The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-10-07
RAILROAD WORLD.


 The contract for the construction of the new union depot station at Atlanta to- gether with certain outside work. the train shed, however. not included. has finally been awarded to Guide & Walker of that city.
 Thus far it has been impossible to se- cure the exact figures but the price will be between s4OO, 900 and s4O5,0O0. Fifty thousand dollars of the total amount will be expended in outside work. while the building proper will cost approximately sS50,00O.
 The New York Central and Hudson River railroad has commenced improve ments to its Grand Central station in New York which provide not only for en- largement by the establishing of an elab- crate substation alongside of it, but for the erection of ornamental viaducts at street crossings, the depressing of the main tracks, the building of a still lower tunnel for suburban trains as far north as Fiftieth street, and the extension of It's yards.
 President Samuel Spencer. in his report for the Mobile and Ohio for the fiscal year ended June 30, says:
 The gross earnings increased 15.01 per cent and the net earnings increased 12.64 per cent. The expenses of maintenance of way and structures per mile road | for the year were S1299, as compared with S997 for the year preceding. The chief items of increase were in renewal of rails and erossties, general repairs of roadway and in repairs and renewals of buildings. The number of erossties placed in the track was 531.554. as compared with SIS, = 669 for the year previous. an increase of 1 42 1-2 per cent. The rail renewals include 6,674 tons of new 75-pound steel rail. or about 1A miles. The average amounts expended for repairs and replacement of rolling stock were: Per locomotive, $2OO1, against S1367 in 1902; per passenger car, S7l0, against S679; per freight cars, S66, against $50. The expenses Of conducting | transportation increased $223Q91, or S.S9 per cent, more than half of which was in cost of fuel. The ton miles increased 1891 per cent and the passenger miles 1 increased 795 per cent.
 The capital stock has been increased by S5O,00o in part payment for the entire l property of the Mobile and Bay Shore Railway company; the $20O.OO0 first mort gage bonds of that company heretofore | guaranteed have been assumed as a di- 1 rect liability. The equipment obligations 1 have been increased to S2543,1S4 by the l issue of lease warrants in payment for | three dining cars and fifteen passenger | cars, including principal and interest l $159, ,357, and notes for deferred payments on 25O steel freight cars, s190,0OO, less cal 1 trust obligations paid during year, $2S4. I 9S9. The company has acquired real es. fnf fn fr. 4.w.. OOO' and in Jackson, Tenn, costing $6902 also ,000 first mortgage 4 per cent bonds, the total amount issued, and tho entire $300,000 capital stock of Warrior Southern Railway company at a cost of $2SS, GOO. The entire amount of bills pay able as of June SO 1903, was issued in pay ment for these new properties and invest ments.
 The Warrior Southern Railway com pany, all of whose outstanding stock and bonds have been acquired, was organized l to construct a line fifteen miles in length 1 Into the Warrior coal measures of Ala | bama On June 30, ten miles had been completed; the remaining five miles are expected to be completed in the fall.
 Tn his recent address before the South ern Railway Agents association, S. II. Hardwick, general passenger agent of the
 Southern Railway company, said: "The 1 first traffic manager was the wisest man the world ever knew, and this man was l furnished from the ranks of the passenger l department. Away back in the early dawr l Of history, about 1000 years before Christ l we read that King Solomon lnaugura tee 1 a traffic department He had ships ply l ing between the various ports of the Medi 1 terranean and Red seas. and he had many | rail, or rather overland routes" | young man in the passenger depart ment of the Pennsylvania lines west in commenting on the above says: q should say that Noah was the first traf- fife manager and that he ran the first per sonally conducted tour. which tours from that day to this have been uniformly suc- l cessful."
 The interstate commerce commission will hold a hearing in Atlanta October 2S to pass on the complaints of the Geor- gia Yellow Pine association agarnst the Illinois Central and all the other rail- roads which by main, branch or leased lines tap the yellow pine belt
 This will be the first complaint brought before the commission under the pro- visions of the Elkins' anti-rebate law.
 The Georgia Yellow Pine association in it's complaints 10 the interstate commerce commission, alleged that the railroads doing business in the belt had for long time been in the habit of granting dis- guised rebates, in the nature of the so- called tap line divisions, to rival concerns not members of the Yellow Pine associa- ton. Tn plain terms, the railroads were accused of allowing a percentage of trans portation charges to lumpering concerns, owning and operating logging railroads. which tapped the lines of tho defendants. these logging roads being accounted. in making the tap-llne divisions, as regular interstate carriers.
 The interstate commerce commission will hear the complaint of the Georgia Peach Growers association in Atlanta on October 20.