Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1879-12-12
What Railroads Cost.

Some persons inquire why the Little
Falls & Dakota railroad company are
asking for bonuses enough to nearly
build their road, instead of putting in
their own money more freely. Now the
fact of the matter is that the said compa-
ny is not asking for enough from this
county to build their first mile of road.
The $4,000 asked of this county would
not build their road from its connection
with the Brainerd branch to.the village
limits. The bridge across the Mississlp.
pi would cost at least $4,000, and per-
haps the entire $35, 600. Awagon bridge
could be built for good deal less money,
but railroad bridge that must daily
have weight of several hundred tons at
one time On it, would probably cost $685..
600. The railroad bridge at St. Cloud
cost 100000. People who believe that it
does not cost much to build railroad
are in great error. The cheapest railroad
ever built in the United States was the
Chatsworth Branch of the Illinois Cen.
tral, built in the fall of 1878, reference to
which was made in the Transcript of the
9Th of February last. This line was
built over fiat prairie, with no bridges, at
a time when iron and all kinds of mater.
ial and labor were down to the lowest
notch. Old iron that had been used be.
fore was put in the track, and it cost
81, $40 per mile less than new iron. The
road cost, without any rolling stock,
$6,760 per mile. If there had been no
rise in prices the Little Falls & Dakota
could probably be built for $4,000 mile,
under strictly economical management,
and without any rolling stock or build
ings. But railroad iron has gone UP
fifty per cent or more in the last six
months, and all kinds of material and Ia
Dor have had an upward tendency. The
road cannot possibly be put in operation,
rolling stock and all, for less than $15,-
600 mile, or one million and eight hun
dred thousand dollars for the 12O miles
from here to Big Stone Lake. But the
cost of bridging the Mississippi is such
that if the road starts from the track of
the Brainerd branch in Little Falls the
company would have to spend over $780,
900 at the very lowest figure to reach the
west bank of the river, only about half a
mile distant from the starting point.
Now we have not put any fancy price
on this work, but have fixed the cost at
the lowest figure under the most econom-
ical management possible. We have be-
fore us the report of VIM. R. Marshall,
the State railroad commissioner, for 1878,
and learn as follows in regard to the av-
erage cost of road and equipment per
mile on the following named roads: The
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway
Company have 1,412 miles of road in
Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Wiscon.
sin, and the average cost per mile was
$40,712; the St. Paul & Sioux City road
$37 ,43882 per mile; the Minneapolis &
St. Louis, $34, 1873 per mile; the Southern
Minnesota, $38, 1924; the Winona & St.
Peter, 1882, ,254.32; and all the roads bull,
between 1865 and 1874 average about the
same in cost as the above. Railroads can
now be built and equipped much cheap
er, perhaps at $4,000 or $50, 900 per mile
The equipments alone cost over $4,000
per mile. The equipments of the Vino
ma & St. Peter road cost $3,O49.31 pc,
mile, ofthe St. Paul, Saltwater & Tay
lors Falls road $3,434 per mile, the Min
neapolis & St. Louis road $2,621 per mile
and so on with the other roads. The
foregoing facts show that the assertion
that the bonuses asked by the Little Falls
& Dakota Company are nearly large
enough to build the road is entirely
without foundation in fact.