Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-03-14

to the traffic expected, and no laws ought
ever to be passed to restrict free action as
to gauge. 81
Our railroads viii ultimately resemble
Our streams: the main trunk lines will be
fed by smaller branch lines, of different
gauges, like the large rivers are fed from
creeks and branches, and ultimately all
parts of the country viii have avenues of
trade to the principal business centres.
A restriction as to gauge might
be compared to absurd laws, COM
polling four-horse coaches only to travel
on bridle-paths, or steamships of 5000
tons burden only to navigate shallow
creeks. Assuming the fve-foot gauge to
be the proper one for trunk lines with
heavy through business, we may safely
assume gauge of three feet six inches to
be the proper gauge for important branch
lines, or short independent lines with
local business only, connecting some
commercial centre with certain isolated
portion of the country; for special roads
for mining or manufacturing districts.
A gauge of q feet, or really @ A feet, is,
in my opinion, the most suitable gauge
for branch roads, or roads for light local
traffic only; being one-half the gauge of
trunk lines, and enabling trains of branch
roads to run on the main tracks, if neces-
sary, by laying third rail in the centre.
This gauge would facilitate transfers at
functions. and would enable, for instance,
the train of a branch road to run on the
trunk line to its terminus, when junction
should be near the same, thus avoiding
transfer altogether. Rails would be
worn equally by running on one rail one
way and on the other rail the other way.
These branch roads could do all the
business required of them, would ma
terially increase the business of the trunk
lines and develop the resources of the
country.
The general advantage of the narrow
gauge roads as advocated in articles upon
the subject are of course in the main cor
rect and can be accepted in good faith;
the main advantage being economy of
construction, I" which with us is an over
whelming, and in fact, the only and eff
Gent argument. The narrow gauge roads
can he built in our State andin the whole
South by local means only, on account
of their cheapness, when roads of wider
gauge cannot be built at all, without the
aid of foreign capital, which cannot
easily be obtained. They present the
advantage of construction by our Oton
local means, without bonded debt and
interference of foreign bondholders ETC.;
can be built and managed by the people
living along the line for their own bene-
fit. aao
By comparing the cost of construction
of roads in Tennessee of different gauge,
upon lines surveyed and estimated, or al
ready built, we have, approximately
5 foot gauge $25, 900 per mile,
foot 6 inch gauge $l9, 900 per mile,
2 foot inch gauge 81, 900 per mile,
including all construction, equipment and
contingent expenses.
Thus the cost of branch roads of 23
feet gauge, is less than one half the cost
of our ordinary railroads, and their ca
pacity for business, ali that is desired.
One obstacle, which is continually held
I'D as as serious barrier to their con-
struction, might be mentioned here; that
is the difficulties Of transfer at june
tons, which, are Represented as too tedi-
ious and expensive, etc. This matter,
although an obstacle, can be overcome by
sending through freight in box cars,
transferred by transfer tables on the
trucks of wide gague roads, Or in several
different ways, which will increase the
cost of freight in very small proper
ton.
Another argument in favor of such
roads, is, that they can, by proper man
agement, produce net increase of at least
10 per cent. on invested capital. 1t may
be useless now to use this argument with
our own capitalists, who are exceedingly
cautious, and who will not be much in
fiuenced by the official reports of the in e
come of roads in other countries, and
who will not invest in narrow gauge
railroads here, until such roads are actu-
ally built and operating in this State, and
the dividends to stockholders are plainly
to be ascertained. There is one question
connected with narrow gauge roads
which might also be mentioned in this
connection, that is, would not some of the
incompleted, or at least non-paying and
DELINQUENT railroads, which are about to
be sold in chancery, pay asnarrow gauge
rOads2 The McMinnville and Manches-
ter Railroad for instance, might
perhaps be bought cheap-enough to war
rant a sale of the old iron and rolling
stock, and purchase of light iron and
stock for q or 8 foot gauge, which
might perhaps enable the purchasers to
complete the South western Railroad on
the same gauge across the Caney Fork.
A narrow GAUGE road from Tullshoma &c
White county, could be made to pay q
handsome net income, provided it would
commence operations without bonded
debt. The same might perhaps be sug
gested in regard to other roads in The
State, running, so far, nowhere, built a
heavy expense on wide, 8 feet gauge
and which might pay dividends on q
feet gauge, If out Of debt. The construc
ton of railroads of narrow gauge, although
now practicable and free from restrictions
of the law, in our State, will be slow anC
tedious, until narrow gauge road wi
actually be in operation in our midst, t
prove to the most skepticsl, that they ar
practicable, suitable and profitable. A
soon as such commencement will b
made, many more will be built, and the
construction will be encouraged by trunk
lines, which will be much benefited b
them. 1t is useless here to go into detail
of the construction of such roads, as the
are of course similar to the other roads
and such questions are purely professional
E. F. FALOoNNET, Civil Engr.
SALEM, VA: