The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1879-08-07
THE RE1SON WHY-WHAT TaE X
PRUDENT OLD GENTLEM
WANT To KNOW.

1t has happened that many excellent
old cit;z .ns of Austin have been accus
toned to regard cheap railways with
light iron and light trains mere make
shifts and hardly better than common
turnpikeI. But these cheap railways
grow rapidly in public favor, though
always bitterly opposed by owners,
managers and officers of broad gauge
lines. In fact, they make these costly
roads put down rates of freight snd
cost of travel and are very odious for
this reason. Bat then they density
population and create villages and at
last enrich q country so that the volume
of freight and aumber of passengers
maze up for this enforced cheapness
OF transportation. In any event these
cheap roads are growing in the public
favor. az will be seen 10y the following
views of Gen. Stewart, one of the old
est and most experienced railroad en-
gineers in the United States. He SAYS:
The narrow gauge fs-decidediy the
more economical. Il saves one half In
construction In hilly countries, where
sutung and filling have to be done,
and it saves one-fifth IN maintenance
and one-ffth IN expense of bridges. 1t
caves very much in the wear and tear
S,fx Oh L.
smaller, the center of gravity is lower
and the cars can be run at higher rate
OF speed with less danger OF derange-
ment. The greatest part of the weight
of car is in the truck. On the mar
row gauge these can be reduced in
weight without reducing the capacity
of the cars. A narrow gauge freight
train OF ten tons capacity weighs four
tons. A standard gauge car of the
same capacity weighs nine tons. The
general impression is that narrow
gauge freight cars must be small, but
in Colorado, Union Pacific frei9 9ht cars
are takeDIoff their trucks and placed on
narrow gauge trucks and run without
any trouble. Ia passenger cars the
saving in dead weight is small. A
narrow gauge passenger car weighs
twelve tons and carries thirty-slx per-
sons. a standard gauge car weighs
eighteen tons and carries ffty-two per-
sons. But by using larger number
of smaller cars less car room is wasted.
Sixty people could ride in two narrow
gauge cars, weighing twenty-four tons,
as well as in two standard gauge cars,
weighing thirty-six tons. Here is
saving of 33 per cent. in dead weight.
Averaging the thing, the narrow gauge
road saves forty per cent. in dead
weight, which is very material saw
ing.
In Colorado there is u long line of
narrow gauge road, and it has been
found by actual experiment that the
narrow gauge car, with load of cat
tie, weighed less than the average
standard gauge Car empty, into which
the cattle were subsequently put.
In a hilly country the narrow
gauge has the advantage III curves as
well as in cuttings and filings. A
road with thiIty-six inch gauge can
turn a radius of 900 feet; road of fif-
ty-six and half inch gauge a radius
of 1000 feet; and road of seventy
two inch gauge radius OF 1900 feet
Narrow gauge trains would be shorter
than trains on standard gauge roads.
They could, therefore, drop and pick
up cars more easily and there would
be less wear and tear of cars in start
ing and stopping and making up Of
trains. It is claimed for The ni ROW
gauge roads that they can be opei ated
so as to afford to carry ordina,yfreight
q distance of 1000 miles for $40 per
car and wheat and flour for two-thirds
of that.