The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-12-18
Buck River valley Railroad

> which resulted in breaking bread an
! feeding the multitude.
2 Duck River valley Railroad.
= To the Editors of the Herald and Mol:
5 The road-Led OF the Duck River Val
: ley Railroad between Columbia snt
Lewisburg is, with the exception q
some trestle work, one small pier AM
bridge at Fountain Creek, and som
light grading in Marshall county, al
most completed. The people in Column
bia have spent almost twenty-fiv,
Thousand dollars in the undertaking
and in view of the tact, that this amour
has been spent in work on the road
and that the road-bed between Column
bia and Lewisburg will soon be entirely
ready for the track, it is to be hopel
that the following attempt to discuss the
question as to how the entire compile
ton of this road may be brought abou
will not be considered premature anG
out of place by the readers OF your paper
as it ought to be matter OF some inter.
est at least to those people who yet be-
lieve that additional transportation ia
cilities will improve the material condi-
ton of the population OF Middle Ten
| neSSee.
In ordinary times when first mort.
gage bonds of railroad company can
| be sold for cash, it would be compare
| lively easy matter to complete the
| Duck River Valley Railroad in running
order net onlyto Lewisburg, but even to
| Fayetteville, as the d. r. V. r. r. Com
pany could do what all the railroad COM
| panies have heretofore done, that is, is
| sue first mortgage bonds for the pur-
chase of rails a2d,equipments. By crea-
| ting mortgage by the sale OF such
bonds, of say $4,000 per mile, the debt
on the road from Columbia to Lewis
| burg would amount to one hundred
1 . LII Il
net earnings of five hundred dollars per
| mile would pay the interest of seven
| per cent. on the bonds, and provide a
| sinking fund besides. But the condi-
| ton Of affairs is now quite different. 1t
| is difficult to negotiate mortgage bonds
| of some of the most important railroad
| companies in the country, and the Eur-
| chase of rails and equipments for the D.
| r. V. K. r., by the issue of first mort
gage bonds, is at present perfectly inn
possible, and entirely out of the ques-
ton.
To complete the first twenty miles of
| the road as a narrow gauge road, as
| originally intended, the company is
compelled to apply to the city of Column
bia to change the terms OF the subscrip-
ton, by applying twenty-five thousand
dollars subscribed for work west OF Co
lumbia, for the track for the completed
road bed east OF Columbia. If this
amount could be obtained by the vote
of tho people, changing merely the
terms of the subscription and not in>
creasing the amount, the road could cer~
tainly be completed to Lewisburg in
running order without much debt. The
Directors, who have the stockholders
means in their hands, are in duty bound
10 make their Investment Ienumerative,
directly or indirectly, by building the
road, tor which purpose the means have
been subscribed. Their policy to COM
plete the road as tar as it is built, and to
obtain an income from the investment,
either directly in dividends, or indirect>
ly in increased transportation facilities,
increase of value of all kind of property,
etc. wilt of course be sustained by the
majority of the stockholders.
The policy of grading the road-bed for
as long a distance as the present means
might reach, without at present any
chance or Immediate hope of chance, |
to secure means to operate the road or |
any part of tho same, is too plain to re-
quire any demonstration, and the means |
expended in such work might as we'll |
be spent in erecting mum Der of Indian |
mounds all over the country, at present |
equally as useful to the subscribers OF |
stock as railroad embankmentS without |
tack. The directors have very wisely |
caused the work on the rOrd-bed not TO |
be extended beyond Lewisburg for the |
present, hoping TO OBTAIN the means to
complete this part of the road in runs
ming order. With part OF the road
from Columbia to Lewisburg- in opera
zion, the gradual extension of the road
TO Fayetteville and Huntsville in enc
and to JOhnsonville in the
other, is possible, as with The return OF
an easy money market, means could be
provided by bonds to cover the deficit
after eXhausting local subscriptions of |
stock, Assuming the local means of the
company applic4 BILE to the part of the
road between Column ia and Lewisburg
after The entire completion of the road !
bed ready for the track, including
bridges, to be fifty thousand dollars in
Marshall county bonds, and assuming
that Columbia would change the terms
Of the subscription. and would issue
twenty-five thousand dollars of bonds,
W. would have $4,000 dollars il
bonds to provide the track for the com
pleted road, as the necessary locOmo-
tive and rolling stock can be obtained
by plcdging the net earnings and a
mortgage on the road. The cost of track
would be as follows:
J'rOSStieS for 20 miles ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS S.SUOO0
StringerS for track 1900 20
straps for 2SOOOO
spikes, frogs switches, etc............ 300 90
Ifacklty lhg'..''..''...''.' 60OOOO
IOLai 5D7 $4,000
Or. about thirty hundred dollars per
mile. The CrOSsties. OF cedar aid oak,
and the stringers Of maple, ought to be
furnished by the people along the line
Of the road at low rates, if they are alive
to the interests " hich they will derive
from the road when operated. This
road will not differ materially in the
of its track from some Oth~
Or, s0~cailed, wooden 70 ads. which are
in successful operation in different parts
Of the country, and such track will ena
Dle the company to transport all the bu-
siness which will be offered Ior several
years
\ wooden track, as estimated above
and properly constructed, will last on
as long as an ordinary iron track will
last on tie main stem Of the Louisville
and Nashville Railroad, the cars being |
much lighter and speed not more than
- miles per hour. The cars, as suggest
I'd, will be very light, and trains will
carry twice as much paying load as dead
weight Tho wooden track will answer
The purpose for the present, and will
stand the traffic of the road for several
years. subsequently when the strin-
gers wear out, and the road will do
heavy business, a light 7 rail can be
substitute !, when the earnings will JUS
lily such luxury.
Inc net earnings OF the road may be
safely estimated at 500 90 per mile per
annuni. and with judtcious management
ought to be increased to e0UU.UT PEI : :::.iH |
per annum. As the business would in !
;rease, the earnings would enable the
company nnally to increase the amount
If rolling stock, etc, and TO introduce
The necessary improvements to meet the
demands of traffic
The question may be asked, what will
become of the Duck River Valley Rail
road if Columbia does not issue the 9TH
ar twenty-five thousand dollars in
bonds? The Louisville and Nashville
Railroad Company will then probably
be ready to take the road, to widen it
for broad gauge, and to lay the track on
it at the expense of the Duck River Val
ley Railroad Company, which would be
paid in first mortgage bonds. The l.. Il
y. r. K. would then operate the road
from Columbia to Lewisburg as a
branch. In such case the expendi-
lures already made on the road would
not be thrown away, and Marshall
county would then get road anyway.
The original idea of the Duck River
Valley Railroad, and a line from Hunts
Vile, Ala, to JOhnsonvilie and to a
with the st. Louis and Cairo
at Cairo will, in such case,
have to be abandoned. The project of
to Middle Tennessee a direct
outlet to st. Louis will fall to the ground
Tld Wi II 1Tvip Ia Il Of