The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1874-12-04

agree with the above platform to-I
meet there on that occasion. The
object is to adopt a National plat
form, and appoint time and place
for holding National Independent
Convention to nominate candidates
for President and Vice President.
The failure of the poolists to
force the Baltimore and OHIO Rail-
road into their freight combination,
has set the matter or further freight
ing facilities in motion. The fact
that the B. & o. can carry at cheap
er rates than other lines, and yet
make money seems to be admitted,
hence a necessity for some new
project by which rival lines shall ge
get upon better footing, even than
the B. & o. The following from the
New York Graphic of the 23d, un-
folds a scheme, whcih, if car
ried into effect, will do more to solve
the problem of cheap transportation,
than any yet suggested:
A new and important Railroad
movement is said to be on the tapiS.
1t is understood that the manage
ment of the New York Central and
Lake Shore Railroads are contem
plating the formation of a joint com
pany, with view to having exclu
sive freight tracks all the way from
Chicago to New York and Boston.
The extra two tracks between AL
bany and Buffalo are nearly COM
plete, and the plan is to continue the
extra double track from Buffalo to
Chicago. When this is done it will
be possible to carry freight at very
much cheaper rates that it can now
be handled on the Baltimore & Ohio
Railroad, notwithstanding the short
er distance on the last mentioned
railway. 1t is believed that the
freight can be transported on an ex-
elusive freight track at rates not
very much above those charged on
the Erie Canal. The trains are to be
run at the rate of eight miles an hour,
which is the rate that gives the least
wear and tear to track and cars. On
uniform time-ta table, the track not
being hampered by passenger trains
of unequal rates of speed, an incal-
culably large amount Of business can
thus be done. Under such an ar
rangement it would be possible to
run trains which would be less than
half mile part. Now, as the dis
tance between New York and Chica-
90 is about 81, 900 miles, if we allow
that under such regulations as the
above there would be three trains of
from 10 to 20 cars per mile,we should
have the enormous aggregate, on the
two tracks, of 5000 trains constant
ly in motion. Such a stupendous
amount of business as this would
enable the companies to reduce
freight charges to a point far below
anything now thought of. Under a
uniform time table it would be pos
sible to throw open the freight bus
mess to general competition and take
private cars upon the line in the
same way that private canal-boats
are taken upon our canals. This
would give free trade in freight in
its most perfect form. With a quad
ruple track it is believed that the
Central Railroad could defy compe-
tition and carry freight at one-third
the charges of the Baltimore 4 Ohio
Railroad, and the immediate effect
of the change would be the ruin of
the Erie Railway. The way this
grand scheme is to be carried out is
as yet undetermined, but it is in con-
temptation, we are assured; in fact
it is forced upon the New York Cen
tral by the exigencies of the situa-
tion. OF course, in taking this de-
parture, the New York Central will
cut loose from all connections with
other trunk lines, and will undOubt-
edly force the Pennsylvania Central
into a similar arrangement, which
would give these two roads the prac-
tical monopoly and complete COM
mand Of the freight business, at the
same time meeting the growing de-
mands of the country for cheap
freight.
The cost of this vast Improvement
would be commensurate with its i'm
portance, but after all would not
amount to such a sum as to be i'm
possible for such a powerful corpor-
alton as would be formed by the |
of the New York Cen
tral and Hudson River and the Lake |
Shore d Michigan Southern Com
panies. The first named Company,
with the lease of the Harlem Road |
and its additional tracks now nearly |
completed between Albany and Buff |
fslo, has practically a quadruple |
JEdCh llOAu LNGh L YIN W DuAldlO, SuU /
of the whole distance between Buff
falo and Chicago-54I miles-the
Lake Shore & Michigan Southren
has now 1923 miles of doub-
lie track. There remains, therefore,
but 219 miles Of single track to be
laid to make that section a double
track railway, and but 54l miles
more of double track to complete the
1uadruple track from New York to
Chicago. At the latest prices paid
for honest and economical construc-
tion this work could be done for $25,
100000. The united capital of the
two roads amounts to $I39, 9,429,3OO |
and the funded debts of the two
roads are about $64OOO,O0O. An
of $25,OO9,O00 to the latter
would make the aggregate liabilities
Of the combined Company amount to
522S,000,00O, which, with the new
racks proposed and present length
Of main road and branches, would
make the average Indebtedness per
nile of single track ofless than $32,
300.
GOVERNORS MESSAGE.