Daily Los Angeles herald., 1879-10-17
A Cheap Narrow-Gauge Road--- How
it was Built.
[The RAILWAY Age.l

/ give you the following sketch
of the Dayton, Covington and To.
leda narrow-gauge road, IS miles
of which We're put in operation on
the 9th of this month. This road,
when completed, will have its ter.
mini at Dayton and Versailles,
Ohio, the latter place distant from
Dayton some 40 miles, in a north
westerly direction, and passing
through a country outrivaling in
many respects the boosted valley
between Dayton and Cincinnati.
The entire right of way of this
road has cost less than one thous-
and dollars. The fencing, when
finished, will have cost less than
two hundred dollars, and, as all
railroad men know, fencing Is one
of the most burdensome expenses a
railroad has to incur. Yet this
road has been fenced by the farm
ers for nothing. The grading was
also done by them, and in q supe-
rior manner, at nine cents per cubic
yard, payable in first : mortgage
bonds at par, with three years in
terest coupons cut off. The ties,
also, were furnished by them at
cash prices and payable in the
same way, together with bridges,
cattle guards, culverts, road-cross =
ings, etc., leaving the subscription
notes, payable when the cars run
to their respective points, with
which to purchase the iron.
We have reliable information
that this road, equipped with one
engine, eight freight ears, eight
box cars, two fine passenger
coaches, "a set of narrow-gauge
trucks, two hand.cars, the Ramsey
transfer apparatus, three Halliday
wind-engine and frost-proof water
tanks, side-tracks and road ballast
ed, has actually been built, eight
cen miles of which is now in oper-
alton, for less than $4,000 per mile,
without floating debt upon the
line to cucumber it, aud the bond
ed Indebtedness will not exceed
$4,000 per mile.
The road traverses billy and di-
versified country, reaching at the
summit height of $50 feet, dis
lance of fourteen miles from Day.
ton. Magnificent residences, sub
stantial barns and farm buildings
greet the eye of the traveller along
the entire line.
One of the novel features of this
road is the movement of standard
gauge equipment over it, the
train the writer was on being COM
posed of one car of six feet gauge
which, by the way, travelled stead
Ter than the others-three cars of
four feet eight and a half inches
gauge, and two passenger cars of
three feet gauge.
These cars were on their way to
West Milton to be laden for the
New York market with wheat, of
which thousands of bushels are
now awaiting shipment, aud were
the first standard gauge cars
passed over the Ramsey" transfer
and on to standard gauge trucks
again,and run on to the track of the
Fittsburg, Cincinnati and st. Louis
Railway, consigned to the New
York market, this being the first
grain in the West that has been
carried over a narrow gauge road
In standard gauge cars and trans
ferred without breaking bulk. 1t
is all so simply and so easily done,
and requires so little time, that it
virtually solves the problem that
the narrow gauge road is no longer
an indedendent system, but the
great auxiliary of the standard
gauge.
1t would be hard to find a hap
pier set of fellows than those who
greeted our train at West Milton,
all ready to do honor to those who
had successfully carried out long
cherished proiect-one that will
bring increased prosperity to all on
its line. OCCASIONAL.
Dayton, Ohio, Sept. 81, 1879.