Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1872-10-25

and France, aud reported on favorably.
The English Government has adopted the
system i'll the construct Oh Of 10000 miles
of railroad i'll India for the TRANSFORMATION
of cotton, Can item of interest in the South)
| because the narrow gauge could there be
built for about one-half of the wider gauge,
| and operated for about one-half as
much, besides alOrding equal carrying
| capacity, ana The same speed and comfort.
Iney are further in successful operation in
Wales, Norway, Sweden, India, Russia,
france, Canada, South America and
queensland. The press has frequently
and generally noticed the successful Oper-
alton OF tl'a FcStiniOg narrow gauge road
II Wales. The gauge Of this road is only
70 > inches, or not quite 2 feet, and in 1860
its tonnage averaged g3SS tons per mile of
road, which is more than double of the
traffic Of the thrifty roads in Massachusetts;
and its passenger business i'll the same
year, and 1t Is not strictly a passenger
ROAD, amounted TO GSO7 passengers per
mile, which exceeded that of the yery
prosperous Worcester end Nashua road, of
the same State, in 1870.
The practicabil:ty, safety, capacity, and
success OF the narrow gauge road is further
shown by the fact that there is now in
course OF construction and operation roads
OF this gauge in Indiana, Illinois, New
Jersey, Iowa, New York, Wisconsin, Ne
braska, Montana, Idaho, California, Ala
bama, Ohio, Nevada, West Virginia,
Colorado, Tennessee, and Arkansas
we only add one more fact. AT Denver
City, Colorado, there is the Union
Pacific and the Kansas Pacific, both
OF the WIDER gauge, and the Denver
City and Rio Grande road, narrow gauge,
all side by side. In December of 1911,
the two former were stopped at times as
many as four consecutive days from snow,
Gone of the greatest tests of railroads)
While during the same time, the latter was
never more than two hours behind time at
one time. The Denver City and Rio
Grande road is to be some 800 miles in
length, some - of which was then running.
Its books then showed it could and was
carrying two and one-third tons one mile
tor one cent. This is extraordinary in
cheap transportation. From what we can
learn, we would not be surprised if the
great Southern Pacific Road was not built
on the narrow gauge plan.
10 conclude, however, we would simply
remark that capitalists have become tired
OF tieing up their means in Improbable
railroad enterprises, where there is rarely
direct return, but only collateral and in
cidental advantages. The public have
come to regard investments in railroads,
as heretofore constructed, as buried. They
argue, why should there not be direct
return from investments OF this character,
as in the case of bank stocks and various
other businesses, and only indirect and in
cidental returns. The simple answer is the
wider gauges Or old system cost both too
much to build and rI:n. The land
transportation system of this country is,
however, surely an enormous interest, and
must be not only sustained but further
vastly developed. This has driven the
railroad world TO study the subject more
closely and critically, and to ascertain what
has been done abroad in this matter. The
result has been the gradual adoption of the
n1rroW-gauge system of railroads. The
system las enemies now in the old lines
now established, where enormous amounts
OF capital are at present invested, also from
railway supply agents-and in some cases
from the older members of the engineering
profession, who, quite naturally, like many
OF the rest of us, have special fondness
for anything OF our own begetting, which
the wider or Old gauge system is to them.
The narrow gauge roads, however, possess
ing the capacities they do, and costing and
being operated for such very much less
sums Of money, do seem to us to possess
merits which cannot be ignored. We
therefore really and heartily congratulate
the people GA this new proposed Coast
line, and trust soon to see il started; and
none the less as it may give them many Of
the advantages growing out of the narrow
gauge system.
EpJE%D