Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-12-01
OUR RAILW AVS.
Report of the Interstate Com
merce Commission.
For Railroads the United States
Leads the World.


Remainder of the Entire World Has
Not Quite 213, 900 Miles-Nearly Half a
Billion Passengers and over 636, ,OOO,-
900 Tons of Freight Carried.
WASHINGTON, Dec l. - The third
annual report from the interstate com
merce commission ON the statistics of rail
ways i'll the Unittd d States, which covers
the operations of railroads for the year
ended June 30, 1890, has just been given
to the press. 1t shows that railway
mileage in the United States on June
80, 1890, was 1859 ,587 miles; the increase
in railway mileage brought into opera
ton during the year was 6,030 miles.
The total length of track for the
United States, including all tracks,
sidings and spurs, is 200, ,060 miles.
Nearly 1,sOO Railway Corporations.
The number of railway corporations
on June 80, 1890, was 1,797. OF these,
eighty-seven are classed as private roads,
with total mileage of 816 miles. Nine
hundred ond twenty seven of these cor
porations are operating companies, and
735 are subsidiary companies
Twenty-Five companies, representing
a mileage of 1 ,646 miles, were reorgan-
lied during the year, and thirty four
companies. representing mileage Of
I ,905 miles, merged their corporate eX-
istence into other corporations FIFTY
companies, representing a mileage of
6.196 miles, We're consolidated with
other companies. Thus. S,lOl miles of
! lne during the year disappeared as in
dependent companies.
tod
77,672 miles of line The average length
of line for these forty roads was nearly
1000 miles. There were seventy-fOEr
companies in the United States whose
gross income in 1890 was 1887 900, 600,
out of total gross income of all rail
ways in the country of 81, ,051 ,8n,632
Nearly 80, 900 Locomotives.
The total number of locomotives in
the United States was 29,92S, of which
1884 were passenger locomotives and
l6, 140 freight locomotives The num-
ber of cars used on the railways Of the
United States was 1164 1873, Of which
26,51 We're in the passenger service.
The number of tons of freight carried
one mile per freight engine was 472l,
627 and the number of passengers car
ried one mile per passenger engine was
plOyed on the railways of the United
States was 749 ,30l, being an increase of
1853 over the number employed in
1889.
Over 154, 900 Miles of Line.
The 156,4Ol miles Of line which is
made the basis of statistics in this re-
port, is represented by railway capital
to be the amount of so ,459, ,4H, ,172.
which is equivalent to $50 per mile
of line. Assuming that the remaining
mileage is capitalized at the same rate,
the total capitalization of railway prop
erty in the United States would be So
1914. .4S3 400. The increase in railway
capital for the year ending June 80, 1890,
over railway capital for the previous
year is $444. PCS, ,79S. Of this amount
$3.50, 900, 600 at least is due to the increase
in capitalization on lines already in exist
| enCe.
The proportion of railway capital rep
resented by stock is 46S2 per cent. of
the total railway capital The amount
of stock per mile of line is $28, 1922, and
the amount of outstanding obligations,
including bonds, equipment, trust obli-
| cations, etc, is S29, 1862. There are
marked differences in the capitalization
| of railway property in various sections
| of the country. In the middle states,
for example, railway capital is outstand-
ing to the amount of SllS,656 per mile
| OF line. In California, Oregon, Wash
ington and other states and territories
railway capital is outstanding to the
amount of $S1,104. The roads which
onverge i'll Chicago, lying east of the
| Missouri river, are capitalized at $i7 ,645
per mile of line, which fairly represents
the capitalization in the other sections
of the country, exclusive of the middle
states and the Pacific slope.
The capitalization of railway property
| is largely in excess of its market value.
! The interest on railway bonds and the
! final net earnings available for dividends
J may be accepted as the amounts accru-
| ing to the owners of railways on their
investment. The amount paid in inter-
est was 1926 419 937: the final net earn
ings were $lO6, ,967, ,9s4 If the sum of
these amounts be capitalized at per
cent, it shows that the value of rail
way property considered as an invest
ment, estimated en- the operations of
railways for the year ending June 30,
1890, was So, ,66c, ,ilS, ,42O, which is
equivalent to $42 ,63l per mile of line.
We Are Great Travellers.
The number of passengers carried by
the railways of the United States during
the year was 492, ,430, ,SG5. The number
of passenger miles that is to say, the
aggregate number Of miles Travelled by
all passengers, was II, ,S41, ,1S5, ,617. This
shows an average journey of 2l.06 miles
per passenger.
Freight Carried.
The number Of tons of freight carried
by the railways of the United States dur
ing the year covered by the report was
636, ,441 ,6l7, the average carry per ton
! having been 1874 miles.
The number of passengers carried one
mile per mile of line for the railways Of
the entire country was Is, 75l. The
number of tons of freight carried one
mile per mile of line was 481,245.
Fatalities.
The total numbc, of persons reported
! by railways as killed during the year
was $500 and the total number report
ed as injured was 29,034. OF the total
number killed 2,45l We're employees. 2SJ
passengers and 1854 were classed as
! "other persons" Of the total number
! injured % 800 were employees. 2.444 pas
sengers, besides 200 unclassified.