Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1914-06-26
NEVER A LOSING DAY
RAILROAD THAT HAS MADE
MONEY FROM THE START.
Matervllle Railroad In Washington
Has This Remarkable Record,
Which Is Surely Unparalleled
Never Had Accident.

There is one railroad in the United
States that has paid from the day it
began to turn wheels. Not a single
dollar In bonds was issued to start it.
all the stock was paid for and every
cent expended on honor. There Is not
and never has been one dollar Of In
debtedness against the property. Ev-
cry bill is paid on presentation and
all current accounts and wages are
met at the first of each month. In al
most four years of operation the books
show annual dividends of 4 per cent
and comfortable reserve fund.
In that time the road has nothing
In the accident classification on its
records, not broken car, mangled
pig nor injured passenger. Not
single lawsuit has ever been filed
against the road, it has never had to
answer a legal complaint. And this
paragon of transportation systems Is
purely an inland empire development.
1t is the Waterville railroad, running
from Waterville to Douglas Junction,
Wash. The distance traversed and
the traffic carried demand five and
one-tenth miles of main line and two
miles of sidetrack
For the three years ended December
81, 1918, passenger earnings of the
Waterville road were $14,465; freight
received, $14,279.79; freight forwarded
$12,147.92; miscellaneous, mail, etc.,
$11,020.50; total, $51 1921.
The highest priced ticket on the
system is 35 cents, which covers the
whole line, and more than $4,000 pas
sengers had to be carried with a sin
gle engine and one coach to make the
earnings shown. Ten cents Is the first
class freight rate of the line and much
freight is hauled at as low as one and
one-half cents per 100 pounds. More
than 100000 pounds had to be
brought into Waterville to earn S14,-
279.79.
At rates on forwarded business
ranging from one-quarter up to ten
cents per 100 pounds the Waterville
line carried more than 100000
pounds out.
One may ride in many a finer pal
ace car than the Waterville coach,
but never on one more systematically
Industrious.
The story of how the line was built
and is managed is another instance
of energetic and successful Big Bend
pioneering. When the Great North
ern announced the prospective build
ing Of a branch through the country
Waterville expected to be on the line,
but one day 1t woke up to learn it
had been left five miles away. Then
the old timers decided it was time to
get together. They held mass meet
ing in the spring of 1909 and resolved.
with scant ceremony, to build rail-
road to the Great Northern.
They never did pay a great deal Of
attention to ceremony.
When they needed a wagon road
they built it, and when they needed
a railroad they could build and oper-
ate that. To do so they organized the
Waterville Railroad company. procured
right of way and launched the enter
prise.
Placing the capital stock at $4,000,
the company divided its five miles of
territory into five zones. The first
zone Of mile radius from town was
valued the highest. and the stock Of
fered was proportional on this basis.
Within few days the stock had been
subscribed and paid for in cash. ].
P. Morgan probably never got quick
er results on promotion proposition
than that.