Perth Amboy evening news., 1910-05-06
HOW TRAFFIC
OF |. V. R. R.
HAS EXPANDED

IIHIV EAH HHvgGg
Believing that the Lehigh Valley
railroad has important Developments
ahead and that the value of tho prop
erty in physical and financial
strength is not generally understood,
Newburger, Henderson & Loeb have
made the following analysis:
The Lehigh Valley is system Of
,445 miles. 1t has approximately
| 785 miles in the state of Pennsylva-
mia, 525 miles in New York and l35
miles in New Jersey The LehiRh
Valley railroad Of New Jersey has ju-
risdiction over the lines of that
state; the Lehigh Valley railroad in
cludes the Pennsylvania divisions and
the ,Lehigh Valley railway, the New.
| York portions Then there are sep
arate corporations controlled by own
ership of a majority of capital stock,
as the Schuylkill and Lehigh Valley
railroad, owning forty-two miles of
line, and the Lehigh and New York
railroad, running from the Pennsyl-
vania state line to North Fair Ha-
ven, a distance of lis miles. About
thirty miles are controlled under
lease. Trackage rights, mainly with
the Pennsylvania into Jersey City
and the New York Central into Sus-
pension Bridge, cover forty-seven
miles.
The main line, all double-tracked,
ballasted with rock and carrying so
pound rail, extends from Jersey City
to Buffalo. In the Pennsylvania coal
sections there is a line of only mod
crate value, which runs south to
Blackwood, and strongly built dou-
ble-track road from Penn. Haven
Junction south to Mount Carmel,
over which the bulk Of Lehigh VAL
ley's coal traffic moves. Feeding in
to this line are numerous small
branches taking the output of the
collieries. This section has net
work of small lines whose traffic
serves to swell the heavy current of
tonnage into the main stem.
Double Track Cut Of.
One of the most important I'M
provements that the Lehigh Valley
has ever made is a double track cut
Wilkes-Barre, which joins the main
stem again at Pittston, and not only
greatly relieves the original one
track line, but simplifies and cheap
ems operations, as it has a grade of
sixty-two feet to the mile, compared
with the one of ninety-four feet on
the original line, now almost exclu-
|sively used for passenger service.
This cutoff is eighteen and one-half
miles long, or four miles shorter than
the other. In reducing the cost of
operations it has literally paid for
itself in the years that it has been In
service.
Excepting for the main line the
parts of the Lehigh Valley system in
New York state are not of very great
productive value. They radiate
chiefly through rich farming coun-
try in central and western New York
and provide for an outlet for the
hard coal which the Lehigh Valley
produces. Some of this is shipped
through the Lakes from North Fair
Haven, and distribution is made by
way Of the Erie Canal at Canastota.
The old Genevt-Ithaca and Sayre oc-
cupies good strategic ground in the
Lake country and feeds literally in-
to the main Lehigh Valley line. With
a short branch from Geneva south
to Naples and cross line, which
takes the road into Rochester,. the
important parts Of the system have
been described.
It's Growing Period.
The growing period of the Lehigh
Valley was in the 20 years from 1900
to 1909. This covered the era of re-
construction out of which splendid
plant has emerged. Some contrasts,
telling in graphic way the differ
ence between the old and the new
Lehigh Valley, are afforded in the
various items of expansion in earn
in general capacity.
The first contrast deals with earn
ings, capitalization and surplus.
In ten years from 1900 to 1903
the gross earnings expanded $10,-
00O, 900 to $33,137.83, and the net
earnings over $4,70O,0O0 to $12,-
$4,000, while the capital stock re-
mained unchanged at $40, ALL 200
and the funded debt and rentals in
creased but $14,O0O,00O, causing an
increase of fixed charges of only less
than 100000. In the same decade
securities owned grew about $685.
100000 and deficit Of $2,077,796
was changed to surplus of $5,261,-
1859.
/ Considered upon per mile basis,
the gross earnings increased in the
same period $4,000 to $22,922 and
the net earnings grew from $2,279
to $8,6S9. Total capitalization grew
from $111,750 to $127,56S. These
facts are of especial interest as the
shareholders will meet on June %
to vote upon increasing the stock IS
sue from Its present amount to $50,
100000.
A peculiar feature of the operat
ing results is that while the locomo
tive mileage Increased, the car file
age largely increased, a result whici
is evidently due to the use of more
powerful locomotives, whereby les
number of locomotives hauled |
larger nubmer of cars in 1909 thar
in 1900.
Intensive RaiIroading.
Mileage of the Lehigh Valley, sine
1900, has not greatly increased. Tn
work of management has been to in
tensify rather than to expand and t
increase the capacity of the plant b,
the introduction of larger units rath
er than to reach out into wide
field for more revenue. The Who'll
story of Lehigh Valley success is t
be found in the application of thi
idea of intensive development which