Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-11-14
THE woRK or rRACKLAYsNG
Nofpffstng Eecesd OF the Present
Hsar-seven Thousand utsss by
January 1ss.


The Rdiiudy dgs publishes summary
of the work 81 trackIaying FOR ten months
c' tie current year. IN which u says:
In our issue Of July Isl we recorded the
prediction "lhat the total new railway
mileage Of 1896 will not fsll short OF e,O0O
miles, and may considerably exceed that"
During The four months which have ELAPSED
since tlat II. tompnt WAS made over 5000
miles 81 mainline tracks have been sdded 10
That air, ady laid in the present year. the
preliminary work 81 grading and bridge
building which had been IN progress iu-
ring the first part Of the year in almoEt every
State In the Union has now been supplement-
I'd by a large amount ~ tracklaying. fhe
weather throughout the entire country has
been unusually favorable for construction
and The improvement In general business
has encouraged railway extension. Track.
laying has been in progress this year IN -
II the ~ States and Territories on ZIG
lines, ard 10 less than 6.i39 miles 0I ne"
main track. hOt counting sidings AMI al IL
'ional tracks, have been added 90 the rail-
way sys stem 81 the United states since jan
nary st. Remembering that the total new
mileage Of 1885 was only 3,l3l miles, ana
bal Of 1854 only 1926 miles, The
record for the first ten months of
The present wear will be seen 10 in
Gicatc an astonishing Increase OF activity.
A large additional mileage will he ready
foi the track before the end Of The wear
We atc nov certain that the new railway
iioagc. Of 1896 will prove to be mi less
than 1000 miles, while, II the weather
continues favorable, il may considerably
exceed that figure. In all probability, the
record OF construction for 1856 will be
found 10 suIpass that OF any other year in
the history Of the country, excepting the
two years Of extraordinary and uuheallh-
fu activity, 1881 and 1882.
Kansas i. far in the lead In the work OF
railway building. No less than 90 miles
1--we already been added on - different
lines during the past ten months, and >evc-
raj hundred miles more will be added b..
fore the en- Of the year. The young Te'-
riiory Of Dakota CONES next with $50 miles
on l2 lines and many additions still in pro.
gIcss. Nebraska is a close lhird with 10
mules on - lines and grading vigorously in
progress un half dozen or more important
extensions. Texas shows more than 400
miles added on IL lines and q new mileage.
either IN process or soon T. be undertaken,
aggrcgating some thousands Of miles more.
" iSconsin reports $40 miles; Iowa, 33S
Minnesota, nearly 600. with Florida not far
behind, and in all thee cases large -
lions will be made before the year ends.
The only States from which no tracklayIng
has Vet been reported are New Hampshire,
Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, De'a'
ware. Nevada. and the Territories OF New
Mexico and Utah. In one or two NJ these
lille construction will yet be done this
year.
II will be seen that the great activity has
been in the Northwestern and Missouri
river statos. In the older parts OF the c0uu-
tIy comparatively little railway building il
going on, in all the six New England
states only six miles OF new track thus lar
being reported, while New York shows
only 29mles aud Pennsylvania returns only
little over leo miles. The southern
States do not indicate the activity which was
expected at the opening Of the year, Florida,
North Carolina. Mississippi. and South
Croiina being the only states thus far re-
roding over 100 miles OF new ROAD. SIll
m.nv new enterprises, some OF them OF
much magnitude, are in progress in tnc
south. and the remainder OF the pre- cnt
year and the following year will show ycly
considerable addition to the mileage OF thai
pant Of the country.