Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1872-02-16
R.rELRO.rD v.R.NB.vTs E.N'
TIE WEST.

The successes of the West in the matter
of railroad building are almost beyond be-
lief They sometimes make one devotec
to the inspiratioual utterance of Shaks-
peare, when he made Peck say that he
would put girdle rotsnd the earth in for
ty minutes. Two years ago, for instance,
there was not mile of available railroad
track in Colorado, and today five railways
make Denver their centre. These are the
Kansas Pacific, the Denver Pacific, the
"Boulder Valley" the Colorado Central,
and the Denver and Rio Grande. In addi-
ton to these, several new lines are shortly
TO be opened, all bringing Denver into con-
nection with many of the most active cen
tres of the West and Southwest. Many of
the lines lead directly into coal and gold
and silver mines of undou btcd value, and,
piercing the mountain ranges, bring their
treasures to the daylight with a rapidity
and certainty which makes the world stare.
The Denver and Rio Grande road is de-
scribed as the beginning of new route to
Mexico, leading directly from the centre of
the United States TO the centre of the for
mer country, and running through a coun-
try which is especially rich in agricultural
resources. Inasmuch as this line is the
first experiment of the narrow: euage sys-
TEN in this country its completion is ex-
citing considerable interest some, indeed,
go so far as to call ii the first proper eXper-
iment of the narrow guage system in the
world The Erie road started with six
feet guage, and had to succumb in the
struggle with all other American and Eu-
ropean lines Of four feet eight inches; but
now road boosting only three feet in
guage proposes to usurp the field, and is
building all its rolling stock on scale at
least one third smaller and lighter than
that of other roads. The cars and engines
employed on the new road, look, we are
assured like playthings beside the ponder
Gus ones employed on other routes; the
rails weigh thirty pounds TO the yard, in
stead of tilty-six; the engines sixteen tons
instead of thirty; the passenger cars, al
though they have eight wheels, six tons
instead OF eighteen, like those running on
the broad gague; and the freight cars two
tons instead of nine. The cost of fconstruct-
Ing this narrow guage road has been about
sl3, coo a mile, while that of broad guage
roads going through similar country is
nearly SD, Goo. In some cases the grading,
which has been done on the narrow guage
road for $4,000 per mile, would, according
/ to the best estimates, have cost 1000 on
| the broad guage. The economy IT, opera
| ton is alleged as the main advantage of the
new system of building; and the avoiding
of what the London and Northwestern
Company confesses it has to undergo, name
/ ly, the using of seven tons Of dead weight
to carry one OF live, is utterly avoided.
The narrow guage system is receiving
very hearty adhesion in various parts of
| Europe, as well rs in America. Russia
has ordered three feet six inch guage for
several important lines in that empire.
| There is a very useful and prominent road
| in Wales, only two feet wide, but 1t is con-
sidered decidedly too narrow for the pur-
| poses Of this country. The Norwegian
roads are nearly all three and one half feet
in width The British are inclined to de-
eide in favor of three feet, as they think it
secures the very smallest proportion OF
dead weight; and it is possible that it may
be adopted as the American narrow gauge
standard. Most of the new lines projected
in the West are adopting, or seriously con-
sidering the adoption of this principle.
Roads in Kansas, the great Southern Pa
ci tic road in Texas, the road between Terre
Haute and Cincinnati, branches of the
Pennsylvania Central, the Arkansas Cen
tral, are all narrow gauge; and st. Louis
is projecting an air line of that kind direct
to New York. The active leaders in the
narrow gauge movement are Philadelphia
ans and Coloradians and the capital for
the Western movement for this class of
railroads comes mainly from,England and
Holland. The road from Denver to Mexi-
co-the capital-is about one thousand
miles, and it seems probable that New and
Old Mexico will both be opened to us from
Colorado before connections from any 9TH
er part of the United States reach them
| Boston Journal.