Year: 1871

At first sight it is discOuraging TO the friends
of the Viaduct Railway that in London, where
there ore already several such roads in operation,
they do not pay. But it il well known fact
that it is the exception for any British line OF
railway to earn decent income. On the
G5OO, 1000 representing the aggregate capital
of the railways of the United Kingdom, the
average income does not exceed G20,OOOOOO.
This is in consequence of the enormous aver
age cost of cOnstructiOn-G42,000 per mile.
But railways in this country do pay, as is no
tably tho case of the Hudson River and New
York Central, the Harlem, and the New-liaycn
lines, which Will all be feeders to the Viaduct
Railway. These lines carry nearly 2OOOO,OOO
passengers year, and pay an average divi-
dend of 81 per cent But it is impossible TO
make any fair comparison between viaduct
railways in New-YOrk City and in London.
London is almost as broad as it is long, and
the travel, radiating from "A center, flows in
every direction. New-York is a long and very
narrow city, with its places of business at
one end and its residences at the other. In
the morning and evening the stream of travel
is all between two given points; every one ls
going the same way. This concentration OF
travel in one line, and that the very
line which the Niaduct Railway Is
to take, must of necessity be favorable
to the success of such a road as it is proposed
to build. Again, very considerable portion
Of the population of London is not engaged
in business Here there are few men out of
business. Consequently in proportion to its
population, New York has far larger number
of regular daily travellers than London. 1t is
calculated that nearly 100000 persons travel
into and out of London by railway every day.
1t is because they have railways to travel on
that they live out of the city, and the COM
petion of the Viaduct Railway will doubtless
be the signal for an immediate exodus of
thousands from New-York, who will become
daily customers of the railway.


1t is said that the way stations on the via
duct railways of London are useless; they
have no passengers. This is true to certain
extent, but in Lcndon these roads all run
through the lowest slums, far away from any
neghbOrhood inhabited by persons likely to
use the cars as is the case with the Charing
Cross, Blackwell, Greenwich, and other lines.
In NewYork, above Fourteenth-st., the line
will run all the way within very short dis
tance of the residences of all the business men
in the city, both on tho east and west sides.
Running as it does, principally in the rear of
Third and Sixth-aves., the Viaduct Railway
must put man down within very few minute
walk of his house, whether he live between
the two lines or outside of them. In fact, it
will take up and set down passengers all along
the route and not, as is mostly the case in
London, carry them merely between two given
points and, as a general thing, every one of
the passengers carried up or down town will
be carried back again. Every passenger, too,
coming from Brooklyn, Hoboken, and jersey
City, on his way to the upper part OF the city,
will probably return by the line in the even,
ing, for all these ferries may be said to con-
verge on the City Hall Park, where the ter
minus will be. Here again is a great adyant-
age in New-York over London. Altogether,
though it is, of course, possible that viaduct
railways may fail in NewYork as well as in
London, there seem to be natural elements
of success in our city which the other does not
noggpSS