The Grange advance., 1874-01-14
Narrow Gauge Road. /
&. S. WARAsHA, Jan. 9TH, 1874,
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49,. WARAsHA, Jan. 9th, 1874.
Editor Herald: . zss i.
DEAR SIR TO the enquiry Of" Far
mer," in your issue of the 1st inst, In
regard to the adaptation of fnarrow, gauge
roads to heavy grades and curves, l
would reply that adaptation is one of
the principal advantages claimed for the
narrow gauge. I will not take time
now to demonstrate this theory but cite
the reader tozthe case Of roads already
in operation. 8 .. - I'd '+ ss -, q. !. ~
The Festiniog railway in Wales, one
of the first, if not the first, narrow
gauge road operated by steam, has a
gauge of only 222 inches with grades
Of II feet per mile and curves of 1l53
feet radius. A curve of this kind if
continued would describe circle whose
diameter would be only 231 feet.
About the shortest curve ever attempt
ed on an ordinary gauge of4 feet, 81
inches, if continued in the same way
would describe circle whose diameter
would be 900 to 1000 feet. This road
in 1869 carried $780, 200 tons of freight
and $4,000 passengers. The operating
expenses were only Az per cent of the
earnings for that year. The operating
expenses of feet 81 inch gauge roads
runs from IS to Is per cent. Of the
earnings, and this too on roads doing
the immense traffic Of the New York
Central and Michigan Central.
The Toronto, Gray and Brace rail
way, Of Canada. of 3 feet 6 inch gauge,
has grades of 100 feet per mile, and
curves of 462 feet radius, and is laid
with As pound rail- With English
management, which is known to be much
more expensive than American, this
road cost only $4,000 per mile.
In Norway, where the attention Of
the government engineer has for years
been given to the subject, it has been
shown not only from series of careful
estimates on the proposed lines of: rail-
way but from lines actually built, that
the cost of 3 feet inch gauge (now
the standard gauge Of that country is
only two-thirds that of feet 81 inch
gauge.
BY usiug an improved and cheap rail,
(the Angle rally, which should propose
for 3 feet gauge road from here to
Rochester, the difference could without
doubt, be increased to one-half the cash
Of an ordinary gauge road, 50 that my
estimate of $4,000 or $11 900 per
mile, will I think be amply sufficient.
My present impression is, that the cost
may be considerably reduced from the
above estimate, but as no survey has
been made, and the Typography Of a
portion Of the country is peculiar, moth
ing more definite can be stated now.
My idea is for road of 3 feet gauge
built upon the most economic principles
the rolling stock carefully adapted to
the traffic Of the road, and run at a
very low rate Of speed--thereby reduc-
ing the operating e:cpenses 10 a MIMI
mann. 'e
Such road built by the farmers and
business men of the community through
which it passes, would venture to pre-
dict, prove a paying Investment in two
ways-first by the saving in transpor-
tation of wheat and merchandise to and
from the Mississippi, and secondly by
actutal dividends from the start on the
stock. !.
~ d. w. WELLMAN,
Late Chief Engineer Wis. Cen. R. r.
The Winona Republican. of Wednes
day says: A few weeks ago the Off
GERS Of the Green Bay & Minnesota
railroad company politely requested the
subscribers in this city to the bonus to
pay in their subscriptions at any of the
National banks here. The request,
for some reason, was not very general
ly needed, and President Ketchum and
Superintendent Kelly have been in the
city for few days, to give attention to
this and other matters affecting their
road. As some diversity of opinion
seemed to exhist among the subscribers
in reference to the course to be pursu-
ed, meeting was held at the city build
ing to talk che subject over It seems
the citizens subscribed $50 900 to sse-
cure the Green Bay road, and having
secured it, the subscribers are now
anxious to back out, and thus far but
$4,000 has been paid up. After much
discussion committee consisting Of