Morning journal and courier., 1888-12-07
RAILROAD AFFAIRS.

ResfgnasfOn of Superlntent mcNeiiI-
 The Consolidated Roads' Capital
 SG0ck-TestIng of an Important New
 Bridge of the Consolidated Road.
 Superintendent Edwin MeNeill of the
 Hartford and Connecticut Western road has
 resigned and gone West to take the position
 of general manager of the St. Joseph and
 Grand Island railroad. This is a part of the Union Pacific railroad system. The main
 line is 252 miles long, and various branches make total mileage of about 800 miles. MT. McNeiI is a West Point graduate and re- signed in 1880 to take the esuperintendency of the Shepaug road. In 1885 he succeeded MT. Jones as superintendent of the Connecticut Western, and from a non-paying road four years ago he has brought up the business and cut the expenses so that the receipts exceeded the operating expenses by $100, 900 last year. Mr. McNeill was elected senator of the Twelfth district in the recent election, and special election will be called to fill the vacancy.
 The Consolidated road has petitioned the railroad commissioners for their "examina- ton and approval of proposed increase of it's capital stock to such an amount as will enable it to provide for all it's bonded and floating indebtedness, to acquire the capital stock and obligations of those companies whose property it may hold by lease for term exceeding fifty years, and to make per" ] manent additions and improvements to it's ! railroad property" The commissioners have appointed hearing at D. m. Thurs 1 day, 20th inst. The law requires that "the commissioners shall make finding of all the ! essential facts presented to them in regard to ! such proposed increase of capital stock and report the same to the next session of the General Assembly, with @ recommendation whether such increase should be allowed or not, and if allowed, the manner in which and terms upon which such stock should be ! issued," An increase of capital stock re- quires the approval of two-thirds of the I stock represented at a meeting of the stock holders.
 The latest railroad scheme is the extension I of the Meriden, Waterbury and Connecticut River road through Yalesville and Walling- ford to tide water at New Haven. President Wilcox is reported as saying that if the man. | ufactories along the line would take $60, 900 1 worth of stock he would start the road with ! in three months and have it run to New Ha- ven. Such line would give seaport ter ! minus in the winter when the Connecticut river is closed by ice.
 The Willimantic Chronicle reports that ex- Representative Charles N. Allen of Putnam has received very lucrative and desirable position the Housatonic railroad. MT. Allen ia one of Windham county's brightest young business men.
 Few patrons of the Consolidated road have any conception of the length of track which | is operated by this great corporation. The | total track owned is only 141L miles, em- ] bracing the main line and the Suffeld, Mid dletown and New Britain branches; but the ! company leases 36611 miles, making 8 total ! of sos miles operated, or more than twice the distance between New York and Boston. The passenger coaches and smoking cars I number 353-equal to fifty average trains 40 combination cars, 36 drawing-room, 10 sleeping, 89 baggage, IS Adams express and 12 other cars, total of 558, equal to eighty ! ordinary trains of seven cars each. There are 1,958 box freight cars, 6S0 flat cars, 6 stock cars, 1 ,263 coal cars, IS milk cars, 406 dump I cars, and 102 cabooses, etc., making an aggre- gate of 4, ,432, equal to 221 trains of the aver- age freight train length, 20 cars each. The locomotives are just one short of 200, of which 124 are used on the main line and the Shore Line division. It is seldom remembered that the road operates any vessel property, but ss a matter of fact it has the big ferry steamer Maryland, six powerful tugs, and twenty large bsrges which are used in connection with the freight transfers at Harlem river.
 The new bridge of the Consolidated rail thoroughly tested this week, with the most satisfactory results. Engines No. 148 and 149, two of the huge Baldwin passenger 1oco- motives, each weighing with tender TIT, ,990 pounds, or practically eighty-nine tons, were run upon the bridge from the south, one on each track, side by side. A man standing in the roadway below held marked stick upright, one end touching the ground and resting against this another stick, the upper end pressed against the flooring of the bridge. When the engines reached the cen ter of the bridge the downward movement of this stick accurately indicated the amount of the dedection. The test was witnessed by Vice President Reed and SuDeriuteudeut Davidson of the Consolidated railroad, Presi- dent Jarvis of the Berlin Bridge company,
 builders of the bridge, and Charles H. Bunee, city surveyor.