Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1882-01-03

year ISL foot up S2,S49, O97 $50, against
SLIPS. ISL. 2223. 2G i'm 1850
REPORTS OF THE PRESIDENT AND
ENGINEER eF THE W. p. & &. R.R.
W. are in receipt of a. pamphlet copy
of the reports of the President and Engi-
nCcr ,SICKELSl, which furnish informa-
ton regarding the cost of constructing
and operating the w. =. " e. railroad,
together with the resources of the road,
given more in detail than any state
mcntS heretofore published.
Engineer SICKLES estimates the en-
tire length of the road from Wheeling
10 Point Pleasant To be III miles, assum-'
inc i'm this estimate, the adoption of the
river line for the entire distance from
ParkerShurg to Point Pleasant, which is
- miles.
The maximum grade is estimated ut
- feet per mile, and so far as the per-
manent location has been made between
this city and New Martinsville, the
grade has fallen below this estimate
being about l. feet per mile.
On the entire line between Wheeling
and Point Pleasant there will be $50
lincal feet of truss bridging, and except
at Kanawha, the spans will not exceed
% feet each.
From the preliminary surveys, the
engineer presents an approximate eSti-
mate of the cost Of completing the road,
with an adequate equipment, in lrdertor
business. He says that the grades will
br 10 extremely ngnr Tnat locomotives
not exceeding % tons weight may be
economically used, end g.. 49, -.
| of locomotive, steel rails weighing %
pounds per yard are suitably adapted,
| and Wilt be as durable as the 81 pound
| steel rails laid on the Pennsylvania and
| the Is. N q. railroads, where locomotives
/ weighing 81 tons are in use. \ 81 ton
] locomotive can haul $50 tons of freight,
I i'm addition To weight of cars, over grades
| of ID feet per mile.
The detailed estimate is then given
! for the construction of q tirst-clasS rail-
| road, thoroughly ballasted, and laid,
| with 5,UVO ties per mifeI and the cQuip5
ment adequate to transport an amount
\ of business that will YIELD 1000 per
mile per annum. The estimate Is as
| follows:
LGuqding and bridging III miles, ats
superSirGcturS 81 is at * OIo SSSyS
Add for side track and switches 10 per
stations, buildings, water tanks and
machine shops. lI9,SS3
Equipment for two passenger trains
and two freight,each way over road.
Depot grounds, engineering, incident
ais, kVVUJJ
Total eoet.................... .S5,seSO
Average cost per mile....................... $3.50
The Engineer is convinced from an
examination of the country through
which the road will run, and of itS.re-
sources and business prospects, that the
minimum estimate of earnings, at the
rate of II, S4T per mile per annum, AS
Sumed BY the President in his report,
will be exceeded in the operation of the
road. Cheap fuel and favorable
grades" he says, Twill render your road
a very economical one to operate, and
il Is entirely safe To assume that one
halfthe gross earnings of the road will
defTay all the expenses of its operation
and maintenance"
In regard To the prospective business
of the road, the Engineer makes these
observations:
1T is a peculiar feature in the charac-
ter of the road, that the necessary
amount of business 10 render it u profit
able enterprise is already in existence
directly along its line, and will be di-
vertCd 10 il ut once on its completion.
Probably no transportation problem has
been more fully demonstrated in this
country than that railways always at
tract To themselves, from parallel water
routes, nearly all the passenger travel
and most of the freight transportation.
This has occurred almost universally,
even when the water routes offer
eel peculiar advantages, both
for the economical and rapid
transportation of passengers and freight;
but in the case of the Ohio river route,
which does not present the advantages
of economical or rapid transportation,
but has the disadvantages ofuncertainty,
and occasional entire suspension for
months continuously, there is no room
for doubt that your road will secure the
local business of the country through
which it will run. From care
full study of the subject, | feel
well assured that its construction
will greatly promote the public
convenience, and that it will be safe
investment Of capital, yielding good re-
turns for the expenditure required"
Added To these assurances of the
Engineer relative 10 the business pros
poets of the road, are the more detailed
Statements of the Presidents report,
showing, among other facts, that the
ten counties through which this road
will run, and which are without
railroad facilities in any direction
are the most wealthy and populous i'll
the State, and have an aggregate popu-
latiOn of l9i, 1858; that there are counties
contiguous to these that will be depend
ent upon the road, which have a popu-
lation of 30, 600; that on the Ohio side
there is q population which will be
partly dependent upon the road, of
SOS, pa; that the taxable property of the
counties through which the road will
run, amounts to SI7, ASS, S9l; that there
are coal, salt, petroleum, lumber, agri-
cultural products, iron ores, Sc., suffi- |
Gent to make the freight traffic protita- |
bic, exclusive OF the business which II |
must derive from its important connec-
tons with other roads; and these with s.
great many other facts in the same con-
neetiOn make very attractive showing |
kakkhe prospects of the road, which GER
q, X y hastily the opinion Of Engineer
81 * Us, ~that. il will be safe invest !
OF enuifal, welding good returns |
for the expendi tdrA re fuired."
.snk,sx REMEDY shat alwsys comedies with
astsis ,.ehag 1ses all diseases-
sz,c&m|1iu..... -. - -