The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1875-10-07

| Cash, and due from agents, sc, 1885 10
$2,15s622 0s
Whole number of shares issued to stockholders,
/ The rolling stock in service upon the road,
consists of locomotives, 9 passenger cars, l
mail and smoking car, baggage cars, so box
cars, 2 saloon cars, 81 platform cars, IL Sec
ton hand cars, IL section rail cars, / snow
| pillow.
| vi the above two locomotives-the Wor-
cester and Portland-thirty platform, one
baggage and two passenger cars are leased,
with contract for purchase, payment being
made in monthly instruments, in amounts
which will leave them the property of the
company in about five years from the date
of the lease. The amount of valuation of
rolling stock leased to the company is $751;
10000, on which has been paid $I4,446.24;
leaving balance due-$3S, 306.76.
Material on Hand.
Iron and steel, 8 1854 90
New wheels and axles. 1,34l IS
| Metal and car springs, 1926 10
Lumber, 242 90
| Store room, 1,434 20
| 1000 cords of wood, 2,460 90
$e,172 90
Material on hand Aug. 81, 1874, $s,331 so.
| Natnaber of Miles Run during the Year.
| Passenger trains, 1O7,11O
Freight trains, 54,72S
Wood and gravel trains, 4,2OU
Total, 166,o3s
| Tons of freight-64,000.
| No accident causing injury to passengers
or loss of property, has occurred. No pas
senger train has been off the track, nor has
| any employee of the company been seriously
injured upon the road during the year.
We are unable to state exactly the net
amount of freight and passenger earnings
that has been added to the receipts of the
company, in consequence of the recent con-
nection with the Nashua and Rochester rail.
| road. The total number of passengers car
ried over the Portland and Rochester rail-
road during last year, ending Aug. 81, 1874,
was l56,329, and the passenger receipts were
| $5S,4l7.l6. The number of passengers that
| have been carried over the road this year has
been 14S, 465, and the passenger receipts have
| been SOL ,227.9l. This statement shows a
| falling off in the number of passengers of
1874, but an increase of passenger receipts
over last year of $2,Sl7.75. The number of
passengers carried in and out of Rochester
has been 81 1862, over 5000 of which number
were passengers from the Nashua and Roch-
ester railroad.
1t appears by the above statement, that
there has been large falling off of local
business, which is shown by the decrease of
local passengers, the number being 1864
less than last year-The loss however has
been more than compensated in receipts by
! the large amount paid for transportation by
through passengers, in consequence of our
recent connection with the Nashua and
Rochester railroad, at Rochester.
| At the time our last annual report was
| made, the cars of this company were running
only as far as Rochester, N. H. The Nashua
| and Rochester railroad was formally opened
for business Nov. %, 1874. From that date
| passenger and freight cars have been running
regularly between the city of Portland and
the cities of Nashua and Worcester, making
connections with the cars of the several con-
| Meeting railroads that cross the track of what
is now known as the "Portland and Worces-
ter Line" The number of these connections
is fourteen. In other words, between our
| termini at Portland and Worcester, we cross
respectively, at intervals, the Maine Central,
Portland and Ogdensburg, Coheco, Great
Falls and Conway, Concord and Portsmouth,
Manchester and Lawrence, Concord. Boston
and Lowell, Nashua and Wilton, Peterboro
and Shirley, Vermont Central, Fitchburg and
Boston,, Stony Brook, Worcester and Fitch
burg and Boston and Worcester railroad
tracks, whereby, for the past ten months, we
have forwarded passengers and freight with
superior advantages, from the city of Port
land, along the line of our road, destined for
and seeking localities in the northern and
western portions of New England. Also, in
| southerly and westerly direction, we have
ticketed or afforded facilities for passengers
and freight to any railroad locality in the
United States.
1t seems proper that we should state that
we have an improved and good track, have
increased our depot Accommodations, added
new rolling stock, put on the road splendid
and comfortable passenger and parlor cars,
have increased our rate of speed, establishing
express trains at low rates of fare, and have
made arrangements to ticket from our several
| railroad stations to any and all of the princi-
pal cities of the West. The improvements
are appreciated by the travelling public, SO
that it seems certain that in due time we shall
command the entire New York business.
During the past month of September, we
have carried to the city of New York from
Portland and Westbrook nearly four hun
dred passengers. During the winter months
the number did not in any instance exceed
twenty five. The receipts of September will
probably reach $4,000 against $l3,O57 for
the same month of last year.
Our business arrangements with connect
ing roads have generally been satisfactory,
but have not been, in every instance, on that
liberal basis that our own interests or public
policy demand, and we should expect. We
| have been compelled to pay local rates for
freight and passengers from every locality in
Eastern Maine, destined for the West, and
have been subjected to the inconvenience and
expense Of selling our through tickets by an
| arrangement made with outside parties, in
stead of with ticket sellers at railroad depots,
| which is not only in our Judgment injurious
to the parties directly interested, but very in
convenient to the travelling public. We hope
| that maturer elaboration will bring about
radical change in this respect, and that at
| an early period all connecting railroads in
| our State will enjoy, if not the same or equal
business relations, at least such relation
| ship as may at once establish more equit-
| able and generous way of doing business.
| Such has ever been our policy, and we respect
fully demand that cur rights and interests
and the public interest be protected and &C.
knowledged by liberal and reciprocal bust
| ness policy between connecting railroads,
The season of the year when the road was
opened to Worcester was in every respect un-
| propitious for business. 1t required a large
| outlay of money in the way of paying for ad-
vertisements, printed circulars, the employ
ment of soliciting agents, and other expenses !;
all of which were necessary to meet sharp
competition and to bring the new route into
public notice. This expenditure i'll a meas
ure accounts for the large amount of expense
under the proper head in the Treasurer
report. The increase of business by this new
route during the months of winter and spring
was no larger than we anticipated, and hardly
compensated us for the additional
expense of running extra trains, and
the total receipts failed to satisfy
the loss which was the result of the
general depression in business, which every
railroad company in the country has seriously
felt. Since the opening of summer travel, al
though general depression of business still
exists and there is an alarming falling off in
railroad receipts in every direction, our
monthly receipts indicate small but sub
stantial and permanent increase of business,
and at the present time, the directors and
friends of this corporation feel renewed and
abiding confidence in the final success OF
this enterprise.
We have been able from the earnings of the
road to keep the track in good repair, to build