Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-05-28
Rhode Island & Massachusetts, Railroad
Broad vs.. Narrow Gauge.

! To the Editor Of the Worcester Daily Spy
| Il Is proposed to build railroad from Worces-
! ter to tide water at Providence. Its route will
I be generally from six to eight miles east of the
| Providence aud Worcester railroad, giving to
the towns on its route direct railroad commune
| cation with the two termini of the road and the
| railroad and steamboat lines radiating from
/ those points.
| 1t is question among those interested wheth-
er 10 build of gauge of three feet or of the Or
binary one of four feet eight and cne-half inches
A committee has been appointed to ascertain as
nearly as possible the amount of business to be
done along the line and the number of tons of
goods that would be required TO be transferred
from one car TO another in consequence of using
a gauge of three feet and after ascertaining
these facts to report which gauge in their opin-
ion would be the most desirable TO adopt. |
hone il will not be considered out of place to
call the attention of such of your readers as
may be interested to few considerations that
may assist in deciding the question.
Before doing this will say that ! have been
engaged in the construction as engineer of broad
gauge railroads for several years, and ave eX-
amined the question of using a narrow gauge
thoroughly and impartially, and l am sure the
statements make will be corroborated by all
who have examined the subject thoroughly and
| impartially. and that the great majority of the
advocates OF a narrow gauge will say that have
been far TOO moderate in my estimates in re-
| gard to the economy of its use
To give ali the reasons why narrow gauge
railroad can be built and operated cheaper than
| r.
| long for the columns of daily paper, but am
prepared TO show that in any and all statements
which | make | agree with the opinions of
many of the best railroad engineers in the
world, and that the history of the narrow gauge
railroads now in operation proves these opinions
| TO be correct.
Narrow gauge railroads are not a new or I'M
| tried thing; they have been in actual operation
for MANY years, and have uniformly given good
satisfaction wherever they are in use, and, what
is equally important, have paid dividends where
broad gauge railroad could not pay interest
| on one-half the cost of construction. The
narrow gauge passenger cars give as
much comfort to passengers as broad
| gauge cars. The narrow gauge freight
cars are large enough for the transporta-
ton of all railroad freight unless | may except
that of broad gauge rolling stock. The capac-
ity of a single track narrow gauge railroad is at
least equal to three-lourths, and believe it
equal to the full capacity of a single track broad
| gsuge-and but few of our single track railroads
are worked TO more than three-lourths their full
capacity; but if it should be found that the mar
| row gauge single track could not accommodate
the business of the road, a second track can be
built at a cost so that the whole cost of the two
narrow gauge tracks will be but very little more
than the cost Of single broad gauge track, and
then the capacity of the two tracks would he
more than three times that of the single broad
gauge track.
1t will be urged by many that the road will
have so many broad gauge connections that the
cost of transfers of freight will more than cover
any saving that may be effected by using a
narrow gauge, and in this connection | hope
the committee appointed, in their estimates of
the number of tons of freight passing to and
from other roads to this, will show how many
tons of it is in full car loads, or is of such MT
ture as coal, sand building material, and grain
and how many tons of it is of general merchan-
| disc which is very readily aud is now generally
| transferred to another car when passing from
| one road to another.
| The freight to and from other roads will con-
sist of goods passing to and from points on this
| road, which the road would of course secure,
and OF treights passing over the entire length OF
the road or between two broad gauge roads
| which this road may connect. think that that
road which was operated the most economically
could best afford to carry the freight at the low
est rates, and would of course secure the freight
The committee will give more careful esti-
| mate of the number of tons of goods to he
| transferred than | am able TO at present; but
judging from the returns of the Providence and
Worcester railroad, l think that 100000 tons
will be a large estimate of the amount TO be
transferred. The cost of transferring freight
will not vary much from about ten cents per
ton, but in this estimate we will be on the safe
side and allow twice that, or twenty cents per
ton. This would give us $4,000 as the whole
cost Of transferring freghts during one year.
The distance on the route proposed will be
about fifty miles. The route lies through a
| country that will not require very sharp curya-
ture have based my comparative estimates
on the same line for both gauges II the line is
built on narrow gauge have no doubt that
in many places much may be saved by increas-
ing the curvature without increasing the tract
i've power required to haul the same loads
A broad gauge railroad over the route pro
posed would cost with its equipment, about
600 per mile, as shown below:
Graduation, bridges, &c...................Sl $1,000
Track, ties, &e 10000
Land damage, fencing, depots, engineering,
| =, &c .''''''.. 5000
| Equipment ............................ 5000
Total per mile ......................S3 $780, 600
Far terminal Taci;es add
Total cost for broad gauge. ......... 81, 900
A narrow gauge railroad over the same route
could be built with an equipment sufficient to do
the same business for twenty five per cent. less,
or Tor 800 as shown below:
| Graduation, bridges, etc. Observation-Disclosures. 5000
rack, lies, etc 1900
Land damage, fencing, depots engineering,
| =, etc''.''''.''.'. ....'.,..........,..... 5000
| I1quiplheul OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. 1910
Total per mile. observation-disclosures 22,5OO
For terminal facilities add. .............. 225,OOO
Total cost of narrow gauge ...........S 81 $50, 600
These estimates show saving in first cost of
| P1VVI""Vj Vi III duuuhl sdNlH0 WIN interest at y
per cent of S82 900.
In the absence of any definite estimate of the
amount of business the proposed road will do,
we will suppose that the net earnings will be
Just sufficient to pay per cent on the capital in.
vested in the broad gauge road. The net earn.
ings Of a railroad average about 49, per cent OF
the gross earnings or about one,half the operat-
ing expenses. Assuming the net earnings TO he
per cent of the capital OF 81 $50 900, they would
amount to Sl40 900, and the operating expenses
S26O,OOO The same amount Of business could
he done on the narrow gauge railroad 20 per
cent cheaper, or at a yearly saving Of $50, 600
From this deduct the cost of transfers, $50, 900,
we have $4,000; adding TO this the amount
saved in yearly interest by the less cost of con-
struction, and we have yearly saving of
SGs,O0O OF nearly 25 per cent of The cost of doing
the same business on the broad gauge.
Or, suppose that we add to the net earnings
(Sl4O,OOO) of the broad gauge railroad, the
amount saved from the cost Of operation by the