The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1871-08-03
yARRoW CUAGB.

To the Hon. R. II. Bishop, we are in
debted for the loan of a pamphlet con-
tanning statistical and other facts relating
to narrow guage railways, compiled BY
S. W. Dorsey. This is said to be full
and complete argument upon this topic,
and work of rare merit. Al the sub
ject of narrow guage railways is engag-
ing the attention of the people and the
press to great extent in this State, we
shall from time to time endeavor to give
extracts from Dorsey's pamphlet. This
week we give below some very valuable
facts:
WHAT WIDE GUAGE WILL DO.
The entire length Of the road named
is !, $50 miles. The average gross weight
Of each train hauled is about $50 tons,
which would require 100000 trains, or,
in 313 working days in the year, 767
trains per day over all parts of the road
of 40 miles in "a hours. The Compa-
ny's books show that each net ton pro-
duces about 81, 90, which, at three cents
per ton per mile, makes the average dis
lance Travelled by each ton OF freight 40
miles-so that each ton of the total weight
hauled travels 40 miles, and consequently
each train only averages 40 miles in DIS
lance per day Travelled. The road being
1,450 miles long, it follows that there
must be an average of SO trains distribu-
ted over the total length constantly this
number divided into the total number of
trains per day shows an average of about
q trains per day passing over each mile
of road, or one every 20 minutes. Thus
it will be seen that, notwithstanding the
movement is so enormous, if the trains
sustain an average speed of 25 miles an
hour, one trsin in following another is
in time 20 minutes behind the preceding
one aud in distance about q miles.
You will thus see what u large surplus
capacity this road has for doing business.
Let us now see what could be done with
this amount of traffic if the guage were
3 feet in place OF feet 8! inches. In
the first place speed of 30 miles an hour
can be maintained on a narrow guase,"
yet we will accept the same speed us the
wide e., % miles per hour.
WHAT A MARROW GUAGE WILL DO.
The narrow guage freight Car weighs
tons, and will carry say tons pay
ing freight, 10,O00,0O tons paying
freight therefore, would require $780,
600 tons of dead car weight to be moved,
or u total of Ii, $50, 600 tons gross VT.
moved on narrow guasc as against Co.
DOC, 900 on wide guagc. We will assume
that the narrow guage trains each weigh
$50 tons, it would require then 81, $3.50
trains each year to handle the amount Of
freight named, or, in 3l3 days, 2s4 trains
per day, each train averaging 10 miles
per day; and the road being $50 miles
long, there would be an evera.e of 80
trains distributed over the road daily.
This number divided into the total num-
Der of trains per day, an we have an av-
eragc of eight trains every "a hours pas
sing over each mile of road, or one every
three hours. Ifthc train sustain an ave-
rage speed OFFS miles an hour, one train
following another is in time 3 hours and
in distance IS miles behind the preccd-
ing one. Note the following COMPARE
son.
at. SIG uage. SIT. Guagc. |
Paying freight IL, 90, 40 TONS TO- O0O. 000t's.
Son- paying freight. -. .Ooo, 600 $4,000 '
Total. 81, ooo, etcns. Is,7io.aors. !
l:sr x:ish, Of each train s:si"as. ,s1s:
.ensih Of road. ny. 1.sSmls. I,iSmls.
Trains PASS :vrrcach mile
,s st f ssn :a- &eE day ;;,: min hrs.
Distance trains a,srt in min. 20 .. ).
Distance trains apart in miles. e mis-. 81 mis-. !
From the Hiawatha Dispatch we learn
hal blacksmith named Shocks attempt
ID suicide in that village on Wednesday I
night last, by cutting his throat, while la |
boring under an attack of delirium tre- |
mems. He made bloody job but did
not succeed in killing himself. He has
! family in st. Joseph.
The President has formally rendered to |
Felix II. Brunot, of Pittsburg, Pa, the
of Commissioner of Indian /
Affairs and it is nearly certain that the
will be accepted. Mr.. Bru-
not is member of the Indian board and
his selection appears to satisfy all parties.
The statement of last week noting the
of the appointment of our es-
Iecmed fcllow-citizen, Col. VIM. A. Phil
Ups, to be Commissioner was undoubt-
IDLY superinduced by the overzeal and
hopes of his strongest friends. But we
profess not to have had an unbounded
faith in the Coloncl's selection, though it
would have pleased us much TO see it have
been made. There are rather too many |
,fficc-seekers nowadays and too many
men in power who have their special
friends, for one of the Colonel's modest I
disposition to come in for so important /
a place. The President has appointed
one with whom he has come in contact
and probably has acted wisely.
The LeavenwOrth Times SAYS: awe !
ire informed that Mr.. Amasa Sprasue
,ontcmplates the building of a manufac-
oryin Kansas of moving machines. 1t
is well known that the Spragues arc
among the heaviest manufacturers in the !
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