The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1913-04-22
FLOOD COST
P. R. R. MILLIONS
Worked Night and Day to Repair
Damage in Middle West
THE LOSS IS s5,OOo,OOO
Forty-eight Spans Of Bridges and
More Than Thirty Miles OF Double
Tracks Were Washed Away.

Philadelphia, April 21-The Pennsyl-
vania railroad has emerged victorious
over the destructive forces OF one OF
the worst floods ever known in this
country-that which recently inundat-
ed the middle west.
Stations, tracks, bridges and rolling
stock were in the grip of a whirling
current of water few weeks ago. All
service was Indefinitely suspended as
q result of the far-reach.ng destruc-
ton. Today trains are again running
on the lines west of Pittsburgh.
1t has been estimated by an Official
of the Pennsylvania railroad that the
minimum loss from the Ohio floods
will reach $5,000,000. That loss is to
the railroad company alone.
Since the day that the water began
to recede an army of railroad men,
trainmen, switchmen, telegraph oper-
ators and officials have been waging
continual battle against the elements
in their endeavors to move thousands
of cars of freight to their destinations.
Congestion at Pittsburgh has been
terrific since the flood. Eastern ship
pers necessarily had to send out their
goods, and the many long freight
trains that have been crawling into
Pittsburgh for the west have been
held until crippled transportation ia
cilities could be remedied.
At last, after an unprecedented era
of titanic labor, the company has S"0
ceeded in starting the great vo.
Of freight further westward. This ne
cessitated an enormous amount OF
work
Fffty-eight spans of bridges, some
Of them great structures, were car
ried away along the lines west OF
Pittsburgh. Between Newcome-stown
and Trinway, Ohio, more than thirty
miles of double tracks were torn and
twisted into useless masses OF steel.
Two bridges at GAINESVILLE across the
Muskingum river were swept away,
and one at Dayton, used jointly by sew
eral railroads, was destroyed.
Similar reports came from every
quarter of the flooded section, and tend
to impress deeper the fact that the
Ta1lrO4Q WAS d great SuuOlCi.
Over every river and creek 1t has
been necessary to erect temporary
bridges, and in most cases to repair
entertainments cut into by the water
Mile after mile of track has been laid
anew. New switch and signal systems
have been installed.
Freight, however, is being carried
westward In many cases the deVas
tation was so tremendous that 1t was
utterly impossible to clear the lines
quickly, and upon reaching these Tec-
tons trains are detoured. Most of the
traffic is over temporary tracks and
bridges, but they serve the purpose
until others can be substituted, and
reports from the trouble district say
trains are running only thirty minutes
late at the most.
While the railroad companies have
been spending millions in their efforts
to re-establish former systems, they
also have suffered great loss OF
business in the flooded sections.
The oss of business for one month
on the line connecting st. Louis with
Pittsburgh amounted to so per cent,
but it is fast resuming it's normal vol
ume, except in cities whose industries
have been wholly incapacitated.