Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1838-04-18


ance OF Commodities will maintain thu
road in repair, besides defraying ,heil
cost of transit. This is considered Il
DO sufficiently moderate estimate
upon such ,hosoughfare connecting
tho Atlantic border with the Ohio.
The cost Of the road
rom Baltimore to Har.
per's Ferry may be SO,
down nj %. 500 eaO
The cost Of con.
strnction from thence
TO Wheeling and Pitts.
burg, 100000
Total cost of road
when opened for tray.
al. say $4,000. 900
Six per cent. on this
amount is s7so, 900.
And II each passenger is charged
four cents mile, which il moderate,
and one cent mile DO deducted for
expenses Of conveyance. which Is a
very full allowance, then the nett rev.
onue will be three cents mile per
passenger, or say $40 through.
The transit Of seventy EIGHT thou.
sand passengers per aunum, would,
therefore, pay six pei cent. on the en-.
tire cost Of the road. This is but two
hundred and fourteen passengers per
day, or one hundred and seven in each
direction over the road per day.
think there is little reason TO doubt,
however, considering the circumstan.
cos Of the road, and the grca, facilities
which ii will offer 10 the travel be.
tween Now York, Philadelphia, Bali.
more, Washington and the western
states, that the double of this travel
may be calculated upon, or two hun
dred in each direction. This will be
four hundred per day in both directions,
conveyed in two trains in each dircc.
ton daily, each with one hundred pas
scngers upon an average, and amour
ting TO one hundred aud lorty.six thou.
sand passages in the year. Al $40
nett, the amount ofro,enuc is 81 AGO..
600, or IL Id per cent. per annum on
the estimated cost Of the .road.
Hitherto the Baltimore and Ohio
Rail Road has not been profitable in
the way Of dividends. The work, us
yet, has not been carried 10 one.iourth
of tho distance originally aud still con.
iemplated; and it has mol, therefore,
commanded my thing like even
proportional part Of The travel aud
transit which il would do if completed.
From the experience had, however, il
is confidently beloved that the road
may be made to divide al least five per
cent. per annun, even should il not be
extended further than it is at the pre-
sent aud this result would be effected
by laying down upon the present road.
bed more substantial track, requiring
less repnirs and renewals thun the
present ones increased economy Of
management 10 result from the expert.
ence already had, and also from an
increase Of business, which, from the
nature ofthings, may be expected.
OF tho rail roads completed that
have yielded dividends oil from six to
eight per cent. per annum, even during
tho late decline in business, may DO
na,ned The Boston and Providence, tho
Boston and Lowell, and the Boston and
Worcester. Besides these, others in
The north. and several in the south,
might be mentioned, amounting to ten
or twelve IN number. that have divided
nitro than five per cent. per unnum.
In England, the Liverpool and Man.
chester Halfway, so expensive, and
against v hich so many predictions
have beer hazarded, has divided from
eight to Ten per cent. per annum ever
since il was opened for travel in the
year 1899. In fact, the great i'm
provcmcnis achieved within tho last
few yeas in railways and railway
machinery, and tho immense results TO
civil society that must flow from them,
cannot fail 10 render them profitable
investments.
Very respectfully,
J. KNIGHT,
Chief Engineer y. 8. o. Rail Road.