The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-01-11

assistance by subscribing for 1900 shares of
their capital stock, and agreeing to guarantee
the bonds Of the new company to a sufficient
amount to construct twelve miles of the pro-
posed railroad. This new road, when finished,
Will be leased by this Company. The Pine
Grove and Lebanon Railroad, extending from
Pine Grove to the Lebanon county line. has
been completed and is now in operation, and
the link which connects it with the borough
OF Lebanon will be finished and opened for
business early in the present year.
Upon the 10Th of May last lease of the
East Pennsylvania Railroad was made to this
Company, for term of nine hundred and
ninety-nine years, at an annual rent of SIS, ,552,
equal to six per cent, clear of taxes, upon the
capital stock of the East Pennsylvania Rail
road Company. The rolling stock, workshops,
materials, real estate, and other property of
the latter Company, were transferred to this
Company, in consideration of its agreement to
pay at maturity, in the year 1888, the bonded
indebtedness Of the East Pennsylvania Rail-
road Company, amounting tosS506,900, the
value of property so transferred being amply
sufficient to cover the amount of bonds thus
guaranteed to be paid.
lying between Port Clinton and Topton, and
connecting the main line with the East Penn
syvania road, has been placed under contract.
The Shamokin and Trevorton Railroad has
been finished and is now in operation, and the
extension of the Good Spring Railroad to
Brookside, near the Dauphin county line, has
also been completed. An extension of the
Lorberry Creek Railroad, to develop the
southern fork of the western portion of the
SchuyllSill coal field, is now being constructed.
The map annexed to the report of the chief
engineer exhibits the extent location and con-
nections of all of these several roads, as we'll
as OF all other railroads now owned, leased or
controlled by this Company, and the tabular
statement accompanying the map shows that
the aggregate lengths Of all of these railroads,
including sidings, amounts to 1142 miles of
single track road.
As this system of railroads, projected some
years ago, approaches completion, there is no
reason to doubt the wisdom of the policy
which suggested its construction. SO far as
the roads are located in the coal regions, it
will be seen that the effect of their construc-
tion has been to render tributary to the main
line almost the entire territory of the south
ern and middle coal fields, and if a supply of
cars sufficient to carry away the product of
the mines is hereafter maintained, and the in
ducement of moderate rates of transportation
offered to the trade, the Company can rely
with confidence upon the individual enter
prise and energy of the coal operators as suf-
hcient at all times to furnish large and con-
Stantly increasing amount of tonnage.
The new roads constructed and secured
outside Of the coal fields, are either import
ant links in, or feeders of, the line of road ex-
tending from Harrisburg to Allentown, now
owned or controlled by this Company, over
which passes very large amount of traffic be-
tween New York city and the west or are de-
signed as tributaries to the main line, espe-
cially valuable as contributing large supply
of iron ore for the use of the furnaces along
the road.
Next in value to the coal traffic, the iron in
terests of the Schuylkill Valley claim the at
tention and deserve the protection of the Com
pany; and the wisdom of the policy which for
the past few years has been securing an un-
failing supply of iron ore for consumption
along the main line of the road will be fully
justified by future results. The Lebanon
Valley branch, the East Pennsylvania Rail-
road, the Reading and Columbia Railroad and
the Colebrookdale Railroad drain regions con-
tanning inexhaustible supplies of iron ore;
limestone of the best quality is found in great
abundance along the line; in the rich agricultural
valleys of Montgomery, Berks, Chester, Leba-
non and Dauphin counties labor will at all times
be found as abundant as in any other portion
of the State; anthracite coal of the very pest
description for smelling, pudding and heating
purposes will always be as plentiful as in any
other region; and it is believed that there is
not at present in Pennsylvania any other To-
cality possessing greater advantages for the
manufacture of iron than the valley of the
Schuylkill.
The rolling mill of the Company at Reading
has turned out during the last year II ,037 tons
of finished rails, of which amount but two and
half tons have been worn out and removed
from the track. Out of the 1871 tons of rails
made at the Company's mill and laid in the
year 1868, one hundred and eighty tons have
up to this time been taken up and returned for
re-rolling. While the rails thus manufactured
have cost the Company an average of less than
the current market price, the result in their
wear, when subjected to the test of our large
tonnage, proves the superiority of their con-
struction.
During the last year two steam Golfers of
about 600 tons burthen each have been built
for the Company, and are now engaged in
transporting coal from Richmond to eastern
ports. Four others, two of 1000 tons burthen
and two of800 tons each, are now under con-
tract, and will be placed in the trade early in
the present year.
A large amount of real estate has been
bought during the year, principally situate at
Richmond and on Willow street, in the city of
Philadelphia.
During the year just closed rolling stock of
the value of 81, 1929 So has been added to
the property of the Company, as follows:
1854 eight-wheeled cars, built by the
Company, 1i6,7C2 90
- Company, 4,16I e5
Baird & Co., $4,000 90
mia Railroad Co, ,- s2,1SO 70
IL tiTst-class engines, bought of East
Pennsylvania Railroad Co., 14O,6OO 90
Total, -s1,162, 1856 SO