Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1875-06-03

interest on bonds to the enormus
amount of 1857 ,624 ,000-that is, their
net earning were so small as not to
pay the interest on their debts. One
explanation of this fact is that these
roads cost, equipped. s50.550 per
mile. If three-fourths, or four-fifths
of these defaulting roads had been
OF narrow guage, costing only $685.
900 per mile, it is probable the amount
defaulsed on would not have been
one fourth the sum stated. A traffic
that does not pay per cent. interest
on $50. 900 might pay 6 per cent. in
terest on halt that sum; and, there
fore, narrow gauge road built
across the state of Missouri at q cost
of 81 900, 900 might be a more profit
able enterprise than broad-gauge
road built at a cost of So 100000.
For, it is to be remembered that the
greater cheapness of the narrow road
is not limited to the first cost; it
extends to the equipment and to the
operation, also; it is a perpetual adj
vantage. For example: 1t is estima-
ted that broad gauge passenger car,
carrying sc passengers, will weigh
$4,000 pounds, or 678 pounds of
dead weight for each passenger,
while narrow gauge passenger car,
carrying sc passengers, will weigh
only $4,000 pounds, or 4l6 pounds of
dead weight to each passenger. The
difference in favor of the narrow road
therefore is 262 pounds for each pas
ssnger carried; sin other words, the
engines on the wider tracks are
handicapped with burden of 262
pounds which they get no pay for
drawing. When the cars are not full
the difference is still greater; with Ii
passengers carried in each car, the
dead weight is 1882 pounds per pas
senger for the broad road, and l, 1913
pounds per passenger for the narrow
road. Or, applying this to a rail-
road whose business is so small as to
require only one passenger car, with
an average of 13 passengers per day
in it, the broad gauge engine would,
in drawing these 13 passengers, draw
%, 900 pounds more than a narrow
gauge engine, every day 10 the year
showing q waste of 1000 tun OF
traction power per annum. 1t ls
the same with freight carriage. A..
wide track box-car weighs on an az
erage 1880 pounds, and it's average
load, 10 tons; narrow gauge box-car
weighs 5000 pounds, and its average
load is s tons; SO that, whilelthe former
carries 2 tons more of paying weight
than the latter, it carries at the same
time 81 tons more of non-paying
weight, difference in favor of the
narrow gauge of 2 tons for every
loaded freight car used. This COM
parative estimate of freight cars full
loaded applies chiefly to through
traffic, in which only as many ears as
are needed are taken, and they loaded
full In way traffic the advantage is
still in favor of the narrow gauge in
point of economy; for, whore broad
gauge way train would be made up
of Is cars, one-half or three-quarters
loaded, to be dropped at the stations,
a narrow gauge train would be made
of 20 cars full, or nearly full loaded.
In one case there would be required
Bottom engine, worth $11 200; in the
other ten ton engine, worth 1000.
The question then is whether these
roads shall be of narrow gauge, cost
ing SIG, 900 per mile and paying divl-
dend at that cost, or of broad gauge
costing S45 600 per mile and yielding
no profit to their owners.