The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-05-24

ana equipment or the new shops N2S
wise and proper. 1t is true that the
shops and equipment are in advance
of the present apparent needs o. the
road but this superior equipment en-
aDleS the company to perform even
small repairs more economically than
ii would otherwise be done.
The condition of the road-bed has
been much improved. In line and
level the track is in very good condi-
ton. A large quantity of ballast, in
ferior in quality it is true, but the
best to be obtained upon the road,
has been distributed and some of it
has been put underneath the track.
AT other places noticeably from New
Bern ten miles west, the ballast has
been allowed to remain between the
ties. one serious hindrance to putting
the road-bed in permanently good
condition is and has been the fact
that a SUFFICIENT number of ties has
not been used in renewals during the
present administration. 1t is poor
policy TO spend money improving sur
| lace conditions to the neglect of the
real foundation of all good track.
namely. sound ties and plenty of them
1T is fact that at this moment the
surface condition of the road is good
anu the trains attain a speed of forty
| miles an hour with ease and apparent
safety, and without discomfort to pas
reached by an extraordinary amount
or labor and care, in spite of the un-
J satisfactory number and condition of
ties, and cannot be maintained with
out undue expense. The mistake of
spending labor and money upon a SUI
perstructure upheld by insufficient
| foundation has been made The ties
should first have been renewed and
made safe and sound, and then the
later work of bringing the line and
| level OF the track into proper shape
would have been more permanent
The idea which seems to prevail that
the road-bed may be made safer and
stronger by laying heavier rails upon
rotten ties is a fallacy. The rails on
the Atlantic and North Carolina rail-
road are in good condition and of
sufficient weight for the needs of The
road for many years The present tenn
porary good condition of the track
may be made permanent by remov-
ing decayed ties and increasing the
number to the mile. During the last
| four years about los, 900 new ties Lave
been put in the track (96 mics of
main line and II miles of %idaing).
This averages about $50 ties per r'le
per year, and would seem to Indicate
an average life of more than ten yea s.
Even without personal examination i'll
would seem clear from these heuresl
I
and one would expect to find n.tnyl
rotten ties in The track, since r linTryi
| pine ties such as are used, cannot Tel
expected to last more than about six
years
| The claim that the Atlantic and
/ North Carolina railroad needs heavier
! motive power and rail is not in our
opinion, supported by the facts. The
! flfty-pound rail in use is ample. if
properly supported. to safely carry
the heaviest locomotive now used by
| the company: and we find that these
| locomotives, although of the passen-
ger type, handle With ease freight
! trains or thirty to thrty-live loaded
cars. This is accomplished by rea-
son of the absence of long or heavy
grades. With properly constructed
| freight locomotives OF the size and
| weight of those now in use the trains
could be increased to forty cars. There
| is 40 economy to be secured in seek
| ing to handle more cars to the train
under prevailing conditions. Instead
| of heavier locomotives and heavier rail
the effort should be to secure a bet
| ter foundation of ties for the rail at
present in USE If locomotives of the
| size now in use handle in a satisfac
| tory way freight trains of thirty-five
cars, and this fact, there is no need
| for heavier motive power Larger
| engines Noulu dtHltilbl letI ger ISlil,
| more ties, more frequent replacement
of ties heavier timber and more of IL
| in all bridges and trestles and require
replacement of the present iron bridge
over Neuse river near Kinston, which
is now carrying its full load.
Expenditures for Stations.
The warehouses of the company on
Neuse river in New Bern are largely
used for transfer business with boat
! lines, storage of fertilizers. lumber
| and the like received from boats for
| movement to points on the Atlantic
! and North Carolina railroad, and also
transferring from the road to boats for
shipment to other points. These
| warehouses are conveniently situated
for the uses to which they are put,
and are ample for the purpose, but on
account of distance from the business
section of the town the local business
| cannot be conveniently handled
! through them. Much of the evidence
taken refers to the purchase of the
| land on Trent River and the construc-
ton of the large and commodio1s
warehouse thereon now used for New
| Bern business proper. 1t is noted that
| the railroad company bought this
| land in 1899 from the bank of which
Mr.. Bryan was president. paying there
| for the sum of $4,000. 1t is con-
! tended mat the company ana not need
this property at all, and that if it
was needed the price paid was excess
sive. We think the railroad was i'm
great need of this lot and warehouse
and as far as we can see there was
no other lot in New Bern that could
have been proiitably and conveniently
used for the purpose for which this
was needed, to-wit: a freight ware
/ house for New Bern business. The
testimony discloses the fact that reput-
able and disnterested business men
testified that in their opinion the lot
was worth as much as $4,000 at
the time the road bought. it. 1t is
also true that other equally reputable
and disinterested business men testi-
fed that they thought it was not worth
more than $4,000, but ii is in evidence
also that the property sold in 1898
under foreclosure of a mortgage, and
at auction for about $4,000. We are
emphatic in our opinion that the road
urgently needed the property, and it
occurs to us that $500 should be a
| pretty reasonable mean between
$4,000 and $4,000. as testified to by