Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1851-01-30
COAL ON RAILROADS AND CANALS.

We yesterday commended to the consideration
81 our readers a valuable suggestion made bya
Nghly sagaclous friend of the improvement of
rginia, that the abundant quantity of Camel
5al, recently discovered in Central Trans-Alle-
any Virginia, should alone induce the State to
adhere perseverngly to the policy of completing
her great water line continuously to the Ohio.
We now insert from the Railroad Journal the
official statement Of the Anthracite Coal Trade of
Pennsylvania, during the years lS49 and 1850,
and, from the Miners Journal, published at Potts.
vile in the midst of the mining region of that
State, some Instructive remarks on the probable
course of the coal trade in the year 1851. The
exhibit of the quantity of coal sent to market in
1S49 and 1850, serves to show the vastness of
this inland commerce. The remarks of the Nj
ners Journal are valuable, because they inform us
ofthe greatly superior capacity of canals to trans
port even coal, which is, OF all heavy tonnage, the
best suited to railroads. 1t appears that the
rates by canal,' including, we presume, both the
tolls and ireights, "piH be IS GEMS per ton less
than By railroad" and =" the rates by railroad will
not exceed Sl.5O." The rates by canal. there.
FORE must be about SIS cents per ton or but little
more than one third of the rates by railroad The
length of the Reading railroad in "a miles.
The cost of transportation, being $3.50 for the
whole distance, is about go cents per ton per
mile. Surprising coal transported by the canals
to pass over the same distance the cost of trans
portaton by canal is not quite $50 cents per ton
per mile. Now the Reading road possesses ad-
Vantages in the character of its grades which are
enjoyed by no other railroad in this country For
most OF its length, the grades descend in the d.
recton of the trade, and engines are of course able
to draw greater loads. Moreover, it's fixtures for
receiving the coal at the mines and dischargnp it
at Port Richmond contribute greatly to reduce its
charges. Still we see that the canals underbid it
to such an extent that it could not possibly retain
its traffic. but for their inability to accommodate
more than limited portion. In the past wear
the navigation was interrupted for several months,
and their tonnage was necessarily considerably re-
duced
Let US use the facts thus ascertained to deter.
mine the true policy of our own State. Itwould
be folly to expect any railroad over our noun.
tans to transport coal at as low a rate as
that charged on the Reading road, viz: one cent
and SIX mills per ton per mile But assume that
it would and that the canal would TRANSPORT at the
rate OF the pennsylvania canals, viz: six mills per
ton per mile. The distance from Covington to
the Ohio by the canal route is 240 miles; and the
railroad would probably take the same Take
the distance from Covington to the camel coal
region to be 80 miles; and the comparative cost of
transportation would be as follows:
By railroad TO Covngton at cent mills. 1870
miles, .-....-.....-..........S So on |
By canal TO Richmond, at 8 mills $50 miles. so
81 |
Whole distance by canal, at mills 440 miles. 2 GA
Inference per ton. ...-...............Sl 90
The water line, therefore, would save 81 90 On |
every ton OF coal brought from Kanawha, which |
is equivalent to the enormous sum of S 900, 900
on tonnage of one million, or S95O,0OO on
tonnage of half "a million
1t is the distinguishing peculiarity of canals
that the cost of transportation upon them dimin
ishes in almost exact proportion to the increase of
their trade; whilst railroads are subjected to con-
slant expenses which disable them from putting
the rates below certain minimum. Hence, if
our water line were completed, the Company hav.
NJ charge of II would only have to determine how |
VITO put the tolls in order to secure the coal trade,
I'd they could afford to adopt those tolls although
2y would be ruinous to railroad The rates
I'VE adopted from the Reading railroad cannot be
SHELLY taken as the basis of our estimates. A
Virginia railroad, scaling the Allegheny mountains.
would, doubtless, have to charge 8 cents per ton
per mile, which would make the cost of transport
ing ton of coal from Kanawha to Covngton
50 10, and the whole cost to Richmond, at least
81 20, which not even the camel coal could
bear
Similar comparisons to these might readily be
! ..,....... -. .'..' -.... ...'., =.