Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1875-05-27
Narrow Gauge Railroads Built in
1874.

Ndfr0W-dauge Hailr0a0S BullI II
1874.
How They Compare for Cheapuess
etc, with Wide Gauge Lines.
Practical Success ef Three-Feet Railways il
the West.
CHICAGO. Jan. 22-The bills recently
introduced in Congress for the conStruc
tien of narrow-gauge railways-ont
from Washington to Cincinnati, Chica
go and st. Louis; the other from Lake
Erie te Omaha-have impaired re
newed interest to the discussion of com.
parative merits between the standard
gauge a ft. 81 in.), and the new ol
three-feet system of railway construc.
ton. 1 have thought it worth while
therefore, to give your readers some
facts regarding the process and practi.
cal workings of narrOw-gauge roads
gathered on trip through Iowa, Kan
sas, Colorado and Utah. What little
railway building there has been accom-.
plishcd during the past season, has been
largely confined to three-feet roads
Besides extensions of those begun be.
fore, I found five new lines started land
portion of each put in operation, ag.
gregating altogether a hundred and
nine miles. When completed as pro-
posed, these roads will add over G0C
miles of narrow-gauge railway to the
1,7G0 already in operation in the Uni
! ted States. This statement covers but
n small part of narrOw-gauge progress
in 1874, being limited to the field OF
personal observation; indeed, so large
~ has railway building since the pam
ic been confined to three-feet roads, that
many large manufacturers say that Or
ders of this class of rolling stock have
alone kept their shops from suspending
work. Rolling mills, also, that have
hitherto disdained the idea of making
light iron, are now forced by the
changing tide of order<into-equipping
themselves for turning out 80 pound
rails. The prevailing idea, in localities
where no experience in the working of
narrow gauge railways is available,
seems to be that they are sort Of
ONE-HORSE a FFAIR,
Good enough perhaps for branch lines
or an unsettled country where little
business is done, bat not suitable for
large trffic. Such notions are very
quickly dispelled when once three
feet road gets into operation. At Den
yer, you might as well talk about the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad
being an experiment as to say it of the
Denver & Rio Grande. took pains to
talk with locomotive engineers and
and other operatives on the lines visit
ed, and found them all thoroughly con-
verted te the narrow-gauge system.
Though laughing at the pony engine
at first, they found them on their trial
always equal to their work and hand
led with greater ease and satisfaction
than the standard-gauge locomotives
on which they had been previously
employed.
AS TO ACCIDENTS,
We have yet TO learn of any serious
one occurring on a three-feet road, or
of any accident whatever traceable to
the narrowing of the gauge. A car
was once overturned by a whirlwind
on the Denver & Rio Grande, but un-
der the same circumstances the same
thing would have happened to WIDE
gauge car, and, even in this Instance,
neither car nor passengers were seri-
ously injured. The fact that the body
of narrow-gauge car is placed so much
nearer the ground serves greatly to dl-
minish the danger when one gets off
the track.
THE W,ANDOTTE, KANSAS CITY
NORTHWEaTERN,
Is one of the new enterprises above
spoken of. The charter originally con-
templated road from Kansas City to
Lincoln, Nebraska, but, being drawn
with considerable latitude rs to the
route, it was decided to build first dl-
Iectly east from Kansas City to the val
liable coal fields in Lafayette county,
and ultimately to connect with mar
rOw-gauge road now under construc-
tiOn west from st. Louis, thus forming
a three-feet line clear across the State
of Missouri. Preparations are now ma
king also to build section of the line
to Lincoln in the spring. The first sec
ton of ten miles, from Kansas City to
Independence, went into operation In
August last. 1t was an unusually eX-
pensive piece of road to build, lnvolv-
ing some very heavy work in getting
out of the Missouri bottom, with grades
100 feet to the mile. The nominal cost,
including IA fine equipment of rolling
stock, was SIT 900 per mile; this In
cludes, however, all the preliminary
expenses incidental to getting the cor
poration on its feet. Five trains per
day are run each way, doing nearly all
the passenger business between the
two cities. The whole cost of opera
ting the road, including officers sala-
ries, is less than $500 per month, and
the receipts 81 ,500-not bad showing
for short piece of road just put in op-
Grafton. I was informed by an engi-
neer that, in November, only one ton
of coal per day was used for running
the engine its five trip, 100 miles, and
for keeping up six fires besides, In the
cars and station houses; the train Csu-
ally consisted of one baggage car and
two passenger coaches. Most OF the
line lies along the Missouri Pacific, and,
on short trial of speed made with the
express train on that line, the narrow.
gauge came out neck ahead, making
the ten miles in twenty minutes, IN
Guiding one stop at the crossing This
road has thus far been built with pri-
vate capital, but will be aided by coun-
ty bonds as it progresses. When 1t
reaches Lafayette county very large
coal traffic will be obtained. 1t will
cross the Missouri river at Arrow Rock
or BoOnyille.
THE KANSAS CENTRAL,
Also three-feet road, is in operation
from Leavenworth to HoultOn, 81
miles. No progress has been made in
extending this line since the panic, hut
it is doing paying business ip spite OF
its unfortunate position, sandWiched as
it is in between the two wide-gauge
roads, and ending ON the open prairie.
1t is evidently the meat oil the sand
wich, however, for its outlying neigh
bors have both defaulted their interest,
proving with all their lands and
through traffic, to be less remunerative
as an Investment than this little road,
dependent entirely upon its local busi-
ness; indeed, had the Khnsas Central
been built On the staudard-gauge, it
would have come far short of paying
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