New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-09-22
NARROW .ArAGR.
How it Works in Colorado-The Denver
and Rio Grande Railroad Practical
Results.
rrespondecce San Francisco Bulletin. ]
DENVER, Colorado. Angust p. 49,

Results.
| Correspondence San Francisco BulIettn.1
DENVER, Colorado, August %, 1872.
! MY main. object in coming to this busy
mountain town was to study thu practical
operation of the narrow gauge railroads, fol
it was here, l believe, the first systematic
experiment was tried, and it is here thai
the question of its success is to be deter
mined
WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED.
The Denver and Rio Grande railroad
three feet gauge-has been completed tt
Puebla, a distance of 1913 miles. A branch
line thirty miles long, running to recently dis
covered coal mines, is under contract and
will be finished before winter sets III. In
the meantime the main line will be steadily
pushed southwark to New Mexico and the
Rio Grande, with Mexico for its objective
point. When completed it will form CON
tinuOus line Of 900 miles, running along the
eastern base of the Rocky mountains, tap
ping great cattle. grain and wine-raising
country, and opening to American enter
prise the famous silver mines of Mexico.
And it will be built without govern
ment aid, and with but slight local
subsidy, the projectors trusting to the
development OF the country with its imo
mense mineral and agricultural wealth for
the reward of their enterprise. And that
reward promises to be more speedy and
| generous Ludu ZIG . SlIOSl SdNguIlb aDtlCB-
I pated when the work was begun. The pres
ent earnings OF the road yield a handsome
! income on the money invested. The cars,
| one train days are crowded with passens
| gers, and the capacity of the company is
| fully faxed to meet the. freight demand.
" Is the road doing a good business 2" |
| asked of prominent Citizens o. Doing the
| best business OF any railroad coming here.
| Doing better business than the Kansas
| Pacific with its Eastern connections, and
doing it more satisfactorily to the public
he replied. And this seems to be the general
opinion
SOME PRACTICAL RESULTS.
what surprises me greatly is the speed,
ease and apparent safety with which trains
may be run on the narrow-gauge. Railroad
men tell me-and broad guage employees
twenty-five and thirty miles an houEs sJn-
deed this is done daily on portions of'the
Denver and Rio Grande road. Hen there
is very little jolting, jarring and surging of
the cars. You sit almost as comfortably,
as easily as if you were in your own house.
The cars are about as dainty looking as
those of tOy-sh0p the engines are LillipUs
tian Even the freight cars looks as if they
had been gotten up for holiday amusement.
1t is impossible to have much faith in these !
baby-lQoking, oblong boxes until you have
ridden in them and seen how smoothly and
steadily they fly over the track
Few FIGUREs--GONpARIso or ROLLING
STOCKo
The engines are modelled after the Penn.
sylvania Railroad COmpany's standard pat.
terms. Passenger engines have forty-inch |
drivers, four wheels coupled: one pair
small leading wheels, cylinders nine by six
teen inches; weight on drivers 10000 |
pounds; total weight of engine $4,000 |
pounds Freight engines, thirty-siS inch |
drivers, six wheels coupledS one pair small !
leading Wheels cylinders eleven by sixteen |
inches; weight on drivers, 10000 pounds; I
total weight. ,000.ponds:
Passenger and. baggage cars nave twenty.
four inch Wheels They will seat shirty five |
passengers. The seats are arranged with |
two on one side and one on the either side !
Of the passage They are handsomely fur.
nished. wei! ventilated and exceedingly
comfortable A comparison of train weights
with those of broad gauge wifi show some |
OF the advantages of the narrow gauge.
Freight engine, four feet eight and one
half inches gauge: weight of driver, so 600
pounds: total weight OF engine and TENDER |
$4,000 pounds, or hfty-seTen and one.half !
tons: load on level, exclusive OF engine and
tender, li4O tons.
Denver and Rio Grande railway, three !
feet gauge: weight OF driver. 10000 pounds:
total weight OF engine and tender, ii ,00G
pounds. or twenty and Gne-half tons: load
on level, exclusive OF engine and tender. !
522 tonso
OF this ioad or full gauge soa3, the pro.
portiOnate weight of cars being one to one
Of treig hit, there Will be: weight OF cars. 320
tons; weight of freight. 920 IONS.
On three fees gauge. the prsportionate
weight Of cars being one TO two and half
Of freight. we have: weight OK caIs. 200
tons; weight OF freight, SIC tons, or nearly
5wo-thlFds the paying matter hauled by the
large engine
The comparison will be still more start.
ing when we consider the question of dead
weight. Statistics show that on full-gauged
loads the proportion of dead to paying
weights is four to one. Thus on full-gange.
With load as above Of ITO tons, we get:
weight Of ears, Il59 tons: weight OF freight.
rs tonso
On three feet gauge. with load az above
If 922 tons, we get: weight ef ears. Az tons: !
ons OF Che paying matter hauled by an
ngine Of Swice the power.
The constructing engineer Of the Denver I
md Rio Grande railroad, III % speG.a! re.
'oEt. just gUblisle d. says: |,
Teight OF Total weight.
railroad, fleet 1lI's''' u F"s'4S'
81 inch gauge. go tons. 49,. toms
env@r and Rio Grande Rail-
Nayo ] feot gauseo...... 10 tons. I:1. tons.
" eight os Aggregate /
ennsyivan'a railroad. = feet
61& inch gauge. o.s......2G soma 80. TONS !
enyeT and Rio Grande Rail.
ways 3 foot gauge o....o tons. S5i5 IONS. !
The usual passenger train Oh the PennsyI.
ania RAILROAD consists Of
passenger cars, each seating 80 Passengers
and weighing each 10 tOns............,..... &c
engine and GENDER. 539
Total Srain weight. S4?:
This train will seat 81. passengers.
10 carry the same number of passengers
n the Denver and Rio Grade railway will {
equine
passenger ears each seating IS passengers, t
and each weighing g Observation-Disclosures. ~ :
baggage Car.o....o.. Z
engine and Isl:
Total srafB weight. .......................o 6z1
Il less than one-half the train weight on | i
10 full gauge. On freight trains the com !
arison is equally favorable to narrow l
auge. Here are the figures :
The weight of iron is generally regulated. e
y the heaviest weight on any single wheel;
lis is Invariably. on driving wheels of en- g
ines. Conditions OF speed, etc, remaining
lie same, if half this weight be taken from 3
irving weels, the same actual duty still .
eng performed, the weight of iron can be a
3duced one-half, and still retain as great or 5
reater prOp0rtionate strength the height
rail being reduced but one-fourth, the G
cad and hange remaining of proportion q
10 aTrrlNt hn1f hot NFE fill