The Portland daily press., 1884-03-25

MT. 1OOD6Vs IN D0nalI OF tn6 CITY, SAID that
sn T. as he knew there was no objection on
the part OF the city to the appointment II Gen.
Anderson Che president OF the road,l as re-
ceiver.
Mr. Haskell read vote passed by the direc
tors OF the road, requesting the appointment OF
Pres ident Anderson as receiver.
Mr.. Putnam then called as a witness, Jonas
Hamilton, the superintendent OF the road, who
testified that he had heard read the list OF &C
cideuts which had occurred since February
ninth and that it was correct; that the acei
dents were due to the bad condition OF the
rails The first accident on the list is Fsbrua-
~ 9th. We had very few accidents back of
that. The general condition OF the road last
fall was very fair. / attribute these accidents
to the bad condition of the iron. In the pres
emit condition OF the road should hardly say Il
was earning its operating expenses; the break
age and repairs are very heavy and the expen
SeS OF operating are very heavy. We cannot do
the summer business of the road with the road
in its present condition. Our best business on
the road is in July, August aud September.
We are then required to run fast trains in or
der to make our connection at each end of the
road These trains are the most profitable ones
that we run. should say it would be the best
hing for this road as to economy to relay the
track with steel. Steel makes the best track
aud the easiest to operate; the repairs upon it
are not SO heavy and it is easier ON the rolling
stock.
Mr.. Newcomb, the road master was then
called and testified: The general condition of
the road bed and ties Is very good but the iron
IS in bad condition. From here to White
Rock there is about ten miles of steel in good
CONDITION. Que mile above White Rock we
have iron that was re-rolled about two years
ago that can be ade in fair condition with a
little patching. From there TO Hiram 1t is In
exceedingly bad condition and is not safe for q
train to pass over at the rate OF ten miles au
hour. That is a distance of % miles. I was
over SIX OF seven miles OF IL yesterday and /
could not hnd one in ten that wnnld be snitahle
for relsying. The track has changed very
much within the past two months.
Judge Walton said he was satisfied as to the
bad condition of the iron and all he wanted
testimony upon now was the amount t hat
would be required to put the road in safe
condition.
The witness said three thousand tons Of steel
would pnt the road in good condition for
year, but at the end OF that time the rest of
the iron would be in as bad shape as this is
now.
Samuel j. Anderson, the presid ent of the
road was then called and test flied. / think
there should be new steel rails laid wherever
we have iron rails. There would be a number
of miles of fair iron, but the cost of taking il
up, cutting it off, moving it up and boring new
holes, putting in new fishings weuld make 30
large an ex pense that the wear of the iron for
one year would not pay for the difference be-
tween that and STEEL In the next place we
have worked over on sidings until we haven't
a rail in siding fit to relay anywhere. We
have fifteen aud one half miles of siding and
every rail that could be cut so as to patch our
track has been taken mp until the sidIngs are
in such a condition it is almost impossible to
run our trains over them. Now all the good
iron on the line that wonld be suitable for
wear at all should be utilized by being put in
to the sid1Dgs, and every rail on the fifteen
miles Of sidings should be taken up and sold
as old iron. Every rod OF iron in the main
track that is fit to relay is needed in the sid
I0Qg. Tl6n al0inOQ EaVa n hp
ed to meet the increasing business of the road.
Our trains are growing larger and most of the
sidings are too short now for long trains. Oar
business is now growing and we expect this
>eason quite large increase and that will re-
quira more and longer sidings aud there will
not be rod of old iron but that will be need
cd in the sidings.
Now the road will require six thousand tons
OF STEEL rails. 1t will not vary forty tons from
that Then there will have to be new fshings
The old ones that were In vogue when the
road was built consisted of a common iron
strap. Now no rails are laid except with an
angle ste, which is the strap with a side to
1t that bears upon the tie; and these angle
lates with the bolts and nuts, many OF which
have got TO be new, aud aboct fifty thousand
ties, the cost Of laying which is estimated al
from $500 to $500 per mile, depending upon
the speed with which it is relaid, all these
will cost together with the steel rails
not less than one hundred and fifty thousand
dollars.
We have bought one hundred TWENTY-FIVE
tons of steel rails, which are now on the wa,
here; we were obliged TO buy that or stop run
ming the road. Those are paid for-paid for
oy the money we ought to lave used for the
pay roll but We had to pay for them for the
road had no credit.
The market for steel rails TODAY is low. l
can buy better now than ever before
There are two bridges that need to be re-
paired or renewed. One of them is over the
WIllaU xua hrrilf t1.n 0aA
put in an iron bridge across one-half of the
brook where we could not use wood and the
other half we put In wooden trestle, and of
course that is perishable material. 1t is a
pretty deep span and over a mountain stream
and it has become decayed and has got to be
renewed, and instead of putting in wood
again 1t will be economy to put in an iron span
instead There is always danger up there that
an avalanche of stones may knock wooden
trestle from under the bridge and while we
hope that no such accident will happen yet it
is possible aud it would be safer to have that
spanned with iron. At tie long bridge across
the Saco at Centre Conway there is wooden |
bridge which is decayed and has got to be re-
built. 1t vas thought that the better way
would be there to put in stone foundation |
and an iron trestle which is not very expen-
sive structure. We have built an embank-
ment wall and We can now fill it as cheaply as
TO build of wood. These bridges will cost
about thirty thousand dollars.
We are, today, doing more work with the
same number of engines than probably any
road about here. We have eleven engines.
and are running ia miles of road. In the
summer We run great many trains. Last
summer, if an engine had given out, we
should have been obliged to hire one. Every
engine we had was employed. We have taken
% miles more of road to run. Heretofore, un-
I'll the Sd Of March, the Boston, Concord &
Montreal road hauled our trains between Fab
yan's and Scott's Mills, but they found that
was not to their advantage, and we had to
make a new contract, and In that we take our
own trains through over their road. The re-
suit Is that since the Sd of March, and for the
future, We have to run % more miles, Our To-
comotves for the mountain region should be
heavier, and it is absolutely necessary, iu order
to do our business, thai we should have two
heavy locomotives to work up in the moun-
tains. We have had poor track for six or
seven years, and our machinery has felt the
wear and tear of it.. An engine cannot run
over suoh track without feeling it, and our
engines are not in the condition they would
have been in had we had a good track. The
two new locomotives would cost eighteen thous
aud dollars.
Now, without reference to our legal rights
under this motion, but what would be- economy
for the road ss much as anything else, would
be for us to have repair shops Of our own. We
have little shop of our own, but we cannot
fiji wheel, and our trucking bill Is $500
year. We have to pay dollar and half for
shop, pay them two dollars for fitting it, when
we could do it in our own shop IL we had one,
for a dollar and quarter. Again, we are paw
ing $500 year rent, and 800 taxes for the
land where the little shop is that we have got,
while we own ground and have it graded
where we could put our shops. Shops, with
tue tools that would take care of twenty-five
engines are estimated to cost from seventy-fve
to one hundred thousand dollars, but we do
not want to build anything of that kind. I
l. 3ksxl<A. r1x< rp
would cost thirty-hve thousand dollars.
At this peint the Court took recess until
half-past two o'clock.
At the coming in Of the Court in the after
noon, General Anderson said he should prefer
to have the coupons of the first mortgage
bonds paid rather than use the money for the
repair shops.
The Court said he did not feel justified at
this time to provide for the payment of those
coupons out Of money raised on the receivers
certificates or in providing for the pay ment OF
anv existing Indebtedness but those can be
paid out of the earnings of the road when the
receiver has got them in his hands.
Judge Walton said Mr.. Fellows of New
Hampshire, counsel for the complainants in
the bill pending in the Circuit Court of New
Hampshire, was present and he had understood
him to say at recess that he did not think as
at present advised, the creditors whom he rep
resents would object to General Anderson be-
ing appointed receiver, and such a decree be-
INC nada ae he the Cnnrt nronosad tn mako