The morning news., 1888-12-25
ON RAIL AND CRossTIE.
Local and General Gossip in Railway
= Circles

Circles.
A Pittsburg engineer and contractor is
bidding on seven new iron and steel plants
to be erected in the south next year. The
seven contracts will aggregate over 81 900, :
000
Master of Transportation Savage of the
Central railroad returned yesterday from
Kentucky, where he has been attending the
funeral OF his father, who died Wednesday
Of pneumonia.
bill is being framed in the interest of
railway engineers, firemen, brakemen and
switchmen which the Minnesota legislature
VIII be asked to pass prohibiting Pinkerton
detectives from operating in that state.
H. l.. Gates, the popular conductor on
the Shoohy train, will shortly be trans
ferred to the Atlanta run. He will take
the place of Conductor Yonge, who has
been transferred to the Millen accommoda-
tion train.
john Shannon, who was injured by a coal
bucket weighing 600 pounds falling on him
at tne coal docks of the Columbus, Hooking
valley and Toledo road in Toledo, o., was
last week given a verdict for $4,000 in a
suit for damages against the company.
The first bridge over the Missouri river
was built at Kansas City twenty-one Years
ago, and was regarded as a bold undertak-
ing. Now sixteen bridges for railways
span that stream, namely, at st. Charles,
bonneville, Glasgow, Sibley, Randolph,
Kansas City, Leavenworth, Atchison, St
Joseph, Rulo, Nebraska City, Plattsmouth,
Omaha. Blair, Sioux City and Bismarck.
and eight or ten more are not unlikely to be
built in the next ten years.
"A Wilkesbarre, Pa, dispatch says that
the victims of the Mud Run disaster have
decided to prosecute the Lehigh Valley rail
read employees under the act of 1865 instead
OF for manslaughter. If convicted under
TINS act, the employees responsible for the
wreck can be sentenced to five years i'm
prisonment and to pay $1,000 fine. Joseph
COOK, the engineer whose train ran into
the one ahead, is losing his mind through
sorrow, fear of punishment and inability to
get employment.
As British fear of French invasion pre-
vents the construction of the channel tun-
mel the scheme is now proposed of suspend
ing two tubes about three feet in diameter
across the channel by means of cables sup
ported by pillars, each tube to contain a
miniature railway on which cars will be
run, carrying mail and express matter not
exceeding 450 pounds to load. Even sup
posing the scheme fea ,ible, it is not likely
that the bold Britons who oppose the
channel tunnel enterprise would tolerate its
carrying out, for with such a means of COM
munication in existence what would pre-
themselves through the tube and capturing
England?
The railways on the American continent
whose gross earnings now are as large as
they were year ago are the exception, and
that Notwithstanding a large increase of
mileage in many cases. In a table of gross
earnings in November, compiled by the
Financial Chronicle, 107 roads show earn
ings aggregating S29,961, ,660 against $31,-
crease thus is 81, 1876, ,323 or per cent, but
when mileage is considered, the compare
tive decrease is much greater. These 107
roads in 1887 represented So, 800 miles, so
that the earnings averaged for the month
$495 80 per mile. But in November last the
mileage was SIS, 703, an increase of 1855
miles, and at the same rate they should have
earned s32, ,575, ,547 instead of $29, 1851 $780, SO
that for the single month they show a COM
parative loss of 81, ,613, SS7. Of the 107 lines
AZ show an increase which in several cases
can be accounted for by additions of
mileage. while 65, or 60 per cent, indicate
falling off. 81
The New York Times in writing of the
vestibule train says: The phenomenal sue
cess of the New York and Florida specials of
Pullman drawing-room, dining-room and
sleeping cars, running between New York
and Jacksonville last season, demonstrated
class train. Travel demands it, and, with
the view of catering in the best manner
possible to the wishes Of every class of its
patrons the Pennsylvania Railroad COM
pany has arranged to place this train in
service again between the points mention. d.
It will make its initial trip of the season on
Monday, Jan. z, 1889, and will be run tri-
weekly-Mondays, Wednesdays and FRIDAYS
thereafter. Tne schedule of last year will
be maintained, and the special will leave
New York at $50 O'Clock a. m., Philadel-
phia ll:59 o'clock a M, Baltimore 2:20
o'clock p. m., Washington $50 o'clock D. m.
and arrive at Jacksonville at $40 o'clock
p. m. next day. The equipment of the train
wilt consist of Pullman vestibuled drawing
room, sleeping, smoking and library and
dining cars, heated by steam and lighted by
electricity. The well-earIed reputation of
the train for comfort, luxury and an ex-
cellent attention to the creature comforts of
its patrons will not only be preserved, but
nothing will be left undone to make it bet
Ter than ever in every respect.