The New York herald., 1875-09-15
CHEAP LAND CARRIAGE.

FACTS AND FIGURES IN SUPPORT OF THE MAR
ROW GAUGE RAILWAY SYSTEM.
The Board of Directors of the New York Cheap
Transportation Company held their regular monthly
meeting yesterday afternoon at No ITO Pearl street.
President B. P. Baker in the chair.
The Executive Committee reported that for some
time past they had had under consideration the ques
ton of freight railway from this city to the West,
and that in invest gatIng TO the advsability and
praccabllty OF lending the aid OF the association
project of this character the question Of gauge had
commanded and received especial attention The
committee was, it reported, in communication with
eminent authorities Of both this country
and Europe and possible full report OF its
dongs would be submitted to the Board Mr. F. B.
Thurber Secretary Of the association, then said that
Mr. j. T. Hornish President of the Forty first Parallel
Railroad which had been favoraby reported upon by
the Committee on Railways and Canals of the last
House of Representatives would read review OF the
claims and merits Of narrow gauge roads Mr. Hor-
nishs document stated that the actual Of trans
portation by railroads is material element in all
measures involving the necessities of and
the security of the money invested in these public
highways. Commerce should not command or
demand rates below safety to the capital in
vested Yet at the present time the public is
demanding a reduction Of while capital is de-
manding advance This conflict has been raging for
the past years with the most disastrous and de-
moralizing influence all parties IL Is held that the
entire trouble grows out of the nature OF our present
railroads. or in other words, that our standard gauge
railroads Tour feet eight and onehalf inches) are not
adapted the conditions Of the commerce of the coun
try OF the age Narrow gauge railroads three feet IN
width are pow proposed as the common ground upon
which all can meet The merits Of these roads are most
conspcuously presented in the report OF the Commit
Railroads and Canals OF the House OF Represen-
tatves of the last Congress The
NET COST or TRANSFORMATION
next the and capacity of the roads, IS the ma
terial question and involves the future commerce Oh
the country and the thrift and prosperity Of our people
We estimating for FIRST class road-hrst class IN
all its equpmeDts-with an average onethe whole line
OF IL 900 miles for 2, 500 600 tons per annum From
these data we btain train miles and ton mileage.
The annual gross expenses and gross receipts, divided
by the ton miles, give the average net and gross
cost per ton mile and the difference between these is
the profit tor interest, dividends and development
After forty-hve years of experience and development
the lowest average net cost per ton mile on our our
frat class trunk roads VIZ the New York Central,
the Erie the Pennsylvania Central and the Baltimore
and Ohio--is eight mills per ton mile and the
lowest average gross tariff is twelve mills per ton
mie-that s eight mills for expenses and four mills for
interest and dividend First class single track roads ex
coed this average from nine TO twelve mills being the
net cost and fourteen 10 sixteen being the average
gross tariff. In 1871 the
COST PER TRAIN MILE
on the Pennsylvania Central Railroad ninety Eve
cents This road embarrassed by ninetynve feet
grades and very sharp curves which limit me capacity
owance for grades, curves and helpers, we will have
fairly 200 capacity without an Increase Of cost In
1869 the cost Of the train mile OF the Buffalo and Erie
road which has the grades to admit the capacity
in the locomotives, was ninety-one cents or
4 So mills per ton mile, on an average OF ZOO
tons 10 the train The Denver and Rio Grands road has
sevenyh Ave feet grades being constructed up among
| the mountains in o country of sparse population,
small development and high priced labor Its bus
mess Is limited to small train loads and OF this ninety
one per cent local. irregular and very expensive But
Notwithstanding all these drawDacks us net cost IN
1874 did not exceed fifty per cent Of its tariff rates
Tha tartG 90 leIH es thasa al Tie Kansas