The Indianapolis journal., 1897-01-04
THE RAILWAYS IN 1896
WITH TWO EXCEPTIONS TRAFFIC
WAS THE LIGHTEsT SINCE 1850.
The Light West-Bound Business the
Cause.-The Passenger business
Made an UnfavorabIe Exhibit.

The following exhibits which are gath
cred from the official train record Of the
fifteen roads centered at indianapolis. show
that i'm the year 1896 there were received
and forwarded at this point a total of
1.19s 0i6 cars. decrease, as compared with
1895, OF 1873. OF the total number handled.
slo.795 were loaded, decrease in loaded
car movement of 81. .9Ss. being the Iightest
loaded car movement Of any year. except
1894 and 1893, since 1889. The decrease in
business began with January and con-
tinued through the entire year The
heaviest months business was i'm Decern-
Der, when $50 fewer loaded cars were
handled than in December. 1895. The light
est months business was in July, when
only 5000 loaded cars were handled. The
other ten months the exhibits of 1896, as
compared with those of 1885, were not so
unfavorable. but. the year through, the
volume of traffic was disappointing. a re-
view of the business of 1896 shows, east
bound. an increase in export freight of corn
and corn products. and an increase of ship
ments of provisions, but a falling off in
shipments of flour and live stock. In but
one or two years in the history of the
roads have the shipments of corn in No
vember and December been as large as in
1895, most of them for export, being via
Baltimore. Newport News and Norfolk
The shipments of live stock, taken the
year through, were in excess of those of
1885. and in dressed meats there was an
average tonnage handled. Shipments from
Kansas City and St. Louis were in excess,
via indianapolis. of any former year, and
the shipments of local packing houses were
IN excess of any former year; especially in
10 a = of no. IR.xr
heaVy The through shipments of cotton
are estimated to have been about u per
cent. in excess of those of 1855. In west
bound business the through lines suffered
seriously. A freight official who has given
the matter much attention states that the
shipment of the higher class freights. such
cent. lighter than in 1885. and really the
lightest OF any year since lsS2. In the lower
class freightS the shipments of sugar and
heaVy groceries exceeded those of 1885,
while in boots and shoes, iron structural
work. coal and coke the shipments west
bound were about - per cent. lighter than
in 1898. Had the west-bound business been
up TO the usual average there is not an
Indiapolis east-and-west line that would
have not shown average earnings for the
year 1886. The dullness in freight traffic set
In with the beginning of the year and i'm
the months when the best earnings are
usually made the traffic was the lightest.
The first half of the year the shipments
of produce from Indianapolis proper were
unusually light, but in the last six months
the shipments of provisions, poultry. eggs
and butter averaged well with former
years The depression in business in the
towns and cities which draw their supplies
from the Indianapolis markets caused
marked falling off in local shipments to
shown. however. in November and Decem-
ber. but. taking the year through. the
shipments from the commission houses fell
fully p per cent below those of 1893.
Street improvements and the large amount
of building during the summer increased
inbound business for the local lines quite
Is-xN.~ IL.
brick. asphalt. water and gas mains ard
lumber swelling the tonnage. The pros
perity of the local packing houses. coupled
and the Indianapolis horse market. were
very important items 1t should be borne
in mind that the business of 1895 locally
was very satisfactory, while in 1896 large
number of manufactures were shut down
and the shipments of manufactured goods
Four proper handled at this point nearer
its average number of loaded cars than any
other of the lines but the i'm
Chicago and Cincinnati divisions. both the
St. Louis and Bee-line divisions handling
a lighter traffic than in 1895. The Penn
any year since 1892. The Vandala handled
an average of 1900 cars per week. a de-
pared with 1895 The Cincinnati, Hamii-
ton a Dayton showed but slight decrease
in the number of loaded cars the road ham
died at Indianapolis. a scarcity of ears only
preventing its reaching the 1898 movement
The Monon in 1885 did the best business
since running into Indianapolis but i'm 1896
dropped a few hundred cars below 1895. but
wholly on South-bound business. its north
bound business out of Indianapolis showing
an increase. The Indiana. Decatur q West
ern. the first eight months of the year. had
light business, but the last four months
its volume of traffic was governed largely
by the number of cars it could command
The Peoria & Eastern had a poor year.
i'm but four months of the year showing an
movement with former years. The
Lake Erie & Western makes a favorable
exhibit outbound. but its south-bound busi-
ness was 20 per cent. lighter than the year
1895. During the year 1896 this road took
out of indianapolis an average of fifty
two cars a day. The Louisville division
of the Pennsylvania lines make an unfa-
vorable exhibit. The Indianapolis &, Vim
cennes handled more loaded cars than did
the j.. NJ. * /. Shipments OF coal corn
and live stock over the Indianapolis * Vim
cennes compared favoraby with 1895, but
in its outbound business the 1. &, V. was
Il little off.
There is one feature of the years busi-
ness worthy of note. What business was
rate from Chicago to New York was in
force. was carried at better rates than pre-
vailed i'm either year since 1880.
Below is given the loaded-car movement
at Indianapolis. by months. for the year
1896, and the movement for the rrespond-
ing months of four preceding years: