San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1878-06-01
The Railways Of the World.

The PruSsian bureau OF STATISTICS mas
lately published some interesting data
regarding the railway system Of Europe
during the decade ending with 1876.
The facts brought out in this report are
worth comparing with the record of
our American railroads.
1t appears that at the close of 1876
the aggregate length of European rail
ways in operation was $4,000 miles,
against $4,000 in 1865. For the last
named year the total length of iron road
in the United States was computed at
$4,000 miles; but II years later these
figures had more than doubled, this
country being credited in 1876 with H.
500 miles, an amount nearly equal to
the combined exhibit of all the Euro
pean States. If we look at the ratio of
track to area, we find for each district
of 80 square miles an average length of
one mile of rail in Europe, against nine
tenths of q mile in the United States.
On the other hand, the railway facilities
of no country in the world approach the
proportion of track to population pre-
sented by the United States. If we take
10000 inhabitants as a unit of measure
ment, the average amount of rail pro-
vided for their use in Europe is only
about three miles; and in the most ia
vored parts, namely, Sweden, Switzer-
land or Great Britain and ireland,
is about six, five and half, and five
miles respectively, against the astonish-
ing quota of seventeen and a half in the
United States. In word, the railway
advantages of this country are, relative
ly to our population, more than three
times greater than those of the opulent
British islands, and more than four
times more extensive than those of Bel
GUM, the most densely peopled section
of the Continent.
As for the capital represented in rail-
ways, we observe the total amount in
vested in Europe is computed for 1865
at five billion nine hundred million dol
lars, which sum had risen a decade
later to ten billion eight hundred mil
lions. At the latter date (1875) the
whole capital expended upon railroads
in the United States was estimated at
four billion six hundred and fifty million
dollars. These figures indicate an aver
age cost of about $11S,O00 per mile in
Europe, and nearly $50, 1000 in the Unit
ed States. We may here mention that,
as regards the expense of railway build
ing, British India seems to stand mid
way between Europe and American. In
1866 Hindostan had some two hundred
and fifty million dollars invested in
$3.50 miles of track Gan average cost OF
some $4,000 to the mile), while in 1877
$500 miles had been constructed with
an aggregate outlay of five hundred and
forty million dollars, showing slightly
increased mean disbursement.
If we turn now to rolling stock and
business, we find the comparison, as
might be expected, extremely unfayora-
BILE to this country. Thus the whole
number of locomotives in 1875 on Eu-
ropean roads was 39,621, against 49,
500 in the United States. At the same
date there were nearly $4,000 passen-
ger cars in Europe, while less than A.
900 were run on American roads. 1t
may be said these figures are delusive,
because our coaches are more capacious,
but the fact is that the number of per-
sons transported by rail in 1875 was one
billion twenty-three millions in Europe,
as against one hur dred and sixty-eight
millions in the United States. We re-
mark like disproportion in the freight
account. At the same period the whole
number of freight cars on the European
lines was $4,000, transporting up
ward of five hundred million tons of
merchandise, while the American re-
turns show but $4,000 cars, and a
movement of less than one hundred and
sixty-eight million tons.
The gross receipts of European rail-
ways in 1865 were nearly $500, 0OO,O 900,
and this income was almost exactly
doubled 10 years Acknowledgements
traffic at that time being credited with
"a per cent, and freight business with
60 per cent. of the whole revenue. At
the same epoch Qs75) the gross earn
ings of railroads in the United States