The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-04-14
FORElGS RAILROAD NOTES.


Russia has built military railroad east Of
the Caspian sea, which at the end OF January
was in operation for Sc miles, followed by q
horse railroad 18 miles long over u mountain
ridge.
A Russian road has recently ordered that
passenger trains should carry stock of tea.
sugar and bread sufficient to support the
passengers in case the trains should be snow
bound. and the government has given in,
struciions for the same thing to be do on
other roads liable 10 snow blockades.
A Russian railroad last winter laid track
over the ice in the barber Of ST. Petersburg
to the island OF Cronstadt, in order to remove
to st. Petersburg great quantities of mer-
chsndise that was stored in ships frozen in
there. 1t is spoken of as the only instance
OF railroad on Ice; but our readers will re-
member IN illustrated description Of one
across the st Lawrence at Montreal that we
published last year February ~. The
Russian road ia more than three miles long.
1t is reported that the Russian governmen.
will mike an experiment in working railroads
by the state, by taking over the Charkov i
Nico.alev railroad, three-fourths of whose
stock it has always Owaed Russia has long
been a railroad proprietor Usually part pro-
priet0r), but has not heretofore worked any
railroad by government officials.
A committee of the French chamber of
deputies has reported that the railroad EN-
ployes need projection in their rights 10 the
pension funds which the companies have
established. II q man is discharged or leaves
the service OF a company he cannot claim
his pension, which may b. the accumulation
of years, partly paid by him directly, and the
whole of it representing his savings during
that tins.
A society OF german mechanical engineers''
has Just been organized, with headquarters
at Berlin, beginning with l40 members, from
all parts Of Germ ny. The first Off ,ers are:
President Here Veitmeyer, civil engineer,
member of tho Imperial patent bureau, and
OF the royal engineering academy; First Vice.
President Director Stahl, of Slettip; Second
Vice President, X ,ilrosd Director Gust, of
Berlin; Treasurer, +. O. CHASER, commission
councillor. Regular meetings are to be held
on the first Friday Of every month at No. 80
Linden street, Berlin, w.
The length of public railroads opened for
traffic in France 10 1880, is COB miles of lines
OF general Importance, making the total in
the country AT the end of the year 14,74O
miles, besides l4SA miles of private railroads
Tin mines, etc. In 1880, 81 miles of railroads
of "local Importance" were also opened, max
ing a total OF 1856 miles of roads of that class.
Algeria IA French colony had 7l5 miles of
railroadin operation ut the end of 1880.
The expenditures for new railroad cOns,ruc-
ton by France 10 1887 wers nearly sos O00,-
600 NEARLY 81, 900. 900 for corporation roads
whose substructure is constructed by the
state, more than 100000 for completing
lines which the state has purchased, and
nearly $25 900 900 for new lines which the
state has Undertaken to construct wholly on
its own Accountable rest for lines which are
to be built whsly BY corporations,
The governments expenditures are more
than two thirds of the whOlu.
The Swiss railroad department has
recently published statistics of the railroads
of Switzerland for the year 1879. At the
end of the year the total length of the roads
in operation in the republic was | $50 miles
including one and half miles of wire rope
road, seven and half of tramways, and
fOrty.three miles of special roads"
probably mountain roads not worked by
sdhesiop) worked by locomotives. These
roads had 543 locomotives, 1850 passenger
cars, and 8,545 freight cars The average
service was IA 696 miles run per locomotive,
3O.4l0 per passenger car, and IL ,766 per
freight car. This report gives the first state.
ment we have seen of the Interchange of
cars" on European reads. While the Swiss
freight cars ran 81 1901 900 miles in local
traffic, they ran 1881 100 miles on foreign
roads, and foreign freight cars ran 81, 755 222
miles on Swiss roads. Switzerland imports
nearly all its bresdstufs and exports much
offs manufactures and most of its dairy
products and wines.
More than four-6fths of all the psssen.
gers travelled third CLASS, and only II per
cent. (l3.2 out of every thousand) travelled
frst-clsss, in spite Of the immense tourist
travelin Switzerland The passenger traffic
was at the rate of 1921 during the year,
on 2S2 each way daily, over the whole mile
age. On the average 80 per cent. of the
seats in the cars were occupied The aver
age receipt per passenger per mile was so
cents per ton per mile, 10 cents, the lat.
ter very nearly four times the average 1e-
ceipt per ton per mile in New York the
same year. The average earnings per mile
of road So 962-427 per cent. of which
was from passenger trains. The working
expenses were So 1854 per mile, leaving aver
age net earnings of $S.l0S, or 10 cents per
train per mile The total number of EN-.
ployes ID 1863, or 8 2 per mile, and the gross
earnings were at The rate of SS3S per per
son employed. The aggregate net increase
was at the rate of 80 percent. on the sggre-
gate capital of the roads,
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