The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-12-30

December, -. 5o,677 37,748 44,193.
THE New Haven road has on it's
rails today nearly $4,000 freight cars,
which is about 5000 cars more than it
had a year ago. and 1900 more than
in December, 1913. The result is that
it's tracks, terminals and other facili-
ties are congested in many places.
There are more than $4,000 loaded
cars awaiting the discharge of their
freight. but the owners of the freight
are having some OF the same difficulty
that the New Haven is having because
their. own facilities. are. inadequate in
places and cars are not released
promptly. Today, on account Of
storms and, congestion. connecting
lines have more than 5000 loads for
delivery, mostly at New York and via
the Poughkeepsie Bridge, as soon as
this company can handle them.
cit is interesting to note that the
New Haven. with 4,535 miles of track,
including main line running tracks,
side tracks, and yards, had, during the
first eight days of December, 5O,677
new loads, while the Chicago, Bufling-
ton & Quincy System, extending
through o states, with ~, $50 miles of
trackage, during the same week had
1928 cars. These figures indicate
how large the New England freight
business is. In addition, the passenger
train service is much heavier than on
a railroad like the Chicago Burling-
ton & Quincy, and makes problem
of furnishing transportation in suf11-
Gent quantity and of satisfactory
quality under the present unusual and
congested conditions that much more
difficult.
'fF'or reasons that need not be OUT
lined in this letter, the New Haven
has not been able to add materially
to its facilities during the last few
years, particularly during the, last
two, when the company has been go
ing through a period of depression,
read tustnent, and reconstruction of its
financial and corporate states. I'm
provements have been authorized, not
including equipment, which are being
made as rapidly as men, material and
weather will permit, that will cost
nearly $5.O0O,OO0. In addition to this,
very large sums should be spent, if
money can be obtained, for additions
to tracks, bridges, terminals, engine
facilities, and motive power, both
steam and electric.
Gin spite of financial troubles, the
freight equipment of the company is
in much better shape than it was a
year ago. A year ago there were
$500 freight cars in bad order and
now there are less than 1.60O@a
marked Improvement, and a number
not far from the minimum that may be
expected with $4,000 cars on the road.
The company has placed orders for 33
powerful freight locomotives to be de-
Iivered in January and February, and
500 coal cars which are promised in
March, costing about $1,5Oo,OOO.
''The company has tried to relieve
its rail lines just so far as it could by
diverting business to its boat lines, but
here again it has not been able to add
to its facilities because of the uncer-
tainty surrounding the future of the
boat lines. The company considered
very seriously placing an order nearly
a year ago for two additional freight
steamers to run on Long Island Sound,
but it did not feel that it had the
right to borrow the large sum of
money necessary, considering the fact
that within a comparatively short
time the company might be ordered,
under the Panama Canal act, to dis
pose of all of it's water lines. The
relief, therefore, given by the boats
is not as great as the company would
like.
7 There comes a time when the vol
ume of business that is being done by
a man, steel mill, a hotel or a rail-
road is more than the physical ability
of the man or the enterprise to carry
on successfully, and in such cases the
part of prudence is to state the case
frankly to customers and patrons and
to explain why there is delay in fur
nishing goods, accommodation, or ser
vice. 1t looks today as if for the time
| being the New Haven Road can do
no more than it is doing, and that it
may have to withdraw temporarily
from some kinds of business.
| 1.-The management of the New Ha-
4 ven earnestly hopes that the result OF