Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1873-06-12
RAILROAD.
To the President and Directors of the
L. E. w. & M. v, Railway.

GENTLEMES.-In obedience to
your request, present herewith an
approximate estimate of the cost of
your railroad, if completed with a
three-foot gauge, "togethcr with
some genera, facts concerning this
class ofroad and its adaptation" to
your route.
t~I-am conscious that the whole
narrow gauge question is relatively
new to the community at large, and
therefore find it difficult to know
where to commence on this subject
or how to keep within the limits
you desire.
I am aware also that the first i'm
preston upon those not informed as
to the history and performance OF
narrowigauge roads is generally not
favorable, and yet it is equally as
true that a more intimate knowledge
of the facts in reference to them
does just as universally reverse this
opinion.
Narrow-gauge railroads are no
mere experiment, waiting to be test
ed as to their merits; in fact, it was
the extraordinary, efficiency invaria-
bly, following their construction that
first drew attention to. the system.
They have for many years been in
use in England, Wales, Sweden, Rus
sia, and many other places on the
continent of Europe, and South
America, and the English govern
ment in India, after testing the gauge
question by the construction Of D.
204 miles of road, at a cost of over
ninety millions sterling, with vari
GUS gauges, from 3 up to 5bfeet, and
after a most examination of The
whole subject by a board of the best
English engineers, has adopted one
metre(3 feet 3s inches Jas the stand
ard gauge,and is now engaged in the
construction of 5000 additional
miles in her Indian provinces, with
the width, as being best adapted !, to
the rapid development of country.
In the United States and Canadas
there are many roads of this class ip
successful operation. The first gen
uine railroad in the United States,
completed in about 1926, at Mauch
Chunk, Pa. 20 miles in length, has a
gauge of 8 feet,and has been in sue
cessful operation now for 4S years.
The Denve: & Rio Grande, q three
foot gauge, has 130 miles in opera
ton, and from Denver to the Pacific,
aroad of the same gauge, stimulated
by the financial results on the, form
er road, is being rapidly eonstruc-
ted. -..l-. -.
The Torouto, Gray d Bruce road,
Of Ganada,S7 miles in length, has the
same gauge, has been in operation
for number of years, and proved q
success. This road was originally
constructed with the ordinary gauge
but upon being altered to three feet
has proved much more remunera-
tive.
A three foot gauge from Wash
ington City to st. Louis, with cap
ital of $25, 1000, ,000,has recently been
chartered. The location of a mar
row gauge road is now being made
in Pennsylvania, from the coal re-
gions of Somerset county to Phila
delphia, which, when completed, will
have length of 225 miles.
Many other roads of this.descrip-
ton are either in actual use, or in
various stages of advancement,
among which is a projected line
.along the Atlantic coast, from New
York through Philadelphia, Balti
more, Norfolk and Wilmington, to
Charleston, S. C.
Wherever they have been tested,
they have shown, as the invariable
result, that they can move more
freight at about one third less per
mile than can be none on the ordi-
nary gauge with the same gradients.
Robert T. Fairlie, the eminent Eng
lish engineer, and chief promoter OF
the narrow gauge system in Great
Britain, in answering inquiries re-
specting the operation of the narrow
gauge government roads in Russia,
with which he also connected, says:
"The general result is that compar-
atlvely light engine, on a light and
inexpensive narrow-gauge roadrsuf.
fees for q train carrying more tons
Of goods than are moved on any of
the Russian broad gauge lines, and
much doubt if any of your broad
gauge lines in America can do more.
The cause Of these unexpected re-
suits is found principally in two pc
culiarltles:
-eFirst-The increased carrying ca
pacity of the cars in proportion to
their own weight. A box car of the
ordinary gauge weighs ten tons, and
lts. load is only ten tons, so that for
every ton of paying freight there IS
carried one ton of dead weight or 50
per cent of the whole while on the
narrow gauge the cars weigh 2I tons
and carry 4 tons, of nearly double
their own weight, the dead weight,
being only 30 per cent of the whole
saving "a per cent of the dead
weight and adding it to the, freight
weight, so that the same engine
power( which is the measure of cost)
hauls % per cent more tons of goods
on the narrou-gauge than on the
ordinary width, with saving of
nearly one-haif the cost in returning
the empty cars.
Second-The greater capacity Of
the engines in proportion to their
own weight, caused by better dis
tribution TO their own weisht.caused
by q better distribution of the weight
upon the driving wheels-an ordi |
nary locomotive with four five foot
driving wheels, in working order, |
weights (without tender )about So
900 pounds, of which 36, 1000 pounds
only, or less than two-thirds, is car
ried on the driving wheels. ~
A narrow gauge Baldwin locomo-
tive, with six three foot driving
heels,in, working order, weighs 3S,
O00 pounds, the whole of which is
on the drivers, so that the rineteen-
ton narrow-gapge engine has q great
er adhesive weight by 1000 pounds
than the twenty-nine- ton engine ON
the ordinary gauge.
Equal speed is attainablc, with the
same safety. upon, the one as the
other. The proportion of base to
height OF narrow gauge locomotive
with three-feet driving wheels, is