The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1916-01-13

VI ShS AAAoAC SAtA oAiC OhiAOA Ptbo0SAA
gers carried annually on American
railways, not one, perhaps, in hun
dred thousand, has an opportunity o
perusing the pages of the annual re
port of railway company. To man.
such report, with it's many statisti
cal tables and it's brief and more OF
less matter of fact statements, would
prove somewhat dry reading. Blu
there is, actually, a large amount o.
interesting matter in such a report.
Let US for example study the report
of a large railway company-the Nor
thern Pacific, for the fiscal year end
ing June 30, 1915. "
The income received from the me
chanlcal operation of the road wa,
$63,O00,000 and the corresponding op
Grating expense was $37,O0O,OOO. The
cost of operations plus the taxes on the
property equalled almost sc per cent
of the entire operatiog income. That
is fact worth remembering. A few
items of expenditure showing how the
bulk of this money was expended will
prove of interest.
Road maintenance, including track
laying, surfacing, etc., cost $3,767, 900;
replacing old rails cost $262,000; new
ties, $1,700,000; ballast renewals cost
$126,0O0; the expenditure for bridge
repairs, etc., was 100000. Along an
other line, locomotive repairs amount
to $2,275,O00; repairs to freight cars
cost $2,S62,O00, and those to passenger
cars, $S16,O00. Labor received nearly
21,O00,OO0 for it's services or 81 per
cent of the total operating expense
Fuel for locomotives aggregated more
than $5,000,0O0 in cost. Labor and
engine fuel alone consumed 70 per
cent approximately, of the total oper'
ating expenditure.
Such an enumeration as this shows
how wonderfully a railway enters into
the life of every community along its
line. The track crews, the numerous
work crews, the train crews, the shop
engine and other operating and re-
pair-men constitute small army
whose wages form an important part
of the money that circulates in Their
respective communities. Without this
corps Of men and their resources many
a town would vanish from the map
The railways Importance to CONNER
cial interests in general is also clear
ly revealed.
Although no extensive construction
was carried out last year, yet, in the
many reconstructions, additions made
here and there, during the year, and
in realignments, 112 miles were added
to the milage, the total operated and
controlled main and branch line mile.
age now being nearly $500 miles. The
most important additions were some
new lines in North Dakota that opened
a productive agricultural country and
stock raising country, and new
double track line west from Tacoma.
Wash. This line, 43 miles in length,
line of heavy gradient
that was operated at great expense.
= During the year 127 new cars of
various classes were added to the pas.
senger equipment. Of these 113 were
steel cars-mail and express, baggage,
first-class coaches, parlor and Pullman
sleeping cars, costing in excess of ST.
100000.
Three hundred miles of main and
branch lines were newly laid, or re-
laid, with steel rails weighing IS or
80 pounds to the yard, in lieu of the
lighter rail formerly laid. There are
now $500 miles CT Northern Pacific
track laid with from IS to 100 pound
steel rails and large part of it's line
equipped with automatic block signals
safety for its passengers.
During the year 1928 bridges were
replaced. Those of greater length
and importance-one half of all-were
replaced either by earth embankment
or by steel or reinforced concrete, and
aggregate more than a mile and a
half in length. Since 1885, when the
Northern Pacific began to systamatical-
ly replace old wooden bridges and
trestles with new, solid, and perman-
ent structures, over 100 miles of such
bridges have been replaced by earth
or steel and concrete
Old entertainments have
been widened and new ones made,
miles of automatic block signals oper-
ated by electricity, nave been added,
nterlocking plants have been installed,
1ew stations have been built, and the
rack itself has been placed IN con-
lition unsurpassed by any transcontin-
entail railway.
The Northern Pacific may be celled
crank regarding cross ties. It believes
hat good solid ties well embedded and
oallasted, are the only ones that will
lold rails firmly under the pressure
md strain of fast first-class passenger