The Cairo daily bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1870-1872, 1871-07-27

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tons to 10 tons. This renders 80 II
rail quite rs serviceablc as the SO II
rail now in use. A rate of speed of .
to 80 miles an hour is easily attaina
bic on throe feet gauge road.
In freight trains on the old gauge tn,
dead weight aud freight weight ar,
about equal. On a narrow gauge The
weight of cars to the weight of freight
j. as | to q Thus, IN load Of ,44(
tons. old gauge, the weight of the car.
viii be 120 tons, aud that Of freight
the same In load Of 722 tons. on
the narrow gauge, the cars will weigh
but BOG tons, and the freight SIG
tons. In other words, small
engine weighing % tons will
haul about two-thirds the paying matter
hauled by large engine more than
double the weight, and in cars of much
less costly construction. On the full
gauge road an engine of 81 tons will
haul 12O tons freight and 120 tons cars.
On the narrow gauge, two engines Of 20
tons each will haul ! ,O24 tons freight
with only 4l2 tons car weight. Great
as is this disproportion Of dead weight,
it is rendered much greater by the fact
that SO many ears run empty return
trips. If comparisons Of gross tonnage
are made, the saving effected by narrow
gauge is necessarily immense.
The economy in construction is very
great, as well as that of equipment
The weight of bridging, and necessar-
lily the cost, are materially lessoned,
as the weight of trains is considerably
reduced. Machine shops and buildings
generally can be made smaller, and ma
chimes much lighter. Graduation is re-
duced 80 per cent. at the lowest. In
rough countries it is reduced so per
cent, andin mountainous regions mar
row gauge can be constructed where a
wide road is impracticable.
The confidence which the expert.
ments Of the Denver and Rio Grande
company have inspired, insures the con-
struction Of narrow gauge roads in new
countries, not only as feeders to main
lines, but as trunk lines themselves.
The problem Of cheap land transpor:a-
ton promises now to be speedily solved.
If the experience, even Of few months,
fully sustains the facts we have given,
there must be, necessarily, an immense
revolution in the railroad business Of
the country, an enormous reduction
in the cost Of transportation, and, posi-
bly,, a very great depreciation in rail-
road values. Take for instance, the eff
feet upon the Baltimore and Ohio road
Of the building Of such a road from
William.port to the Allegheny coal
fields. Would not a new road, the cost
Of construction Of which was no, more
than One-half that Of it, rival, and
the working expenses of which were fal
less. necessarily attract TO itself at once
by rates Of freight profitable to it. bu
= ruinous to it, antagonist, the entir
Z business Of the coal region; and woul,
Z not the success Of such a road immed
{ ately lead TO it. own extension and tn,
construction Of Others ? The matter i.
one of far more importance than was al
first thought, and when we reflect thai
experience will lead to greater perfec-
ton and larger economy, it is difficult
to forctell what may not be the effect Of
the narrow gauge on the railroad sys-
TEN Of the country, and upon its ma
terIal development. Cheap rords mean
cheap rates, increased travel and traffic.
AID large dividends, and necessarily
lead to the development of valuable dis
trlct- by the construction Of new roads
and pro ding additional facilities.