The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1920-10-01
HIGH PRICES HIT
RAILWAY INCOME
HEAVY ADVANCE IN COSTS OF
EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS
USED BY RAILWAYS
HIGH COST OF RAlLROADING
Writer In Railway Age Shows How
the Roads Have Suffered From
High Prices

"The public knows that the prices
OF almost all the things 1t buys have
advanced greatly within recent years.
says the Railway Age. at apparently
does not realize that the prices Of
most of the things that enter into the
cost of living Of the railways have
increased much more in proportion
than the prices of commodities in gen.
erai, but this Is a fact, and 1t is the
principal reason why such large ad-
vances in rates are necessary. The
public knows pretty well how much
the railroad payroll has been increas-
ed. Here are few Illustrations Of
typical Increases in the prices Of
things that railways have to buy:
"A locomotive which in 1914 cost
$27,S76 will now cost $75.75O. an in
crease of I'll per cent. In 1914 rail-
way had to pay only about per cent.
interest on the money it invested in
locomotive, while now it must pay
about 2 IL per cent. Therefore, its
interest charges on a locomotive
bought six years ago were 1894 a
year, while on locomotive bought
now they will be about 1851 a year,
an increase in fixed charges of 80 per
cent.
IAN average box car bought in 1914
cost about $1,000, while now 1t would
cost about $4,000, an increase of 200
per cent. The interest on the invest.
ment in the car in 1914 would have
been about $50 year, while now it
would be about 1925 a year, an in.
crease of $50 per cent.
1.-THE foregoing statistics illustrate
the advances which have occurred in
the prices of equipment and in the in,
terest that must be paid on the in.
vestment in it. The increases in the
cost of constructing track and bridges
have not been so great but they have
been very largei
"In 1915 80 foot through girder
bridge could be bought and installed
mot including masonry-for $6,427.
1t would cost now $15,117, an increase
of 1876 per cent. These figures ara
based upon records of the actual ex,
penditures of a certain road. In 1915
this road paid $12,550 per mile for
merely the rail track fastenings, ties
and ballast used in the construction
of a new main track. The same ma
terials would now cost $26,235, an In
crease Of ITO per cent. For like
classes of materials used in building
a mile of side track, including two
main track turnouts, this road in 1915,
paid $500 The same materials
would now cost $16,9O4, an increase
of So per cent
"One important cause of the. in
crease in railway expenses is the ad'
vance in the prices of all commodi-
ties and therefore in the amounts that
the railways have to pay for loss and
damage to freight:
"A certain railway recently was
presented a claim for $4,511 for the
loss of a carload of beef. The high
value of beef was, of course, principal
ly due to the increases in prices with
IN recent years. The freight earnings
from the shipment were $113.40.
Therefore, If the railway has to pay
the entire claim it will take the rev.
enue from forty similar carloads of
entire trainload.
There is hardly a branch of rail-
road operation in which unit costs
have not increased 100 to 300 per cent.
within the last five years."