The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1889-01-25
Railroad Development.


Railroad Development.
Mr.. DILLINGHAM-SIR: I noticed
your railroad article, published some
days ago, and thought your esti-
mates very low, as compared with
my experiences in railroading. "BuSi-
ness Of railrOadtng eUer increases"
My knowledge of railroads is de-
rived from the efforts of building
the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy
Railroad. At first the road was
composed of the Central Military
Track Railroad, running from Men
dota to Galesburg, Illinois the
Peoria and Oquaka Railroad and
the Northern Cross Railroad. Each
was a distinct railroad under sep
arate charters. Peoria and Oquaka |
was the line on which there was the
most travel, having a daily line of |
stages, running half to two-thirds |
full; there was no other line of |
stages running on the other routes, |
the settlements were sparse. The |
line from Mendoza to Galesburg was
first completed, and the company
Immediately put on two coaches, |
many of them nearly full; after
wards they built the road north to |
Aurora, and thence north 10 Sum
NIT, about twenty miles from Chi
road. Then it took from three to |
four trains of two coaches each twice |
a day to carry the passengers, and !
quite q number of freight trains. |
They then consolidated with the !
Northern Cross Military from Quincy
to Gslesburg, adding to their pas
senger and freight business. They |
then purchased the Peoria and |
Oquaka, finishing it to Burlington;
afterwards they finished the Peoria |
branch, and when have stated that |
where a single stage coach had car
ried all the passengers, it took two |
trains of two cars to carry passen-
gers alone, with the addition of two |
to four freight trains to carlrszazsaaagsSsS'
added 6 q bran an they have
..cn road from Buda, G.
point in the road north of Gales
burg, to Rushville, to carry the extra
freight and passengers to Fulton
and Schuyler counties, or a parallel
road to the main line, about one
hundred miles long, These roads
were all built through prairie coun-
try. Knox county having pOpula
ton of ten to fifteen thousand,
| Henry county six to ten thousand,
Bureau county eight to twelve thous-
and, Lasall county was unsettled
where the road ran, and McDonough
county had a population OF from six
to eight thousand, Warren county
from seven to ten thousand and
other counties through which the
road passed with population in pro-
portion to the time of construction
of the road.
The roads we're afterwards consoi-
| dated under the name of the Chi
cago, Burlington and Quincy Rail
road Co., and are known by that name
now, although they have added
| largely to their mileage. I will con
| fine my remarks to its lines IN IL
linois. In 1869 the Legislature
granted charter for a road from
Chicago to st. Louis, permitting
| them to run to every farm, every
| township, every village and city they
might see fit. They chose a route
via Rock Island, Monmouth, ETC.,
and so reached st. Louis. The com
pany failed, and it was eventually
bought by the c., B. & O., who com
| pleted the road, thus forming another
| line to come into competition with
their original line from Peoria to
Galva and down the river to Quincy.
These lines, although built through
sparsely settled districts, are all now
running, Notwithstanding the strike
from March last to the present time,
| at remunerative rates. The stock
holding Dec. 10, 1853, $40. Besides
! this, the 9. B. 81 q. owns roads to
Denver and Ogden, and will reach
| the Pacific this year. l have thus
noticed the growth of a road, that
now runs over ESQ trains day into
| Chicago. And the country when the
roads were first built were not SO
! densely settled as between here and
Pearl River.
Having visited Pearl River, and
noticed the lands, the population and
their resources, l am frank to say,
that evidences are good that the rail
road to that point will pay, not only
on freight and passengers, as far as
you may build it, but, that you will
find encouragement to build it
around the island, with necessary
branches to reach all parts of the in
termediate country. Thereby greatly
increasing the wealth and prosperity
of the people as well as yourself.
Respectfully yours,