The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1853-07-14
col. GARNETT's LETTER.
Ic1NcLupEp


voted to retain the narrow gauge on all the
roads running to the north of London Tin
Epgland). All that have been built since
that time. in that direction, have been built
on the same gauge. Can there be stronger
proof. that in the opinion at least of Par
lament, the break of gauge was most
fearful difficulty: In the American Rail
way Times. paper ef high character, of
April 9Th, we find an article in which it is
stated. Gin consequence of the break of
changes of cars take place between Cleve-
land and Dunkirk, and that travellers on the
route complain most bitterly of "the nui-
sance" If it cannot be removed, the
writer saws, 'the northern roads must suf-
fer the just consequences, and find them
selves constantly losing the travel to and
from the East that they would otherwise
be entitled to expect" This very impor-
tant statement brings us to the more i'm
mediate consideration of Col. Garnett's IA
nous 4" bug bear"
In the work to which we have already
referred, ''Our Iron Roads, we find the
following passage with regard to tranship-
ment: 1.-The inconvenience to passengers
is great, but the difficulties as respects the
goods passage are still greater. The re-
moval involves loss, pilferage, detention, be-
sides money tar, estimated at from l shilling
and Sixpence 10 9 Shiliings and Sirpence per
ton. It is found at Gloucester that it occu-
pies about an hour to remove the contents
OF a 1cGg0R full of miscellaneous merchan-
disc from one gauge to another, with all
the force Of p0rterS that can be brought to
act upon it. An ordinary train, laden with
modities, such as bricks, slate, lime, or
limestone, and chalk, flags, clay, manure,
salt, coal or coke, timber and deals, dye-
wood, iron, iron ore, lead and metals, cast
iron pots, CRATES and ovens, grindstones,
birthstone, bands and hoops, casks, hides
and seal-skins, oil-cake, potatoes, onions,
and other vegetables; cheese, chairs and
furniture; hardware, earthen- ware, dry sal
oils, wines, spirits and other liquors, manu-
factured goods, fish and eggs, ripe fruit,
Sc, &c. Now let us contemplate the loss
alone, by reason of the break of gauge,
causing the removal of every article. In
the hurry the bricks are miscounted, the
cracked, the ripe fruit and vegetables
and oil-cakes, cast iron pots, CRATES and
ovens, all more or less broken; the coal
turned into slack, the salt short of weight,
sundry bottles of wine deficient, and the
fish too late for market. Whereas, if there
had been no break of gauge, the whole
train would, in all probability, have been at
its destination long before the transfer of
the last article, and without any damage or
delay 1t will readily be imagined that the
live stock frequently manifest decided OBJ
iections to the change of train; and we are
Informed that pigs exhibit their usual pc
cuharities of disposition on these occasions,
that cattle sometimes resist with great en-
ergy, and that two hours have been spent
in the removal of one of them" A gen
tIeman informs us, by the bye, that he saw
in an English paper, that it had taken sew
eral hours on one of the English railways,
to get company of Dragons horses into
the cars.
Thus it seems that even in England,
where labor is so cheap, it costs one shil-
ling and sixpence to two and siXpence, that
is 36 to so cents, to transfer ton OF mis-
cellaneous articles, and this too, exclusive
of loss, damage from handling, detention,
loss of sale, spelling of goods, sc. The
average is 43 cents, paid Tor nothing IN the
world but the labor of transferring. To
this cost of labor we confne ourselves for
the present. Let us look at few cases
near home.
The minimum expense of transferring a
ton of freight is, on the Boston and Yer
mont railroad, according to letter from
the President, published in the Railway
Times of April 18th, 25 cents, and TINS Is
also the lowest charge we have been able
to find. Charles Elicit, esq, an engineer
who is believed to have few equals IN this
country, while in charge of the James
River and kanawha canal, made In the
year 1888, report in which he says, "the
charge usually made for receiving and for
warding goods at Pittsburg is 10 cents per
100 lbs, at Portsmouth s to 10 cents, and
al Buffalo to 10 cents per 100 lbs. 1t IS
more at some places, and less at others, ac-
cording to circumstances" This is equal
to S2 at Pittsburg, to 60 cents to 81 at
Portsmouth, and at Buffalo 40 cents to 81.
AT Coyington he only estimates the tran
shipment at two.cents the hundred pounds,
or 40 cents the ton of 1000 lbs This re-
duction of price he thinks will be effected
by the railway running close along side of
the canal. Another cause would be, that
the trade would be relieved from the tax
laid upon it, where it passed into private
warehouses, and that may be one reason
why transhipment is such dear operation
at Pittsburg. We do not therefore claim
the whole two dollars per ton. The half
of it is az much as is necessary for our pur-
pose. Mr. Gill, in report made in ls4I,
to the James River and Kanawha Compa-
ny, states the cost of transhipping agricul-
tural products at Coyington and at Green
brier bridge, to be $2 4S. Making the
same allowance for charges of factors, it
win still, We suspect, greatly exceed our
estimate of so cents.
Here we might dismiss this branch OF
the subject, but we win not do so without
noticing Col. Garneff,s obiecfion IN our