The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1890-09-11
,:j PTFFsRVRa PR0KEsE
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THAT Would Happen Ii the Naturfi
10, Shawl h Give 6Aalf -, s..,


81 SIS Gas shoa.d GiYe 0qt,8 a,sS
IMAM interesting articlexthe Pitts
burg Dispatch figures on the threat
ened failure of natural gas. IT says
There are some peopls in this city
who believeythat natural gas lis abont
atthe expiring point; land! there ARE
some, too, VITO would like to ,lsee it
give up the ghost. But has, it ever oc-
| CURED to. the opponents cf this fuel
I what would be the condition OF; Allie
ghenyl countN.if. the supply should
fail, and return to. coal, ,oe coal
made fuel, were rendered cOmpulSorys
Chaos! -,
a recapitulation Of the estimated
iamountlof coal,which 1.-The. works In
the county. would require in theieyent
of return to coal will prove inter
iesting. The National Tube Works
fwonld take $4,000 bushels daily;
Am erican works, 90, OO0s divers work,
10000; Painters mills, L, DO;i Rep mp
lie, 10000; Pittsburg Forge, aWo;
Vulcan Forge, 600; Charter s m1ils,
hs,e0O; Star, 5000? la Belle ! 2'oGo;
Eagle mills, 1000; Singer NlmicR,
$4,000; Clinton mill, 4 SEQ; Sligo o,o0o;
I Glendale Spike. S,0G; Byers mlll,
IA, 500; Anchor mIll,I 9, 500; Elba works,
ia, 900; Shoho mill, S, 500; Keystone mill,
1000; Pennsylvania Tube Works,
9, 800; Pennsylvania Forge, 600; ken-
sington,, $500; Wayne, $500; Sable
mill, 5000; aShoenbefger, 6, 900; Howe,
Brown, 5000; Carnegie, Union, i ], 600;
Black Diamond, 5000; Carbon Z, 900;
Solar, 1900; w. D. Wood, 300 Mlli-
vale works, 5000; Etna, 1850; Vesu-
vius, $500; Spang works, 1000; Lin
den, 2, 600; Crescent, 1900. sis;5 eic''
This would mean total daily, CON
sumption, exclusive of domestic use,
Of over 296 900 bushels. At 800
bushels to car, 9ST cars would be
required to haul this amount, and
taking a. car as covering 80 feet OF
, track. these cars would extend
through distance OF 29,6lo, feet, Oh
Eoyer five miles in leGGsS1es, ;-'-'S 80 -.
The question: obviously present:
, itself. now would this increased
= volume of traffic be handled Every
shipper of coal is familiar with the
, difficulty at present experienced II
Eeetting his shipments forward, anC
ii that condition exists now, how
! much more in evidence will it be wher
tanother five miles of cars--to say no
thing of the tonnage for domestic
: use-has to De provided for each day
Even in the palmiest days OF natura
/. gas, when every one had more thar
: enough, and coal was a product un
. thought of, the railroads had as snuct
! traffic to provide for as they conie
handle. Since then the volume o.
= ! the business in iron &adi steel ha!
4 fully doubled itself. AT no time priol
to 1885 did the amount Iof finished
+ iron and steel exceed $500 tons, ant
! pig iron was under 1900 tons per day
Now, the volume of finished mate
J t rial is upward of 200 tons daily, and
; the output of pig iron, as stated'in a
q former issue of The Dispatch, will
e reach 1000 tons by the; end of the
I wear. The raw material required FOL
: this amount of pig iron will amonn
: to over 1f, 600 tons, which wiilrequir'
i 500 cars, as 30 tons to, a. car 10 as
: Lsemble the raw material and trans
Y port the finished product of the q ,OO'
b tons will require 100 cars more, or / ,55C
! cars altogether. This would mean {
= line of cars. nearly nine miles ii
/ length, and, together with tie Goa
! haulage, total of IA miles OF cars
devoted to The business Of the iro1
i and steel trade alone. Between i:
: and Is trains of iron ore are shippeS
to this point every day, and abou
! 100 cars a day are needed for mino
r industries, making another mile o
:. cars in addition to. the foregoing
+! How railroad managers could solve
: the problem of the rapid handling o
{, such an addition to their business ist
, matter which would give them soIn'
: trouble, aud .theyAex except from {
business point OF view may not Gle
: sire to see natural gas shut down.