The Portland daily press., 1897-09-25
s16,094.20
4,753.99
Total,
S2O,a4s.19

| The loss in freight tonnage was 16,SS2
| tons, and in passengers WAS ~, 967. Not
| withstanding reduced tonnage and travel,
we were unable to make corresponding
reduction in train service or transporta-
| tion expense.
| Freight transportation expense for 1897,
$26, 352. 20; for 1896, $25, 943.0S.
| Passenger transportation and expense
for 1897, sl6,17s.a4 for 1895, 6,0l2.4i
| Showing that the train service OF your
road is sufficient for largely increased
traffic without corresponding increase
of expense.
One hundred and forty and 1fty-one
one-hundredths GAO 5l-100) tons IS
pound steel rails, and thirteen thousand
| three hundred and eighty-six cedar ties
| have been laid. The stone work for the
granite arch bridge over the Mousam
river at Springyale has been completed,
but the earth I'LL will not be completed
for some months, The earth for this fill
Is taken from the summit of the heaviest
grade on your road-Shaw's Ridge-The
cut at summit is nearly eight feet. The
work has so far progressed that the train
men are now able to haul more cars up
this grade per train, than before the work
commenced. A steel bridge OF q clear
span OF 1874 feet with hard pine ties has
been erected over the Salmon Falls river
at East Rochester. Work on the above
bridge was undertaken when 1t was ex-
pected that your income would increase
rather than diminish, but when the pre-
vai6ng hard times came on, and with re-
duced income, we were unable to stop
this work.
The expenditures on new bridges
during the past year has been S24 1854. 90,
of which Sl9214.16 has been charged to
operating expenses. the balance So. 40O.00
has been charged to fund for improvement
of way. At Portland the company has
Ioi6 Iua mir
into Winslow's pottery, and laid new
steel rails into the engine house. A new
culyert three feet So uaro was laid at
Williams street. one three feet wide by
four feet deep at Turner's siding, and o
new drain pipe across Somerset street.
Grove street bridge has been replanked;
Portland station has been painted, and,
we have laid twelve thousand three hun
dred and forty feet plank in platform,
ana flooring Letween tracks. The car
| shop has been enlarged and painted,
making the building one hundred and
feet wide, giving floor space OF five
! thousand six hundred and eighty seven
| square feet.
| AT Woodfofds we have one hundred and
twenty-s feet new platform, and relaid
| one hundred and twenty-four feet old
platform. At Westbrook Junction, have
| laid nine hundred and twenty-five feet of
l
sixty feet old siding with steel in place of
| iron rails. At Westbrook have built new
gate houses and erected new, gates at
Brackett, Church, Spring, and Pleasant
| streets, and at StroudWater road. Painted
station and rebuilt cuIvert at Spring
| street.
At Gorhanl have built new freight
| platforms So feet long by 1-2 feet wide
and Is feet long by 10 leet wide, also new
passenger platform SO feet long by feet
wide. At Centre WATERFORD have repaired
and painted passenger station and car
house. At South WATERFORD have painted
passenger station. AT Alfred have built
and painted same. New ties Lewis bridge,
new cattle pass, and repaired hay pass.
At Springvale have built platform
seventy three feet long by nine feet wide,
and sixty feet long by fourteen feet wide.
At East Lebanon have laid two hundred
and seventy feet new siding, repaired.
strengthened and painted Little River
and Great Brook bridges, and laid new
hard pine ties on Ash swamp bridge AT
East Rochester the abutment walls OF
Salmon Falls river bridge were raised to
meet requirements OF new steel bridge
erected in place of the old Howe truss
wood bridge. Passenger station has been
painted. At Rochester have relald i've
hundred and ten feet steel rails III place
of iron taken out.
Twenty Thousand six hundred and ten
| feet of fence have been built. OF this
amount eighten thousand three hundred
feet were barbed wire, and two thousand
three hundred and ten feet were board
/ fence.
We have painted two coats, all crossing
sign posts, cross fences, switch frames
and targets on the line of the road.
| Large expenditures have been made for
| the equipment of locomotives and cars
with train brakes and automatic couplers.
Because our shops were not properly
equipped for economically doing this
work, we arranged with the Boston and
Maine railroad to not only attach brakes
and couplers, but to thoroughly repair
all cars that came to their shops. Fifty
six platform cars and twenty box cars
have been equipped and repaired by that
railroad. At our shops ten coal cars
have been rebuilt and equipped with
couplers, and seventy -one freight cars
have been repaired. and one hundred and
nineteen, painted. Two caboose and one
fange car have been equipped with air
brakes and couplers. Locomotives engines
numbers two, i've, eight and eleven, have
received extensive repairs, including
boilers repaired, tires turned, new steam
chests, side rod brasses, valve yoke, etc.,
| of 10 hoo