The record-union., 1893-02-07

For the year 1891 the cost of fuel per
mile run by locomotives on the Pacific
system lines of the Southern Pacific
Company was 1912 cents, which is some
what lower than the cost in California.
As against this, we find the correspond
ing cost on various Eastern roads to be:
Cost Fuel
per mile run.
ROAD. tCents) Year.
Denver and Rio Grande
Chicago, Rock Island and
faclfic Railway ............... 5.7S 1901
Lake Shore and Michigan
southern Railway. 51S 1891
Missouri Pacific Railway. $50 1891
WABASH Railway y................. 4 50 1901
chicago and Northwestern
1NdllWay Way............................ 6.S0 1901
Atchison, Topeka d Santa
L c.-.-..-. ........-.............S 3. .OT lSSl-2
st. Louis and San Fran
clso hallway y..................... 6.f2 1912
n Sia5e..-.'...- 0.S6
1he gentleman representing the Traffic
Association of San Francisco has testified
DeIore you that, on account of the equa-
bic climate of California, there is required
only H1ty-siX pounds of coal to gun To-
comotlve one mile, while double the
quantity is required to perform the same
| service IN Eastern States. He has taken,
IN support Of this assertion, the report of
the Atchlson, Topeka and Santa Fe Rail
road system for the year ending June 30,
lS92, and the aannul report of the
Southern Pacific Railroad Company
for the year 1891. In connection with the
| ngures he has produced from these re-
ports he carefully avoided to state to you
that, although the quantity of fuel used per
mile run appeared TO him greater, the cost
OF fuel per locomotive mile on the Atchi-
son, Topeka and Santa te Railroad SyS-
tenn Is shown on the same page with the
| other figures he considered to be S.57
! cents, while on the Pacific system lines
Oh the Southern Pacific Company the cost
OF fuel per mile run is shown to be 49, II
cents. Neither did he tell you, which is
true. that these statistics, instead of repre-
Sentlng the conditions east OF the Rocky
Mountains, apply to I ,l30 miles of the
AtchlSon system, covering railroads i'll
the Republic of Mexico, the Atlantic and
Pacific Railroad i'll the Territories of Ari-
zona and New Mexico, and the Southern
OallfornIa Railroad i'll this State, only
! about One-seventh of the mileage being
located IN the State of Kansas. Further,
there Is blunder in computations, lead
ing TO grossly erroneous results, but APP
parently the gentleman lacked the judg-
ment and the practical experience III rail-
way operations TO detect the error.
As shown by their 1891 report, the
Southern Pacific Company Pacific Sys-
!
Stunning against this mileage 80 l02 tons
OF coal and l4l, ,793 cords OF wood This
I4l,OUO cords OF wood was not taken into
consideration in Mr.. Leeds calculations,
but 1t was used largely in locomotives
running OTer the Sierra Nevada Noun
taIns, over the Siskiyou Mountains. and
on the lines in Oregon, He simply ic-
nored the wood altogether and took the
total engine mileage run with wood as
we'll as coal, and divided it into the coal
alone, thus producing his figure of fifty
six pounds of coal per locomotive mile
From one and quarter cords of wood to
two cords is required to enable loco
motive to perform the same service as
with a ton of coal. The rule commonly
used by Eastern roads is to compute one
and one-half cords of wood equivalent to
one ton of coal. Making that allowance
in this case, we find that sixty-five
pounds OF fuel, instead of 81 pounds. is
! required to run locomotive one mile on
the Pacific system lines of the Southern
Pacific Company. Now, as to the gentle
mans figures on the Atchison, Topeka and
Santa Fe road: Page 81 of the annual re-
port Of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa
Fe Railroad Company, for the
fiscal year ending June 80, 1892,
| shows the miles run by locomotives
to be 4,3S3. AS; the tons of coal used,
1,354,693; cords of wood used, 81 500.
AGAIN ing VIC NOON db one anu Il
half cords equal to one ton of coal, we
have the equivalent OF coal of ], ,375, SOB
tons or 2,75l, ,206,000 pounds used by
locomotives running "a, 1888, 445 miles,
Dividing this mileage into the fuel, we
ind the Atchlson lines in question, in
Guiding, with the lines in Kansas, those
also in California, Texas and Mexico
used so pounds of coal to run a locomotive
one mile, instead of los pounds as stated
by Mr.. Leeds. 1t would appear that his
figures were computed by taking the
total quantity of fuel as above used by
locomotives In all classes of service and
dividing it by the mileage only of those
locomotives which run III revenue train
service; while the correct comparison on
the face of the figures is, for the Atchison
lines under consideration, so pounds OF
coal per locomotive mile, and for the
Pacific System lines of the Southern
Pacific Company 10 pounds of coal per
locomotive mile. 1t is not true that the
Atchison lines in question correctly
typiiy the coal consumption of the Missis-
sippi Valley region. BY further inyestI-
cation Mr.. Leeds might have found that
the consumption of fuel to move a car
one mile on the Southern Pacific Com
pany. Pacific System, was 7. Is pounds: on
the Missouri Pacific Railway, operatinp
mainly in Kansas and Missouri and
entirely in the Mississippi Valley, G.S
pOuHuS; Oh Ihe AIcnlSOn Topeka and
Santa Fe, rs pounds. this slightly higher
figure being undoubtedly due to the fact
that very large portion of the Atchison
line here considered lies in Mexico,
Arizona and California, where, as a
matter of fact, and by reason of the differ
ence in physical characteristics, more
coal is required TO haul a car one mile
than is necessary in the Mississippi
I Valley. The truth of the matter is, as is
well known to practical railroad men, that
if there is any difference, more coal is re-
quired to perform a given amount OF
train service in California than in
Eastern States. The following figures
for various lines, including the a tchison,
Topeka and Santa Fe and the Northern
Pacific, both of which extend to the
Pacific Coast, corroborate this fact:
Pounds OF
Coal per
ROAD. Year. Car Mile.
] :, ID ~ I1,n