Chapter III: Use and Abuse of Cars (6)

The entire square stands for one square mile of land, and the space at the upper left-hand corner stands for that part of the square mile which the railroad occupies, counting from fence to fence on each side of the road. This comparison is made on the basis of one hundred feet for the "right of way" (the width allowed in government grants), and is useful in connection with the study of the historical maps, especially those of 1880 and 1889, on which the area of some of the States seems to be nearly all taken up with roads, owing to the small scale of the maps. Iowa has the smallest proportion of any in Group 5. The figures show her proportion to be a little over one-seventh of a mile of road to one square mile of area. (Nevada has the smallest proportion of all the States and Territories, viz., a trifle over 1/117 of a mile of line to one square mile.)

That part of the map bearing the deepest shade shows at a glance that an unbroken belt, averaging some two hundred miles wide, stretching from Cape Cod to beyond the Mississippi River, is that part of the country best supplied with railways.

The lighter shades grouped on either side of this belt show how the mileage grades away north and south.

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF RAILWAYS.

On pages 430 to 433 is a series of historical maps showing the location of railway lines at each census-year from 1830 to 1880, and in 1889. Charts comparing and ranking the mileage by States accompany the maps of 1870, 1880, and 1889. These maps and charts give a better idea of the location and extent of progress than could be given by a dozen pages of description and a hundred columns of figures.

_Centre of Mileage and of Population._--The space for notes on the maps permits the bare mention of the meaning of the series of stars in the 1889 map (page 433), which mark the centres of mileage and of population. It is well to state the manner of determining the centres of mileage, that it may have its proper bearing in any study of the subject into which the showing may enter.

The locations are necessarily approximate. Each centre was determined by selecting, on the proper map, a line running east and west which seemed, to the eye, to nearly divide the mileage into equal parts. The sum of the mileage of the States north, was then compared with that of the States south of the line. By this means the position of the line chosen by the eye was corrected and the right parallel determined. The meridian dividing the total mileage into equal parts was ascertained in like manner. The point of intersection of the parallel and meridian is marked in the map by a star, having the proper date printed to the right of it.

The upper series of stars locates the centres of railway mileage, and the lower series the centres of population, as given by the returns of the census of 1880.

The following table describes the several locations thus ascertained:

_Centres of Railway Mileage._

-----+----------+----------+--------------------------------------------
Date.| Latitude.|Longitude.| Approximate location by towns.
-----+----------+----------+--------------------------------------------
1840 |40° 50′ N.|76° 10′ W.|Twenty miles west of Mauch Chunk, Pa.
1850 |41° 30′ N.|77° 27′ W.|Twenty-five miles northwest of Williamsport,
| | | Lycoming County, Pa.
1860 |40° 40′ N.|82° 30′ W.|Ten miles south of Mansfield, O.
1870 |41° 10′ N.|84° 35′ W.|Paulding, Paulding County, O.
1880 |41° 05′ N.|86° 50′ W.|Thirty miles northwest of Logansport, Ind.
1888 |39° 50′ N.|88° 40′ W.|Pontiac, Ill., about ninety miles S. S. W.
| | | of Chicago.
-----+----------+----------+--------------------------------------------

The remarkable movement of the centre of mileage from 1850 to 1860 is easily understood when one turns to the maps of those dates (page 430) and locates the fields of activity. The wonderful increase in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa gave the Western impulse, while the growth in Tennessee and the States south of it furnishes the principal explanation of the southerly motion.

Although the study of this period is the most interesting of the series, in the space passed over, yet each period has its points of special interest, which the reader will easily solve by referring to the proper maps on pages 430 to 433.

_Railway Systems._--The consolidation of separate lines under central controlling interests has resulted in several "systems" of great extent. Five such are mapped on pages 434 and 435. The roads controlled by them are printed in broad lines, while all others are printed in narrow lines. It needs but a glance to see whether any of them has so far absorbed the roads of a given region as to be able to control rates. The systems selected are believed to be representative ones, and the mapping of a dozen others would not tell the story any more plainly.

TRUNK LINES COMPARED.

_Compared by Mileage._--At present there are twenty-four corporations reporting over one thousand miles of line each. A comparison of these roads by mileage is profitless, as it furnishes no just clew to their importance in point of business transacted. Several of the shorter of these twenty-four lines largely exceed some of the longer ones in the volume of business transacted. As an example of the little value of comparison by mileage, the New York Central & Hudson River Road, with but 1,421 miles of line, reports $63,132,920 receipts, while the Union Pacific, with 6,288 miles, reports but $19,898,817. Two of the twenty-four roads, viz., the Southern Pacific Railroad (5,931 miles) and the Richmond, West Point & Terminal Railroad (6,869 miles) report neither gross or net earnings. The remaining twenty-two report both, and these reports furnish a satisfactory basis for study.

Compared with Area, 1888.

=Explanatory.=--The horizontal black lines below interpret the
right-hand column of figures, and therefore picture the annual
total mileage of railways operated.--The color below interprets
the left-hand column, and therefore pictures the fluctuations in
the number of miles built annually.

The =Key= explains the shades on the map. The lightest shade
indicates an average of less than one-fiftieth of a mile of
railway for each square mile of land. The second shade, from
one-fiftieth to one-twentieth of a mile of railway, for each
square mile of land, etc.

KEY TO SHADES
ON THE MAP.

Less than 1/50 m. to 1 sq. m. =1=
1/50 m. - 1/20 m. " " " " =2=
1/20 m. - 1/15 m. " " " " =3=
1/15 m. - 1/8 m. " " " " =4=
1/8 m. and over, per " " =5= ]

Total and Increase.

+------+------------------+
| | Miles. |
| Years+--------+---------+
| | Built | Operated|
+------+--------+---------+
| 1830 | -- | 23 |
| 1831 | 72 | 95 |
| 1832 | 134 | 229 |
| 1833 | 151 | 380 |
| 1834 | 253 | 633 |
| 1835 | 465 | 1,098 |
| 1836 | 175 | 1,273 |
| 1837 | 224 | 1,497 |
| 1838 | 416 | 1,913 |
| 1839 | 389 | 2,302 |
| 1840 | 516 | 2,818 |
| 1841 | 717 | 3,535 |
| 1842 | 491 | 4,026 |
| 1843 | 159 | 4,185 |
| 1844 | 192 | 4,377 |
| 1845 | 256 | 4,633 |
| 1846 | 297 | 4,930 |
| 1847 | 668 | 5,598 |
| 1848 | 398 | 5,996 |
| 1849 | 1,369 | 7,365 |
| 1850 | 1,656 | 9,021 |
| 1851 | 1,961 | 10,982 |
| 1852 | 1,926 | 12,908 |
| 1853 | 2,452 | 15,360 |
| 1854 | 1,360 | 16,720 |
| 1855 | 1,654 | 18,374 |
| 1856 | 3,642 | 22,016 |
| 1857 | 2,487 | 24,503 |
| 1858 | 2,465 | 26,963 |
| 1859 | 1,821 | 28,789 |
| 1860 | 1,846 | 30,635 |
| 1861 | 651 | 31,286 |
| 1862 | 834 | 32,120 |
| 1863 | 1,050 | 33,170 |
| 1864 | 738 | 33,908 |
| 1865 | 1,177 | 35,085 |
| 1866 | 1,716 | 36,801 |
| 1867 | 2,249 | 39,250 |
| 1868 | 2,979 | 42,229 |
| 1869 | 4,615 | 46,844 |
| 1870 | 6,070 | 52,914 |
| 1871 | 7,379 | 60,293 |
| 1872 | 5,878 | 66,171 |
| 1873 | 4,097 | 70,268 |
| 1874 | 2,117 | 72,385 |
| 1875 | 1,711 | 74,096 |
| 1876 | 2,712 | 76,808 |
| 1877 | 2,280 | 79,088 |
| 1878 | 2,679 | 81,767 |
| 1879 | 4,817 | 86,584 |
| 1880 | 6,712 | 93,296 |
| 1881 | 9,847 | 103,143 |
| 1882 | 11,569 | 114,712 |
| 1883 | 6,743 | 121,455 |
| 1884 | 3,924 | 125,379 |
| 1885 | 2,930 | 128,309 |
| 1886 | 8,100 | 136,409 |
| 1887 | 12,872 | 149,281 |
| 1888 | 6,801 | 156,082 |
+------+--------+---------+

(From Scribner's Statistical Atlas.)

=Note.=--These maps are reductions of larger maps referred to
in the titles. This makes it possible to bring them within
very convenient space for comparison, and compensates for any
indistinctness of lettering in the maps.

The railways of 1830 are pointed out by red arrows. Those of the
other maps are easily seen. The growth by decades is thus quickly
located. In 1840, one continuous line stretched from New York
to Washington, D. C. Another considerable line was that from
Fredericksburg, Va., to Wilmington, N. C. In 1850, one could not
go by direct railway from New York to either Albany or Boston. In
1860, several direct routes stretched from New York to far west
of the Mississippi.

_=Note.=_--In 1860 there was also in California, a railway from
Sacramento to Folsom City (22 miles).]

(From Scribner's Statistical Atlas.)

Railway Mileage by States, 1870.

+----+--------+-------+
|Rank| State | Miles |
+----+--------+-------+
| 41 | Dak. | 65 |»
| 40 | R.I. | 136 |»
| 39 | Colo. | 157 |»»
| 38 | Oreg. | 159 |»»
| 37 | Del. | 197 |»»
| 36 | Ark. | 256 |»»»
| 35 | Utah | 257 |»»»
| 34 | W. Va. | 387 |»»»» 1,000 Miles
| 33 | Fla. | 446 |»»»» |
| 32 | La. | 450 |»»»» |
| 31 | Wyo. | 459 |»»»» |
| 30 | Nev. | 593 |»»»»» |
| 29 | Vt. | 614 |»»»»» |
| 28 | *Md. | 671 |»»»»»» |
| 27 | Nebr. | 705 |»»»»»»» |
| 26 | Tex. | 711 |»»»»»»» | 2,000
| 25 | N.H. | 736 |»»»»»»» | |
| 24 | Conn. | 742 |»»»»»»» | |
| 23 | Me. | 786 |»»»»»»» | | 3,000
| 22 | Cal. | 925 |»»»»»»»»| | |
| 21 | Miss. | 990 |»»»»»»»»| | |
| 20 | Ky. | 1,017 |»»»»»»»»| | |
| 19 | Minn. | 1,092 |»»»»»»»»|» | |
| 18 | N.J. | 1,125 |»»»»»»»»|» | | 4,000
| 17 | S.C. | 1,139 |»»»»»»»»|» | | |
| 16 | Ala. | 1,157 |»»»»»»»»|»» | | |
| 15 | N.C. | 1,178 |»»»»»»»»|»» | | |
| 14 | Mass. | 1,480 |»»»»»»»»|»»» | | | 5,000
| 13 | Va. | 1,488 |»»»»»»»»|»»»» | | | |
| 12 | Tenn. | 1,492 |»»»»»»»»|»»»» | | | |
| 11 | Kans. | 1,501 |»»»»»»»»|»»»» | | | |
| 10 | Wis. | 1,525 |»»»»»»»»|»»»»» | | | |
| 9 | Mich. | 1,638 |»»»»»»»»|»»»»»» | | | |
| 8 | Ga. | 1,845 |»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»» | | | |
| 7 | Mo. | 2,000 |»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»» | | | |
| 6 | Iowa | 2,683 |»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»|»»»»»» | | |
| 5 | Ind. | 3,177 |»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»|»» | |
| 4 | Ohio | 3,538 |»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»|»»»»» | |
| 3 | N.Y. | 3,924 |»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»» | |
| 2 | Pa. | 4,658 |»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»|»»»»»» |
| 1 | Ill. | 4,823 |»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»» |
+----+--------+-------+ | | | | |

* Includes District of Columbia.

In 1850 Chicago had one short road. In 1860 she had several main
lines, reaching hundreds of miles.--east, west, north, and south.
In 1850, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois were open fields. In 1860
they were crossed and recrossed many times A similar change had
taken place in the south east. The 1860 map marks the condition
at the breaking out of the Civil War.--In 1870 there does not
appear to have been much change except in the north-west, and the
completion of the first Pacific line, and yet there were 22,296
more miles than in 1860, nearly 700 miles more than the 1850-1860
growth, but being spread over a wider area it does not appear
as clearly. A little careful study shows that many States had
added considerably to their mileage.--The names in the maps are
given mainly to mark terminal points.--While the map locates the
mileage, the chart at the left accurately measures and compares
it State by State.

Before turning to the 1880 map, let the eye go carefully over the
1870 lines, that the comparison may be the more properly made.]

(From Scribner's Statistical Atlas.)

Railway Mileage by States, 1880.

+----+-------+-------+
|Rank| State | Miles |
+----+-------+-------+
| 47 | Mont. | 106 |»
| 46 | Ida. | 206 |»
| 45 | R.I. | 210 |»
| 44 | Del. | 275 |»»
| 43 | Wash. | 289 |»»
| 42 | I. T. | 289 |»»
| 41 | Ariz. | 349 |»»
| 40 | Oreg. | 508 |»»»
| 39 | Wyo. | 512 |»»»
| 38 | Fla. | 518 |»»»
| 37 | La. | 652 |»»»»
| 36 | W. Va.| 691 |»»»»
| 35 | Nev. | 739 |»»»»
| 34 | N.Mex.| 758 |»»»»
| 33 | Utah | 842 |»»»»»
| 32 | Ark. | 859 |»»»»»
| 31 | Vt. | 914 |»»»»»
| 30 | Conn. | 923 |»»»»»
| 29 | Me. | 1,005 |»»»»»»
| 28 | N.H. | 1,015 |»»»»»» 2,000 Miles
| 27 |*Md. | 1,040 |»»»»»» |
| 26 | Miss. | 1,127 |»»»»»» |
| 25 | Dak. | 1,225 |»»»»»» |
| 24 | S.C. | 1,427 |»»»»»»» |
| 23 | N.C. | 1,486 |»»»»»»» |
| 22 | Ky. | 1,530 |»»»»»»» |
| 21 | Colo. | 1,570 |»»»»»»» |
| 20 | N.J. | 1,684 |»»»»»»»» |
| 19 | Tenn. | 1,843 |»»»»»»»» |
| 18 | Ala. | 1,843 |»»»»»»»» |
| 17 | Va. | 1,893 |»»»»»»»»»|
| 16 | Mass. | 1,915 |»»»»»»»»»| 4,000
| 15 | Nebr. | 1,953 |»»»»»»»»»| |
| 14 | Cal. | 2,195 |»»»»»»»»»|» |
| 13 | Ga. | 2,459 |»»»»»»»»»|»» |
| 12 | Minn. | 3,151 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»» |
| 11 | Wis. | 3,155 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»» |
| 10 | Tex. | 3,244 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»» |
| 9 | Kans. | 3,400 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»» |
| 8 | Mich. | 3,938 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»| 6,000
| 7 | Mo. | 3,965 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»| |
| 6 | Ind. | 4,373 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»» | 8,000
| 5 | Iowa | 5,400 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»» | |
| 4 | Ohio | 5,792 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»» | | 10,000
| 3 | N.Y. | 5,991 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»» | | |
| 2 | Pa. | 6,191 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|» | |
| 1 | Ill. | 7,851 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»» | |
+----+-------+-------+ | | | | |

* Includes District of Columbia.

It is difficult to believe that so many roads could have been
added in ten years. All the 1870 area north of the Ohio River
seems crowded at nearly every point, and the network of advance
westward, in the States of Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas,
Nebraska, and Dakota, is equally surprising. The growth in Texas
was also very large, and many new lines appear in other Southern
States. The total increase of the ten years was over forty
thousand miles (40,374).

It would not seem possible that this rate of building could be
longer maintained, and yet the 1889 map shows a still greater
growth. At the close of 1888 (only eight years), the increase was
62,785 miles.]

(From the "Scribner-Black Atlas of the World.")

Railway Mileage by States,
Dec. 31, 1888.

+----+-------+-------+
|R'k |States | Miles |
+----+-------+-------+
| 48 | D.C. | 21 |»
| 47 | R.I. | 214 |»»
| 46 | Del. | 315 |»»»
| 45 | Ida. | 868 |»»»»
| 44 | Wyo. | 902 |»»»»
| 43 | Nev. | 948 |»»»»»
| 42 | Vt. | 959 |»»»»»
| 41 | I. T. | 973 |»»»»»
| 40 | Conn. | 1,006 |»»»»»
| 39 | N.H. | l,079 |»»»»»
| 38 | Ariz. | 1,095 |»»»»»
| 37 | Utah | 1,133 |»»»»»»
| 38 | Md. | 1,162 |»»»»»»
| 35 | W. Va.| 1,281 |»»»»»»» 2,000 Miles
| 34 | Wash. | 1,319 |»»»»»»» |
| 33 | Me. | 1,321 |»»»»»»» |
| 32 | N.Mex.| 1,321 |»»»»»»» |
| 31 | Oreg. | 1,412 |»»»»»»» |
| 30 | La. | 1,505 |»»»»»»» |
| 29 | Mont. | 1,804 |»»»»»»»» |
| 28 | N.J. | 1,981 |»»»»»»»»»|
| 27 | Ark. | 2,046 |»»»»»»»»»|»
| 26 | Mass. | 2,074 |»»»»»»»»»|»
| 25 | N.C. | 2,084 |»»»»»»»»»|»
| 24 | Miss. | 2,218 |»»»»»»»»»|»»
| 23 | Fla. | 2,250 |»»»»»»»»»|»»
| 22 | Tenn. | 2,488 |»»»»»»»»»|»»» 4,000
| 21 | N.C. | 2,529 |»»»»»»»»»|»»» |
| 20 | Ky. | 2,585 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»» |
| 19 | Va. | 2,931 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»» |
| 18 | Ala. | 2,986 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»» |
| 17 | Ga. | 3,928 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|
| 16 | Colo. | 4,038 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|
| 15 | Cal. | 4,128 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»
| 14 | Dak. | 4,465 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»» 6,000
| 13 | Nebr. | 4,980 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»» |
| 12 | Wis. | 5,330 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»» |
| 11 | Minn. | 5,375 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»» |
| 10 | Ind. | 5,890 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»» |
| 9 | Mo. | 5,901 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|
| 8 | Mich. | 6,490 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»» 8,000
| 7 | N.Y. | 7,598 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»» |
| 6 | Ohio | 7,636 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»» |
| 5 | Tex. | 8,211 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|» 10,000
| 4 | Pa. | 8,225 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|» |
| 3 | Iowa | 8,365 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»» |
| 2 | Kans. | 8,755 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»» |
| 1 | Ill. | 9,901 |»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|
+----+-------+-------+ | | | | |

The figures in the two charts show that four States alone claim
more than one-fourth of the growth (Kansas, 5,354; Texas,
4,967; Dakota, 8,240 and Nebraska, 3,207 miles; total, 16,768
miles.) Six other States (Iowa, Mich., Col., Minn., Wis., and
Penn.) had each an increase of over 2,000 miles.--The charts
give Illinois the longest line from 1870, but the position of
Texas in the three charts seems to prophesy that Illinois must
soon yield. In 1860, Ohio led; in 1850, New York, and in 1840,
Pennsylvania.--The upper series of stars in the 1880 map locate
the center of railway mileage. See page 427, preceding.]

(See page 437, following)

+--+----------------+-----------+
|R.| Corporation | Receipts | $10M
+--+----------------+-----------+ |
|15|Ill. Cent. |$13,660,245|»»»»»»|»»
|14|Mich. Cent. | 13,770,593|»»»»»»|»» $20M
|13|A. T. & St. F. | 15,612.913|»»»»»»|»»» |
|12|N. Pacific | 15,846,328|»»»»»»|»»» |
|11|L. & N. | 17,122,026|»»»»»»|»»»» | $30M
|10|L. S. & M. S. | 18,029,627|»»»»»»|»»»»» | |
| 9|U. Pacif. | 19,898,817|»»»»»»|»»»»»»| |
| 8|B. & O. | 20,353,492|»»»»»»|»»»»»»|» | $40M
| 7|C. B. & Q. | 23,789,168|»»»»»»|»»»»»»|»» | |
| 6|C. M. & St. P. | 24,867,730|»»»»»»|»»»»»»|»»» | |
| 5|C. & N. W. | 26,697,559|»»»»»»|»»»»»»|»»»» | | $50M
| 4|N. Y. L. E. & W.| 27,217,990|»»»»»»|»»»»»»|»»»»» | | |
| 3|N. Y. C. & H. R.| 36,139,920|»»»»»»|»»»»»»|»»»»»»|»»»» | |
| 2|Penn. W. of P. | 37,894,370|»»»»»»|»»»»»»|»»»»»»|»»»»» | |
| 1|Penn. E. of P. | 58,172,078|»»»»»»|»»»»»»|»»»»»»|»»»»»»|»»»»»»|»»»»»
+--+----------------+-----------+

Largest Net Results, 1888.

(See page 437, following)

+--+----------------+-----+
|R.| Corporation |Net %| 10% 20% 30%
+--+----------------+-----+ | | |
|15|N. Y. C. & H. R.|31.85|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»
|14|Penn. E. of P. |33.39|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»
|13|D. & R. G. |33.43|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»
|12|A. T. & St. F. |33.47|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»
|11|N. Y. L. E. & W.|33.85|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»
|10|Ill. Cent. |34.41|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»
| 9|C. R. I. & P. |35.29|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»
| 8|E. T. V. & G. |36.06|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»
| 7|L. & N. |36.11|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»» 40%
| 6|L. S. & M. S. |37.27|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»» |
| 5|C. & N. W. |37.56|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»» |
| 4|U. Pacif. |40.80|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»
| 3|N. Pacif. |41.52|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»
| 2|St. L. & San F. |41.88|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»
| 1|St. P. M. & M. |46.08|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»»»»|»»»»»»
+--+----------------+-----+
]

TRUNK LINES. 1870--1889
Chicago and Northwestern
Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific
=Av. of 6 Lines West of Chicago=
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy
Illinois Central
Chicago and Alton
Boston and Albany
Michigan Central
New York Central
=Av. of 7 Lines East of Chicago=
Pennsylvania
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern
New York, Lake Erie and Western
Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago

=Explanatory.=--The upper edge of the deep shade marks the
fluctuations of the average rate charged by the seven lines
east of Chicago.--The upper edge of the light shade marks the
fluctuations of the average rate charged by the six lines west
of Chicago.--Each particular road has a distinctive line, which
makes it easy to trace it among other lines.--All Western lines
are accompanied by lines of color, to distinguish them plainly
from the Eastern lines, and to make their relation to their own
average more easily discovered. The Boston and Albany is the only
Eastern line whose rate places it near the Western lines, but the
absence of color prevents it from being taken for a Western line,
which it might otherwise be, especially during the last three
years, in its journey through and above them all.--The C. B. &
Q. Road makes no report later than 1879.--The Chicago and Alton
report begins at 1874.

=Explanatory.=--The diagram upon which the rates are charted
(like all such diagrams) is constructed of perpendicular and
horizontal lines. Each line, and each space between lines, has
a particular meaning. The perpendicular spaces represent years,
indicated by the figures at the top of each space. The horizontal
spaces represent money values, each space representing .2c (two
mills). Each horizontal line represents a particular money value,
marked by the figures at the end of the line. Each black dot
represents the average annual rate of some particular road. For
example, take the Boston and Albany Road. Starting with the name
and following the tracing line, the 1870 dot is found just below
the 2.2c (2 cents and 2 mills) line. This indicates that the
average rate charged by that road in 1870 was a trifle less than
2.2c. Following the line leading from the 1870 dot into the 1871
space, the 1871 dot is found a little below the center of the
space between the 2c line and the 2.2c line, indicating a rate of
a little less than 2 cents and 1 mill for 1871. The next year it
is lower still. In this way the history of any road is quickly
traced.]

_Largest Receipts._--A comparison on the basis of gross receipts gives the best means of judging of the financial importance of the several roads, for it measures the volume of business done. On page 435 is given such a comparison of the fifteen roads (of the twenty-two referred to above) reporting the largest gross receipts.

_Largest Net Results._--While the gross receipts measure the volume of business they may not give any indication of net results. A chart, immediately under that comparing gross receipts, compares the net receipts of the fifteen roads (of the same twenty-two) which report the highest per centages.

Of the ten reporting largest net results, seven are west of Chicago. This fact, coupled with the desire of the great western systems to possess new territory in advance of others, suggests a reason for the large railway growth in that part of the country.

FREIGHT TRAFFIC.

The gross traffic receipts of the railways of the United States are divided between freight and passenger business in very nearly the proportion of three to one in favor of the freight traffic. For this reason, and because the data are still more largely available on the same side, the freight service receives herein the fuller treatment.

_Reduction of Freight Rates._--On the opposite page is a chart delineating the fluctuations in freight rates since 1870. To one not familiar with the subject the picture presented is a most remarkable one. It looks as though the roads are all in a mad scramble to see which can reach the bottom of the hill first. To railway managers the picture is a painful reminder of a serious struggle, the end of which no one can yet predict.

The lines selected are representative lines of the east and west divisions of the country, north of the Ohio River, where the great number of competing roads has induced sharp competition.

The history of the _averages_ is very clear, and it is easy to see that they are steadily approaching common ground, for while in 1870 the eastern average marked almost exactly one cent six mills, the western marked two cents four mills, a separation of eight mills; in 1888 they recorded seven mills and a trifle over nine mills, a separation of about one-quarter of the 1870 record.

_Wheat Rates._--The chart below repeats the lesson of the larger chart as to reduction of rates. The persistency with which water rates have kept below rail rates, emphasizes the fact that wherever water-ways exist, they are stubborn competitors for such freight traffic as will not suffer by the longer time required for the journey.

_The Freight Haul._--It costs as much to load and unload a train that hauls its freight ten miles as it does one that carries it a thousand miles. In other words, the longer the haul the less the proportional cost to the carriers. The great extension of long lines westward in the last few years naturally raises the question whether the average freight haul has increased. The largely diminished rates suggest that probably producers have been led thereby to ship both agricultural and manufactured products greater distances to market. One or both of these conditions may have operated favorably for some roads, but, plausible as the theories seem, the facts prove that neither of them is supported in a study of the average haul of the country. The available figures permit us to go back only to 1882. Within that period the little chart given herewith delineates the fluctuations, but indicates no permanency in either direction. It is a matter of regret that in this, as in many other studies, the history is not available for earlier years, as the more extended the view the better the judgment of such questions becomes.

_Empty Freight Trains._--One of the considerable items of expense in the freight traffic is that of returning empty cars to their point of starting. Just how large an item this is depends chiefly upon the demands of the population at either end of the operating line for the product of the population at the opposite end. Thus the carriage of the great agricultural product of the West to feed the denser population of the East, and for export to foreign countries, may or may not be met by the demand of the western people for the manufactures of the East and the imports from foreign countries arriving at the eastern seaboard. It is scarcely probable that any line, short or long, running east and west or north and south, finds its traffic in opposite directions balanced.

An interesting study of this problem is presented in the accompanying chart, the road selected for the illustration being one of the large carriers between Chicago and Buffalo. The upper chart-line marks the proportion of freight carried from west to east, while the lower line (at the top of the shaded part of the diagram) marks the portion carried from east to west. It is readily seen that in 1877 the west-bound freight was less than half as much as the east-bound, for they stand 30.8 per cent, and 69.2 per cent., respectively; and in 1878 the difference is still greater. From that year, however, there has been great improvement, so that now it would appear that there is on that road a much diminished need for hauling empty cars. The history of the Pennsylvania Road is similar to that shown in the chart, but the ratios have not come so nearly together. That of the New York Central & Hudson River Road shows very little change in the ratios since 1870, and all the time both these roads report a very large excess of east-bound freight.

_Freight Profits._--The change in rates are of great moment to the producer; that of profits is the important one to the carrier. No matter how great the reduction of rates, if the reduction of expense is as great, the profits are not disturbed. This question can be studied best by examining the figures which measure the actual profits. But few corporations furnish such figures, and the two whose history is delineated on the accompanying chart are among those giving the most readily available data. It will be seen that the reduction of profits is no less remarkable than the reduction of rates, which shows that the reduction of rates has far exceeded that of expense of carriage; for, had the reduction of expenses kept pace with that of rates, the profits would have remained level. As it is, the reduction of profits in the history of these roads, as shown, is from about six mills per ton per mile in 1870, to about two mills in 1888. These two roads are probably good representatives of the experience of the general freight service of all railways north of the Ohio River. If so, the prospect of the future of freight traffic is not cheerful.

PASSENGER TRAFFIC.

The study of passenger traffic is less satisfactory than that of freight traffic. Fewer lines furnish a history of their passenger rates, and ordinarily those histories cover shorter periods. The study is therefore confined to narrower limits and its lessons are necessarily less conclusive.

_Passenger Rates._--Below is given a chart interpreting the available data of six representative lines. The first lesson impressed is that no such reduction marks the history of passenger rates as is shown in freight rates, although the general trend of the chart-lines is plainly downward. The line indicating the average rate for all the roads in the country (marked U. S. in the chart) shows a reduction of over one-fourth of a cent per passenger per mile since 1882.

Certain features of this chart attract special attention. The reduction of rates by the Pennsylvania, and the New York Central & Hudson River roads in 1876, and that by the same roads in 1885, are suggestive. Equally noticeable are the reductions of the Illinois Central in 1871, 1872, 1880, and 1888.

This chart would seem to indicate that competition has not operated as sharply on passenger as on freight traffic.

_Passenger Travel._--The average distance that passengers ride is not as important an element of railway business as is the average freight haul, for the passengers load and unload themselves; so that, whether they ride few or many miles, the cost of loading and unloading is neither increased nor diminished. On the contrary, if a thousand tons of freight, once loaded, is to be hauled one hundred miles instead of fifty, the proportional cost of loading and unloading is reduced one-half.

Still, the average distance passengers ride is important; for, if the number of passengers remains the same and their ride is shorter, the receipts are diminished. The returns show that while the number of passengers has increased since 1882 about fifty-six per cent., the total miles travelled have not increased quite fifty per cent., marking a falling off in the average number of miles each passenger rode. The reduction is graphically shown in the little chart given herewith. This result is no doubt largely due to the great increase of suburban travel which has developed about our large cities within the past few years.

It is necessary to state, however, that the figures embraced in this study do not include the traffic of the elevated roads of New York and Brooklyn.

_Passenger Profits._--Again a marked difference between freight and passenger traffic appears in comparing the chart given below with the corresponding chart on page 440.

The study covers the history of the same roads in each case. The history of freight profits shows a persistent falling off, which in the nineteen years amounts to four mills per ton per mile, a loss of two-thirds of the six mills of 1870. The history delineated on this chart shows the average profit of the two roads to be almost exactly at the same point that it was in 1870, while the profits for most of the intervening years have been much greater.

Were this the record of the freight traffic, it would be much more gratifying to the managers of the roads, for the New York Central & Hudson River Railway receives about twice as much, and the Pennsylvania Railway receives four times as much, from freights as from passengers. Attention is invited to the opposite results of the same policy on these two roads in 1876. The chart of passenger rates on page 441 marks a decided reduction of rates by the Pennsylvania Road, and a slight reduction by the New York Central & Hudson River Road. The chart of profits records an increase for the former and a decrease for the latter. This year (1876) is the date of the Centennial World's Fair at Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Road had an enormous increase of passenger traffic (double that of the following year), a record which it did not equal until 1887. The New York Central & Hudson River Road had but a slightly increased traffic, the record of which it passed in 1881.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS.

_Dividends._--While many readers are probably not holders of railway stocks, yet a look at the dividends received by those who are will not be without interest. The little chart given below tells an interesting, although a not over-attractive story.

It shows that, comparing the aggregate of all the railroad stocks of the country with the aggregate of all dividends paid, the holders of stock realized an average of 3.03% on their investment in 1876. In 1878 it had fallen to less than 2½%. From that date to 1885 the record makes a curve ending just above 2%. A slight rally is indicated for 1886 and 1887, but 1888 carries it down to 1.81%. The stock of many roads has paid no dividend whatever these later years, and the lines whose stock proves a good investment at par are very few.

_Net Earnings per Mile._--Although the studies of the financial question already made undoubtedly point out the true drift of railway business, yet one more comparison is worth making, both for its bearing on the question of profits and the study of the influence of profits on railway building. The upper one of the two charts given herewith is the record of net earnings per mile of road in operation, and is based on the reported net earnings less the interest-charge. It therefore shows the average number of dollars each mile had earned, after paying all expenses and the interest on its debt. This money, then, is the clear amount each mile could apply each year to pay the principal of its debt and the dividends on its capital stock, or to use for improvements, such as rolling stock, stations, better road-bed, new rails, or any other betterments which might seem advisable.

In 1876 this sum was $1,264; in 1880 it was $1,798, since which time it has suffered a serious decline, until in 1888 it was only $650. It is the story of the previous studies repeated, and needs no further reiteration.

_Railway Building._--The larger chart given on page 429, gives the history of railway building from 1831 to 1888. The lower chart of the two given together on page 444, repeats the annual record from 1876, for the purpose of studying the influence of profits on the progress of building. The net earnings per mile show a reduction in 1877. The following year shows an increase of earnings, and the building responded somewhat feebly the same year. The next two years (1879 and 1880) show great gains in net earnings, and the impetus given thereby to building, carries its increase steadily forward even two years beyond the turning-point of the earnings. The decline is then mutual to 1885. In 1886 the advance in earnings was responded to by such a remarkable increase in building that the stimulus is to be sought for partly outside of the increase of earnings, and is undoubtedly found in the desire to occupy the newly opening fields of western settlement; for the records mark unparalleled activity among the great trunk lines of the West in pushing their advances in Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado, in 1886 and 1887. This is graphically shown in the map of 1889, when compared with that of 1880 (pages 432 and 433).

_Ratios of Increase._--It is difficult to obtain a just impression of values when expressed by figures alone. It is easy when these values are expressed in lines or colors. The greater difficulties come in the effort to compare values expressed in differing terms. To read that the increase of population was 23,400,000 from 1870 to 1888; and that of railway mileage was 62,785 miles; and that of freight traffic was nearly 30,000,000,000 tons, in the same period, and then to attempt the comparison of increase without further aid, is a hopeless task.

As a study of financial economy the comparison is worth making, for evidence of the over-development of an industry or a financial interest, rightly considered, may prevent suicidal development. The chart given on the next page makes the comparison easy. The actual increase in each instance is reduced to percentages, and the several chart-lines measure the progress. The increase of population is estimated on the basis of 62,000,000 persons in 1888. (So far as the lesson conveyed by the chart is concerned, the estimate might as well have been 60,000,000, the variation in the location of the line would be trifling.)

It appears, then, that railway mileage has increased nearly two hundred per cent. and that the rate of increase of freight traffic (as measured by ton-miles[38]) has been enormously larger, considering the history of the thirteen trunk lines as indicative of the whole. It further appears that the freight traffic of the West has developed much more rapidly than that of the East, during the last eight years.

_Construction and Maintenance._--The tabulated statistics of these subjects are not of special interest, as the annual variation of cost is slight. In both these elements the wage-question is so large a factor that a comparative level is maintained from year to year. The available figures touching these subjects are few. The first table on the opposite page gives the average cost of construction per mile of the _total mileage of the country_; and the cost of maintenance per mile as reported by the New York, Lake Erie & Western Road. The second table furnishes interesting _details_ of the cost of maintenance.

_Construction and Maintenance for Ten Years._

------+----------------------+--------------------
Years.| Cost of construction | Cost of maintenance
| per mile. | per mile.
------+----------------------+--------------------
1879 | $57,730 | $1,671
1880 | 58,624 | 1,371
1881 | 60,645 | 1,448
1882 | 61,303 | 1,335
1883 | 61,800 | 1,533
1884 | 61,400 | 1,281
1885 | 61,400 | 1,082
1886 | 61,098 | 1,496
1887 | 58,603 | 1,533
1888 | 60,732 | 1,226
------+----------------------+--------------------

_Comparative Statement of Maintenance of Way of the Illinois Central Road for Ten Years._

[Table--Part 1 of 2]
-----+--------+----------------------------------------------------+
| Miles | MAINTENANCE OF WAY. |
Year.|of road +----------+---------------------+-------------------+
| at end | Labor on | New rails. | Cross-ties. |
|of year.| track. | | |
-----+--------+----------+---------------------+-------------------+
| | $ | Tons. $ |Number. $ |
1879 |1,286.72|297,363.40| 9,276.00 125,062.70|264,520 93,107.51|
1880 |1,320.35|343,982.23| 9,767.49 215,365.32|260,116 93,330.32|
1881 |1,320.35|411,018.91|10,098.47 169,718.80|345,260 127,279.76|
1882 |1,908.65|690,112.59| 8,438.00 128,521.48|604,096 201,648.26|
1883 |1,927.99|742,476.20| 8,191.79 183,239.65|425,627 153,739.00|
1884 |2,066.35|706,751.86| 6,342.73 93,446.25|462,665 154,083.19|
1885 |2,066.35|749,254.19| 8,747.31 87,331.95|508,756 176,835.69|
1886 |2,149.07|705.553.82| 6,376.40 63,238.84|492,524 174,515.72|
1887 |2,355.12|760,093.33| 6,092.66 79,917.84|573,898 197.989.47|
1888 |2,552.55|847,806.67| 8,172.36 106,372.94|654,141 214,130.73|
-----+--------+----------+---------------------+-------------------+

[Table--Part 2 of 2]
-----+----------------------------------+--------+----------+------------
| MAINTENANCE OF WAY. |Expense | |Repairs of
Year.+----------+-----------------------+per mile|Repair of |station
| Repair of| Other | Total. |run by | fences. |building and
| bridges. | items. | |engines.| |water-works.
-----+----------+----------+------------+--------+----------+------------
| $ | $ | $ | Cents. | $ | $
1879 | 73,119.56|125,041.92| 640,575.53| 11.73 |$33,416.86| 45,755.09
1880 |105,551.62| 49,399.09| 807,628.58| 12.39 | 36,981.94| 80,887.34
1881 |114,193.18| 30,399.46| 852,610.11| 12.16 | 36,690.33| 70,699.58
1882 |174,826.24| 17,277.34|1,212,385.91| 11.87 | 31,032.57| 87,588.26
1883 |121,101.03| 72,294.71|1,272,850.59| 11.89 | 30,084.49| 87,291.93
1884 |173,831.23|107,236.13|1,235,348.66| 12.20 | 21,394.71| 94,122.03
1885 |164,586.39| 88,126.28|1,266,134.50| 11.27 | 21,932.48| 94,518.19
1886 |172,144.65| 63,976.69|1,179,429.72| 10.15 | 26,668.91| 123,519.83
1887 |250,337.47| 61,441.88|1,349.779.99| 9.95 | 31,905.46| 129,526.76
1888 |310,908.42|115,898.04|1,595,116.80| 10.74 | 40,423.39| 170,023.85
-----+----------+----------+------------+--------+----------+------------

_Employees._--This item is also one touching which railways make few reports. The New York Central & Hudson River Road reports as follows: "Average number of employees, 20,659, being at the rate of 14.54 per mile of road worked; aggregate wages, $12,460,708.89, or $603.16 each. Payments in wages equalled 50.60 per cent. of the total working expenses, against 51.90 per cent. in 1886-87." Reckoning that each employee's wages supports an average of three persons, we have a total of 61,977 persons clothed, housed, and fed by this one corporation.

"Poor's Manual" discusses this subject at some length, but mainly on theoretical ground.

_Rolling Stock._--A table showing the history of the growth of the rolling stock of the country is given on page 148; it is therefore unnecessary to repeat it here.

_Capital Invested._--It is folly for the human mind to attempt to grasp the immensity of the financial interest expressed in the statement, that the combined capital invested in the railways of the United States is $9,369,398,954. No more can it comprehend that this vast aggregate has been the growth of about fifty years in a single interest, in a single country.

_Capital Invested._

------+----------------
Year. | Capital.
------+----------------
1876 | $4,468,592,000
1877 | 5,106,202,000
1878 | 4,772,297,000
1879 | 4,872,017,000
1880 | 5,402,038,000
1881 | 6,278,565,000
1882 | 7,016,750,000
1883 | 7,477,866,000
1884 | 7,676,399,000
1885 | 7,842,533,000
1886 | 8,163,149,000
1887 | 8,673,187,000
1888 | 9,369,399,000
------+----------------

The first date in the table marks the close of the first century of our national life. Since that time the investment has more than doubled; an increase of nearly five billion dollars in twelve years--an average of over four hundred million dollars per year. More exactly expressed, this means $1,118,906 per day, or $46,621 for every hour, day and night, during the first twelve years of our second century.

It is safe to say that no other financial interest shows a total of such wonderful magnitude. And with greater emphasis may it be said, that the finances of the world, record, in all the ages, to the present day, no such astounding increase of investment.

FOOTNOTES:

[37] Data drawn from "Poor's Manual of Railroads," 1889, and the "Statistical Abstract of the United States," 1888, and carefully revised, form, in large part, the basis of the several studies; and the writer hereby expresses obligation to Mr. John P. Meany, editor of the "Manual," for kindly aid in his work.

[38] A ton-mile means a ton of freight hauled one mile; ten ton-miles, a ton of freight hauled ten miles, or two tons hauled five miles.

INDEX.

Accidents, chances of, 191
at crossings, 408
from coupling cars, 223, 392
investigation of, 399
to railway bridges, 26
South Norwalk, 221
statistics of, 260
to trainmen, 393
to trains, origin of, 167

Adams, Charles Francis, 104, 367

Air-brake, 193, 195

Allen, Horatio, 2, 4, 102

Arbitration between railways and their employees, 376, 381

Armstrong, Colonel G. G., 316

Atkinson, Edward, 43

Auditor's duties, 180, 183

Baggage-check system, 253

Baggage-master, work of, 416

Baggage service, abuses in, 179

Baggage transportation, 253

Baldwin Locomotive Works, 132

Ballast of a railway, 37

Baltimore & Ohio, the, 103
cars, 139
early passenger-trains, 230
in 1830, 101

Bangs, George S., 317

Bell-cord train-signal, 237

Bessemer, Sir Henry, 37

Bessemer steel, invention of, 37

Blaine, James G., 323

Blair, Montgomery, 317

Block-signal, automatic, 215
system, 168, 213

Boilers, construction of, 114

Bonds and stock, relative position of, 354

Brake, air-, 193, 195
advantages of air-, 387
improvements suggested to air-, 199
American, 202
and coupler, 237
Beals, 202
chain, 193
continuous, 195
early forms of, 192
electric, 194
hand, 193;
perils of, 387;
how to manage, 388
hydraulic, 193
steam driver-, 192
trials at Burlington, 200
vacuum, 193, 195
water, 202
Westinghouse air-, 193, 195

Brakemen, characteristics of, 384
duties of, 394
life, agreeable and disagreeable features of, 386, 389
passenger-train, advantages of, 396
pleasures of, 394
wit of, the result of meditation, 385

Bridges, railway, accidents to, 26
American iron, 28
American, development of, 27;
length of, 24, 26
American wooden, 27
and culverts, how built, 22
Bismarck, 86
Britannia, 79
builders, 423
cantilever, 33, 88
connecting two tunnels, 55
connections, types of, 85
foundations by crib or open caisson, 75

Bridges, foundations by pneumatic caisson, 69
foundations, how made, 32, 67
foundations under water, 67
gangs, work of, 155
great, over cañons and valleys, 55
guard-rails and frogs for, 221
Hawkesbury River, 32
Howe truss, 27
how to build safe, 31
Kentucky River, 34, 55, 88
Kinzua, 30
Lachine, 92
masonry arch, 76
Niagara cantilever, 34, 90
Portage, 78
Poughkeepsie, 32, 34
steel truss, development of, 85
strength of, 29
St. Louis, 93
trusses, types of, 86
tubular, 80
typical American truss, 86
Verrugas, 55
Victoria, 80
Washington, over Harlem River, 77, 94
wooden, 78
wood, stone, and iron, 25, 26

Bridgers, R. R., 340

Bridgewater, Duke of, 345

Broken trains, dangers of, 388

Burr & Wernwag, 27

Caissons for bridge foundations, how made, 32, 69
open, 75
pneumatic, 69

Camden & Amboy locomotives, 106

Cameron, Simon, prediction of, 232

Campbell, Henry R., 109

Cantilever bridges, 33, 88

Capital invested in railways, 344, 448

Car-accountant, and the transportation department, 275
office of, 271

Car-accounting, benefits of a good system, 280

Car-builders' dictionary, 147

Car-couplers, imperfections of, 140
need of uniformity in, 141

Car-coupling, accidents from, 223, 392

Cars, American and English, 7
American, evolution of, 139
Baltimore & Ohio freight-, 139
different kinds of, 146
old, discomforts of, 234
distribution of, 171, 279
empty, distribution of, 279
first American passenger-, 139
first sleeping-, 140
for special uses, 289
freight-, wanderings of a, 267
heating by gas, 226
heating by steam, 226
heating, methods of, 245
lighting safely, 226
mileage and records, 158
mileage charges, 273
Mohawk & Hudson passenger-, 139
number of, in the United States, 148
records of movement, 171
service charges, per diem plan, 29
service of, payment for, 293
service records and reports, 276
tracers for, 279
trucks, 7;
invention of, 108
use and abuse of, 281

Car-wheels, European, 144
how made, 142
paper, 145

Cassatt, A. J., 340

Check system for baggage, 253

Chief engineer, duties of, 154

Chimbote Railway in the Andes, 50, 53

Civil service reform in the mail service, 340

Classifications of freight, 176

Clerks, railway, 422

Coffer-dam foundations for bridges, 67

Commissions to passenger agents, 179

Competing points and pools, 364

Concentration of power, 351

Conducting transportation, 159

Conductors, freight, trials of, 398
heroism of, 411
passenger, 408

Consolidation, effects of, 351
tendency to, 346

Construction companies, 355

Contractors, railway, work of, 21

Conveniences at stations, 259

Cooley, Judge Thomas M., 368

Cooper, Peter, 104, 231

Council, proposed railway, 380

Couplers and brakes, 237
imperfections of, 140
uniform automatic, 223

Coupling cars, accidents from, 223, 392

Coupon tickets, 254
misunderstood, 254

Cox, S. S., 323

Cranes, large travelling, in locomotive shops, 132

Crib foundations for bridge piers, 75

Crises of 1873 and 1885, effects of, 356

Crossings, accidents at, 408
protection for, 216

Cullom, Senator S. M., 368

Culverts, building of, 22
log, 25
masonry, 76
on American railways, 24, 26

Curves, American and European railway, 8
least, 8

Cutting, largest ever made, 56

Cylinders, locomotive, construction of, 117

Darwin, Erasmus, 2

Davis & Gartner, 106

Davis, Phineas, 106

Davis, W. A., 317

Death and accident provisions for postal clerks, 343

Delays in a long journey, 267

Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, 101

Demurrage charges, 296

Derailing switches, use of, 207

Derailments of trains, causes of, 218

Destructive force of a locomotive at high speed, 187

Detector-bar for switches, 205

Differentials, 175

Dining-cars, introduction of, 243

Discipline necessary on a railway, 377

Distribution of cars, 171, 279

Dividends, average, on railway stock, 443

Drawbridge accidents, 221

Driving-wheels, large and small, 128

Eads, Captain James B., 64, 93

Eames vacuum brake, 195

Eccentric, operation of, 118

Educational institutions for railway employees, 379

Electric annunciator for signals, 209

Electric lights for cars, 226

Electricity applied to brakes, 194

Elevated Railroad, New York, 97

Employees, railway, benefit funds, 378
permanent and temporary, 375
promotion of, 376
number of, in the United States, 43, 370
permanency of service during good behavior, 376
relations of, to the railway, 357
representative system for, 380
rights and privileges of permanent, 376
to have a voice in management, 379
wages of, 448

Engineer, the, as a public benefactor, 46
civil, qualifications of, 15
responsibilities and duties of, 98

Engineering, good, true test of, 60

Ericsson, John, 2

Facing and trailing point switches, 219

Facing-point locks, 205

Fast freight lines, 287

Fast mail service, appropriations for, 337

Fast mail train, trip with, 323

Fast runs, remarkable instances, 404

Fast time on railways, conditions of, 128

Field & Hayes, 34

Fink, Albert, 365

Fisk, James, Jr., 353

Flagging trains, 390

Foot-guard for frogs, 222

Foreign cars, theory and practice in their use, 279

Foster, Rastrick & Company, 102

Free-pass system, 362

Freight-car wanderings, 267
classifications and rates, 176
conductor and his trials, 398
department, organization of, 282
engines, saving fuel on, 402
empty trains of, 439
handlers at stations, 423
movement, accidents in, 293;
cost of delays in, 293

Freight profits, 440
rates, reduction of, 358, 438
traffic, 437;
how handled, 180

Freight trains, air-brakes for, 200
transportation, needs of the service, 297

Fuel, saving, on freight-engines, 402

Garrett, John W., 351

Gate-tenders on the railway, 423

General Freight Agent, 172

General Manager, duties of, 154

General Passenger Agent, 172

Geographical location of railways in the United States, 427

Goold, James, 139

Grades, limit of, 8

Grand Central Station interlocking signals, 208

Grand River cañon, 54

Granger movement, 363

Guard-rails and frogs for bridges, 221

Hamlin, Hannibal, 323

Hampson, John, 231

Harrison, Joseph, Jr., 4

Hawkesbury River bridge, 32

Heater-cars, Eastman, 289

Heating cars, 245

Highway crossing accidents, 216
crossing gates, 217

Holley, Alexander L., 37

Hoosac Tunnel, 63

Hospital funds for railway employees, 378

Hotel-cars, 244

Howe truss bridges, 27

Immigrant sleeping-cars, 251

Inclined planes for overcoming elevations, 58

Injectors, principle of, 116

Insurance funds for railway employees, 378

Interchange of cars, methods of, 272

Interlocking bolts, uses of, 221
signals and switches, 204

Interstate commerce law, 173, 368
Commerce Commission and its work, 368

Investigation of accidents, 399

Investors and managers, relations of, 357
difficult position of, 354

Irregular hours of work, 399

Jameson, John, 317, 323, 342

Janney car-coupler, 237

Jervis, John B., 4, 107

Johnson, R. P., 339

Judgment, value of, in a locomotive-runner, 407

Junction-cards and car-reports, 278

Kentucky River cantilever bridge, 34, 55, 88

King, Porter, 408

Kinzua Bridge, 30

Lachine Bridge, 92

Latimer, Charles, 221

Latrobe, Benjamin H., 8

Layng, J. D., 319

Legal department of a railway, duties of, 152

Lighting cars, safe methods, 226

Lincoln, Abraham, in the first sleeping-car, 240

Link motion for locomotive valves, 119

Location, approximate, 15
final, 18
how governed, 16
in old and new countries, 17
importance of, 15

Locomotives, ability to climb grades, 8
American type, origin of, 109
Baltimore & Ohio "grasshopper," 106
boiler construction, 115
cab, what is in it, 131
capacity to draw loads, 120
consolidation, 122
cost of running, 307
cylinders, how supplied with steam, 117
decapod, 122
destructive force of, at high speed, 187
"DeWitt Clinton," 105
driving-wheels, how made, 142
earliest American, 2
early eight-wheeled, 105
engineer, the duties and qualifications of, 137;
peculiarities of, 134;
duties and dangers of, 400;
spirit of fraternity of, 408
English type of, 3
equalizing levers, 4
fireman, 422
first trial of, in America, 103
fuel, 303;
consumption, 135
hostler, 422
how to start and stop, 120
"John Bull," 106
Mogul, 122
number of, in the United States, 148
Peter Cooper's, 104
prize offered for, by the Baltimore & Ohio, 105
pumps and injectors, 116
"Rocket," 1
running, systems of, 134;
cost of, 158, 159
running gear, adjustment of, 114;
flexible, 113
shops, 132
size, weight, and price, 126
speed, law of, 127
suburban traffic, 124
ten-wheeled, 122
trials, Liverpool & Manchester Railway, 2, 3
truck, invention of, 4, 107
types of, 109
valve motion, 118

London Underground Railway, 97

"Long and short haul," 173

Mail service, railway, civil service reform in, 340