The sun., 1898-01-23
TRAINS THAT COST MONEY.
THE CARS OF A "LIMITBD" ON lNY
GOOD ROAD WORTH eIa5, 600.


Ntnetysove Fer Cebt. OF pnsnenGerp DO Net
lave .. Heuso That Cest a. r1rch as
the Car They Ride nn-Htems or the Outlay.
Prom the chicago Inter ocsan.
Ninety five per cent. of the travelling pub
lie do not own in their own right or occupy
through rental, a dwelling house which, includ.
ing all its contents, costs as much as one Of the
ordinary modern passenger cars run on any
hrst-class railroad entering Chicago"
The foregoing statement, which is calculated
to arouse tho incredulity of the average indi.
xidual, was made yesterday by George J. Charl-
ton. assistant general passenger and ticket
agent of the Chicago and Alton Railroad.
Just let me give you n few facts to prove that
assertion" continued Mr.. Charlton 'The cost
of the average passenger car Is to-day from
$4,000 to $1,000. A reclininR-chair car costs
from $4,000 to $4,000. These figures repre-
sent the bare cost OF the car. When you add TO
that from year to year the expense Of mainte-
nance. instead Of figuring, as tho ordinary bus-
ness mortal will figure, return In interest for
the capital invested, you simply ag0ravate the
situation. i once heard a prominent master
car builder say that 1t cost $500 to simply look
over a car after It had served Ave or six months
on the road and had been sent to the car shops
to be examined and put into presentable shape
for another six months run. He meant that
the ordinary dressing down and cleaning of O
car would cost over $500, and II you extend
your investigation to general shop repairs
perhaps adding upholstering here and there
you could easily get away with another $780,
Did you ever stop to consider the amount Of
money which may be expended on three or four
OF the important parts of cart Take the pa
per wheels used in passenger cars. Until with
In very recent date a single wheel cost from
$50 to 800. Most first-class cars are run on
sixwheel trucks. This would mean twelve
tn thn nar En-, NHrt hs
wheels alone without the axlcs and springs.
II Is true that to-day you can get these passon-
viii average Somewhere in the Vicinity Ia Of s66
Wheel but most of the railroads entering Chi
y%;o SaEo are % to-day rnn1ing caTs the Wnees rS on
trucks or running gear Of irst-class passen-
ger car, in themselves and independent Of the
car at all, will cost from $1,000 to $4,000.
Then there Is the question Of car seats Car
seats are madc in the latest improved style,
magniflcently upholstered, to suit tho taste OF
the ordinary traveller and TO enable the pas
senger departments of the different railroads to
advertise. themselves as the only frst-class
may be, cost from $50 to $45 apiece This is
the bare cost OF the seats, complete but does not
tse wp hs
and there are from twenty-five to thirty seats
to the car.
"All the passenger cars are not equipped with
SO cheap an article as a car seat at $50 to $45
each. There is the reclining-chair car. built q
M than the Pordner modern c
lnrger windows, more elaborate uphostering
and furnishing In this car the railroad COM
rrateiy and duraby uphoistered These chairs
COS. all the way from $50 to $65 each.
q car, the window glazing, the mirror decora-
tion, the deck lights, &c. There are thirty-six
to forty window openings In each passenger car,
but you must remember that all iirst- ella IS pas
senger cars are fitted with double windows, SO
that each passenger car will have from sew
enty to eighty window sash frames. The window
to give tho passengers n complete and salts
railroad is scenic route, and spends thousands
Of dollars advertising that fact. The lower sash
plate glass The upper sash contains highly
embossed plato glass about thrce-quarters as
tive estimate It costs Ss to glaze each car win
dow. Including the doors of the car, at least
eighty lights of glass are used without taking
into consideration the mirror decorations in
car or the deck lights, which are usually highly
embossed with some fancy figure. The expense
of the glass nsed In the construction Of a car
ut costs at the very least s25 month, or
$500 a year, to light passenger car with gas.
To equip a car for gas costs at least 800. How
many Of Chicagos millionaires spend $50
monthly expenditure Of ali the better class Of
houses, it would be less than $40 per month for
each house. while the railroad company spends
$25 a month for lighting, one passenger car.
Gas is an Improvement and safely Dppliance
and railroad companies always looking for
improvements and safety appliances. sregard-
less of expense. 1t costs more money each year
to light the passenger cars with Pintsch gas on
the Chicago and Alton Railroad than the en-
tire expense for all other Illuminating ppr-
means all other electric light. gas, and oil eX-
penses at stations on the, right of way, switch
that all passenger cars on the Chicago and Alton
road are not lighted with gas, The sleeping
cars, the reclining chair cars, the regular pas @
portant local and through trains, are lighted
with Pintsch gas but there are very nearly as
many passenger cars In other and less impor-
tant trai ins which are only operated for Il por
tion of the evening or the night, when artincial
light is needed, and which are lighted with oil.
''The vestibue feature Of a car Is an improve
ment and u safety appliance; protection for
passengers in passing from car to car; protec-
tion in tho case Of accidents and II costs over
81 900 per car to put vestibules ON Il train.
Ibid you ever figure that when you heat a
cd. by improved hot wa ter heaters, that 1t costs
twice as much for hard coal fuel consumed In
a aef9 as i G9I the
Did you ever look over the interior fin
ish of q frst-class passenger car, and did you
notice that the best and most select woods are
used and are brought to high state of polished
perfectioni Did you ever compare the interior
the interior finish OF the wood work in the mag
nifcent residences OF some OF Chicagos mil
lionaircsi Why did George ~ Pullman. when
he built his magnificent residence, insist that
all the finished woodwork on the inside should
be handled and put in by his own car buildersi
Simply because he could get better article
to be sure, mora expensive article-but more
durable article, n better class OF wood and a
higher grade Of Workmanship than could be
had from tho builder of even the best OF our Chi
caRo residences
Il can remember some years back when We
thought our passenger cars cost q great deal
il we paid ~ 900 or 50. 600 apiece for them. We
generally carried sixty people very yt comfortably
OF these so-caled cheap cars OF bygone days was
about 10000 pounds, or very good average of
the car was full. There was such thing in
those old cars OF bygone days as your separate
seals. or seating capacity for twelve or fifteen
people. given up to a smoking room. There
was a small cubby hole set aside for ladies, an.
other for gentlemen. These were called toilet
rooms II you were to give the travelling pub
lie of to-day the class OF toilet room which we
gnYe them IWontY.f five YearA ago there would be