Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1896-04-29
Citizen Of Ssytons River Gives Views on the
Electric Road

some quarters to boom the Bellows Falls |
and Saxtohs River Electric railway into
existence in spite Of all obstacles and while
it may not be outside the pale ofpossibility
that the object is commendable one and
that the success of the endeavors may re-
suit in mutual benefits to the villages
which are to be thus united-although
even this admits of difference of
opinion-yet some of the means which have
been used to attain the end so ardently de-
sired by those who are interested in the
scheme are not wholly beyond criticism.
The writer believes that the TIMES
wishes to have all sides of the question
fairly presented for public consideration
and that it would not countenance any err
roneous statistics which would have a ten
dency to mislead those who are expected to
invest their money in the enterprise. He
therefore asks permission to correct one or
two decidedly questionable figures which
have been presented and to call public at
tention to some facts which have an I'M
doubted bearing on the matter, but which
may not be generally known.
In the first place the promoters of the
enterprise lay the foundation for their pros
pectus upon an estimate of $4,000 as the
present annual traffic between Saxtons
River and Bellows Falls, but the writer
ventures the opinion that structure built
upon so fimsy foundation as that will
surely collapse like house of cards. He
has looked carefully into the matter and
finds that the gross amount received for
the transportation of passengers, freights,
express and mail between the two points
proper does not average more than $1,000
a year. This, it will be seen, covers every
thing from which railroad could hope to
derive revenue, except freight which
passes through Saxtons River from and to
more westerly points. The latter item
would hardly swell the total by more than
$500 to $4,000 and probably the railroad
would be able to secure very little, if any,
of that business because the additional cost
of drawing the freight the remaining four
or five miles would be trifing. But as
suming that it is secured, all of it, there
would still be yawning abyss of $4,000
or more between the real figures and thos e
which have been given out as such.
Of the 81 900 mentioned about 81, 500 is
the gross amount received for freight, the
charge for transporting which is five cents
per hundred pounds, which price includes
the collection of the goods wherever they
may happen to be in one village and
the delivery of them wherever required in
the other, in the case of coal, even the de-
livery into the consignees' coal bin. Car
it be conceived that any railroad company
however economically built and prudently
managed, could successfully compete with
that rate of freight, even though as woulo
of course be the case, it had only to trans
port the goods from one terminus te
the other? II then, they were to be shipped
from and delivered to remote points in the
villages the mere cost of getting them tt
and from the respective stations would
E doubtless exceed the whole present cost o
transportation, and the freights would hav'
to be paid besides 1t is, therefore, al
entirely supposable case that the freigh
Y teams will continue their business just tn
same as in the past and that they will carr.
practically all the freight, leaving to tn
railroad the privilege OF carrying the re
f mainder at heavy loss for of course
< the road proposes to 60 into that branc
of the business at all it must construct
:. roadbed adapted to it, must lay heavie
u rails than would be required for mere pas
d senger traffic, must provide greater powe
n and more expensive machinery, must bull
freight houses and have men to attend
them, and in all ways be prepared for til
freight business, whether they get It
!, not.
OF the 1000 there remains 2,50
g which covers the gross amounts now r.
d ceived for everything except freigh
!. Naturally there would be large increas
in the passenger traffic, for many peop
} would be glad to ride between the two Vi
d lagos in comfortable, roomy and rapid
l. rolling car, who would remain at home
preference to making the trip in the nece
sarily less luxurious stages and for tt
( first few months, until the paint wore {
he the toy, many would patronize the ''ele
# tries merely for the novelty of the thing
Let us assume-and the figures are gene
~ GUS enough-that passengers now pi
N $500 and that the travel were quadruplt
lie by reason Of the novelty and the increase
If facilities we then have $4,000 for passe
!, ger fares and $1,000 for express and ms
- service, total of $1,000 from which is
be deducted the probable deficit on Il
in freight business.
- It is estimated that the road will CO
. $50, 900, but the writer is not advis'
whether this includes the entire equipme
e, ready for business, or whether it is mere
O. the actual cost of building the road !;
c, makes good deal of difference. But ev
e, under the most favorable conditio
r, one could scarcely suppose that the ope
ed ating expenses of such a road, if really r
Ri for the convenience of the public, could
less than $4,000 year, nor that the a
of nual loss by deterioration would fall mu
of below five per cent of the initial cost. S
al $4,000 more, making an annual outgo
th $4,000 as against an annual income o.
e, little more than half that sum. Keen
he nanciers are not as rule seeking inve
ID. ments of that kind unless they can get
so near the ''ground floor" as to be able
jump out without breaking any bones beft
the crash comes; or unless they can CT
troll just enough of the stock to email
he them in due season to '.freeze outn [