The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-12-02
Chr 9utland daily Glube
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1874.
=
RAILWAY FssElGsHTS.
The Cost OF Transporting Freight,
10 and from ROstOB.

read at the November meeting of that asso-
citation
The committee on traffic, laws, rates and
regulations, who were instructed to investi-
gate and report what it cost per ton per
mile to transport freight, and what it costs
each of the eight railroads leading out of
Boston per ton per mile for moving freight,
based on the report of the railroad commits
sioners for 1873. have attended to the duty
assigned them and ask leave TO report that
early in the investigation your committee
were satisfied that there were no reliable
data on which the exact cost of transport
ing ton Of freight one mile could be
based The construction and condition of
one road differs so from another-no two
being alikc-that the cost Of transporting
freight over them must of necessity be as
unlike and variable as their condition. One
road is nearly straight and level and anoth-
er has sharp curves and heavy grades, and
the cost of moving freight over them will
be, all other things being equal in the ratio
of their grades and curves. 1t is estimated
that, "taking the speed of freight trains at
fifteen miles an hour, the resistance on
! level is equal to G 3 10 pounds per ton, and
the total resistance due TO 30 foot grade
is equal to 20 40 pounds per ton" If
this statement of the case be correct-and
we have no reason to question its ACCURACY
then the cost of moving freight over a
road with 30 foot grade is about $50 per
cent or as 8 $40 Is to % 40, more than
over level track.
Another item which enters largely into
the cost of hauling trains, more, perhaps,
than is generally supposed, is the condition
of the road-hed. Ii it is well ballasted, is
level and in line, with good sleepers and
perfect joints, trains are moved over it
with but little Fiction and but slight wear
and waste to the rolling stock, and with
much less consumption of fuel than over Il
track which is poorly ballasteG and is out
of level and line, and with poor sleepers
and low and battered joints. Another
factor which enters into the account is the
kind of freight to be moved. 1t costs
more than twice as much per ton 10 handle
light and bulky articles than such as are
compact and heavy-more to load and un-
load furniture and stove castings, than oil
in casks, or MANILA in bales. The value
of the goods, their liability to be damaged,
are also items which go to make up the
cost. The distance the goods are to be
hauled determines whether the terminal
charges are to be distributed, as the case
may be, over 30, so, 100 or 500 miles.
Then we find that about CD per cent of the
cost of operating railroad are mixed
charge; part belonging to passenger and
part to freight traffic, and we are not aware
per cent chargeable to each can be deter
mined.
The farmer might as well undertake to
decide what per cent of the value of the
golden corn that is ripening in his fields is
due TO the influence of the rain, the sun and
the earth, as the managers of our railroads,
under the present system of running trains
and keeping accounts, with any degree of
accuracy, what it costs per ton per mile for
the transportation of freight. Railroad
commissioners and others may fix an arbi-
tary rate, or may guess at the cost and as
sumo that it is correct, but such estimate is
not and cannot be based upon a demonstra-
BILE fact. The true cost will never be
known until there is railroad built and
operated exclusively for freight. When
such road is operated the exact average
cost for moving a ton of freight one mile
can be determined and not till then.
Some people seem to think that railroad
companies can and ought to carry freight
and passengers at a nominal sum; that
they are charitable institutions into which
people put their money out of pure benevo-
ience. Railroad managers endeavOr to ar
range their rates of fare and of freights,
that--with economy-in the aggregate,
their net receipts shall be a fair and reason
able percentage on the capital invested.
There is one thing which the public do not
seem to understand, and which business
men and boards of trade often lose sight
of. If through freight, or raw materials
used for manufacturing purposes, or season
ticket or communication ticket passengers
are carried for less than cOst-and it may
sometimes, under strong competition, or
for other causes, be good policy to carry
freight and passengers at less than cost
the local freight, the regular ticket, or
some other business must be charged
enough in excess Of its fair proportion to
make up the loss AS a general rule, when
it is found that railroad is earning fair
dividend over its expenses, and an increase
of business is offered, when some heavy
freight or through business in large quanti-
ties can be obtained, the managers are not
apt to calculate the exact cost of doing the
increased business, or of charging its fair
and Just proportion of the cost of operating
the TOdu. Uul CStillldtc OuIy Inc COSt VI
hauling, leaving out of the account large
number of them, such as repairs of road,
repairs of buildings, taxes, insurance, dam
ages and the salaries of its officers
The enormous increase in the gross re-
ceipts on most railroads, in the last decade,
and the slight increase in the net receipts
the net per cent. on the capital invested
being about the same, indicate this, an
should satisfy the public that the railroad
companies are receiving only fair COM
pensation for the labor performed. We
will illustrate by the Boston and Providence
Railroad; In the year 1850 the gross re-
ceipts were $685., $3.50 Sc, and its net re-
ceipts were $349, 4SG Sc. In the year 1875
its gross receipts were 1922, los Is, ant
its net receipts S42S.342 6l; showing &
gain on gross receipts of los per cent. anc
on net receipts only twenty-five per cent
We now come to the second branch o.
the inquiry-"What did it cost each of the
eight railroads leading out Of Boston pei
ton per mile for moving freight. based up
on the report of the Railroad Commission
ers for 1878" Here again we are all afloa
without chart or compass The report
the railroad commissioners, the accounts
kept and the returns made by the railroad
companies do not indicate the cost of haul
ing ton of freight one mile, or give an,
reliable data from which it can be deduced
1t is true the commissioners make an esti
mate of the cost, but it is an arbitrary one
based on gross receipts and not on actua
cost. 1t might with equal propriety b
based on the number of miles run or b.
any other arbitrary method. Their esti
mate carries no weight because it lacks
true basis-it is not a mathematical fact
The only operating expenses reported b.
passenger traffic account are as follows
"Repairs Of passenger, mail and baegag
cars, new passenger, mail and baggag
cars charged to operating expenses, pas
senger gratuites and damages, salaries
wages and incidentals of passenger depart
ment"
The operating expenses, reported a
a. Il ..zLI lEal lin u q 8 fnllQy &