Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1859-04-28

WAH important local change of time, as
will he seen by their advertisement, has gone
into effect on the Circumbcndibus railroad. Their
other time table proved to be most ruinous af.
fair, We learn, and like sensible people they have
concluded to go back to first principles, and
hereafter let well enough alone This thing of
competing all the time for through business, to
the taxation, oppression and annoyance Of the
local travel and business, has been foand to be,
not only in their experience, but in that Of
other roads, not what at first glance it might
seem TO be. Home patronage, either to indi'
viduals or to companies, is much more valua.
Bile consideration than fat off aud foreign trade.
The facts and figures furnished in the reports Of
the four great East and West lines, show the
great advantages of local business over through
bnsiness-and the recent experience of the Cir
eumbendibus shows that the first care of a rail-
road company ought to be to adjust its arrivals
and departures to suit the convenience local
patronage. In the year 1857 the entire tonnage
of the four main railways stood thus: Penn
sylvania, 1,0O3, 275; N. Y. Central, s3s,79lS N.
Y. and Erie, 96s, o6O; Baltimore and Ohio, $685.
400 OF these amounts the way tonnage was
rs Observation-Disclosures s8l POP; N. Y.
Central, 542, 914; N. Y. aud Eric, 1877 70; Bal
timore and Ohio, 67O,s29. Hero we perceive
that of the enormous business of the Pennsyl
vania Railroad four-hfths was way traffic; of
the New York central three-ffths; of the New
York and Eric four-fifths; and of the Baltimore
and Ohio rather less than four-6Sths. The
way tonnage of the Pennsylvania line was
nearly equal each way, being 1885 cast,
and 4l7,337 west That of the New York
Central was very one sided, being 401,66o
east, and 1925 west That of the New
York and Erie resembles the Pennsylvania,
while the Bal,imorean Ohio stands thus: 6ol,-
1O7 east and 69722 west. This last is ex-
planned by the fact that the large way tonnage
east is bituminous coal from the Cumberland
mines, and that forms the staple business OF the
road, being nearly tw o.thirds Of the entire ton
mage of the year. The smnllness of the way
tonnage west on that road shows the sparseness
of the population in the region, and indicates
that the principal aim of the company is the
coal trade, and the patronage of the west
During the year 1857 the entire through ton
mage Of all the lines was $685. 1858 east, and $685.
l57 west or together, 9O7, eco So that if one
line could do the whole of it, the business would
not equal the tonnage of the Pennsylvania rail
way, for that year, by 60, 600 TONS andwould
fall short of the tonnage of the New York and
Erie, 7o,449 Deprived of every itemOf through
tonnage, the way business of the Pennsylvania
railroad would nearly equal the whole amount
of this western trade.
The passenger business of these four lines ex
hibits pretty much the same features. For th'
year 1867 it numbered SIS, Os4 passengers OF
tho Pennsylvania, of whom only aE66s wer'
through bound; 2,5oO.97s on the New YOrl
Central, of whom only 164o5O were through
bound; 979,s7l on the New York and Erie, o
whom only 5000 were through bound; an'
1856, 4o7 on the Baltimore and Ohio, of WHOM
only s7,7sG were through bound. Thus tn
entire number of through passengers for tn
year was only ss6.s44, sum not equal to tn
way-passenger business of any one of the lines