Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1877-01-12

Correspondence Of the whitehall, N. y. ohroniole.l
RANToUL, ILL.,, Dec. %, 1876.


Correspondence Of the whitehall, N. y. chronice.l
RANToUI, ILL.,, Dec. %, 1876.
Mr.. Editor II see by your last issue that
your citizens are agitating the building Of
a narrow-gauge railroad, and having been
a resident of your city "a long time ago."
| /. e., from 1910 10 1916, l could not resist the
the temptation to give you short history
of our narrow gauge, the Havana, Rantoul
and Eastern. We commenced taking sub
scriptions four years ago next month, for
n road commencing at Havana on the Illi-
nois river, running directly cast to the
State line, and our efforts were co MINED TO
two OF tue eastern counties, a portion Of
the State comparatively new, aud conse-
| quently poor, but the very best corn grow
ing section Of Illinois. Amer working
about two years and getting about 100000
subscribed over territory of about 30
miles in length, and having the panic of
'73 to contend with, we came to the conclu-
sion that we never could build a broad
gauge road and VIC must give up the entor-
prise. Our president and secretary had
been reading up narrow. gauge rail roads
and at a meeting of the board of directors,
proposed that we commence work aud
build a narrow gauge. Afler a great deal
Of argument for aud against, vote was
takon, aud every member of the board
voted for the propositions an assessment
was made of 10 per cent. aud the work
commenced. And let the say here, that,
probably outside of the board of directors,
there was not another man interested in the
enterprise who did not laugh at the idea of
building a narrow-gauge road, as being i'm
practicable and foolish, for the reason that
II could not do the business aud would
have TO transfer everyt hing al the terminus
al an immense cost and Inconvenience but
this board of directors had made up their
minds TO bnild n railroad, aud, although
they had no practical experience in the
business, yet being usiness men and hav-
ing large interest in its ultimate success,
they pushed on, and in the fall Of 1874 grad
ed nearly 40 miles, aud in the fall Of 1875
commenced laying iron, but owing to the
failure of our contractor TO get ties as we
expected, we only finished thirty miles,
aud on the 10th day of last June we COM
menced running over the 40 miles, since
which time we have had opportunity to
test the capacity of three-foot railroad,
and up TO this lime have bad no difficulty
in transporting anything that broad gauge
can carry. Our business is confined prin-
cipally to the carrying of grain in bulk,
lumber, coal, live stock aud general mer-
chandise, aud the cost of transfer will not
average over four or five cents per ton, for
all kinds of ira tfic-lumber, COAL and stone
being tho most expensive-we paying at
present 70 cents per standard gauge car for
the three articles mentioned, and % cents
per car for grain in bulk. The result is
that every man doing business over the
road will tell you that We can do the BUSH
ness that broad gauge can do, and as
promptly.
As consequence seven narrow gauge
roads have been chartered in Illinois with
In the last year, all of them either extern
sions Of our road, or feeders TO it, and all of
them will probably be built within the i'm
mediate future. Our organization Is about
l5O miles long, extending from Havana on
the Illinois river in straight line TO the
eastern boundary of the the State, and an
other from Havana to Burlington, Iowa.
ed, running 50 miles northwest from Burl-
inHlon, and intended to reach across the
State, the design being to form a grand
trunk line of narrow-gauge TO the sea-
board.
In regard TO the cost of our road, Iwould
say that il has cost us for the 40 miles. in
GLIDING IS cars, two locomotives and nine
station houses, s3l2, 600; and that with our
present experience under the same circun-
stances, we could save at least 800 900 of
that sum and at the present time we could
save much more, as we are offered iron for
SIS per ton less, aud labor of all kinds for
about one third less, and 1 ought TO say
also that we paid no salaries 10 officers dur
ing construction, and we have sold no
bonds and have a debt of only $50, coo re-
naming on the road, and up TO December
lst our actual running expenses are con-
siderably less than so per cent of receipts
in fact we think they can be reduced TO less
than 40 per cent on our road. OF course
you will under stand that we have very
straight line, no heavy grades and cheap
fuel.
We haul 20 loaded cars Of from seven to
eiSht tons each, over grades of about 80 |
feet with locomotive weighing less than
Il tons. In extending our road we shall |
have no grade over 40 feet to the mile.
Hoping that your people may succeed in
building your narrow-gaupe, and at some |
time in the near future have a connection |
with the Havana Ranloul & Eastern, 1 re- |
main, yours truly, J. PENFIELD.
"