The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-03
THE RAILWAYS IN 1898
ALL RECORDS EXCEEDED IN THE
LOADED-CAR MOVEMENT.
Passenger Traffic Very satisfactory
The Business at the stock Yards
RecOrd-Breaker.

The following exhibits. which are COM
piled from the official train records of the
fifteen lines centering at indianapolis, show
that in 1897 there was received and forward
ed al this point total of 3SSS2 cars.
1143,Si4 being loaded. This was an increase
in total movement over the twelve months
ending Dec. 81, 1897, of 159, S63 cars, and an
increase in loaded car movement of 1885, 724
cars. The loaded car movement the first six
months of the year was 54S,573 cars; the
last part of the year 595,273 cars. This
shows that 46,717 more loaded cars were
handled at this point the last six months
than in the first half of the year This
IS by far the heaviest movement of loaded
cars ever handled at Indianapolis by the
various lines. This does not however. fully
represent the increase in tonange, so large
a per cent. of the cars now In service are
5000 pounds capacity This means a much
larger increase in tonnage in lower class
freights, such as iron, coal and heavy groc-
cries. Within the last two years there has
been much more system practiced in the
loading Of cars, and it is estimated that in
general merchandise fully per cent. larger
tonnage is loaded into a car. The records
show that the loaded-car movement in No
vember was the largest of any month of the
year, reaching 105,94 cars. The lightest
movement was in June, when but 1878
loaded cars We're handled. For eighteen
consecutive weeks there were received and
forwarded at Indianapolis over 10000 loaded
cars per week, a number which has never
before been exceeded. A review of the
business of 1898 shows a slight increase in
east-bound tonnage. The grain movement
to Atlantic export points was not as heavy
in 1897, but an increase in shipments of
flour, cerealine products, provisions, pro-
duce and dressed meats fully overcomes
the lighter grain movement. Indianapolis
proper made the heaviest shipments of pack
ing-house products of any year in its mis-
tory The shipments of live stock to the
middle New England States, except in hogs,
fell short of those of 1898 A freight Off
cial who has given the matter much at
tention states that the shipments west
bound of both high and low class freights
the last four months of 1898 were fully 40
per cent in excess of 1897 and really the
heaviest of any year since 1892. With The
Improvement of the manufacturing indus
tries the shipments of coal and coke west
bound, largely increased, and were in ex-
cess of either of the last six years. Since
July / hardly a road in the country has
SCSll dDIG 10 IuiIllSH cars 10 nd0OlG the
business offered, although Indianapolis lines
have had at their command, of their own
equipment, fully 5000 more cars than in
Coming to business locally, the improve
ment began to manifest itself in a 1uarked
manner as early as March. The wholesale
houses on South Meridian and PennsylVa-
MIA streets, especially the grocers, made
the heaviest shipments In the career CT our
ing houses has never before been c1ualed,
and the stock yards nave enjoyed tie best
business in the tWentyone years they have
been in operation. The cerealine mills the
hominy mills and the starch works have
been heavy shippers during the entire year.
Never before in their history have the NAL
cable iron works, the Atlas engine works,
Brown & Ketcham, Dean Brothers and like
industries been as heavy shippers as In 1898.
The largest increase in business In tnelr
history has been shown by the Nandalla
and the Pennsylvania lines. The increased
local consumption of coal for fuel conslu-
erably increased the business of the Van
dalia and the Indianapolis d N1ncennes.
The Chicago division of the Big -Four did
large business through the entlre year,
and the last six months the business on the
st. Louis and the Decline division improved
considerably over the early part of the year,
as was the case with the Peoria d Eastern.
The Cincinnati. Hamilton & Dayton, the
Monon, the Lake Erie 81 Western, the In
diana, Decatur & Western, all did more
business than in 1897, but the increase was
not as marked as with the first-named lines.
At all the city freight depotS more men
were employed than in any year since 1897
and overtime work was no uncommon tnlng.
While the iron industries all did heavy
business. the furniture manufacturers, In
the early part of the year, We're light ship
perS but the last few months shipped more
goods than in any fall of many years Rail
way managers are much gratified with the
that the present year the volume of traffic
of 1898 will be exceeded, so great is the
demand for cars and such immense quanti-
ties of produce provisions. grain, ETC., are
vet to be marketed. Below is given the
ioaded-car movement .o6 at Indian1apoliss ~
,I.rrerro1nl7inn months for the four preced-