Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1913-01-06
LITTLE RAILROAD BUILT
1912 Saw Least of Any Year Since
1897, Says the Railway Age
Gazette.

The last issue of the Railway Age
Gazette contains some interesting
matter regarding the railroad devel-
opment of the United States during
1912 and also reviews it with that
of past years.
The statistics compiled by that
publication from official sources
show that one has to go back for Is
years, namely, to 1897, to find a
year in which as small a railroad
mileage was built as in 1912. and
one has to go back six years, namely,
to 1906, to find year in which as
large a number of locomotives and
as large a number of freight cars
were ordered. The marked increase
in activity along industrial. lines dur
ing the last part of 1912 is shown
by the fact that between two and
three times as many freight cars
were actually built in 1912 as in
1911, and a third more locomotives
were actually built in 1912 than in
1911.
The official figures compiled by
the Railway Age Gazette for the
number. of railroad receiverships. the
number of railroad foreclosure sales
and the amount of block signal mile
age, all give indications of the same
conditions that are illustrated by
the extraordinarily small amount of
new railroad mileage built and the
very heavy orders for new equip
ment, namely, that capital is refus-
ing to go into new railroad enter
prises and that the prosperity of the
last half of 1912 is taxing existing
railroad facilities heavily.
Notwithstanding the fact that 1911
was considered very unsatisfactory
year for railroad building, there was
3,O66 miles of new first track built
in 1911, while in 1912 there was
only 2,997 miles built. The 2,997I
miles built in 1912 was built in Al
states, no new mileage at all being
built in Alaska or five states. The
largest mileage was built in North
Dakota, in which state BAT miles of
first track was built, with Texas sec
ond, in which 1886 miles was built.
The totals for cars and locomo-
tives ordered during thesyear, which
are compiled by the Railway Age
Gazette, show the heavy demands
that were made on railroad facilities
during the last part of 1912, both
for the movement of extraordinarily
heavy crops and for the general busi-
ness resulting from greater indus
trial activity. The new equipment
ordered in 1912 as compared with
1911 is as follows:
Freight cars ..226,195 1917
Passenger cars. 1928 2,623
Locomotives ..... 4,424 1850
In no year since 1906 has there
been such large number of freight
cars ordered; in 1906 the total was
31O,315. In no year since 1906 have
there been as many locomotives or
dered; in 1906 the total was 5,642.
The records for new equipment
actually build during the year does
not make quite such good showing.
Compared with 1911 it is as follows:
1912. 1911.
Freight cars 49,. .14S,357 7O,931
Passenger cars -. 2,S22 4,246
Locomotives 49,. 4,4O3 $3.50
Twelve railroads with a total
mileage of 1892 miles went into the
hands of receivers during 1912.
These roads had total funded debt
of $106,964,S54 and outstanding
stock amounting to $74,499,643.
No important roads were sold un-
der foreclosure in 1912. There were
twelve unimportant roads sold, with
a total mileage of 661 and a total
funded debt of $7,995,3OO, with
$17,925,69O stock outstanding.