The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1881-05-19

tinuous limo Of narrow gauge
railroad on. into the heart oil
Texas far to tho westward OF Waco and it'
forces siill,pushipg it rapidly ahead to Lared
on the Rio Grande. Is not this narrow
gusge railroad monument to the vim, we
enterprise, the liberality the business acumen'
the commercial sagscily of the business ioer
of st. Louis Are the business men OF Dial
las in any wise inferior in these quai'tles &c
those of st. Louis? They have not The same
capital it Is true, but they are not asked &c
do as much, nor tythe OF as mucn 10 he'p
themselves as these st. Louis men OF busi'
ness have done in their own behalf Ii is bu'
reasonable when gentlemen are asked TO IN
vest in any enterprise, for them to inquire
whether or not it will pay, whether or not
there will be any return on thelr
money. To answer in part this question IN
80 far rs this branch road 10 con-
earned. let us review Governor
Hubbsrd's figures, statistics comparing the
cost of narrow and standard gauge roads,
the cost of their operation and their respec-
tive capacities for doing business. " IS a
well known fact, as he said, that the cost per
mile to build standard gauge road Is not
less than SIS 1000, and often it is as high as
$4,000, the average cost of these roads IN
Texas being from $22 500 to $4,000. Besides
this cost these roads average o bonded
indebtedness of $4,000 per mile. The cost
entire of the Texas & ST. Louis narrow
gauge, including its twelve or fourteen
engine 9, all its box and fiat cars, its handsome
and elegant passenger coaches, just as
luxurious as anybody ever Travelled In ils
baggage and mail cars and its sidiDgs, mss
been but $6,550 per mile, while its oonoed
Indebtedness ia but $4,000 per
mile. Is not this a big, an
over ~helmipg difference? The difference IN
coat of operating the two roads, keep''g tne
tracks in repair, running trains ETC, is tor'y
per cent. in favor of the narrow + .ugo' Why!
Because the roadbed is not 50 Wite ~
eighteen inches, the ties are shorter by Inc
same length, and it takes less fuel Tor the
engines. AS to carrying capacity, sixteen
ton engine on q narrow gauge will haul from
five hundred TO fix hundred bales OF cotton
more than twenty-four ton engine Will maui
on standard gauge, as has been demon.
strated number of times, and twenty-tcur
ton engine will haul from six hundred 10
seven hundred bales of cotton. The cars OF
the narrow gauge road are of course smaller
than those of the standard gauge, bat II Is
only difference of ten bales Of cotton N
bulk, the narrow gauge holding thirty-two
bales and the broad gauge forty-twc;
but what the narrow gauge loses IN
width it makes up in the length OF its trains
As to speed, narrow gauge trsinscan and do
make Just as good time as the standard
gauges All these things considered, 1t Will
readily be perceived that the narrow gauge
road can declare the same dividend that the
s standard gauge does on afreight tariff fifty per
cent. less than that charged by the standard
gauge: and on the same freight tariff it can
nav double the dividend that the standard
gauge pays. These figures and facts show
the value of the narrow gauge road, snow
their importance to every community, es-
pecially where competition Isl desideratum'
as IL is here in Dallas. 1t isa well known
fact that Messrs. Palmer & Sullivan have
oh,ained LARGE concessions from the
Mexican government for the con-
structicn of system of narrow gauge
railroads. Their contract with the Mexican
is that they are to build these
roads, for which they are paid sub
sidv of eleven thousand dollars per
mile, and they have q right OF way
,hirty.two miles on each side of their tracks
on which night Of way no other railroad OF
any gauge whatsoever can be built. This
system Of roads will extend from the City of
Mexico through some of tho richest states of
that republic, and will strike the Rio Grande
at two points, Laredo and point in the
state of chihuahua. Already this company
has purchased narrow gauge road In course
of construction from Corpus Christi to
Laredo. 1t has formed coalition with Mr..
BremouIs East and West Texas narrow
gauge at Housten, from which point i
will build 10 Laredo, the Bremond road
going on eastward. There is narrow gauge,
the Kansas g. Gulf Short Line, now being
built from Tyler 10 Homer, in Angelina
county, where il will conhect with the Bre-
mopa road, which will be completed inside
of A year. The Texas & St. Louis will 60 on
westward from Corsicana through Waco TO
Laredo as fast as It can be built, for Il Is
part and parcel Of the Palmer & Sullivan
system. AS We have before stated, inside Of
twelve months Il will be completed from
Texsrksna 10 Cairo, which will give il
continuous line 10 81. Louis. At which point
TIE Toledo, Ohio, narrow gauge viii bsve
srrived by thst time, end II viii slso have
connection with the Cincinnati narrow gauge.
The lie viii be built through TO New York,
,oo and a connection from Texas with
Nev Odssns IL also intended in
I. wear or two after these connections are all
n q - IaHr