The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-01-16
RAILROAD BUILDING.
More Than Six Thousand Miles
of Track Laid in 1888.
The Greatest Activity Shown in the
Southern States.

Since January /, 1883, 642O miles Of railway
have been built in the United States. ThiS
mileage was built. according to statistics coll
lected by the Engineering Nesrs, on 2s6 dn-
ferent lines by 100 companies.
The New England States are credited with
167 miles Of new track. Maine leading with
1877, and Vermont following with Il, and Con-
necticut with II. New Hampshire and Massa-
chusetts had miles each. The Middle States
built 1T6 miles, the Central Northern States
S3S, the South Atlantic States 1l07. the Gull
and Mississippi Valley States 94b, the South
750, and the Pacific States 937. In New YORK
60 miles were laid
In Canada IA companies built 16 new lines,
whose total extent is 355 miles. In Mexico.
the Central and National (the two principal
American systems) built 495 miles OF new
road.
The $3.50 miles laid in this country is only
half the record for 1887 and two.thirds tnat OF
1856. but is still large showing for year IN
which confidence in railway investments has
been so badly shaken. Kansas leads the States
with 5:3 miles California has 465. Georgia
4l9. Kentucky 35l, Washington Territory
800 and Alabama, S04. The South, on the
whole, has shown more activity compared
with the North than ever before. In Iowa
there is no new mileage at all. This fact IS
ascrihed to hostile legislation and the dolngs
OF the State Railroad Commissioners, and
the anti-railroad tendencies of other North
western Legislatures has also had q depress-
ing effect upon railroad building.
The Rock Islands extension to COLORADO
Springs 2gS miles, was about the only long
line built during the year. Few OF the
1888 extensions are important as com,
petitive lines, while in 1855 and
nf
the construction of lines to compete for the
traffic between Chicago and st. Paul and
Kansas City, and the road to compete with
the trunk lines via the Sault Ste. Marie. :.
There is a great contrast between 1888 and
the two preceding years in the ownership
of the extensions. The 20 companies
that built 9o65 miles. in 1887,
or nearly ~ per cent of the whole
mileage, built only 251S miles this year. or
current belief" says the Ne,os, .that the inter;
State commerce law tends to force the local
roads to consolidate with the gre at systems is
hardly corroborated by the large number OF
local lines built in 1888. 1t seems indeed open
TO question whether the law, while it tends to
force the consolidation of competing lines,
does not handicap the great systems, which
are seriously affected by competition, and
leaye almost untouched the small local roads
which in their limited fields are monarchs Of
all they survey"
Among the large systems the Rock Island
leads with 392 miles The Santa Fe drops
from 172) miles last year to 174
miles in 1888. The Northwestern
built 12) miles, the Burlington 102,
the illinois Central 10. and the Chicago,
Milwaukee and st. Paul only 3. The ST
Paul. Minneapolis and Manitoba built Sl2,
the Northern Pacific 81, and the Southern
Pacific 237. In Canada the falling off was
as marked as in the United States.