The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1876-01-14
MORE MARROW GUAGE
TESTIMONY.
Fro,n the Real Estate Reg,ster.


AS some of the facts and estimates
in regard to the construction and
operation of narrow gauge roads,
recently published in the NeaUs.
have been disputed in certain
quarters by parties Interested in
the old expensive mode of build
ing roads; the following extracts
are herewith presented, hoping
that the sources from which the
testimony is derived, may be en-
titled to a reasonable degree of
credit.
COST OF CONSTRUCTION.
Forty two miles OF the Denver
d Rio Grande road, cost $3.50
per mile. (See Report of Compa
n.y.
The first narrow gauge road
in the southern states was built
in Alabama, and cost $1,000 per
mile when iron was worth fifteen
dollars per ton more than at this
time. (See Narrow Gauge Rail-
roads, Page u.
The Memphis & Knoxville
road cost SlO,S76 per mile, with
iron at $500 per ton, girder
bridges, and vast amount of
masonry and piling. (Report of
Chief Engineer,)
The Toledo and Southwestern
road cost $685. per mile. IRE
port of G. w. Reynolds Vice
President.)
The DesMoines aud Minnesota
road cost $4,000 per mile, with
iron at $1,000 per ton. (Supt.
Report.)
The Mineral Range road in
Mich, cost $7,5I5. per mile.
(Chief Engineers Report.)
John NJ. Day, formerly Engi.
neer of the D. & NJ. r. r. esti-
mates the cost of narrow gauge
road from Waynesburg Pa. tc
Washington Pa. at $4,000 pei
mile. The above figures include
the entire cost of roads except
rolling stock.
COST OF OPERATING.
"The narrow gauge may be op
Grated for about TWENTY-FIVE pei
cent less than the broad gauge
The expenditure Of power stands
in the relation of thirty-five to fifty
four in freight, and eleven to thirty
in passenger traffic" (Report O.
Engineers Osburne and Manning.
AS the great saving in moving
freight has already been given il
the NEWS, look for a moment a
the greater proportionate saving il
passenger traffic.
Taking the entire railroad system O
the state of New York for the yeal
1870, and we find that the passenger
traffic averaged only thirteen per
sons to each car. That the dead
weight moved for each passenger
was 2, 748 pounds, exclusive of bag
gage. Suppose these passenger
had been carried in narrow gaugt
cars, the same number to each car
and the saving in dead weigh
} would have been eleven and hal
tons for each car run, or SeUenteel
hundred and seventy pounds TO
each passenger. Every man wh'
travelled by rail that year in th'
great state of New York, had t,
pay some Railroad Company TO
hauling ttcenty SeUea hundred an,
forty eight pounds besides his owl
weight, aud the weight of his bag
gage.
The operating expenses of Den
yer and Rio Grande roads are so.
per ct. (Auditor's Report.) o
the Mineral Range road, So per CT
(Chief Engineers RepoIt.) The av
erage operating expenses of stand
ard guage roads is seventy per CEN
BREAKING BULK.
This will be bugbear with man
until extensive narrow gauge con
nections are made.
: Experience has dem onstrated tn
cost of transferring freight in Grea
Britain to be about two pence pc
t ton. The cost on the Canada front
r Ter has been found to be, from man
q years experience, five cents per tor
9 (Report of Com. on Narrow Gauge
Col. Hurlbert,e of Georgia says
"The expense of breaking bulk !
about five cents per ton. I woul
undertake to transfer it from on
o car to another at that price,
The Denver & Rio Grande II
port, "with high price of labor an
without especial facilities, the cos
: to the company at Denver ha
l been ten cents q ton for coal, iroI
8 lumber, &C., and fifteen cents
r ton for general merchandise. ]
can probably be reduced hereafte
thirty three per cent"
CAPACITY OF THE NARROW GAUGl
a "In July, 1874, there were sixty
e four narrow gauge roads doin
: business in this country, and nc
one of them had failed to meet q
the acants Of the community" Use,
: ond Annual Report of Denver
Rio Grande. According to Poo
the average amount of freight pc
mile in this country is 1908 ton.
b The Festiniog road, in Wales, wit
, only 234 inch gauge, averages 9,
f 3SS tons per mile. All railroa
e experience proves that it is moi
e economical ~ ;noraoao kha ---