The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1883-06-08
LlVkapUuL
RAILROADS

LESS than 2l0 miles of track remain to
b" laid to complete the Northern Pacific
main line.
The Denver e Rio Grande system now
comprises 1850 miles of completed road.
Two years ago last January Its total mile.
age was 5& miles.
A subsidy of $4,000 has been granted to
the Northern Pacific Railroad company to
construct road forty miles long Tie
work will be commenced Immediately.
Steel rails are being sold in some cases as
low as $50 per ton and negotiations are re-
ported from Philadelphia at $3S. Pig-iron
and the various form OF manufactured iron
and steel are now extremely low, a fact
which is very favorable to railway building.
The cost OF the rails alone is now from
81 800 to $1,000 per mile less than it would
have been two years ago.
The six feet gauge will soon cease to ex-
ist in this country. The Erie, which few
years ago added a third rail to its broad
gauge track SO as to be able to run rolling
stock of standard gauge, is now taking up
the last rails of the feet track, and is re-
ducing its remaining engines and cars to
the established gauge of the country. The
southern roads which still retain the feet
gauge, will ere long have to narrow it by
three and one half inches, and there will
continent, feet 81 inches and ieet-un.
less indeed the . feet gauge shall assume
some importance.
A Chicago paper says: A simple little de-
vice that can be seen at the national expo
sltion OF railway appliances, now in pro-
gress in this city, shows to what extent in
ventive genius can aid in the preservation
of our forests. The invention is spike for
holding the rail to the ties. All the spikes
that have been used heretofore have broken
the grain of the wood when they were
driven, thus permitting the water to soak
in around them, at an expease, in short
time, of the ties. Not only this,
but after being in use for a time
and danger to train follows. The spike
in question has a chisel point that cuts the
way for the body Of the spike that fellows.
A tight and close grip OF the wood is thus
obtained. The consequence is that a tie
into which this spike is driven ought ce'-
tainly to be twice as durable, at least, as il
is at present. To take into account this
immense amount of timber that Is manu-.
fac ured into ties, IL is readily seen that the
saving would be ofgreat importance. This
invention probably did not cost the inven-
tor ten minutes thought, nevertheless it Is
one of the few little things that is likely to
play an important part in forest preserva.
ton.
The railroad boom at the south, says the
Memphis Appeal, is something unparal.
leed. Here at Memphis the Kansas City,
the New Orleans and the Selma railroads
are we'll under way, and the former and the
latter nearly completed; General Gordon is
pushing his Georgia Pacific and his Florida
roads: Charleston is rejoicing in the pro.
iected Carolina, Cumberland Gap and Chi.
cago railway, and Mr.. II. B. Plant, the
well known president of the Southern
Express company, has recently
secured control Of the South Florida rail-
road, a line running from Sanford, on the
headwaters OF the st. Johns river, to ks
sImmee City, on Lake Tahapetlage. This
gives Mr.. Plant control OF 500 miles Of rail-
roads, and his steamer lines cover 700 miles
on the rivers of Georgia and Florida. 1t is
the intention OF the new management to
extend the road west to Tampa, to give the
system an outlet to the Gulf of Mexico. A
line of steamers will also he placed on the
waters below Kissimmee Guy through the
Disstor canals and Lake Ocheechobee to
the gulfathrough the great sugar growing
region OF this country. The road from Kis-
simmee TO Tampa will be 0hit from each
end OF the line. On its completion line Of
steamers will be run between TAMPA. Key
West and Havana, which will put Jackson.
willie within iorty.eight hours Of the metro.
polls of Cuba. --..
The Commonwealth, Of Kansas City,
which Is believed TO reflect the views of the |
s nta Fe MANAGEMENT, In leader predicts
important railroad movements within the
next sixty days, chief among which will be
the purchase of the 81. Louis u San Fran
cisco by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
company. The Commonwealth says THE
s., Louis & San Francisco road Is in opera