The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-10-31
RAILWAY MATTERS.
Railroad improvements That Indicate
the Complete Psrsing OF The Canals.

the giant locomotive just finished for ths
| Illinois Centrsl Raiiioaad. printed last
week some data tending to show that the
heavy freight cirrierI Of tbs future and
even Of the day, In this country ct least.
are the railroads and net the internal
waterways.
The locomotive which furnishes the
text for the argument was built to haul
solid trains carrying a paying load OF
z, COO tons each, and 10 Is the biggest
locomotive ever built, IL weighs alone
233. AGO pounds. and with its tender &c.,
900 pounds. II is an Indication both In
Its weight and power OF the steady
growth OF the railroad and the cheaper
ing d Its services " hieb has already left
all other means Of traffic far behind, ex-
pit the immen veffels ON the great
lakes aud the monsters Ct tie oceans.
"Thsr, were railway managers In the
early days Of the railway era" Enginssr-
Ing News says, "who contended that only
high-clsss freight could be economically
hauled BIZ rail. To this day In England
and on the continent Of Europe the ialand
| waterways are able to carry freight as
| oheaply CT more chesply than competing
railway lines. The fac. Is that railroad
Ing back In the '70's. and European rail-
road practice even at the present day, is
toy railroad!ng In comparison with the
work now being done on American rail-
ways Of heavy traffic.
Attention Is then called to the average
Of only 81 mills per ten per mile for
carryin coal received during tie year
ending June 30. 1899. ny the Chesapeake
and Ohio Railroad for all coal hauled by
IL to the seaboard, and some very Interest,"
Ing figures are given to prove that sub
stantiN profit may be made nj even less
| than these ratss BY railroads using the
best Of heavy equipment
In the annual report OF the New York
Central and Hudson River Railroad Co.
twenty -sight new mogul engines were
spoken OF, each Of which Is capable OF
hauling eighty loaded Cotton grain cars,
| making q total weight of s. 60 tons In the
| train o. 2iU0 tons Of paying LOAD. Tables
show that the cost of operating looo.
motive hauling 1000 tons Of paying load
Is only forty cents . train mile and
further figures show that ex elusive OF
terminal expenses the whole cost OF NOV
Ing 1000 ton train load u mile IL only
s2 or one Kill per ton per mile. Both
waterways and railways wouli have to
provide terminal facilities ana 1t Is ar
gued that there cost rather less for rail
reads than for water lines
1--WE do not question. says the Engin-
esring News. the sincerity nnd good faith
CT those who plead for more Government
but they are certainly mistaken as to the
real interests of thu public. The last
argument OF the defender VI the water
ways however Is that These must be kept
open In order that their competition may
| keep railway charges down to o reason
able figure. It is as a matter OF fact
against the public interest that traffic
should bs diverted from the railways.
The right of the Governmsnt to fix and
regulats rail way rates has been fully es-
, tabllshsd and the principle that such rates
should no. be in sxress OF what Is ne,ss-
sary to pay the operating expenses and
fair return on the capital invested has
also bean plainly laid downin court de-
cisions.
"The proper method to egulats railway
rates therefore is net by trying to create
competition either by building parallel
railway lines or inferior routes but by the
direct exercise of Government control. II
New York would retain It's position In
the export trade IL must concentrate Its
energies upon tho question Of reducing
the cost of handling freight at its termi-
nails go that 1t may bear comparison with
the cost of the terminals built on cheap
land mt Newport News aud New Orleans
and other competing Atlantic and Calf
ports. Money spent In this dlre,t' on may
bring returns but that spent on artificial
waterways is poured int, a sieve -
ACTIVITY IN MAINE CENTRAL
SHOPS.
There Is a possibility that 1t may be
necessary to run the machine department
Of the Maine Central shops at waterville
nights for n time, Il ere being more work
OH hanG thsn the shcIs can attend to
There is a certain amount OF work. that
of ntting air brakes, that must lie finishf
before the new year comes in, as each
car must then have patent ooupleIs aud
air brakes. In addition there Is this
regular work OF repairing the cars and
engines. The shops have been running
Sundays for over month to take care of
the work OF putin: In the air brakes,
but with the other work pilin2 up 1t
may be necessary to run the shops even
ings for time.
Two now snow plows are bsin2 built at
the railroad shops. They are OF the rame
pattern as those now In uss on the roadF.
1t has been founi that DO other pattern
CT plow will do the work as well ss this
plow, and this de sign made ten years ago
Is now adhered to. An idea Of how we'll
thess plows work may be gained from the
fact that the principal cause Of tho trains
On tie Mains Central being late during
the winter Ia on account Of the delay
vnaha cnpna~tiopa with