Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1873-08-14
GREAT RAILWAY ENTERPRISE.

GREAT RAILWAY ENTERPRISE.
The Gigantic Work of the New York
Central and Hudson River Company
Four steel Rail Tracks from Buffalo to
New York.
The New York Central and Hudson
River Railway Company is now engaged
IN the active prosecution of work, the
magnitude of which few of the people
fully appreciate. This work consists in
the laying of two additional tracks from
New York to Buffalo, with all the neces-
sary Accomplishments, making it four
track road, and the most complete III the
world. The enterprise is no visionary
or ill-considered undertaking. 1t
grows out of the imperative necessities
of the company's rapidly increasing
traffic. 1t springs from the pressing
demands of commerce. In 1852 the
combined earnings of the Central and
the Hudson River from passengers, So,
604, 100 80. and from freight 81, $40, Obs
81 In 1872, the earnings of the con-
soidated company were, from passen-
gers, Sc, 500, 006. 81, and from freight,
S16, 259, 646. S2-more than double in
both departments. This enormous ad-
vance tells the story of the increasing
needs.
But this is not all. The company has
over ten thousand freight cars. 1t runs
over sixteen miles of trains every day
It has more than five hundred lOcOmo-
tives. Ii its locomotives and cars were
placed on the track in a continuous line.
they would extend one hundred and
twenty miles, or nearly all the way from
this city to New York. At any given
point on the line more than a hundred
through trains pass every day-that IS,
one III every ten or fifteen minutes. All
this vast business cannot be crowded
upon the present tracks without great
difficulty and extra cost. Besides the
freight trains, the company runs large
number of fast passenger trains every
day. These, Of course, have the prece-
dence. Every freight train is obliged
to get out of the way Of every passenger
train. Fifteen minutes before the lat
ter is due the former must be off on Il
side track, and, to guard against acct
dent, 1t is not permitted to move until
ten minutes after the passenger train
has passed. Thus there is a loss of
twenty-five minutes in every case. The
economy in railwaying consists in keep
ing the rolling-stock moving, and this
loss of twenty-five minutes several times
repeated every day with the whole six
teen miles of freight trains is heavy
expense and tax. If it could be avoided,
freight could be carried from ten to
twenty per cent. cheaper, and that saw
ing is enough to make it pay to build
two additional tracks. Authority to so
enlarge the capacity Of the road Was
obtained from the last Legislature, and
the work of track-laying, grading, and
equipping the line is now being pushed
forward with practical rapidity. The
company has already bought for this
purpose $4,000 tons of English steel
rails, which are now being delivered
None but steel rails are to be used in
any part of the work. As it requires
from $500 to 5000 ties per mile, full
10000 ties will beusedfor the whole,
including the sidings. ABOUT seventy
miles are already graded and ready for
the laying of the track. 1t is expected
that $50 miles viii be graded this fall,
and that the whole viii be completed in
two years.
It is designed that the two north tracks
shall be used for passenger trains and
the two south tracks for freight In
laying the new tracks the effort is made
to straigiten out the line as far as pos
sible, and take out the curves, and will
this view the new tracks are not PLACED
throughout on the same side Of the old
but they are adjusted so as to best ac-
complish this end.
The cost OF this work is estimated a
gom SO, 900, coo to so, 600, 900. Before
RI was undertaken, there was no mort
itage on the road, only bonds, taken VI
from the roads which entered into con
soidation, to the amount of S15, 900, 0GO
The road has now been mortgaged t,
the extent of $4,000, 900 to cover thes
bonds and the cost of the new improve
ments. l6dny journal.