Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1868-12-26
public, and protect the local customers CT

panv were in an unsatisfactory condition.
The Michigan Central and Great Western
Railways, forming a-line between Chica-
90 and Suspension Bridge, were complete
ly shut off from us by want of 4 link OF
road between Buffalo and Suspension
Bridge. | entered into negotiations will
these Companies, and as result, sse
,ad in que,tion is now bong r2Pfd-
ly constructed, and by July l, the Eric
Railway will be doing a fair share OF the
business of those Companies between
New York and Niagara Falls and -stts-
pension Bridge, connecting at Chicago.
From this source | expect to derive 4
revenue of from one to two millions of
dollars per year.
We not only are suffering for engines
and cars. but large portion of the lire
was single track, and the pressure upon
it was so great that it was almost I'M
possible to pass the vast traffic Of the
Company over it. Frequent delays in
both passenger aud freight trains were a
necessary result. These delays IL lred
the traffic Of our line, to obviate Mh ch |
am now douGle-tracking the road as rap
idly as possible from Buffalo east, Horn
>sllsyille east, Corning west, and on the
delaware Division. Very soon the en-
tire line between Buffalo and New York
will haye a double track, easily saving
one hour in the running of passenger
trains, and one day in the running OF
freight trains. beside doubling the capaci-
ty Of the road. found the character OF
the iron rails so deficient in quality that
| considered the road unsafe, and lmme-
diately called to my assistance the best
talent and experience in the country, and
we are now manufacturing our own steel
rails at a rate which will cover the entire
line between Buffalo ard New y ork III
about two years, and we have already
eighty miles of steel rails laid on tue
Eastern Division, and | consider our
tract, to-day equal to any in the country.
| found the road in bad shape. As to
the supply Of fuel and its great cost, al
thoueh we were buying large amount
of coal. we were buying much Of 1t at re-
tail prices, and our fuel account was cost
ing us $l,7OO,O0O. l am now mining
coal ut our own mines at cost OF about
$3.50 per ton, or a saving Of nearly one
million dollars on the siugte item OF coal
alone.
There was another important mltter
presented to my attention at an carly
day, namely, Il third raH or narrow
gnage All our Westera connexions, ex-
ccpting the Atlantic and Great Western,
were narrow gauge, requiring tranship-
ment at Buff;lo and D,Enk:rk of every
car of through freight passing over the
road, while on the competing lines OF the
New York Central and Pennsylvania Cen
tral there was no transhipment between
Chicago and New York. The Western
roads greed to furnish the cars for the
whole line between Chicago and New
+ York, leaving it only for the Erie Com
pany TO provide the third rail. could
hnot, acting for this Company, decline so
important an improvement, and L was
rapidly concentrating the arrangements
to- carry out this plan, when the recent
litigations, supposed to be in the interest
of competing lines broke out. Beyond
the expense of these litigations, and the
annoyance and loss of time they occas-
ionetf mey do not regret thenE~ The
charges made are without the slightest
foundation i'll truth, as was well known to
the principal instigators.
Since have beeu connected with the
Company | have secured the following
roads and on the following terms:
The Paterson and Newark, extending
from Newark to Paterson, leased the
Erie Company to operate the road and to
pay as rent, tbirty-five per cent. of the
gross earnings; the Erie Company hav
ing the fixing of rates.
/ regard this connection as very i'm
portant. 1t makes Newark, a city of
one hundred and twenty thousand popu-
lation, and the largest manufacturing city
in the Union, the termini Of the Erie
Railway.
! The Newburgh and New York Rail
road, fourteen miles, making the shortest
( line between Newburgh and New York,
| is being constructed by this Company.
frave made contract with the Della
ware and Hudson Canal Company for the
entire transportation ofth Western coal,
amounting to 100000 tons per annum, a
tonnage equal to our total through ton
mage last year. This embraces the use of
eigkt miles between Honesdale and HaW-
ley, and also new road between Car
bondale and SusqueFfanna. This coupled
with the new road being constructed in
conjunction with the Michigan Central
and Great Western, between Buffalo and
Suspension Bridge, embraces all the new
lines that have been secured or construct
ed under my administration I consider
them all important additions to the Com
pany.
l have also revised and made new
contract with the United States Express
Company, made upon a more equitable
basis, and largely increasing our eompen-
sation for doing the express business.
| AT meeting of the Executive Com
mittee to-day, the President was direct
ed to commence suits against Cornelius
Vanderbilt for the recovery of 81 ,OOO, 600
subsidy paid rim, and to compel him to
take back the s., 100000 of stock and the
sS,50oy0o0 originally paid him by the
Company.
Suits were to-day eornmeFeed against
Daniel Drew te compel him to account
to the Company for the profits OF several
years in the Lake Erie steamboats,.
amounting to 81, COT, 900 ;another against
II