The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1875-04-27
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COLUMBUS LETTER.
COLUMBUS, ONO, April 90.

COLUMBUS, ONO, April 22.
n Ed SPIRIT Narrowtgauge railroad
being the topic of discussion in your vi.
cinity, and the success of the enterprise
being one Of vast interest to Monroe
County, I may be permitted to add some
additional facts to those already contrib
uted in my letter Of last week.
The system Of narrow-gauge railroads
grew out of little tramway in Wales,
used for bringing slate from the noun.
tains. .a1tiwa only few miles long and
it being successful in bringing down its
loaded treasure, an attempt was made to
utilizeit by carrying up passengers, and
it was so successful in this that it was
further utilized by carrying up freight,
z~What the people want is cheapt and
Immediate transportation and that which
will carry freight short distances at the
lowest possible rates consistent with the
financial interest of the investment
Short lines of railroad, managed by
home talent, will be run with less expense
than if owned by other roads. Whist d
road wants, that is run in the interests of
the people, is to be built on the cheapest
plan consistent with the work to be per
formed, and built to point where com
petition can be had in the transshipment
Of the products carried over it. Both
these objects are Sattainable in the pro-
posed road from Woods6eld to Bsllaire.
|pl The experiments .withu narrow gauge
railroads. both in this leeuntrys nndo in
Europe, show, 80 far,thatnot a3road has
been built with a gauge under three feet
and six inches that has failed to paysdiv.
iaends so say statistics. The same sta
|tistics show that only about twenty-five
per cent Of the common gauge; roads
pay any returns to the original stock
dholders. With .hese facts it wonld seem
that the value of railroad securities de.
pended very much on the width of the
track-a rather novel idea, but one that
experience has demonstrated to be true.
Wide gauges cost more to build and
equip them, more to work them, and hare
much less paying tonnage in proportion
to the weight carried than narrow gauge.
II therefore costs them nearly double, the
sum to do the same business that it costs
narrow-gauge roads salaa5 asa1 !,
a Mr.. Farlfe, celebrated English engi-
neeF, says that it the track Of the Lon
don and Northwestern Railway was three
feet, instead of, four feet eight inches,
they would move their freight and pas
sengsrs at one-half the expense that it
now costs. -'-''-l' :.
: On the Denver and Rio Grande Rail
road loaded freight cars weigh one ton
less than empty cars of the common
gauge, and the general estimate OF. the
cost of building that road was sixty per
cent of the common gauges On the
Toronto Narrow Gauge road twenty
ton engine drew six hundred passengers
over grade of l05 feet, and the cattle
,oers carry eight head of .ha-lassoss live
cattle in the country, and the greatest
load put on single car was eight tons.
A railroad that is built by the people
and pays dividends on the investment,
has: made the people who. built itno
poorer, ,even if no other advantages we're
to accrue from it except having made
the investment but when it is built it af-
fords an easy and rapid means Of trans
portation2-brings market home to the
producer, thus increasing his gains on
the productions and TIE increase of prop
erty out Of which these productions are
acquired, and all property within its af.
feeted benefited limit, whichIis by nc
means confined to property bordering on
or near the road, but extends one-hal
the distance toward any other thorough
fare of equal facility for conveyance
Another advantage a narrow; gauge
has, car is always at home on its WI
road. 1t always has its cars at its owr
command, and sitsis not at the ex
pense of freight and mileage on its owl
emptyca from distant points over 9th
er roads, neither does at for the sans
reason need so many ears, in proportion
to its power to carry freight, as the or
dinafy gaugesedh 1poI4- S2 iiicA.
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