,
Will practico in tho Couria ol Law und Equity,
in tho Eighth Judicial Circuit.
Ornen IN THE Co it RT HOUSE,
Walhalla.-South Carolina.
Nov. I, I?70 3 Iv
TilOS. M. WILKES,
A T T O It N K Y A T 1. A \V
- AND
Solicitor in Eciiaity".
-i z.st;,
United States Commissioner,
For tho Circuit and District. Conns of thc Uni
ted States for Sooth Carolina.
HOT Orner, ox THU Comer Hoest: SQUARE.
"WALHALLA, S. C.
July 22. 1870 40 ly
J. l\ REED, 1 f W. C. KEITH,
Anderson C. ll. J t Walhalla
REE?.& KEITH,
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
A:;U
Solicitors in Ecinity.,
Have renewed their Co-partnership Iii the prac
lion of Law, and extended it to all Civil and
Crimina) business in thc Counties of Ocunco
and Piukons.
ALSO,
A 1.1. UUSINESS IN Till: UNITED STATES COU UTS.
8l3y* Office on Public Stuarc,
- , \. . ^r?ll?
" .fuly lo.Uoo.r. .' '-"-il "~ li**"
s. MCGOWAN, it. A. THOMPSON,
Abbeville, S.O. Walhalla, S. C.
M'GOWAN & THOMPSON,
ATTORNEYS AT LAW,
WALHALLA, S. C.,
Will give prompt attention to ?ill business
confided to them in tho Stale, County, und
Unitod States Courts.
OFFICE IN THE COUUT HOUSE.
Tho junior partner, Mu THOMPSON, will also
practico in tho Courts of Eickens, Greenville
und Anderson.
.January. 1870 tf
JOSEPH J. NORTON,
Attorney a,t Law,
All business for -Picketts County left with
J. E. HAGOOD, ESQ.,
PItttEXS C. El.,
WILL BE PROMPTE Y A TTENDED TO
October 'JO. 1R(S8 4 tf
I. ll. WU1TNER. WU Tl NEU SY M SI ES
WiHTNEll & S Y MMES,
Attorneys at JLaw,
WALHALLA, S. C.
Offico on tho Public Square. "X?a
February 1, 1870 10 tf
S. ?. GOODLETT,
Attorney at JL a AV
AND
?iOLICITOIt ?IV EQUITY,
HAS LOCATED
'AT THE
NEW TOWN OF PICKENS, S. C.
Nov. 10. 1808 7 tf
AL'X.S.EHWIN,} f O. C. BENTLY
Athens (io. j j Clayton, Go.
ERWIN & BENTLY,
Attorneys a,t Law,
WILL PRACTICE IN PARTNERSHIP
IN TUE COUNTY OF RABUN,
STATE} OF G F ORGIA.
Oct 6, I860 62- t?
P11.E.E.W?IITNE11
4TAy.tN.? loqfttod in Walhalla, offors UIA
|L?l?^,0^*"!*Pft,' Sorvices to tho oilitons of
pla??-?nd aurrounoin? country,
pgr OrpiuK-BIEMANN'S HOTEL, ~(B*
Feb. ii 1871 15 lj
Tho Narroy; Quagi-*
A RKPOltT Ol? TUB Olli Kl' KNQlNKKR OF THK
ULUK ll I DO K lt A IMtO AU.
[OONDl.UUKD.]
To thc. President and Jiourd nf Directors of
the Blue Ridge Railroad :
First, lol us estimate, as nearly as possible,
tho relation which' will obtain between tho
uViid and ?iou paying loud, in actual practico,
on tho 3 feet gauge. Wc have taken thc
statistics, which give us this information for
tho 5 feet gauge, from official reports, and
we have the relations between full loads ;
but the new cars aro not going to run full,
although they will como much neuter to it
than ou thc old lines.
Wo have seen that the freight ears of all
existing roads cai ry an average of ?3 tons,
and that, therefore, they run with an average
of jj of a full load, calling 8 tons a fair full
load. To keep within safe limits, I estimate,
then, that tho peculiar adaptability of the
narrow car lo thc overage load of five tons,
hus no greater effect than to raise thc average
load one eighth, (? J-J=:{,) and s iy that the
usual bad of tho narrow gauge car will bc ii
of Ovo tons, or H'i tons, lt is more dillicult
to estimate thc probable number of passen
gers per car. Still, deducing our results from I
such statistics as arc at hand, it appears that j
2,7-18 pounds dead load of passenger cars,
exclusive of baggage, was moved for each
passenger over thc New York roads. This
indicates about lbj rt cen passengers per eur,
-which seems u small number for Northern
trains, but answers well to experience here.
T'.o passenger cars, then, run about one
fourth full. I think wo shall not ovcr esti
mate, if wc assume that tho narrow car will
run one-third full.
On this basis, the table of dead weights
and paving loads is re arranged thus:
Ci
Lp
Ci
c.: c> s co
I No, of J'asscnycrs
lor (ons Freight to
ic LO
lc ic -J s-?
?I-? J- Ci Ci?
O w O O
CO JU? >-. IO
"*? i ^co 'co ;?
C CO O' ?o
C". I- Ci- GO
Showing the actual relation between dead
and paying load, in practice, on thc common
gauge, and the probable ref-ults to be ex pee
led on tho narrow gauge.
The average charge for transporting one
tou or ouc passenger, per milo, is about 2j
cents, und, to earn this amount, there must
bc transported :
On the wide gauge, 2,240-J-8,001=0,031
lbs. of liciuht and cars one mile; or, 150
-?-2,758=^2,878 lbs. of passengers and ema
one mile.'
On the narrow gauge, 2,240 '1.400=3,
200 lbs. of freight and cns one mile : or,
loO-pl,200=1,860 lbs, passengers und oms
cue milo.
This is a comparison, not at nil exaggera
ted, between the two systems Tho expen
diture of power stands in tho relation of 37
to 53 in freight, und 13 to 28 in passenger
traffic. When thc freight tfuflio stands to
thc passenger truffle in tho proportion of 4 to
1, tho difference on the whole power ex pun
ded is 33 per cent, iu favor of tho narrow
gauge. Docs it, thou, actually cost 88 per
cent, less to conduct traffic when dono on ibo
narrow gouge '( Thc mcchaniuul forces ex
?ioiidcd certainly stand iu this proportion.
lut that may not bo ti true measure of thc
money cost, because all purts of the expenso
account may not bo equally ajfectcd.
Hero I olassify, in u geuoral way, tho ordi
nary railroad oxponscs, and inquire how thc
diffcrcnou in gaugo will ufleet ouch class :
For .Maintaining roadway . * 87 per cont.
For rcpnir3 of machinery and ours 20 " t%
For operating , . , 43 ? <?
100
Thoso hoadiugs "may ho cub divided, ns
follows :
Maintcnanoo of roadway i
Repairs road bcd . . .1G0
(lost of iron foy renewals . .120
llopnirs buildings, fenocs, &?o. .087
Taxes.088
Repairs of tnachinory and oars
Operating :
O Iii (jo expenses, agencies mid em
ployees on trains and at stations .22ft
Fuel, oil and wasto . . .125
Loss and damngo to goods and
persons general suporinten
donee, ?co, , . . .080
Contingencies , . . .052
.37
.20
.43
Total
J0Q
I estimulo thc probable saving in operating
tho road on tho Harrow gauge system a.s fjl
low8 :
Tlic repaire of road-bed, Whehtor consider'
ed by their relation tu (hst cost or by tho'
diminished wo/trimd tear from the reduction of
weights Upon Oaoh wheel,and the smaller dead'
load hauled, cannot bo reduced less than uno
third. The exposed lurfucoo of on rt h-Worlc x o'n4
a line, over so rough a country as the Bl liol
Ridge Road .traversos, in list bc reduced moto
than a third ; and tho waste of these wurkjffl
is proportioned t > their surface Tho weight i
und amount of material * iu bridges, masonry, :
and all limber structures, Would also be great-:
ly less, probably one third, and they would
be correspondingly less c)->tly to koop in re
l)air- . . ,1
The labor of trick repairing would bo, al ,
so, lighter, as tho rails and cross ti.vs to bc
handled are nearly ono half less in weight : ?
the track itself, under the, diminished wcight/J
of traine, being much more easily and cheap ]
ly kept up.
I diminish tho cost of iron for renewals
ono half, the rails being, iu weight, in tho ra
tio of 30 lo 51), Resides this, thc lighter
rails will always be found of better quality,
und will have a much longer lifo. Consider- I
ing weight and quality, tho iron will show, i
proportionally, much greater durability, un
der tho narrow gauge locomotives, than thc j
?o pound rail, under tho wide gauge engines.
Charges for repairs of buildings and for
taxes 1 leave untouched ; the latter, of courso,
will bc reduced, HO far as they ore laid upon I
our property, iu proportion to its diminished
cost. If we should say that ihe repairs of j
rolling stock worein direct ratio to the cost
of the stock, the r?duction for tho small gauge
would bc ntl per cent., as wc reinen.ber that
to be tho difference in the cost of the equip
ment by our lo.mer estimate.
Rut thc ri puiis of machinery nm] cars I rc- I
duce only OliC-thiitl in eqlial ratio willi thc ?
motivo power expended This expenditure,
of power, and tho ordinary repairs, must be
held to bo strictly eon dative. And yet, 1
believe that all thc parts of tho narrow gauge
rollin}, stock, being relatively stronger, and
the shocks lo which they aro exposed being
so tillich h ss,both tho cars and engine.-,' will run
with Uss repairs evcji than have becu estima^,
, . . .. -wn.uwm ?f.\.\
' ?!^iT? ".ir?-1?ie~:T. r. a monfenTs" nv-., i...,*.-?.*^
matter that bears directly upon the wear of
Iron and cross-ties, thc labor of keeping up
thc track, and wear and tear of machinery;;
introducing ti table showing thc weight on
each wheel of ordinary trains on thc two
giuge?, and the momentum with which thc
wheels will strike any irregularity in thc
track :
ttl >-l W W
c- os a a 3
ff 5 ? n
g 'J? S- 5- S'
i; i ? s
rt Z*
PT -i
j- --i cn
. I o b> o o
O C ii o o
hO-0-0~l io
-1 J-1 CA OO
>-. A- 4 O OO
co o o o o
Ci O o o o
c; - tr o ~
ft ~* ~.
H W W I'S Gi
1 cr. "bi bi lo
co c c: - c<
o r: O C cr
s-*
cs - i o o i o
4- _X Cl C O?
. o o V o o
00 o O O O
o o o o o
ri I
Thc ends of tho rails arc beaten to peices
?md tho surface abraded, thc ties splintered,
and the Obro uf the wood cut. under thc ?ron,
weak joints quickly .nado worse, so that each
succeeding wheel falls with an increasing
force upon thc ends of thc yielding rails, by
thc tremendous forces developed by tho pas
sage of these enormous weight at hi"h veloci
ties. It does not pay to presorvo tho wood
bf cross tics from decay by any uf thosimplo
methods which ure now known1, only because
tho tie seldom bas time to rot, but is shutter
ed before decay commences under the hurd
usage to whioh it is exposed.
And thc action upon tho rolling stock is
tho sumo us upon thc traok. Tho wheol re
ceives a blow of prooisoly tho simo weight as
that which it administers to thc mil ut u low
joint, and tho stock is transmitted to tho axle,
suvo what is taken up by tho springs, and tho
yielding of tho pai Ls uf tho whole structure
ol tho cngino or car Now the r.uviug of doud
weight transported is so muoh saved from
tho groud total of this destructivo agency ;
and, by thc reduced weight upon euell wheel,
it comes to pass that no single blow of such
(non o ou s force eau bc given on tho narrow
road I leave this point with a singlo illus
tration, showing tho total of tho forces expen
ded upon a dofeotivo joiut on otto nulo of tho
truck, by tho passngo of a train of 50 passen
gors, on cither gauge. Tho joint is supposed
to huvo yielded, so that tho whools fall into
it with n porooptiblo shook, In un example,
scloctod.for oiloulutiou it results that tho widu
gauge train will hnv? inflicted u series of blows,
amounting, in tho oggrcguto, to Q,891,&40
pounds, while tho narrow train will huvo ex
pended a fe roo amounting to but 0,248,040
pounds.
Fuel, oil and waste aro also redupod in oost,
in proportion tb tho power dovol^ped-Bt?y
ouc ?ijid.
|j 'J'lie list of employees, cost of general su
worintendonoe, ofliuu expenses, lusses and
i damages to persons and goods, arc left uu
touched.
v Wo state, then, tlie per ventage of saving
in tho ditr? rent departments uf expenditure,
?os follows :
fe5
? 2 G 7' .? 2 r. a
fr C.,
O o
?1 w<
S
The result is, that thc narrow gauge lino
may be Operated for 25 per cont, less than thc
wide; and, as the usual proportion of expen
ses to gross receipts,is 70 per cent , the ratio
nf small ga ugo expenses to receipt as would be
;">- ? per cent., so that wo were not so far out
of the woy in the assumption upon which we
calculated our lilllie ill il former paragraph.
With one additional remark, 1 leave this
branch ol' tho subject. In my calculation
of the comparative cost of working the two
gauges, I have been Solicitous in no particular
to exaggerate tho advantages of tho narrow
system. 1 have given the narrow gauge a pro
portion of i}et|d lou) greater, nod, to tbc wide,
a less amount than you wiil lind stated iu any
I uf the numerous reports, und other publica
! lions, on thc subject.
lu round numbers, I havo mudo tue wide
gauge to carry, in freight traffic, one ai.d a
I half puunds dead, to ono pouud paying
! weight, and, in passenger trafilo, eighteen
ifi'g'tftii? OT iVclgtH ii.tuVo,'ano TlgnT^muiiUo
dead, to one pound paying loud, pussougor
tra Hie.
Now, Mr. Fairlie, speaking of thc English
roads, remarks: "lt is known, and everyworc
admitted, that tho proportion of non paying
to paying weight iu passenger trains, is as
much us 20 tu 1, und, in goods trains, exclu
sive of minerals, ns much as 7 toi. This
terrible disproportion is partly due to the
system of management pursued, but, in a fur
greater degree,to tho gauge ;" and,in speaking
of the London and North Western railway,ho
demonstrates, iu a calculation, which has boon
so frequently republished here, that 1 will
not quote it in detail : "that, if its gauge
were 4 foot, instead of 4 feet 8i inches, it3
goods trudie could bc hauled at half tho pres
ent cost, and in such a way as to reduce tho
present tounge on tho road by one half."
VIS A N CI A L 1 ' ll O S P KOTS.
I now apply tho conclusions which have
been roached to the commercial or financial
prospects of tho road.
To complete thc road, and furnish it with
rolling stock, will require, for the 5 foot gauge,
in cash :
For grading, track, depots, and
cnginooriiig.80,800.000
For rolling stock. 040.000
For repair shops,. 100,000
?7,540 000
Iii.night forward, . . . 87,540,000
To which must be added, for retir
ing the old debt, mid paying
thc floalilig debt, .... 800,000
88,810,000
Toward this, will be realized, from
the four millions endorsed bonds,
at, say 80 cents. 88,200,000
Leaving n cash capital, to bo rais
ed, ol',. 85,140,000
To ooinpleto tho road, und furnish it with
rolling stock, will require, fur tho 8 foot
gauge, iu cash :
i For grading, truck, depots, auden
! gincering,. 84.000,000
! Por rolling stock. 820,000
For repair shops,. 80,000
84,-100,000
For old and floating debt, as abovo, 800,000
85,200,000
Proceeds of tho four millions of
bonds, above, . . . . 8,200,000
! Leaving to bo raised, in cash, $2,000,000
For tho purposes of comparison, wo will
assume that tho additional capital required to
complete the road, on either system, cun bo
raised hy cash subscription to preferred stock.
I Tho oapital then represented by
j the road, computed on tho f) feet
! gauge, would bo.80,140,000
j If completed on tho 3 foot gauge,
thu capital would bo, . . . 80,000,000
This calculation of capital presupposes that
tho present On pi ttl 1 stock is virtually destroyed
by tho preference of thu new, and that thc
old first mortgage bonds aro retired, us provi
ded in thu estimate.
Now, to pay interest nt 7 per cent, on tho
capital nceofrwry for a 3 foot gauge, ($0,000.*
000,) requres o not i u on mo of 8420,000 j sud,
nt ?2J pop oent. espouses, tho. gross rocoipL
must rouoh 8880,000. Buch a Uafllo (os io
fore Ktatcd iq thin rotait, 8.0 po*ooot-. 'uf that
of tho South Carolina Railroad for tho your
1870) yields perfectly satisfactory results,
prying 7 per cent, interest on tho capital in
vested. If, however, we suppose the road to
be built on tho common gauge, requiring a
capital of 59,1 lO.OOO.this gross traffic of$880,
I OOO would pay less than 2 per cont interest
I on tho o-ipital invested; for, in such n onso,
there must bo doduoted from thc grcs.'i curri-1
ings 70 per cent, for expenses, leaving but
?lit?-1,000 for the net earnings
Is there any doubt which of these two pro
jects would receive tho preferunce in auy
iiiouey market '( For it must not be forgot
ten that the capital necessary to complete
this road has to be procured outside our own
resources ; and when 1 look at these figures,
um! contemplate the chances of obi nntng,
upon such a showing of tra Hie as we CttU make,
*ri,000,000 for the ' one [.lan, or ?2,000,000
for the other, I confess to a feeling that our
Choice is between tho uarrow gauge railroad
and no road at all.
UUKAK ur coxxr.CTJoxs.
As we look back upon the information which
we have collected, and gather up the rc.iults
of our iuiquiry, thc question before us seems
to take a new shape, and we aro tempted to
ask, "if nil this bo true, why should wo think
of building a wide gunge; what possible rea
son can be given in its favor ?" And but
one auswer can bc found, which is this :
"There is, in f ?ct, no reason for building roads
wider than three feet, lor such speed as is re
quired for lim traffic of the South, except,
that all the other existing lines arc of anoth
er und wider gauge, and ut ove.ry break of
gauge freight mid pasacugers must chauge
cars."
This is a real and weighty objoctiou to the
introduction into our system of u new gauge,
and it must not bo pushed out. of tho way
without examination. Certainly, I innot
disposed to do so, for it has long hindered my
own mind in advancing to a conclusion as to,
not tho merits of the system, but the policy
of its introduction. When L was prepared to
recoin mend it for branches, 1 could not feel
.satisfied to approve it for main lines, connect
ed ut both termini with a general railroad sys
tem ufa different gauge. That thc objection
may lose none of its proper force lo your
.mi?..?..! 1 u joto tho mest forcible stutement
of it that I remember to have seen. Thc
1 . .iJj'Upv?<& of Bnglkh roads :
"The evds rebuking from tho br?ale of
gauge, aro hy no means unimportant. Thc
inconvenience to passengers is great, but the
dillioulties, us respects thc goods trafilo, aro
still greater. Tho removal involves lois, pil
ferage, detensi?n, besides a money tax, esti
mated at from ls. Gd. to 2s. Gd. per ton. It
is found ut Clouccsler that it occupies about
ono hour to remove the contents of a wagon,
full of miscellaneous merchandize, from one
gauge to another, with all tho foroe of por
ters that can be brought to act upon it. An
ordinary train, laden with promiscuous goods,
may contain loose commodities, such as bricks,
slate, lime, or limestone and chalk, digs, clay,
manure, salt, coal or coke, timber and deals,
dye woods, iron, iron ore, lead und metals,
oast iron pots, grates und ovens, grindstones,
brimstone, bones und hoofs, bark, hides and
seal skins, oil cake, potatoes, onions and oth
er vegetables, cheese, chairs and furniture,
hardware, earthenware, dry salteries, grocer
ies, provisions, cotton, wool, oils, wines, spir
its and other liquors, manufactured goodd,
fish and eggs, ripe fruits, &0 , &C. In thc
hurry the bricks aro miscounted, the slates
chipped nt tho edges, tho cheeses cracked,
tho ripe fruit and vegetables crushed1 and
spoiled, thc chairs, furniture and oil cukes,
cast iron pois, grates and ovens, all .moro or
less broken, tho coals turned into slack, tho
salt short of weight, sundry bottles of wino
delieient, und tho fish too loto for market;
whoroiifi, if there had not boon any interrup
tion of gauge, tho whole train would, in all
probability, have been at its destiny long bo
t'oro tho transfer of thc lust article without
damage or delay. Though this description
is somewhat over drawn, t hero is still much
truth in it. lt will readily bu imagined that
the live stock frequently manifest decided ob
jections to the change of train, and wo aro
! informed that pigs exhibit their usual poculi
arillos of disposition on these occasions, that
cattle sometimes resist with great energy, und
that two hours have boon spent in cll'ectiog
thc removal of one of them."
Wo agree with the writer that his descrip
tion is a little, or a good doal, over drawn,
but let it stand, without further remark, save
on ono point, that of tho money cost of chun
I ging freights. This is excessively over sta
! ted, oven for tho timo when tho passage was
written, twenty years ago. lOxperieucc has
demonstrated ibo oust ot transforriug freight
in Great Hritaiuto bc about 2 pence per ton.
That tho cOBt of handling at thc break of lines
on thc Canada frontier has been found to bo,
from many years' experionco, 5 cents per ton,
Considering this, then, na only u question ol
! additional oust, it will evidently bear hardest
upon tho through freight, which has to ht
changed nt each cud of our lino, nt a cost ol
5 cents ptr ton, or a ohnrgo of 10 cents poi
ton total. . Tho avoragn cost of transporta
tion of freight may bo taken at 1 j cents pei
ton per milo on tho existing roads; but or
tho narrow road, wo hnvo found that wo can
transport 25 per oout. cheaper in aotual ox
peuso?. One ton transported 180 miles, al
ooftts, would cost #2.70, and a saving ol
20 per cent, on this, would bo G7? ooma, sc
that an o*pcnso may bc incurred of 10 conti
per ton in irdttsfevving freight, und still luuv<
jubilance in favor of <W narrow gaugo o
I 67 i oouts.
1 might leave this topic heve, but,in rquu
justice' to tho ml vocales of tho narrow gauge
must add, that it is claimed by them all tba
it ls well worth paying the oust nf tiaindcr
I ring freight to koop thc oars of csoh tond cn it
own Uno. Tho tyutcm of tuUroUftageof carat
j prolific in losses ont! damages to the differ
ent companies. One does not gain what un
[ other loses, Lut all suffer alike ; and from a
j common cause, namely, that when off ita own.
lino, no cor receives that timely repuir which,
at home, would bo given tho "stitch in timo."
However bud be its condition, if it eau bo
got off the hands of the partiosi.at present rc . i
cpuuijUli, :::.d, iilvo G;r.:??V t?.by;, put off oV <
tho nest parish, employees rejoico'^iq a sonso
'?f'duty performed, Around tue great tor
minal stations aro bone yards, filled with tho
remains of these victims of ueglcct, whoso
owners aro too far nwuy tocare for them.
lt is also probable that tho cost of trans
ferring freight may be materially diminished
by special appliances for thc purpose. For in
stance, all ai tides in bulk, us grain or coal,
may be 5 pouted from ouc car to another by
an arrangement of tracks on a different level;
and it is possible, by the usc of cranes, to
raise and transfer the Smaller box car bodies
to flats of a wider gauge. It will be suffi
cient for this argument to let thc question
rest on tho comparative money cost of thc two
systems.
I CONCLUSION.
I This discussion, then, leads mc to theso
conclusions :
First-That the threo feet-gauge will an
swevall the rcouircmculb of our prospectivo
tr..the.
Second-That tho saving in first cost will
be immense, enough, iu fact, to placo tho
completion of thc road within our reach, by
r.iisiog ??,000,000 of additional capital, while
it seems impossible to obtain thc largo bum
necessary for a 5 feet Hue.
Third-That, hoing built, the narrow
gauge will bc much moro economical in wor
king, thc expense being only ?2j, instead of
70 per ccut. of thc gross receipts.
Fourth-That the main, if not tho only
objection to bc urged against thc chango of
gauge, is that di awn from the necessity for
transferring freight at thc termini ; but that,
without seeking to diminish tho force of thin
argument, it is greatly overborno by tho
weight of advantages, which must bo couu*
ted iu favor of tho narrow gauge
OPINIONS OF EXPERTS.
However satisfactory to ourselves arc tho
processes of our reasoning, and ^vhutevcr
COntideUCQ.VVu ua; havu in tho ?00?*^???*?
our conclusions, jct, should ivo lead tho man
agers of this cuterpriso to such un important
a step as thc change of gauge, tho publie
will be likely to inquire, mid with propriety,
whether the system adopted has thc sanction
of experience, and tho approval of those pro
s-.-bioaal men whoso reputation and attain
ment-; command publie confidence.
In addition, therefore, to the experimental
details which have hereinbefore beou given,
I think it well to conclude thia paper with a
few brief memoranda of the results attained
by such Furopeun narrow lines as huvo pub
lished statistics of business ; und, also, to
give thc testimony of some professional ay,,
thoritics and experts.
During eight years, tho Fcstiniog Railway,
of 23 inch gauge, bas been worked by loco
motives. The tonngo of this line, for 1869,
reached 130,000 net, and 97,000 passengers.
Tho gross tons hauled, exclusive of engines,
212.000. Thc total receipts for tho year
1809 were.jC2?5?6?S
Expenditures .... 13,053
Not income .... 10,023
Capital . . . . 30,185
Mr. George A. Porker, in a report to tho
Massachusetts Legislature, prcsootcd, Murch
11th, 1870. says of this road : ,
"Under its reform regime, it is a wonder
of moohanical science-a lamp of hopo to
tho railway forsaken everywhere. In ono
year its louage muouutcd to 136,132 tons,
averaging 9,38S tons per mile of road, which
is more thau doublo tho traffic of the Con
neoticut River Railroad, a fuir uxmnpleof tho
thrifty road8 of Massachusetts; and its pas
senger busiucss, though not strictly 0 passen
ger road, amounted, in tho samo year, to 6,-.
807 passengers per mile, whioh oxeceds that
of tho prosperous Woroester aud Nashua
Railroad for the year 1870."
To make thc capacity of this two fcotllno,
for business, appear move vividly, contrast
these ligures :
Fcstiniog Ra?way/down tou
nge, 1870 . . - 118,182 pounds,
South Carolina R. H., down
tobago, 1870 . . 105,771 ?
South Carolina ll. R.,up tou
nge 1870 . , 133,148 ?
In Norway, railways of tho 4 feet 8} inch
and of tho 3 feet 6 inch gauges havo been
comtructod by tho sumo F.ugincor, hod work?
ed by tho samo Mannger for the Government,
and thc following statistics aro taken from the
Government returns, showing the avorogo
from six years' experience }
Gauge tfaugo
-J.J2L - ?JL
Cost of ooustructiou per . "~'Tr*.
milo . . SQ.84.3 17,113
ncoeipts.pcr mile (alike,) 27,600 ?7,825
Muiuteiiaucc, por ?nllv 7)1?? <M>06
Locomotive expenso*, nor
milo . . 0,420 :6,700
Trufflo on theso narrow linea exhibits u
most on 0,0 nra gi u g tm poet, and tho impulso
given to tho development of tho country al
ready ro-aotB to tho ? rout ii,orease of tho b??l?
ness aud profits of tho rnilw?ya,
Ml- 0. 10 Sj??oiicr, uod?V d??e m ?OWUUJL?
bot, 18?0, give* the following i
"In tho paper I rend '??foro tho tfivctttoYa1
Institute, in 180&< on narrow gatkerailways,
t advocated a 2 feet 0 itwh ev, 8 feet ft inch
gaogo for futuro Jiijos, Since then 1 haVo
gonn fully into ibo witter-, ?nd taking i?R<j
consideration that it would bo nd vis? bio W in
tibio io construct tofconr?lM $Uli Um* ojL