Middletown transcript., 1869-07-03
The Rallronda OF the country.

According to a work recently published
by Mr.. Henry V. Poor, there were in op
GRAFTON in all the States, on the 1st da,
of January, 1869, AZ, 255 miles of railroad
line, the cost of which, at $44 900 pc
mile, cqualed $1,000, 900, ,OO0. The to
tai amount of net tonnage transported owe
them for the year equaled rs, 900, 900 tons
having value of $40, ,472, ,250-a sun
equaling six times their cost, and NOR,
than four times greater than the whol
amount of the national debt
In 1S4S occurred the discovery of golt
in California, and on the first day of Jan
uary in that year the number of miles q
railroad lines in operation in the country
was $500. With that great era the con
struction of those works upon grand scale
commenced. The mileage annually con
structed from the opening of the first sec
tion (23 miles) of the Baltimore and Ohio
railroad in 1880, to 1S47, inclusive, equal
ed 311 miles. The yearly average opened
from 1S48 to 1860, inclusive, equaled
1925 miles-the aggregate opened in this
period being 25,037 miles. During the
war the number of miles built equalcd
1928, or S18 miles annually. Since 1864
S,347 miles have been opened, or 2, OSG
miles annually. The number of miles
opened the past year was 1919. There
are in progress fully 1000 miles of line,
of which at least 5000 will be opened the
present year.
The development Of the tonnage traffic
has been as wonderful as the progress Of
railroad extension. The total amount Of
net tonnage transported over all the rail
roads of the United States in 1851 did not
exceed $500, 900 tons. The rate of in
crease from that year to the close of 1867
exceeded 1900 per cent. The value OF
the tonnage transported in 1851 equaled
$765, ,236, 1876; in 1858, So, 3,096, 1862, 500.
The total increase in value of the tonnage
transported in 1867 over that transported
in 1851 equalcd $9,707 ,013, ,275, and
81 ,375, ,4S7 500 over that transported in
1858. This incredibly vast tonnage, with
out railroads would have had no existence.
In the report of the commission appoin-
ted in 1917 to consider the subject of the
Erie canal, it is stated that previous to the
opening of that work the cost of trans
porting ton of produce from Buffalo to
New York city equaled 800, sum cx-
cecding twice the value of wheat at the
former place, four times that of corn, and
fully equaling that of beef and pork.
The produce of the West, where it
could not avail of water courses, was
under an interdict equal to 500 per ton.
Our markets for products, whether desig-
ned for home consumption or expectation,
are within narrow belt of territory on
the scabord, and by the use of railroads
the produce of the interior, no matter
how remote, is grown and sent to market
at large profit Over ordinary high
ways wheat will bear transportation only
$50 miles Indian corn only 125 miles.
Upon railroads these, the most valuable of
our cereals, will bear transportation 3, 200
and l, 600 miles, respectively. The total
earnings of our railroads in 1851 equaled
$50, ,406,3 1858. The receipts from freight
and passengers were almost exactly bal
anced. The earnings from all sources in
1867 were $400, 900, 900, ofwhich $3.50
600, 900 were received from freight, and
$l2O, 900, 900 from passengers. The ear
nings OF our roads are nearly twice grca-
ter than the English but while we are
said to excel other nations in the art of
construction, and in securing the largest
revenue for given service, the English
roads have great advantage over our
own in operating expenses, their net earn
ings, as rule, fully equalng ono-half Of
the gross receipts. In this country the
net cannot be estimated Mt over 30 per
cent. of the receipts. The most remark
able difference in the items of cost is in
the matter of fuel; the cost of the same
in this country being q go per mile, in
England 3.42 per mile. Coke is almost
exclusively used upon English roads i;
upon our own wood, or raw coal the for
mcr is very expensive fuel, while the lat
ter, where the coal is of the hard or an
thracite species, is generally considered
very destructive of the engines. The
softer or -bituminous Goals, such as
the Cumberland, which is so largely used
by the Baltimore and Ohio road, and
which road thus finds cheaper fuel than
any other railroad in the United States,
is not near so injurious Indeed, for
stcaming purposes generally it is known
to be unsurpassed.