The Ravalli Republican. [volume] (Stevensville, Mont.) 1894-1899, 1897-08-25
RAILROAD BURDENS.

RAILROAD BURDENS.
Not the Stocks Nor the Bonds, but the
Car Weights.
An ordinary passenger car on
steam railroad costs from $4,000 to
ST., goo and weighs $4,000 pounds, or
10 tons. A mail car, which costs
from 50, COO to 50, 500 and is shorter
by about quarter than the ordl-
nary passenger coach, weighs 2,ooo
pounds, or 16 tons. A baggage car
without the baggage in it weighs
$4,000 pounds, or IA tons, and costs
about as much as mail car. A
sleeping car is more expensive than
any OF the others, and it weighs a
good deal more tee 4 plain, simple
but durable sleeping car costs any
where from $4,000 to SIC, ,0O0, and
an ornate, elaborate, luxurious sleep
ing car with observation attach
nents, literary annex and culinary
department costs anywhere, from
$40, 900 to $4,000. The average
weight Of sleeping car is from 40,
600 to $4,000 pounds, or from 20 to
20 tons.
A full train in motion, as little
figuring will show, is no light affair.
The ordinary weight Of the railroad
locomotive for passenger service,
inclusive Of tender, but not Of fuel
ii the tender, is 40 tons One bag
gage car weighs IA tons, and one
mail car 16 tons, bringing up the
weight OF the locomotive and the
baggage and mail cars to 70 tons.
Six passenger cars at an average Of
10 tons each weigh 114 tons, SO that
the total weight Of train made up
Of locomotive and eight cars would
be 1874 tons, or 1858, 900 pounds, ex
elusive Of the weight of baggage, of
the fuel carried, passengers and mail
matter.
Pulling 1874 tons along rails at the
rate Of so miles an hour CT more is
an achievement which has not been
easily brought about, and the more
the problem is studied the more
clearly it is understood how far the
mechanical work on railroads has
been pushed. There were, by the
hast figures reported, $4,000 locomo-
tives in use on American railroads,
$4,000 passenger cars and 5000 mail
and baggage cars. These figures
seem large until compared with the
number of freight cars Oh American
railroads, and then they seem insig.
niticant, for the number Of freight
cars in use is 1880, 600.
Freight cars, among railroad men
are divided into four classes-tla1
cars, such as are used for the trans
portation Of stone, machinery ant
lumber; box cars, such as are uset
for the transportation OF grain, fru1
and ordinary merchandise; stool
cars, such as are used for cattle, ant
coal cars, such as are used for tn
transportation of coal and oil-thos
used for oil being supplied witt
tanks. The average weight OF
fiat or gondola car is seven tons
The car costs from $500 to $40(
Boy cars weigh a ton more and cos
800 more each. Stock cars Weig
eight tons each on the average
Coal cars weigh three tons each.
costs about 5000 to build coal or o
ears, and they are designed to carr
FIVE tons apiece. The weight Of !
coal cars is $50 tons, and Of the7
contents. if all filled, 250 tom
which, with locomotive and caboos
added, make 420 tons as the weigl
of q train It may be said roughl
that the weight Of loaded train
passenger, coal or freight, range
from 200 to $50 tons The lightt
the train the greater the spec
That's the railroad rule.-New Y OF
Sun.