Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1875-02-04
For the Herald.l
Springfield. Jackson and POmerOs
Narrow Gauge Railroad.

ing, although but recently introduced into
this country, bids fair to reYolutionize our
railroad system. 1t was first thoroughly
proven up in Europe, on the Festiniog
railway in the north of Wales, under the
management of C. E. Spooner, an English
engineer, who may justly be called the
Father of the Narrow-Gauge Railroad. 1t
was next introduced by Carl Phil. Nor
wegian engineer, into Norway. 1t was
then rapidly adopted for number OF rail
roads by the English in their. Indian En-
pire.
Next we find them in Prussia Australia
and South America, and in Canada and the
United States. And, at the present writ
ing. are nearly forty Narrow Gauge Rail-
roads in the United States and Territories.
The first of which was the Denver and
Rio Grande road, in Colorado, on which
the first passenger or excursion train of
cars ever constructed in America, started
from Denver City, Agust 22d, 1871 Sim
ultaneously with the departure of the
train, says the Daily Denver News, furi-
GUS wind storm arrived from the Foot
hills; a momentary contest 'ensued be-
tween the engine and the storm for pos
session Of the rails. The engine, as mat
ter Of course, got away with the train, and
the conclusion Of the thing demonstrated
the utter fallacy Of the argument so often
advance ced, that narrow-gauge cars will be
found impracticable in time Of wind
There is no reason on earth why they
should not be operated as safely as the
broad gauge cars. They are just as accu-
rately poised, while the centre of gravity
S fixed nearer the gronnd the angle of
stability (as it is Called is 501l degrees
for the empty, and 471a degrees for the
loaded cara remarkable broad base
which leaves no reason for apprehension
as to safety under speed. The silIs of
these cars are only 81 inches from the
ground, the broad gauge being 40 inches
These cars have been drawn at speed
of forty miles per hour by locomotives
built at the celebrated Baldwin w orks, of
Philadelphia. The first in the United
States to build the narrow gauge locomo-
motive. Their success under such cir
cumstances fully insures their future per-
formance, and demonstrates that the
gloomy doubts entertained by some minds
respecting narrow-gauge rolling-stock,
were utterly without foundation and only
worthy of the past age.
Itis easy to show how an immense
saving can be made by the use of the mar
row-gauge. This system, to begin with,
saves in respect to all the heavier work of
grading, embanking, tunneling, etc.; an
important proportion Of land drainage;
half the expense Of rails, (there weight
being only 30 pounds per yard instead of
6O) besides shorter curves can be used,
which raakes the engineering part of rail
road work both easier and cheaper, so that
roads built on this principle cost about
one-half Of the expense of broad gauge
roads. With the same capacity for busi-
ness that the more costly broad gauge has,
which may be demonstrated as follows:
Take a train Of seventy broad gauge box
cars. weighing 10000 pounds each, their
capacity being ten tons each of freight,
100000 pounds Of freight; also, 100000
pounds of car. or dead weight, making the
weight of cars 100000 pounds, or two
hundred tons paying freight and two hun
dred tons car or dead weight, which would
take one Of the largest freight engines to
pull oyer ordinary grades Of say not more
than fifty feet to the mile. The loaded
train. as will be readily seen, would weigh
400 tons. Now. a train Of 25 narrow
gauge bOx-cars, weighing 5000 pounds
each; capacity Of each car 10000 lbs.;
the train of empty cars would weigh 2OO,-
600 pounds, or 100 tons, and they would
haul 100000 pounds Of freight or, in
other words, we would have the same
amount of freight with 100 tons less car,
or dead weight, which would make diff
ference in favor Of the narrow-g gauge train
of 100000 pounds, or 100 tons, whic h
could be hauled by twenty ton narrow
gauge engine with all ease on any grade,
not exceeding sixty feet to the mile.
The passenger cars are thirty five feet
long and from seven to eight feet wide,
and ten and one-half feet high; they
weigh 5000 pounds. and those seven feet
wide seat Sc passengers, three abreast
two on one side, to the center of the car,
leaving passage way 21 inches wide; at
the center of the car the seats alternate,
so as to maintain a balance of weight
when full. Those built eight feet wide
seat passengers four abreast, the same as
the broad gauge, and seat AZ persons. The
ordinary broad gauge weighs $4,000 lbs.
and seats 54 peSsons; the amount Of dead
weight per passenger when the car is
filled, is 722 pounds on broad gauge, and
on narrow-gauge 32O pounds, difference
of 400 pounds in favor of the narrow
gauge for each passenger, or 40 900 lbs fol
each 100 passengers.
Gen. w. S. Rosecrans. in a recent letter
on the subject Of narrOwgauge railroads,
goes into some interesting calculations
which shows that if the railroads of tn,
/ United States, down to the end of 1867
had been built on the ;norrow-gauge, tn,
saving in the first cost would have beer
| $3.50 600, ,OOO-the annual interest of whicl
is, at six per cent, $28, 100000; that tn
annual saving on haulage would be 500,
10000; in all, an annual saving to the peo
pie of the United States of S129, 600 OOC
He shows further, that a much create
saving is in question for the future, fol
he reasons, provided the whole country i
to be as well furnished with railroads a
the State of Ohio, there will be tota
length of 165, 800 miles Of railroads, an
the annual saving on this length Of roat
on the narrOw-gauge system, would b
| eEAz EAn XIX ,-b;ob ,.o,I5 49,. = g -,