West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1889-01-10
RAILROAD BUILDING.
More Than Six Thousand Miles
OF Track Laid i'm 1883.
The Greatest Activity Shown in the
Southern States.

Since January l. 1883, ca o miles OF railway
have been built i'm the Unitsd states. This
mileage was built, according 20 statistics COL
lected 10y the Enginecriny NepS, on 2s0 dif.
fercnt lines by 100 companies
The New England States are credited with
l61 miles OF now track Maine leading with
l2T, aud Vermont following with laana Con.
necticut with II. New Hampshire aud ldaSsa'
chusetts had miles each. The Middle States
built lac miles the Central Northern States
SIS, the South Atlantic States ilO1, the Gut
and Mississippi Valley stats aiA tho South.
western Stats 1904 the Northwestern States
80 miles were laid
In Cannda / I companies built 10 new lines
whose total extent is 800 miles In Mexico.
the Central aud National (tho two principal
American systemsl built 400 miles OF new
road.
The G4S0 miles laid in this country is only
half the record for lSS, and two-thirds that OF
1885, but is still large showing for a year in
which confidence in railway Investments has
boen so badly shaken. Kansas leads tho States
with 5.3 miles, California has 49, Georgia
4l9, kentucky Sol, Washington Territory
300, and Alabama, 3Ol The South. on the
whole has shown moro activity compared
with the North than ever before In Iowa
there is no new mileage no all This fact is
asCrihed 10 hostile legislation and the doings
OF the State Railroad Commissioners, and
the hntl-foilroni tendencies OF othor North
western Legislatures has also had "A depress.
ing effect upon railroad building.
The Rock Islands extension 10 Colorado
Springs, DDS miles, was about the only long
line built during the year Few OF the
1883 eXtens.o arc important com
petitive lines, while in 1886 and
1887 the feature OF tho work wns
the construction of limos 90 compete for the
traffic between Chicago and 81. Paul and
Kansas City. aud the road To compete with
the trunk lines via the Sault ste Marie
There is great contrast between 1883 and
the two preceding yeats in tho ownership
OF the exten'ions. The 20 companies
that built g0t5 miles in 1887,
mileage, built only 25ls mlos this year, or
only 50 per cent of the whole ''fhe
current belief, says the NeiOs, that the inter.
State commerce law tends 20 force the local
roads to consolidate with the gr, at systems IL
hardly corroborated 10y the large number OF
local lines built i'm 1873. 10 seems indeed open
60 question whether the law, while IL tends 10
forcs the consolidation of competing lines,
does not handicap the great systems, which
are seriously affected by competition aud
leave 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 1879 miles last year 90 IA
miles i'm 1888. Tho Northwestern
built 12l miles, the Burlington l02,
the Illinois Central 10. and tho Chicago,
Milwaukee and ST. Paul only .. The st
Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba built 3l2,
the Northern Pacific 80, aud the Southern
| Pacific 237. In Canada the falling Off was
as marked ms in tho United States.