Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1899-10-27


the speed increased on the level ground the
voices of the crowd broke into roar, for
they saw that success was assured, and the
train reached the town of Schenectady in
little less than two hours.
This, my readers, is brief history of
the first passenger train ever seen in the
United States. The following month,
Sept. IL, regular train service was estab-
lished between the two towns, and the
event was heralded over the whole civil
lied world. Within seven years six other
charters were obtained connecting other
important towns, the whole forming links
OF a continuous line from Albany to Buff
falo. In 1912 these several roads were fin
ished and open for public service, Indirect
ly, from the Hudson river to Lake Erie
Here was another revelation exciting
more comment than the opening of the
great Erie canal II years before, when it
was realized that passengers were being
carried over the country at a speed of is
to 20 miles an hour, while the canal could
not average more than two miles in the
same time. What is to be the end of this
transition in the mode and speed of travel
Who can insure patronage sufficient TO en-
courage the capitalists, who have risked so
much money in constructing 300 miles Of
road paved with iron rails, and the cost of
machinery and coaches, reasonably to ex-
pect the outlay to afford them the least re-
munerationl Wait until the end of the
century and the questions will be answered.
In April, 1858, all the different railroads
between Albany and Buffalo were consoli-
dated in one corporation, called the New
York Central railroad, and in 1869 the
Hudson River railroad with its branches
was added to the system and the name
changed TO the New York Central d Hud-
son River railroad. Through the courtesy
of the superintendent of the Western Divi-
sion of the main line / received the official
report for the year 1898, which is very
minute in detail, and covers the receipts
and expenses since 1869, the time Of the
consolidation. l copy from this report
such statistics as are necessary to show the
complete evolution of the Mohawk &
Hudson company as it existed in 1881, to
the New York Central and Hudson River
railroad company, which now covers the
greater part of the state Of New York
with almost G000 miles of steel track. and
with receipts and expenses much larger
than any other railroad in the world
Statistics for Is0s.
-
Passenger tarn over main line or branches
two cents per mile
Total number OF passengers carried "a 6s3 800
Total receipts from passenger tffic, sls, $685.
Total receipts from express, telegraph and
,Total.number of tons of paying freight, es,OaO.-
Total receipts from freight trafac, se6.s5O.7A q.
&C..
The average number of persons employ
ed by the company during the year, includ-
ing general officers and all employees, was
27,549. Amount paid in salaries, inclusive,
Sl7, 234 $50, Total number of miles run
by all locomotives, including passenger,
freight aud switching trains, IS, S12, 1872.
Number of locomotives, 1927. Number of
cars, passenger and freight, 1904 and s.
GA, The number of passengers injured
during the year was 10; causes, jumping
from train, putting arms out of windows,
and by stones thrown in car windows.
Not one passenger was killed during the
year is all that is necessary to report in re-
lation to the efficiency of order maintained
by the employees of the company.
One other item of personal experience I
will report which will prove the complete
evolution of a railroad" A prominent
reason for remaining at Albany nearly one
day after my Investigations were finished
was to go by the Empire Express, which
leaves Albany at l1;13 A. NJ. l managed
to get good seat; with paper and pencil
in hand and my watch before me kept the
exact time of the train in motion, the stops
at Utica, Syracuse and Rochester, and the
very instant we arrived in Buffalo. We
were in motion 3l4i minutes. The dis
lance is 2979 miles. l shall make no COM
ments on my experience, but am willing to
admit the road had "evoluted" from the
days when, occasionally, the end of one of
the old strap rails would make its appear
ance through the floor of the car, to the
surprise and inconvenience of the passen-
gers.
have given resume of the operations
of this company as briefly as possible, and
show what purposed to do in writing this
letter. If any interested reader should
wish to learn any financial statistics, since
1870, concerning the management of this,
the first constructed railroad, and will SO
inform The Phoenix, 1 will vouch for a
definite answer.
The object in view by the writer in Civ
ing this evolution of a railroad" is by no
means to boom this particular company, for
other companies have made similar growth
from small beginnings. 1 intend to show
what are the sources from which the de.
mand for all this outlay of capital invested
in means of transportation has arisen.
what the reflex action of demand aud sup
ply has done, reciprocally, for the East and
West, and what may be expected to follow
during the coming century if the people
of these United States can divest them
selves of selfishness and see with clear
vision that what helps one part of our com
mon country helps the whole, and what
harms one state eventually harms the 9th
erS ~ III @