New-York tribune., 1869-06-05

horse power, which was drawn from .Des Moiues
Iowa. $50 miles, by Oxen then the nearest railway
point In those early days sumber cost $25 per thou
sand and the freight on some locomotives brought
here from the East was $1,000 each.
The purchaser for the company G. W. Frost, ex-
pended almost six millions of dollars in 1865 for mis-
cellaneous supplies, though he had nothing to do
with buying heavy articles like tTack-lron ana loco
motives Everything was done upon the jump; no
foresight could cover all contingencies Down IRON
the end of the line would flash telegram "Send
us a thousand striking hammers-a thousand men
are lying idle; :" or 1--WE want mile of iron pipe;
and off Frost would post to Chicago to gather up
the articles and hurry them out for twelve or fifteen
hundred miles Once he teegaphed to a New-York
pow-maker: "Ship me instantly hundred iron
pOws, and three thousand steel plOw-points." The
manufacturer teleqaphed back to friend here, ask
ing if the purchaser for the Union Pacific had gone
mad. Becoming satisfied he sent the articles, with
a message to Frost: Il never was so proud of an
order in my life; but in Heavens name what do you
want of three thousand plOw- -pointsp They were
required for loOsening quality of mountain gravel
so hard that it would wear out dozen points a day
upon plow, and one driven through it would leave
a mark Of steel grains in the furTOw like charcoal
tracing upon table-cloth In estimating the liber-
aliy of the Government endowment it is but fair to
consider the enormously increased expenditures
which remoteness rapidity of construction, and
rying forward everything from one end Of the road
involved.
The equipment is unquestiOnably good. The loco
motives from the leading shops of the East the
very best. The sleepingcars Pullman's. The day
passenger coaches building here, are without oxcep
tion the finest / have ever seen. The sills are of
Michigan oak. the sides of whitewOod, the interior
finish Of ash and black walnut. locomotive costs
$l4,5OO; day passenger car, $1,000; freight car,
$500. There are 147 locomotives upon the road and
q contracted for SO passenger coaches with "a
building, and enough arranged for to swell the aggre-
gate to 12O before September l2 sleeping coaches,
with large number under way, and 2,700 freight
cars.
Forty-eight hundred men are regularly employed
in operating the line-an army commanded by Web
ster Snyder the Superintendent, and from J. 200 to
1,400 for the time, with seven gravel trains and
two steam shoyels in smoothing, balasting and
finishing the bed, and substituting permanent
bridges for temporary ones on the western d-
visions. One passenger train and three freight trains
run each way daily, including Sundays The pres
ent receipts amount to about $4,000 per day and
rapidly increasing The officers stationed here Gen,
G.. NJ Dodge late Member of Congress from the
Council Bluffs District, Chief Engineer w. Snyder,
General Superintendent; II. NJ. Hoxie, Assistant
General Superintendent; II. Brownson, General
Freight Agent and j. Budd, General Ticket Agent
APPROXIMATE AVERAGE RATES IN CENTS AND DBClMALs
ON MERCHANDISE BETWEEN NETWORK AND SAN
FRANCISCO.