The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-04-18
The improvements on the vandalia tho Last
Three Years.

The improvements on the vandalia tho Last
Three Years.
For three years past, in quiet, unpretending
manner. the management Of the Vandalia lines
have practically rebuilt the entire system. More
especially will this remark apply to the main
line between Terre Haute and St Lonis. and the
Terre Haute and Logansport division. On the
main line, within three years 158 miles Of steel
rails have been laid, all resting practically
new cross-ties. every bridge has been rebuilt,
nine curves have. been Strengthened, and half
dozen points where there was a heavy grade
| have been SO filled that the grade is now an easy
one Then of this 158 miles some forty
Of 1t has been ballasted with broken
stone and the remainder ba.lasted with coarse
gravel. In fact, this division of the road comes
| near perfection. On the L. I'll. 81 l.. division,
| formerly the Logansport, Charlottesville q
| Southwestern, the Improvements have been pro-
portionately extensive Not only has the old
road between Terre Haute and Logansport been
made firstclasS road in every particular, put
sixty seven miles of an extension from Logans-
/ port to South Bend, has been constructed, and is
| said to be the best sxtyseven miles of
new road in this country. While the
/ improvements have been going on upon
the two divisions above named, the old
/ Terre Haute 81 indianapolis division has by no
| means been neglected, and will admit of speed
of a mile in fftv-three seconds over it, The
| most marked improvements have been in
! the way of reducing the grades on this division.
! AT two or three points passengers can look
| from windows a considerable distance below
| the present grade of the track and see the old
| grade At Seeleyville and near Cloverdale form
/ erly the company experienced more trouble
/ than at any other points. from the heavy grades
which now practically done away with. Col.
| Hill states that for the next sixty days special
attention is to be given to placing the T. H. & |.
rsfxrtoJ
road can be- While the extensive Improvements
/ have been going on upon the road bed in equip
ments the improvement has been full as striking
| and the Yandalia to-day has los locomotives
which are equal in every respect to the best on
| the New York Central or Pennsylvania (proper)
| roads. The fourteen new engines they have re-
| ceived in the last twenty months are pronounced
/ by expert engineers to be the best preportioned
and built engines run on any road in this
| country.
Safety Demands Heavier Rails.
Sixty days from now the Indianapolis & st.
Louis road will be laid with steel rails from In
dianapolis to ST. Louis-75 per cent of
| the distance with steel rail weighing seventy
! five pounds to the yard-and can safely move
their trains at high speed without fear of
broken rails Since steel rails were introduced
the railroad companies have continued increas-
ing the size and weight of their rolling stock and
! the speed of trains has also been materially &C
celebrated till the rails which carried trains safely
ten years ago are not sufficient to endure
| without danger the blows from the cars or loco
| motives, now in use, at the speed the blow is
| struck. Although trains in Great Britain main
/ tain a higher average speed than those run on
American roads, accidents from broken rails are
almost unknown there, the cause of this exemp-
ton from breakage being due to the great weight
OF rail employed. While our leading railroads
| are using rails weighing from fifty to sixty
pounds to the yard British roads doing similar
| work have rails weighing from sixty-fve to
eighty-fve pounds to the yard. American en-
/ gineers assumed that steel rails could not be
overloaded by ordinary railroad locomotives or
cars, and they introduced rails that were too
light in the first place, and the breakages due to
| inherent weakness are now manfestng the mis-
/ takes made President ingalls, has made sixty
| seven pounds to the yard the standard weight on
the c., l., St l.. & C. road, and the !. & st.
| L. seventy pound rail- The American Ma
! cbinist says: There are thousands of miles of
| railroad track laid with steel under sixty pounds
| weight to the yard. Every train that rolls over
| this track takes part of the steel away, SO that
the rails getting smaller and weaker every
year AS this weakness grows the increase of
accidents from breakage will go The inter-
ests of safety already demand that the steel rails
1 on many roads should be renewed with heavier
patterns, that the weight of locomotive drivers
| and cars should be reduced"
The Havana Division of the Wabash.
| ST. LOUIS April 17.-By order of the United
States Circuit Court to-day, the Havana divs-
| ion of the Wabash railroad was ordered to be
transferred by the receiver to Spaulding & Ter
| ry, trustees, under mortgage to secure the
issue of 81, 210 900 bonds, on which default of in
| terest has been made. Authority was given to
1 the trustees to foreclose and sell under the in
structions of the United States Circuit Court for
| the Southern district of Illinois.
Miscellaneous Notes.
The United States Car coupler Company has
devised a draw-bar especially for dump cars. 1t
weighs only seventyfve pounds, but works per-
| fectly.
| The Maine Central has brought test suit to
| have the question settled whether or not linn
tied excursion ticket Is good after tha tina in