Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-03-08
WELL MANAGED

Was the c., l.. q W.-sOmeth1nE'
About the Growth and Present
Condition of the ID. 4 O.'s Latest
Acquisition.
There has been considerable com
ment upon the purchase of b z. L..
& w. by the B. & O., and persons who
are not well informed have been stat
ing that the new owners will be put
to very heavy expense to get the ROAD
in good condition. nj statement
does not appear to be born out by
the facts. Indeed, the contrary is
true, thanks to the wise management
of President Woodford, whose policy
has been to spend the profits OF the
read in betterments.
The C. l.. & w. was originally a
coal road, and general merchandise
constituted only % per cent. of the
business. within seven years, under
the new policy, the general business
has developed until it is 81 per cent,
and the coal business has continued to
increase.
The road has been earning plenty of
money, but the management knew OF
betterments demanded that results
might be increasingly good, and so ap-
piled the earnings very generally to
improvements. From these the results
have not been lacking. The reports OF
the results in heavier train loads viii
speak more ~fluently later. The man
agement found that the grades were
too heavy to permit large loads, that
the equipment had to be improved, and
that the old bridges had to be replac-
ed before the road could be managed
economically. Mr.. Woodford set about
to repair these conditions at once.
The, road has been laid, for one hun
bred miles of its entire length of 1872
and a fraction miles, in eighty-pound
steel rails, which is the standard OF
some of the biggest roads in the coun-
try. All of these are new, and but
recently placed. The line has been
generally reballasted, and the remand
err of it is laid in sixty-fve pound rails,
which are about six years old. Six or
sever of the old pile bridges have but
recently been replaced by plate girder
bridges of the most substantial sort,
and as fast as the work can be done
all of the old inirm structures are be-
ing taken out of the way and new ones
put in. In a number of places grades
that ranged about fifty feet to the mile
have been cut down to a twenty-six
foot grade, and the results were i'm
mediately discernible in the achieve
ments of the equipment.
1t was soon found that the engines
could haul about one-third more than
they had been doing, and this has
since been required of them. During
the last year new ore hoists have been
placed at Lorain, a new coaling plant
has been put along the line of the
road, and the equipment has been ov-
erhauled, 81 that it is said the road is
in as good physical condition as it
could well be. This statement an
swers the query often propounded as
a task to rebuild that line.
The G. l.. & w. is said to be one
Of the most modern lines in this sec
ton of the country. In spite of all of
these improvements, which cost $780,
600 over and above what was charged
to operation, the road got along last
year with but 81 per cent of it's gross
earnings charged up to operation. 1t
has been stated many times that for
density of traffic the road stands third
in the country, and by earning $1O,-
900 a mile, it well UP in the
list.
Under these conditions, and backed
by a road that will not rob it for the
sake of getting dividends, the state
ment us not far amiss when it is said
that a short time will see liberal divi-
dends paid to the stockholders. When
1t was said that no change in the man
agement would likely be made, the
statement was not made unadvisedly.
Mr.. Woodford has developed such an
accurate and saving system of govern
ment that it is said he will be allowed
to remain and complete the work he
has started