The enquirer southerner., 1874-07-03
For the Enquirer -Southcrner.
LOUISVILLE, KY, June II, 2S74.


Nh EDITOR Your correspondent was
invited by Mr.. James Callahan, President
| of the Louisville, UarrOds Creek and West
| Port Rail Road, to inspect his road and it
| is useless to assure you that be accepted,
| for he was more than anxious to ride over
a three foot guage road and examine its
rolling stock for the purpose Of reporting
| the same for your paper.
This road runs up the river from this
city and through beautiful and fertile
country that offers to the mechanics and
humber classes of citizens here an oppor-
tunity Of living in the country in cheap
and comfortable way and at far less eX-
pensc than they could possibly DO inside Of
| Louisville limits.
1t is contemplated to extend this road to
| COvingtOn, 4 distance Of one hundred miles,
| and no doubts are intertaincd Of its Capaci-
| ty to fully hold It's own against the ''Short
Line now running to South COvinGtOn.
| am thoroughly satisfied that it will pay
much better than any broad guagc road in
| the South. for its cost will be so much less
and its capacity 50 great and satisfactory
to all who use it, that only q short time will
| be required to win for it all the freight and
| passengers It can carry.
| Yo- thaE Ecnpfisnf ne load 4r2-c aaTO-
| Gates in y5lr sec..On ! viii give You some
| of the detszs rel,:ing to Ais read.
The EngiDe il IS now u5inG vas built at
| Chattanooga, fem. t Weighs twelve Q2)
tons, has drawing capacity of one hun
! dred 100) tons, up eighty $50 foot grades
and cost S6 600. 1t consumes only ten
| H0) bushels of coal, or three quarters CD
of a cord of wood, per day and carries
water sufficient for a forty go mile run.
1t made twenty-five (25) miles an hour
yesterday with perfect ease.
The passenger cars are forty feet long
and eight feet wide. They seat fifty four
passengers and run far more smoothly and
with less rocking than you find on broad
guage roads, These cars are only one
third the weight of the four feet 81 inch
guage passenger cars. -Four wheel trucks
are used under them and the wheels are
twenty six inches in diameter and weigh
300 lbs. each. The platforms are twenty
ninc inches from the rails. These Cars
have a pitch Of 81 feet at The caves. The
freight cars are twenty feet long b. eight
wide. They weigh 1900 pounds, use
wheels weighing 320 lbs., and carry siE
| i
$3.50, and Of the closed 1928.
The estimated cost of running Il train OF
this road with baggage car, one Or more
passenger ditto and engine, is SO per day
The rails used are 80 lbs. to the yard
These, are laid on cross ties two feet apart
six feet long, six inches wide and tiy,
thick.
The cost of construction has been les!
than one half of the broad guage, eXcep
grading which cost only about one thir(
less than other roads.
The rolling stock on this road is made
very heavy below and light above, The
object being to place as much weight a
possible directly on the rails.
The iron cost about 81, 600 per milc
and the cross ties about q cents each.
I have now given you sufficient data t,
enable those interested to calculate quit
.. intelligently whata road, built on thi
plan, would cost from Plymouth to Raj
eigh. In making & calculation, however
the difference in the country should b
taken into consideration, for while this roa'
: runs through lilly and broken countr.
the one through your section would b
over land that -yGuld require very littl(
grading e2d 10 tInueiing. BY using tel
: tOr engiuei . I'll wei ding twoNt, f..
pounds 70 the ys-@d and laid On cross tie
eighteen inches apart, would be he&v
enough. The rolling stock in every othc
way would be the same as that now bein
used here.
1 l. Hoping the communication may prov
Of interest to some of your readers, | am
Yours, &c,