AUGUST 26, 1871.] T H E R A I L R O A D G A Z E T T E .

cal led by P r o f e s s o r B a u s c h i n g e r Iho dis t r ibut ion dia-gram.

| As an example, we will select the dis tr ibut ion dia-I g r a m referring to the first " no tch " o f the mixed en | glne , .1, i l lustrated at the head o f the Bcrica o f dia-! g rams belonging to that engine. T h e s e , and all the

other diagrams wo i l lustrate, are, as we may mention, I drawn to one-hal f their or iginal size. T h e points at

hind end, or from z to o. H a v i n g arr ived at a point , a, near the hind cyl inder end, the valve opons the por t to admit the steam, which, at the end o f the s t roke , is ad-mit ted to the amount , o, b, called " hind pre-admiss ion. " T h e piston begins now its return s t roke , at the com-mencement o f which the opening o f the por t still in c reases a l itt le, till the m a x i m u m Opening is reached at c, corresponding to the posi t ion o f the piston a t y.

B A U S C H I N G E R ' S I N D I C A T O R ON L O C O M O T I V E S ,

E X P E R I M E N T S which the supply o f s team is cut off, in this case, aro at j 14 per cent , and 10 per ccnt . o f the s t r o k e (hind and | front end respect ively) , as ascer ta ined from the valvo-

(Coiiilnuod from piKC 298 ) I m o t ' o n d iagram. T h e line, o z, ropresonts the s t roke , and paral le l to this lino aro drawn, also h a l f size, the

W e will now proceed to explain the cons t ruc t ion o f s team ports for the admiss ion and release, the former t h e diagram showing the act ion o f the valve g e a r which j above and the la t ter below, o ; . We will now assume Is a n n e x e d to each set o f indica tor cards , and Which Is | the piston to m o v e on its s t r o k e from the front to the

F r o m tills point the va lve begins to c lose the port again, and when the piston is at a point, il, the supply Is cut off and expansion takes place , till a point , .', is reached, m a r k i n g tho opening o f the valve to the ex-haust , which, at the end o f tho s t roke , is open to the amount , r , / , termed by the professor tho " p r e - r e l e a s e . " An the piston moves again from - towards the ex-haust opening still Increases till g, and becomos s h u t

240 T H E R A I L R O A D G A Z E T T E . R AOOOST 26, 18FT .

whon tlio p is ton has a r r ived a t h. F r o m this point the p is ton compresses before it the s t eam remain-ing in the cy l inde r till it has a r r ived at a, when the va lve opens t h e p o r t again for the pro-admission, and when tlio sarno process begins aga in . In a s imilar m a n n e r the o ther d i s t r ibu t ion d i ag rams con-ta ined in ou r i l lus t ra t ions oxplain the ac t ion of tho s l ide-valves for the va r ious degrees of expans ion , whi le the sub jo ined table con t a in s f u r t h e r infor-m a t i o n which could not be conven ien t ly g iven on the d i ag rams themselves . Before p roceed ing f u r t h e r , we wish to call a t t en t ion to tho do t t ed l ines shown in tho d i ag ram ju s t descr ibed These l ines re fe r to cu rves which would have been obta ined wi th an o r d i n a r y slide-valve, aud s h o w a l r eady clear ly the a d v a n t a g e s pre-sented hy the aux i l i a ry s team pas sage of the T r i c k or Allen valve.

W e will now examine tho fo rm of tho i n d i c a to r ya lves with r e f e r ence to the p r inc ipa l p e r i o d s of tho

rogula te tho admiss ion . I f the c learance spaces a t the beg inn ing of the admission a re a l r e a d y filled wi th com pressed s team, a less a m o u n t of lead is necessary , and vice verm. Willi tho shi f t ing- l ink mot ion, however , not only the lead b u t also tho compress ion increases rap-idly as the l ink a p p r o a c h e s mid-gear ; b u t cons ider ing tho high speed a t which the eng ine is usua l ly r u n n i n g in mid-gear , this phenomena does not p rove a draw-back, a s the increased compress ion is calcula ted to fa-ci l i ta te g rea t ly the a t t a i n m e n t of the full p r e s su re of s t eam in the cy l inder s a t the c o m m e n c e m e n t of the s t roke .

F u r t h e r m o r e , i t shou ld be r emembered t ha t a good admiss ion of the s team depends , n o t on ly on the a m o u n t of lead, b u t also on the commencemen t of it, or, in o th e r words , on the per iod at which the va lve opens t h e connec t ion wi th tho s team-ches t p r e p a r a t o r y to the n e x t s t roke of the p is ton . Thus , on e x a m i n i n g the dis t r ibu-t ion d i a g r a m taken a t tho second no tch of eng ine A, i t

IVriod of admit-Hon In ptr ctnl.

of tlroke

M opon % open H open

'A open

Vi opeu M open % open starting H open

H open

Vt open H. open

K shut

H Phut x :

e ?

Maximum cyUndtr

1151 109 12' 120 125 122 117 113 120, 103

115! 64 56 : 62

s team d i s t r ibu t ion , he re aga in fo l lowing t h e cou r se of P r o f e s s o r B a u s c h i n g e r ' s obse rva t i ons :

() Lead or pre-admiss ion . To in su re a good ac t ion of the s t eam it is essent ia l t ha t the m a x i m i u m cyl inder p r e s su re be a t t a i n e d a t t ho very c o m m e n c e m e n t of the s t roke . If th is is the case, the adhes ion l ine of the in-d ica to r d i a g r a m t h e p i s ton be ing a t the end of the s t rokewil r ise in a ver t ica l line, ne i the r reced ing f rom it nor , a f t e r the ver t ical has been reached, recoil-ing f rom it again . The fo rmer defec t is pa r t i cu l a r ly the case wi th the shi f t ing- l ink mot ion when w o r k i n g a t a high deg ree of expans ion , a s shown in d i ag ram No. 1, wh i l e in d i ag rams Nos . 9 and >0, t a k e n a t the s ix th and eighth notch respect ively , the admiss ion l ine recoi ls s l ight ly f rom the vert ical . U n d e r the c i rcumstances of

d i a g r a m No. 1 the a r e a of the open ing for pre-admiss ion is 2.5 per cent , of the pis ton a rea (as s h o w n by the scale) a n d for the mode ra t e speed at wh ich thu engine w a s runn ing , this a m o u n t of lead is, no doubt , too much ; in d iugrains Nos. 9 and 10, on the o the r hand , a pre-admiss ion of f r om 1 . 1 to 1 .0 per cent , of the p i s ton a r e a would appeur much too small , OVon in the la t ter case whe re tho eng ine was m a k i n g but 54 r evo lu t ions per minu te .

In th is respect the cu rves ob ta ined wi th tho Meyer valvo g e a r show a marked d is t inc t ion , w h i c h will a l r eady be a p p a r e n t by a mere in-pcc t ion of tho d i s t r ibu t ion d iagrams . T h e series of OtirVM t a k e n f r om tho goods engine, g, show tha t , In tho case of Meye r ' s mot ion the a m o u n t of p re admiss ion r ema ins c o n s t a n t for all degrees of expans ion . T h a t tho a m o u n t of lead, In th is case, was insuff icient , Is clearly shown in the d i ag rams by tho admiss ion Hues w i t h d r a w i n g f rom the vert ical lines which mark tho end of tho s t roke . C o n s t a n t load involves also c o n s t a n t compress ion , and this la t ter seems to have been avoided as much as pos si bio in the engines , E , F, and G, with the Meyer gear , as shown by tho d i ag rams and also in Table II. Tlio def ic iency of l ead in this case appea r s , there fore , all tho more faul ty, as bo th olomeuts, lead a n d compress ion ,

will b e seen t ha t tho p re -admiss ion beg ins w h e n the pis ton has ye t 4 pe r cent, of the length of s t r o k e to t rave l , whi le the a m o u n t of lead is 2.2 per cent , of the p i s ton a rea . W h e n the Meyer va lve-mot ion is em-ployed, P ro fes so r B a u s c h i n g e r r e c o m m e n d s an a m o u n t of lead of 2 pe r cent, of tho p i s ton a rea , a n d also t ha t the lead shou ld begin a t 3 per cent, of the s t r o k e before the dead p o i n t is reached, and t ha t the compress ion should a m o u n t to at l eas t 10 per cent , of the length of of the s t roke . These d a t a depend , of course , on the a m o u n t of s t roke and angu la r a d v a n c e of the eccentr ic , on the lap of the valve, etc.

I n our n e x t n u m b e r we shall examine the ind ica to r cu rves wi th r e g a r d to the c l emen t of admiss ion .En-gineering.

(TO B

C H I C A G O & N O R T H W E S T E R N RAILWAY.

General Suprrl ntendent's Report.

W e g ive be low the r e p o r t of the Genera l Super in-t e n d e n t of the Chicago & N o r t h w e s t e r n Ra i lway , J o h n C. Gaul t , f o r the y e a r end ing May 31, 1871. Wo have added in the tables the mi leage of each d iv i s ion a n d i ts e a rn ings last y e a r :

A review of the statistics of the operations of the com-pany's lines for the past year shuws a decrease In tho gross earnings of $840,513.77, us compared with the previous year more tliuu onc-haif of which decrease is In tho passenger business alone. It will observed that of this large tailing off In the passenger traffic, nearly $300,000 Is on through travel between Chicago aud Omaha, which decline may (HI uocounted for partly by reason of Iho opening of other through Hue,-, but prlu.Ipally on account of u general decline in travel be-tween Chicago and the Far West. The remainder of the fall-ing off In passenger earnings In general at all amnions, and la to be attributed more to the depression of buslueas through-out the West than to any particular diversion of travel to Other lines.

The freight business of the road shows a decrease In gross earnings, while tho tonnage moved shows a small Increase. This increase Is mainly upon the Peninsula Division. It Is but fair to slate, however, that during the year considerable quantities of building material wore freighted for new roads, belonging to other companies, then In course of construction, ttl prices below the average of our general freight rates ; which, while Uswellod oor tonnage largely, did not compen-sate for the falling off lu tho grain and oilier more profitable

The traffic of the Iowa Division has suffered a greater decline than any other part of the company's lines. This result Is to bo ueeounted for portly by reason of tho great falling off In tho through business, which has heretofore been an Important item In the earnings of that division, aud partly In consequence of unsatisfactory groin crops along the hole lino, seriously diminishing the volume of its local freight traffic. With tho establishment of a more energetic policy, reeeutly Inaugurated, respecting the sole and settlement of lurxls owned by the Cedar Uuplds . t Missouri ltiver Railroad Company, along the line ol ttint division, 1 urn led to believe It may bo relied upon for a steady Increase In Its future earn-ings.

New II iod constructed during the past year In the Stale of Iowa, as well as In Illinois, lu the Interest of rival routes, liuve diverted o amull uuiount of trutllc which was formerly eujoyed by this company, and In some Instances have hud the effect to reduce our established prices ; but 1 am glad to say no overe competition has us yet resulted therefrom.

The decrease In earnings on the Galena and the Wisconsin divisions has been chiefly owing to tbc unsatisfactory har-vest of 1870, afid Is not In any great measure attributable to a diversion of our former business to other routes or to other markets.

It is gratifying to bo able to state that the business of the Milwaukco Division, as well as that of the Peninsula Division, continues to show a satisfactory Increase, and J have no doubt this portion of the company's lines may be relied upon for asteady Improvement from year to year.

The business and expenses of the several divisions of the road were as follows :

The earnings were : WISCONSIN DIVISION (814.9 HLU).

Pa-sengcr $ WX.S25 f F elgnt 1,685 13 Bxpreea 6 1 . J 3 Mall 46,648 64 Miscellaneous 72,613 76

Total ($9,610 per mile) ,611.673 67 Total p.evlous year 2.-46.W5 30

Decrease m5,006 63 OAI.KNA DIVISION (293.1 JfTLM).

Passenger $ 967,781 88 Freight 2,774,666 21 Express 82,882 15 Mall 46.'61 57 Miscellaneous 116,978 10

Total ($13,616 per mllo) tl,W9,26> 91 Total previous year 4,23M3 (8

Deere aeo 1219,140 17 IOWA DIVISION (S89.4 XXLM).

Passenger . $ 809,844 "1 Freight 1,W. 85 46 Eipress .. . S6.703 3S Mall 70.610 00 Miscellaneous 8.712 84

ToUl ($7,395 per mile) $2 -79.55" ^ Total previous jear. 3.4i9.uv"> 90

Decrease . $i39.i3. 5! MADISON DIVISION (67 6 M U ) .

Passenger $ S6.32I 29 Freight 123.240 13 Express 3.045 33 Malt 6, M 34 Miscellaneous 8.108 2

Total ($2,999 per mile) $2" .705 91 Total previous year S17.7H 93

Decrease $15,0.9 03

Passeneer ' $ JM86 30 Freight 8.5.133 1

Miscellaneous.. 4.65 ' 00

10,789 57

f *SV 79 41*4,487 30 41.732

Miscellaneous

I ? i ! U W i : & i H t N l f i

Wisconsin 1 $3. 70.671 59 $1. 87.6 01 72.74 ft". 79 Galena 1 2.281 5-1 (W 1,854,608 56! '8.38 ! 46.49 Iowa i V36.G50 2-11 1,8*0, R3 40; 74 19 ! 63.31 Madison I 157.568 84 145.687 S4| 72.37 | 71.87 Peninsula 4I4,7M 6T 867,tWn 8 67 84 , 43.H5 Milwaukee i 572,158) 135.773 .-9] 52.47 I Hi. 74

Total $8,013,317 34 $6,811,506 3 63.93 S3.X

The decrease In operating expenses for the past year has been $1,659,791.85, and In taxes, $42,019.19, making a total reduction ot $1,701,811 04, as compared with the previous year ; nearly $700,000 ot whl.-h reduction has been made In wage's alone, and over $4(XI 000 lu the cost of luel Used. These sums, added to the abatement in pi Ices of other supplies, as compared with former prices paid, have rendered the red tic-tlon In operating expenses easily attainable, without suffer-ing the road-bed. track or rolling stock of lhe company to deteriorate, in order to accomplish thai result. The track on all the various lines Is In better condition than at tho com-mencement of the year, and the condition of tho rolling stock has beeu fully kept up and maintained.

It Is gratifying to be able to state that no passenger has been killed or seriously Injured, during the year, on any ol the company's lines.

M a n s l a u g h t e r by C o r p o r a t i o n s .

U n d e r th i s head the Now Y o r k H o n i n g Post com-m e n t s on the vordlct of the coroner ' s j u r y over the bodies of t hose killod by tho explos ion of tho ferry-b o a t West t te ld , which was as fol lows :

Wo Bud that tho deceased, Andrew Coyle aud others, died through a rupture or explosion of the boiler of the terry -boat West Held, July HO, 1S71; that said explosion or rupture was caused by a flaw In the Iron and by the negligence of the engineer Robinson in carrying au over-pressure of steam ;

the company are responsible for the disaster, as the de-

Atjocst 26, 1871.1 T H E R A I L R O A D GAZETTE 241

feet boiler to be used, or a careless engineer to hold liis office is negligent, and any negligence by which the lives of the public are endangered is necessarily crim-inal. The trust held by a transportation company is one which binds it and all its servants to the highest

Sossible vigilance, even to what the law calls extraor-inary diligence, in preventing danger. Whenever

they come short of this highest degree of diligence, and the result is the death of a person entrusted to them, thoy are guilty of manslaughter.

The law of this subject is already clear enough. The difficulty lies in executing it. The officers inculpated in such crimes aro generally men of character and prominence : men with hosts of friends ; men who linvo ertimable qualities, and who are so far removed from " the criminal classes" that society is unwilling to treat them as criminals. The community has, as yet, no properly educated conscience on this subject. Its con-science is far behind the law. AVIien the public learn to regard negligence in these high trusts as a crime, not less reprehensible, morally, than the killing of a man in the heat of passion in a private broil, it will only have come up to the just standard of the law, and will only then be ready to enforce the law as it is.

Few communities are in advance of New York in this respect, and many are far behind it. A coroner's jury yesterday sat in Bangor, upon the bodies of citi-zens killed by the falling in of a decayed bridge in that, city, under a train of the Maine Central Railway. The jurv consisted of prominent business men of that city, and may be supposed fairly to represent the public opinion f the community. The evidence clearly prov. ed that the bridge was cxamiocd on June 8, by the railroad commissioners of the 8tate. with the bridge superinti ndent of the company, and found unsafe. Yet it was not until July 17 that these officers gave notice of its bad condition to the Assistant Superintendent of the railway ; and it was not until July 21th that he officially notified the General Superintendent of the fact. Sixteen days more passed, during which it is to be sup-posed that the Superintendent was making up his mind to renew the bridge, and then it broke down, and the manslaughter was complete.

In spite of these facts, the coroner's jury ascribes the "accident" to the existence or the State Board of Railroad Commissioners; and thinks that " l i fe and limb would have been safe" but for them, "because without them no division of responsibility could pos-sibly be alleged." It seems to us that it 'was the ob-vious duty of these commissioners to see that the bridge was made safe before another train was per-mitted to pass it; that their negloct of this duty makes them guilty of manslaughter ; and that the three neg-ligent and procrastinating superintendents are all per-sonally guilty of the same crime. There may often be, there often is, a division of responsibility which per-plexes investigation, but the difficulty docs' not arise in a case like this, where the guilt is simply extended to many. If ten or a hundred men conspire to commit a crime, each is, both legally and morally, as guilty as if lie did the deed alone.

The public need an education on this subject which '-'-/ rapidly get, if the principles which we have indicated are kipt in view by the independent press, and constantly applied to all such cases as they occur. We trust that an example will be made in the Westfield case which will show all conductors, engineers, brake-uicu, superintendents, directors, and presidents who administer our public highways, that the community and the law require of them the utmost prudence they are capable of in preventing danger, and that any neir-" ::"

242 T H E R A I L R O A D GAZETTE. [ A U G U S T 28, 1871.

PUBLI8HRD KVB11Y 8ATU11DAY.

C O N T E N T S . rtfio.

IWJOTHATIOKB. Locomotive Indicator Dia-

grams 438-940 Mending nnd Ro-ietting

Band -aws 2-19 Railroad Curve" 2-1? Bleam-Hnclno Oovernors.-Ml Railroad Bart work 2-1-1

The Effect of Curves

Tli- Holntlvo Cost of S-Fcct and 4-Keet 8H Iuch-Onutro Hullroads 242

The Rillroad System of Belgium 2-tl

Tlio Di'lrolt, Lansing A Like Michigan Hallro.id243

West-bouud Freight Rate*241

Page. Em-roniAiJi.

Tho Charities of Railroads 243

UKXEIIAI H*n.noAn NEWS. Tlio Chicago A North-

western Report.. and Appolnl-Blcctlon

Personal. .. . . . . . .'.'..2K Old nnd Now Roads 246 Mechanics and Engincer-

Inif 247 Railroad Burnings In July

and Sluco January 244

SELECTIONS. It luschlngor's Indicator Ex-

pcrlinouts on Locorao-

Manslanghter by Corpora-

Strain Engine Governors. .241

K t l i t o r i a l A n n o u u e o m o n t s .

Correspondence. We cordially incite the co-operation of the Railroad Public in affording us the material for a thorough and worthy Railroad paper. Railroad news, annual reports, notices of appointments, resignations, etc., and information concerning im-provements will be gratefully received. We make it our business to inform the public concerning the progress of new lines, and are always gtod to receive news of them.

Invention! Those who wish to make their. Inventions known to railrotid men can have them fully described in the RAILROAD GA-ZETTE, if not previously published, M I or CHARGE. They are invited to send us drawings or models and specifications. When engravings are necessary, thelnventor is expected to furnish his own engravings, or to pay for them.

Articles. Wedeslre articles relating to railroads, and, if accept-able, will pay liberally for them. Articles concerning railroad management, engineering, rolling stock and machinery, by men practically acquainted with these subjects, are especially desired.

Engineering and Mechanics.Mr. M N. Forney, Mechanical JCnglneer, whose office at Room 7, No. 72 Broadway, New York, has been engaged as Associate Editor of this Journal In charge of these departments. He is also authorized to act as our agent.

r Prospectus and Business Notices will be found o I elast

On another page, over the signature " L. M . " w i l l be found some estimates o f the re la ' ive cost o f roads of the above gauges. These estimates are not less accu-rate than many others which aro now so current in the daily papers and elsewhere, and may, therefore, be taken as a fair example o f the statements o f the advan-tages of the narrow gauge. T hey are made upon tho same basis as all the others which we have thus far seen. That is, they compare the cost o f a narrow-gauge road and a ve ry l ig it equipment, wi th one o f 4-feet 8}-inch gauge having heavy rol l ing stock, which is l ike comparing the cost o f a stone house with small rooms and low ceilings, wi th that of one built o f brick with large room and high ceilings, and reasoning there-from that because the latter coat the most, therefore stone is the cheaper building material. I t is true that with tho same number o f rooms as many people might l i ve in the small house as in the larger one, just as the Bame traffic might be done on tho narrow as on the wide gauge, but neither the people who l i ve in small houses nor the traffic on tho railroads would be accom-modated so wed in a contracted space as they would be with more room.

We , therefore, propose to compare tho cost o f a wide-gauge road which will g i v e the IIIIM conveniences and/*-oUUieifo- traffic that the narrow one would, and thus show what tho dif ference due to gauge would bo.

In a letter published In the GAZKTTK o f July 8,the ca-pacity o f freight-cars for tho 8-feet gauge is g iven as 2 K times their weight. In an o litorial in tho same pa-por we showed that tho weight of a loaded four-wheeled box c i r for a 4-feet 8^- inch gauge would not b i 1 per cent, greater than for a 8-foot gauge. Tho advocates o f a narrow gauge invariably take tho lightest kind o f car which can be built and compare it with tho heavi-est kind of car now running on wide-gauge roads. W e fully bel ieve that our 4 feet 8^-inch-gatige roads do carry too much dead weight, but It does not therefore fo l low that the only way to red ice it is to narrow the gauge.

W o bollove, too, that cars can bo built for a 8-feet gauge which will carry times their own weight o f freight, but it is also truo that the weight o f tho same kind o f oar to carry tho same relative amount of freight, at tho same speed, and have tho same strength in a 4-foet 8%-inch-gauge road wil l not bo over one per cent, more than the other when they art both loaded. That tho pro-

portion of dead to pay ing we ight is rcduccd if the gaugo is narrowed, has been so often re iterated and the Improssion lias now becomo so general among un-professional readers, that w o find," In any discussion of the subject, it is difficult for them to disabuso their minds o f the error. T o show that we aro not alone in tho denial o f it, w o quote from an editorial article in Engineering, in which the same v iews which we have expressed are stated vory clearly and forc ib ly . Tho writer says :

"Ano ther fal lacy upheld by tho advocates o f v e ry narrow-^auge lines is, that the narrower the gauge the lessalmost in an equal degreeis the proportion o f dead weight to paying load whereas both theory and experience go to prove that so long as the amount o f accommodation, and the strength to resist hauling and buffing strains are constant, the proporl ion o f dead weight to paying load is almost, i f not entirely, inde-pendent of the trauge In other words, if tho maximum weight o f train In which a vehicle is to bo used, and the maximum power of engine to tho pulling and pushing o f which It is to be subjected be fixed, it matters l i tt le so far as the proport ion o f dead we ight per ton o f goods, or per passenger carried. Is concerned, whether the gauge o f the line on which the vehicle is to run be 2 feet 9 inches or 5 feet 0 inches. This, we know,is a state-ment which many advocates of very narrow-gauge lines will be disposed to contradict flatly yet it is a statement which is supported by ample practical evi-dence. W o have before us particulars o f the weights and carry ing capacities of ths Norweg ian , Queens-land, and other narrow-gauge rolling stock, both for passenger and goods traffic, and with scarcely an ex-ception these particulars prove tho correctness o f the opinion wo have just expressed. Even in the case of the extremely narrow Fest iniog Ra i lway we find the dead weight of the passenger stock to be greater per passenger carried than many carriages running on the Continent on 4-feet inch-gauge lines,these latter f ar-riages, notwithstanding, af fording a greater number of cubic feet o f capacity for passenger, and being mounted on 40-inch in place o f 18-inch wheels. Similar evi-dence might be adduced concerning the goods-carrying stock were it necessary to do so ; but we need merely r< -fer to the carriages and wagons in general use on ordi-nary lines fifteen or eighteen years ago to prove that l ight stock can be made for the 4-feet 8J.-incli, or a wider gauge, if the general nature o f the traffic war-rants its use."

Perhaps the diversity o f tho statements which are made with reference to this point by the narrow-gauge advocates may show the exceedingly inaccurate char-acter o f somo o f them. F o r example, Mr. Fair l io says that a four-wheeled box car wi l l carry throe times its own we ight o f f re ight; Mr. Schuyler, Secretary o f the Denver & R io Qrande Rai l road Company, says 2 % times ; the report o f the Massachusetts committee, twice its own w e i g h t ; and the circular issued by M. Baird & Co., 1% times. Be their carry ing capacity, howev-er, what it may, there is this undoubted fact, that tho weight of any of the narrow-gauge cars would bo in-creased very l i tt le i f they wore made for a 4-feet lnch instead of a 3-feet gauge, and so far as the effect upon tho track is concerned, this slight di f ference would bo much more than compensated for by the greater sta-bil ity due to tho wider wheel base.

Tho question is not the relat ive cost o f a narrow-gauge road with light equipment, and one of 4-foet 8}^-inch gaugo with a heavy track and roll ing stock, but it Is this : g iven a section of country in which there wi l l bo a comparat ively small traffic, what wil l bo tho differ-ence in tho cost o f building a road of 8-feet gaugo to do this business, and one o f a 4-foot 8-inch gaugo which wil l afford equal faci l it ies and conveniences and do it in every respect equally wel l ?

I f there is any advantage In tho small cars which are proposed for narrow-gauge roads, they can bo made equally small for the wide gaugo, and as practically they wi l l be no heavier, the rails and fastenings may be o f tho same weight in each case. Excopt lng the length, tho cross lies may be the same size. Al l estimates thereforo which calculate the cost of heavy rails and fastenings for tho wide gaugo, and light ones for the narrow, are erroneous and valueless so for as showing what tho di f ference in cost which is duo to tho gauge would bo. Such calculations may show that a narrow gaugo with a l i gh t cqulpmont wil l cost less than a wide ono with heavy rol l ing stock, but no calculation is necossary to show that, any more than It would be to prove that a big brick house wil l cost more than a small

Ikying light ra Is on the ono road would cost no more than, on the other, and in a previous article wo dis-cussed the cost, or rather tho dl f foronco' l f t tho quantity of grading, for each gauge. Our v iews expressed at thai time lutvo since been fully confirmed by tho esti-mates made by engineers for a lino of 20 miles long in a high roll ing section o f Virg inia, both agreeing that thoro would bo a di f ference in tho volume of tho grading o f about 10 por cont.

A great dual has been said iu this connection about tho dif ference in oxpenso o f grading a wide and nar-row-gauge road on a steep hillside, as represented by tho

dotted l ino in the engraving herewith. Suppose the materialsay rockwi l l stand in the position repre-sented by tho lino, erf. N o w if the roadway is made two feet wider, the cutting mnst be carried up perhaps hundreds o f feet. I f the material Is not rock, its natural slope will frequently be as steep as that o f the cut or embankment can be made. When this is the

case it is said that the cnt must be carried up all the way to the top o f the hill, and the embankment carried down to its foot. N o w that this might be the case in some instances is quite true, but the frequency o f it wil l depend entirely upon the nature o f the country, and the localit ies where it would be-come an important element o f cost are ve ry rare. There are also expedientssuch as the erection o f retaining wal lswhich are resorted to by engineers and would obviate to a v e r y great extent the necessity o f any considerable expense. W e are ready to admit, howovor, that there may be localit ies where the differ-ence in tho amount o f grading for a 3-feet and 4-feot 8J-inch road may exceed 10 per cent., but they are rare and only an actual survey and estimate therefrom wi l l determine when such is the case.

W i t h reference to tho dif ference in cost o f mov ing 10 per cent, more material, w e have found considerable dif feronce of opinion, but nearly all who have discussed this question, agree in thinking that the cost would not bo in proportion to the volume, as a considerable por-tion o f a contractors expense is for equipment, i horses and carts, tools and lodgings for men. T h e ex-pense o f these is the same whether the materiol to bo moved is 10 per cent, more or less.

W o are satisfied that few contractors would grado a road-bed 10 feet wide for 6 per cent, less than one 11 feet

inches wide, and feel that it would be ample al lowance for the actual di f ference in the cost o f tho grading for the two lines.

Ti

t i raOTT 96, 1 8 7 1 ] T H E R A I L R O A D G A Z E T T E . 248

of tho n a r r o w in h a v i n g longer and hcavlor axles, weighing about 150 pounds m o r e per car, which at six cents per pound will a m o u n t to $0. W e aro now refer-r ing to four-wheeled froight cars, wi th which na r row-gauge roads aro be ing equipped in this count ry , and which it is genera l ly prac t icable to nse on wide-gauge roads, if there is a n y advan t age in doing so. F o r eight-wheeled passenger cars the dif ference would bo double t ha t of t hose wi th four wheels.

Engineering and right of vry would bo the same, as it is no more w o r k to m a k e a locat ion for a na r row t h a n for a w ide gauge , and the w i d t h of the r igh t of w a y is gove rned by the wid th of the cars more than the gauges .

Wo will now sum up, premis ing, first, t h a t we canno t vouch t ha t the rates wo g ive of the cost of all t h e i tems a re qu i t e accura te , as we have taken the da ta f rom a va r i e ty of sources , and have n o t tho means a t h a n d for v e r i f y i n g them, but we h a v e t aken them the s ame for each gauge , so they will not effect the relative c o s t :

COST TIR MI1.B OP 3-FKKT AND 4-FEBT S'/l-lNCU-

3{m Land and land < la mace Grading 8.500

tons of ralla, 30 lbs. per yard, ~ 491 rail splice* 3,520 lb*, spike*. 3.510 ' "

i/ttJ 8Hi'i.

Sidings

Fencing Freight on materials Freight and passenger booses... Engine bouses, repair shops and Miscellaneous buildings Engineering, salaries and offlcc .. 1,000

$14,391 i q c i r x i s r ron, f

5 locomotives baggage cars..

10 pi .AS 00 $,' 0 M.000 20,'80 5,400 2,488 7,500 18,400 100 freight

$9,900 $71,016 Per mile $2,796 $4,840 2,790 2,8-10

ToUl $17,188 $17,890 F r o m this es t imate i t will be seen t ha t the dif ference

i n cost of bu i ld ing a n d equ ipp ing a road of 3-feet gauge, a n d one of 4 feet 8 ^ - i n o h e s of t h e s ame cha rac -ter will not be q u i t e 4 per cent , t ha t of tho la t t e r . I t is, then , a ques t ion f o r those who a r c now contemplat -ing the cons t ruc t ion of n a r r o w - g a u g e roads w h e t h e r th i s slight di f ference will be a sufficient compensa t i on for the i nconven iences which mus t a t t e n d a b r e a k of gauge , a n d which , i t mus t be remembered , a re not less-ened in the leas t by a n y d i f fe rence in the cost of the two gauges . At ten t ion has been d i rec ted so much to t h e dif ference in cos t t ha t t h e d i s a d v a n t a g e s of b reak of g a u g e a n d con t r ac t ed rol l ing s tock have been, to a g r e a t extent , lost s igh t of. If t h e y were not so very g r e a t we should n o t so o f t en h e a r of roads l ike the Ohio & Mississippi c h a n g i n g their gauge in a s ingle day, a n d s u p p l y i n g t he i r whole l ine w i t h n e w equip-ment th roughou t . T h a t n a r r o w - g a u g e roads m a y be obliged to m a k e s imilar changes is n o t at all improba-ble ; and ce r t a in ly tho va lue of a l ight road mus t b e ve ry mater ia l ly af fec ted by the fac t t ha t i t can be changed for heavy traffic g radua l ly and w i t h o u t loss; whereas, if i t is bu i l t of a n a r r o w gauge, th is could only be done sudden ly a n d at g r e a t expense .

W e doub t , too, w h e t h e r the inconveniences of con-t rac ted cars ever have been , o r will be, p r o p e r l y appre-ciated, un t i l the publ ic h a v e h a d some exper i ence in th is d i rec t ion ; and it mus t also be r emembered tha t a road which can only offer the conven iences and com-fo r t s of n a r r o w - g a u g e cars will a lways be at g rea t dis-a d v a n t a g e in compe t ing for traffic with o ther roads .

D a n g e r is also an e lement to which t rave lers are very sensi t ive , and let a n y se r ious acc iden t occur on a nar-row-gauge Hue which can be a t t r ibu ted to the w a n t of s tab i l i ty of the cars, a n d t rave l would at once abandon i t and go elsewhere, If it we re possibio.

W e may at some f u t u r e t ime g ive specif icat ions for rol l ing s tock of a l i gh t road of 4-feet 8 ^ - i n c h guuge.

T H E R A I L R O A D S Y S T E M OF B E L G I U M .

T h e compac t a n d dense ly popula ted l i t t le k ingdom of Be lg ium has a ra i l road sys tem which has of ten been cited as an ins tance of t h e successful managemen t of t r a n s p o r t a t i o n by tho State. F r o m tho repor t of the Minis ter of P u b l i c W o r k s of tho ope ra t ions d u r i n g the y e a r 1868, we t ake the fol lowing facts :

A t the close of the y e a r 1808 tho mileage of ra i l roads in Belgium was as fol lows :

MtUt. Operated bjr the eoiupaolM. . 1,100

Total.

T h i s m a y not seem a very largo a m o u n t for a whole k ingdom, but it must bo remembered tha t Belgium has only an a rea of 11,400 squa re miles, tha t is, is about at la rge as tho Sta te of Mary land , and had therefore one mile of ra i l road to 6% miles of area, which iB about tho p ropor t ion of ra i l road to area in tho State of Con-nec t icu t a t the ond of 1870, when Massachuse t t s had one mile of ra i l road to squa re miles of area.

The ra i l roads w o r k e d by the g o v e r n m e n t had double t rack on 07 35 por cent, of the i r length ; tha t is, on but a b o u t 14 miles. Thero was also 278 miles of s ide t rack .

I n the t rqck the re were placed du r ing tho y e a r 505,032 mete rs of rai ls we igh ing more than 75 p o u n d s to the mete r (about 09 pounds to the y a r d ) of wh ich 464,152 mete rs were of the Vignoles pa t te rn , weighing 77 pounds per ya rd , 40,880 mete rs double-headed rai ls we igh ing 78 pounds per yard . T h e r e were only 88 miles of rails we igh ing less than 60 pounds per yard , near ly all of wh ich was in s i d e t r a c k s . F i sh - jo in t s wore used on 1,175 miles of t rack .

Of tho ties in place a t the close of the year , 71 per cent, we re p re se rved f ro m dccay by some chemical pro-cess, chiefly w i t h creosote, by the me thod kno ca r s pe r t ra in .

T h e rece ip t s pe r t r a i n mile were $1.35 2-5 and the expenses 80 cents.

T h e fol lowing were tho r a t e s which p r o d u c e d these receipts . T h e league named is 3.027 miles and the kilo-g ramme 2.205 pounds .

1 lob kll. 6 to 10 til. 11 or more kit.

Carrying 1 to 5 Itaqun. " 11 " 16 .. JR.. io " 80 "61 "

.70 fr. .80 .80 .90 .00

.90 1.00 1.10 1 10

1 10 1.20 IS l . a j

T h a t is, a package we igh ing eleven p o u n d s or less wns enrried fifteen miles or less for th i r t een cents , 45 miles for fifteen cents, and 150 milos for seventeen cents , packages we igh ing more b u t not more than 22 p o u n d s were car r ied usual ly for two cents more , and still la rger packages for four cents more. A n o t h e r tar i f f on fast t ra ins of less than express speed gives a b o u t two- th i rds of the above ra tes .

Of tho regu la r froight ra tes , thoso for first-class f re igh t are not repor ted . F o r tho second class t he ro is an a r b i t r a r y chargc of 18.0 por ton of 1,000 k i logrammes (2 205 pounds) , and charges v a r y i n g wi th the d i s t ance of 7.44 cents for each of tho first 15 leagues, 8.72 cents for each league beyond 15 and up to 25, and 1.86 cents for each league boyond 25.

T h u s for 83 leaguesabout 100 milestho charge O 2,205 pounds would be . Fixed charge IB Act Vur 15 leagues, 18 7.4-1 1116 ' " 10 r ' 1(1-3 72 117.2 '

8 " Bxl.Hfi 14.0 ' Total charge $1,823

At this r a t e the f re igh t on one of those tonsabout twen ty two hundredbetween Chicago and Now York , would be, r eckon ing by tho shortoBt route , abou t $11.75, gold, or 53% cents por hundred , which Is less than tho o rd ina ry summer ra te here on second class freight , but 50 per cont. more than tho p resen t r a t e f r o m New Y o r k to Chicago.

On third-class f re ight there was the same fixed charge of 18.6 cents per ton, 5.58 cents for each of the first fif-teen leagues, 2.79 cents for each league f rom 16 to 20, 1.80 cents for each league f rom 21 to 25, and .98 of one cent for each league beyond 25. At this r a t e the chargc be tween N e w Y o r k a n d Chicago would bo 18 cents per hundred .

On fourth-class f re igh t t he re is a fixed charge of 18.6 cents , a s before3 72 cents per league for t h e first fif-t een leagues, 1.86 cents per league for tho n e x t flvo leagues, and .98 of one cen t for each add i t iona l league, which would be at tho r a t e of 15J^ ccnts p e r h u n d r e d be tween Now Y o r k and Chicago.

Besides these, t he re a re lower special ra tes , chiefly appl icable to h e a v y raw mate r i a l s used in manufac-tu res .

Tho ra tes for passengers a re n o t g iven in th i s r epor t . T h o d a t a for a compar i son of expenses wi th those of

Amer i can ra i l roads a r e all wan t i ng . I t is ve ry wel l k n o w n tha t l abor is cheaper in Be lg ium t h a n a lmost a n y w h e r e else in tho civilized world, and t ha t i ron es-pecial ly is ve ry cheap there , but no figures are g i v e n of the pr ices of mater ia l s or of the wages of employes.

T h e Detroit L a n s i n g & L a k e M i c h i g a n R a i l r o a d .

The last rail on tho pa r t of th is road be tween D e t r o i t a n d Lans ing , 84J^ miles, was laid on the 18th inst. F o r some t ime a sect ion of the road has been in o p e r a t i o n f rom L a n s i n g n o r t h w e s t t h rough Ion ia to Greenvil le , 58 miles, so t ha t there is n o w 142> miles of the l ine comple ted . T h e r o a d was projec ted m a n y yea r s ago, and the sect ion be tween D e t r o i t a n d Howel l a n d t ha t be tween Howel l a n d Lans ing , u n d e r the names of the " D e t r o i t & Howel l , " and the " Howel l & L a n s i n g " ra i l roads , we re in a fair way to be cons t ruc ted w h e n the famous decis ion of the Mich igan Supreme C o u r t depr ived them of the a id which count ies and towns h a d voted them, and loft them a p p a r e n t l y u t t e i ly hopeless . B u t last December a cont rac t was m a d e wi th capi ta l i s t s chiefly men largely in te res ted in t h e Mich igan Cen t r a l Ra i l roadand tho companies were consol ida ted and means assured for the comple t ion of the line. A b o u t the same t ime the L a n s i n g & Ion ia Ra i l road w a s consol-idated w i t h it, and a r r a n g e m e n t s were made for an ex-tens ion w e s t w a r d as well a s the comple t ion of the E a s t e r n Div is ion . T h e road is in no sense a feeder of tho Michigan Centra l , t hough i t uses, we believe, two or t h ree miles of i ts t r a ck and i ts s t a t i ons in De t ro i t b u t the cont ro l of i t m a y p r e v e n t i ts compe t ing wi th tha t road for some traffic. F r o m D e t r o i t to L a n s i n g it is nea r ly paral le l wi th and genera l ly a l i t t le less t h a n t w e u t y miles sou thwes t f rom the l ine of the D e t r o i t & Mi lwaukee R a i l r o a d , wh ich it crosses at Ion ia , a s it m a i n t a i n s its gene ra l no r thwes t e r ly d i rec t ion whi le t h e D e t r o i t & Mi lwaukee t u r n s to the west . Twenty- f ive miles f r om D e t r o i t i t i s ton miles f r om the l ine of the Mich igan Cent ra l ; a t Howel l , 52 miles f rom Det ro i t , twen ty miles f r o m tha t road ; a n d the d i s t ance increases f u r t h e r west . T h o c o u n t r y on tho l ine is, for p a r t of the d is tance , ve ry good and well set t led, and for a n o t h e r par t , indif-feront and th in ly set t led. T h e r e a re few cons ide rab le t owns on the road , Howel l h a v i n g a popu la t ion of 2,600, L a n s i n g of 5,300, Ion ia of 4,200, a n d Greenvi l le of 2,800, a c c o r d i n g to the last census. T h e oxtonsiou to L a k e Michigan will be t h r o u g h a new count ry , which is l ikely to g r o w when it is m a d e accessible. Al toge ther it will be abou t 200 miles long, r each ing L a k e Michigan in tho vic ini ty of P c n t w a t e r . I t is n o t improbable that it will havo close re la t ions wi th somo of tho now Wis-consin r a i l r oads ac ross L a k e Michigan, wh ich i t will g ive a s h o r t eas t e rn out lot .

Wi th tho complet ion of th is road, and p e r h a p s one shor te r betwoon it and the F l i n t & Pe ro Marque t t o Rai l road, all t h a t pa r t of Mich igan south of Saginaw Bay will bo well p rov ided wi th ra i l roads , as there will be scarcely a t ownsh ip more t h a n twolvo miles f r om

T h e C h a r i t i e s of R a i l r o a d s .

In tho course of a se rmon proached in Grace Church , Chicago, on the 20th Inst., tho Rov. Cl inton Lockesa id :

" L o o k at one t h i n g : the char i t ies of ra i lways . I ment ion t h e m in th is connect ion because they a re not th ings we connect with rel igion, a n d their hav ing " no souls " is a s tock n e w s p a p e r phrase .

" W h y should ra i lways g ive half-faro to min is te rs anv more than a bakers ' assoc ia t ion should do their bak ing for half price, or a company of grocers sell t h e i r g o o d s at a g rea t d i scount ? Yet all those ra i lways gracefu l ly do ita magnif icent cha r i tyamount ing lu this city a lone to t housands of dollars, enabl ing Chr i s t i an min is te rs to do a vas t deal of good and en joy a great deal of pleasure. And more than th is : no one ou ts ide of Ihoir own offices d reams of the immense char i t i e s they do the sick and poor, t ranspor t -ing them eve rywhere f ree of charge, b r ing ing f re ight for thorn, and, with the express ofllcos, un to ld q u a n t i

244 T H E R A I L R O A D GAZETTE. [AOOOST 26, 1871.

tics of wood, and coal, and food to charitable institu-tions. You go to any railway olllcc with a well-doserv-ing case of charity and you will ho heard courteously, and never rofusod. They n ed not do one thing of this. It is not iu thoir bond. But that blessed charily which daily spreads wider through the world prompts them to It. They do not. boast of i t ; but it gives mo great pleasure to speak of it, for I owo thom a heavy debt of gratitude."

This is well and truly said. The charities disponsed by the railroad companies in this city surpass in amouut the entiro disbursements of many a charitable institution. While the great public is not aware of and will hardly believe in the generosity of what they are apt to consider an institution wholly given to money-making, those who need charity and those who are accustomed to dispense it, as ministers or agents of charitable Institutions, liavo long ago learned that in railroad offices a deaf car is never turned to a reason-able appeal for any service which a railroad company can give. It may be questioned whether a corporation should not lcavo it to its Individual members to bestow any part of its earnings in charity, but we believe that there has been no complaint on the part of the stock-holders of our railroad companies because their prop-erty has been used freely to reliove the needy and distressed.

West-Bound Freight Rates.

The sharp competition of the different railroad lines westward from New York,each vieing with the other in charging the lowest freight ratesand the combina-tion of the rail routes against the steamboat lines around the lakes, has had the effect to reduce the carry-ing prices lower than they have been at any time dur-ing the last ten years. Just at a time, too, when western wholesale dealers are transporting their heaviest stocks, the freight lines find their cars em-ployed to their fullest capacities, at prices which can scarcely cover the cost of transportation. On Thurs-day of this week the following prices had been agreed upon for first, second and third-class freights from New York westward:

To Cleveland, 23c ; Sandusky, 28c; Columbus, 28c ; Dayton, 31c; Cincinnati, 82c; Toledo, 27c; Louisville, 38c ; St. Louis, 45c ; Cairo, 45c ; Fort Wayne, 33c; At-chison, $1.05 ; Kansas City, $1.00; St. Joseph, $1.00 ; Chicago, 35c; Milwaukee, 40c; Detroit, 25c; Kala-mazoo, 35c; Grand Rapids, 35c ; steam rates on Lake Erie, from Dunkirk and Buffalo west to Chicago, Tole-do, and Detroit, 20 cents ; steam around lakes to Chica-go and Milwaukee, 24 cents.

To Chicago the special rate is 26 Jcents, and 35 cents for the first four classes. It is possible that the bottom price is not yet reached, it being usual in such cases to cut the rates until the folly of it is apparent to the craziest.

January 1 to Railroad Earnings in July, and from August 1.

There is a more general increase in the returns of tailroad traffic for the month of July than for several months previously, only one road, of those inclu-ded in the following table, showing a decrease com-pared with July of last year. On several roads the in-crease is quite conspicuous; Chicago & Alton shows $117,133; Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indian apolis, $05,495 ; Illinois Central, $87,638 ; Michigun Central, $95,124 ; Toledo, Wabash & Western $231,-238 ; and Union Pacific, for the first time this year, shows an Increase in gross earnings amounting to $51,-212. In regard to the last company there has been much comment upon the large increase of net earnings reported for the first six months of the current year, amounting to $665,318, while the gross traffic has been $387,632 less. It has even been suggested that the ac-counts of last year must have been kept in an unususl manner,and made to include items not properly belong-ing under the head of earnings, as it is supposed the business of tho Pacific railroads has largely increased, and must steadily increase with euch successive year of their operation. In the absence of details from the company's books, however, it is Impossible to give the items which go to make up the results given each month to tlie public. We have heretofore called atten-tion to the fact that the statements of the Chicago & Northwestern company showed samowliat similar re suits to those of the Union Pacific ; and in the annual report just issued, the gross earnings for the year end-ing May :jlBt, 1871, shows a decrease of $8-10,514, com-pared with the previous year, while tho not earnings are $20,774 more than in 1870.

The change of gauge on the Ohio & Mississippi road, which was effected in one day on the whole line from Ht. Louis to Cincinnati, must be regarded as one or tho most important events that has recently occurred in railroad affairs. The chango is in favor of the Balti-more & Ohio road, and the Now York Central & Hud-son River lines, and adverse to tho interests of the lirio and Atlantic cfc Great Western. The advantage to the Ohio & Mississippi may not appear ftilly in their gross traffic returns, ns a large purt of the gain should be in a saving of expenses, the results of which would only appear in a statement of net earnings.

Taken altogether, July, the llrst month of tho now half year, has been very favorable, and the results of operation are generally satisfactory.

1871. lf70. | Incrsase. /Her tan. Contral Pacific Chicago 79

2,978,148, 4,104.961

729,231| 8,555,9401 3,722,6:i.')| 1,846,191

78,765 140,832 547,826

Total $33,828.744;f3Q.807^ 718 }3^ 17i ,3

Commercial and Financial Chronicle.

(Scmir ibul icms.

N A R R O W - G A U C E R A I L R O A D S . To TtiK E d i t o r or the Ra i l b o a d Gazbttb :

Of late much has been said and written of the narrow-gauge railways. Many engineers and practical men have entered into the discussion, each, no doubt, ex-pressing views, the results of his own individual inves-tigation, Of all the different gauges that are at present in use, there seems to be room for finding some very grave errors in all of them, in Borne particular or other, and there appears to be a goneral desire to ob-tain a gauge that will give the greatest combined ad-vantages. That the various gauges now in use in the United States must ultimately emerge into one standard gauge is doubtless.

Cars laden with merchandise and produce, shipped from the West to the East, either undergo a reshipment at the points where the gauge changes ( i f it be so great as to compel it), or must bo hauled part of the way on one gauge and part on another, necessitating no little increase of cost of transportation.

In the United States, narrow-gauge railways are for tho present an experiment, but that similar experi-ments in other countries have proved successful is not gainsaid by any. That they are practicable needs no further demonstration than tho results of actual ex-periments havo shown.

In Norway and Sweden they have been used, and give res .Its v ry much in their fiivor. There are many who, when the subject of narrow gauge railroads is propounded, discountenanco the idea us a vain theory, or a more experiment, and characterize them as dimin-utive and frail. Were It intonded that each car on the narrow gauge should carry the samo amount and weight of freight as each car on tho broador gauges, this assertion would be truo; but such is not the case. Tho object of the narrow gauge is not only a saving in first cost, but also of the weight iu the transportation of froightsor, In otlior words, gaining greater capacity in proportion to tho weight of car.

In different countrioa, and at tho prosont time, there aro upwards of thlrteeu differunt gauges in use, and of this number nine aro in uso in the United States. Cars on tho 4-foet 8^-lnch gauge run also on tho 4-feot 0-ineh and 1 feet 10-inch gauges. This alone is productive of a waste of machinery and extra exponso enough in a few years to pay for adopting a'more uniform gauge In our system of railroads on the start. Thore aie other operations of similar nature, such as using telescope axles, that may bo adapted to any gaugo in uso, and tho lifting of car-bodies from their trucks on ono gauge to other trucks on another gauge, all of which Is accomplished with no little expense and delay.

Yet in calculating tho advantages to bo doriyod from

the narrow gauge, there Is a limit that must be recog-nized, where the practicability of building a firtt-clnn narrow-gauge trunk railway must ccaso. It has been thoroughly shown that narrow-gauge railways of three feet, two and a half feet, and even the Festiniog Rail-way of only 23J^ inches arc a success, but they cannot be rated as first-class, except, perhaps, in the country through which they run.

From all that has been demonstrated theoretically or practically of narrow-gauge railroads, the 3-fcet 6-inch gaugo seems to meet the approbation of engineers and scientific men more generally than the narrower gauges. However, there is no gauge but has its advo-cato. As to tho difference in cost between the 3-feet 6-inch and the 4-feet 8J^-inch gauge, it is plain to be seen that the percentage is in favor of the former. In the cost of grading there is a saving of about ten per cent., and in other details the percentage in favor of the 3-feet 6-inch gauge is much greater.

Below is given a fair estimate of the cost of super-structure, for one mile of road, of both the 4-feet 8}-inch and the 3-feet 6-inch gauge of such articles as average about the same in quantity on their respective gauges, either on a straight line or with curves, in a level or hilly country :

Tun*-rarT six-nccH oaco. 61 8-5 tool rails :3B lbs per jardjat 172,00

3,400 lbs. aplkca at 04H 3.168 croM-Ueast .Si*

600 cubic yarda ballast at 25

Total for one mile J4.53i.9U

988-5 Com rails (!6 0> per yard) at $71.00 $7,079 20 4,OOi. tti. spikes at 04S 1(6 O0 S.16S crosa ties at 50 l.fW CO Tib coblc Tarda ballast at .35 193 75 6'iO Dab Joints wltb bolts at It 00 660 (O Distributing material aod laying track 460 U)

Total for one mile $10,131 95 The difference in the cost of the two gauges from the

above estimates is $3,596.75, and the percentage of dif-ference to cost of broad gauge equals 35J^ per cent.

In the above estimates iron rails are calculated for, but this matters not, for whatever difference there is between the cost of iron and steel rails will show pro-portionately as much in one as in the other. The ar-ticles above enumerated are calculated for at quotation prices at the mill.

Bridges to be used for the narrow gauge might be built narrower than those for the broad gauge, and would cost from fifteen to twenty per cent, less than for 4-feet 8J^-inch gauge, and in rolling-stock there would likewise be an economy of first cost amounting to 30 per cent. There has already been a beginning made of constructing light rolling-stock for narrow-gauge railways.

The box cars built for the Denver & Rio Grande Rail-way are about fourteen feet long and placed on four wheels. The object of building box freight cars of such dimensions and mounting them on four wheels seems wholly for the purpose of lightening the rolling stock without considering the capacity. Why shorten them so as to be compelled to place them on four wheels like a coal car Why not lengthen them to say twenty feet and place them on two four-wheeled trucks r They would rido much easier, and a gain of capacity greater in proportion to increase of weight would be had.

A car twenty feet long, seveu feet and a half wide, and six feet ten inches high, would have a capacity of 1,000 available cubic feot, and mounted on two four-wheeled trucks would weigh about 10,000 pounds.

Such a car loaded with grain would have a capacity for 23,500 pounds of wheat, 21,Out) pounds of corn, and 12,000 pounds of oats, respectively ; whereas, a car on the 4-feet 8^-inch gaugo weighing 20,000 pounds would only have a capacity for grain, as fo l lows: for wheat, 37,000 pounds ; for corn, 34,600 pounds, and for oats, 19,700 pounds, respectively. So that a car on the 3-feet 6-lnch gaugo of tho alio vo dimensions has au average ca-pacity for about double its weight; while on the 4-feet 8},j-inch gauge a car (such as are at present in use) has an average capacity for about ono and a half times its own weight. But freight cars on tho broad gauge sel-dom carry their own weight; then to deduct front tho above results proportionately for each gauge, we have, when tho box car on the 4-feet SJ^-incli gauge only car-ries its own weight of load, the car on the 3-feet 6-lnch gaugo carries ono and a half times its load.

Now, as tho above calculation Is only for a single car on tho two gauges, we will take a number of cars in a train, and see what advantage is gained, and where :

For example, load a train of cars on tho 4-feet 8^-Inch gauge with 200,000 pounds, and we find that it takes just teu cars ; on the 3-feet 6-inch gauge it takes thirteen and a third cars. As the cars on the 3-feet 6-inch gaugo weigh 10,000 pouuds each, wo have for tho dead weight of tho train on tho narrow gauge, 183,000

A o o o f f p 36, 1811. ] T H E R A I L R O A D GAZETTE. 243

p o u n d s , a n d o n tho broftd g a u g e , 200,000 p o u n d s , s h o w -i n g ft d i f f e r e n c e o f 66,000 p o u n d s , o r 83 per cent , loss d e a d w e i g h t to l o a d in f a v o r o f t h e 3 f e e t 6 - i n c h g a u g e .

It h a s b e o n a s s e r t e d b y s o m e e n g i n e o r s and prac t i ca l m e n , thut cars o n t h o 3- feet a n d 3- foot 6 - i n c h g a u g e s w i l l c a r r y f r o m t w o t o t w o a h a l f t i m e s t h e i r w e i g h t . F i g u r o s c a n bo m a d e to s h o w it , b u t w i l l p r a c t i c e p r o v e it ?

F o r p a s s e n g o r traff ic , c o a c h e s c a n b e m a d e e q u a l l y a s c o m m o d i o u s a n d c o m f o r t a b l e a s o n t h o b r o a d g a u g e .

A c o a c h o n t h e n a r r o w g a u g e tha t w o u l d s e a t t h i r t y -f i v e p a s s e n g e r s w o u l d w e i g h a b o u t 14,000 p o u n d s ; w h i l e o n t h o 4 - f ee t 8>- inch g n u g c t h o c o a c h e s n o w in u s e , w e i g h i n g 34,000 p o u n d s , s o a t s i x t y p a s s e n g e r s . T h u s , a p a s s e n g e r c o a c h o n t h o n a r r o w g a u g e , w e i g h -i n g a l i t t l e m o r e t h a n o n e t h i r d a s m u c h as a b r o a d -g a u g e c o a c h , c a r r i e s m o r e t h a n o n e - h a l f a s m a n y pas-s e n g e r s .

F o r t u r n i n g a c u t e c u r v e s t h e a d v a n t a g e i s i n f a v o r o f t h e n a r r o w g a u g e , b u t w h a t e v e r c a n b e g a i n e d in t h i s part ic -u l a r s h o u l d n o t b e a b u s e d ; for w h e r e v e r a l i n e o f ra i l road m a y b e s i t u a t e d , it s h o u l d b o m a d e as s t r a i g h t a s p o s -s i b l e , a t t h e s a m e t i m e c o n s i d e r i n g we l l t h e s u b j c c t o f e c o n o m y o f c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d m a i n t e n a n c o o f p e r m a -n e n t w a y . I n all t h o c o u n t r i e s w h e r e t h e n a r r o w - g a u g e r a i l r o a d s h a v e b e e n u s e d , t h e l i n e o f r o a d h a s b e e n o v e r a m o u n t a i n o u s s e c t i o n o f c o u n t r y , n e c e s s i t a t i n g v e r y h e a v y g r a d i e n t s a n d a c u t e c u r v e s , a n d y e t , w h e n c o m -p a r e d w i t h t h e b r o a d g a u g e , h a s in e v e r y i n s t a n c e ex-h i b i t e d a d v a n t a g e s in i t s f a v o r .

I n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s t h e r e i s n o t t h a t c o n t i n u e d sc-ries o f m o u n t a i n r a n g e s c o l l c c t c d s o n e a r t o g e t h e r a s in N o r w a y a n d S w e d e n ; b u t w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n o f t h o A l l e g h a n y a n d R o c k y m o u n t a i n s t h e c o u n t r y i s r o l l i n g , a n d w e s t o f t h e M i s s i s s i p p i f o r a t h o u s a n d m i l e s i s in-d e e d a l m o s t a l e v e l p l a i n . N o w i f t h e n a r r o w - g a u g e r a i l r o a d w i l l in a m o u n t a i n o u s a n d a n e x t r e m e l y r o u g h a n d r u g g e d c o u n t r y g i v e s u c h g o o d r e s u l t s , . w h y w i l l It n o t g i v e p r o p o r t i o n a l l y m u c h b e t t e r r e s u l t s in a s e c t i o n o f c o u n t r y b e l t e r a d a p t e d to r a i l r o a d s o f a n y g a u g e ?

A l r e a d y s e v e r a l , a n d l e n g t h y , n a r r o w - g a u g e r a i l r o a d s a r e in p r o c e s s o f c o n s t r u c t i o n i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , a n d a s i m p o r t a n t r e s u l t s a r e c l a i m e d to h a v e b e e n a r r i v e d a t i n t h e o r y , w e m u s t p a t i e n t l y a w a i t t h e d e v e l o p m e n t s o f t i m e a n d e x p e r i e n c e for t h e r e s u l t s o f p r a c t i c e .

L . M. [ S o m e r e m a r k s r e l a t i n g t o t h e a b o v e w i l l b e f o u n d o n

o u r e d i t o r i a l p a g e . E D I T O R RAILROAD G A Z E T T E . ]

T H E E F F E C T O F C U R V E S .

T o T H E E D I T O R o r T H E R A I L R O A D G A Z E T T E :

M u c h as I a m d i s p o s e d to a c c e p t t h e c r i t i c i s m o f t h e E d i t o r o n m y a r t i c l e p u b l i s h e d in y o u r n u m b e r o f t h e 6 t h i n s t . , o n t h e r e s i s t a n c e e x p e r i e n c e d b y t r a i n s o n c u r v e B , t h e r e a r c c e r t a i n p o i n t s in y o u r c o m m e n t w h i c h y o u h a v e o m i t t e d to t a k e i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n .

T h a t c e n t r i f u g a l f o r c e i s o n e c a u s e o f t h e s l i p p i n g o f t h e w h e e l s w h e n o n a c u r v c , I m u s t d e n y , for t h e fol-l o w i n g r e a s o n : T h e d i r e c t i o n o f t h i s f o r c e i s t h a t o f t h e t a n g e n t t o t h e c u r v e ; a n d i t s c o m p o n e n t ( o p p o s e d t o w h i c h is t h e c e n t r i p e t a l f o r c e ) i s in t h e d i r e c t i o n o f t h e r a d i u s o f t h e e n r v e . H e n c e i t s t e n d e n c y , a s p r o -d u c i n g s l i p o f t h e w h e e l s , i s in t h e d i r e c t i o n o f t h e i r a x i s . B u t t h e f r i c t i o n o f t h e w h e e l d u e t o t h e w e i g h t o f t h e c a r i s s o g r e a t tha t s l i p i s i m p o s s i b l e in t h a t di-r e c t i o n . W e m u s t t h e r e f o r e l o o k to Bome o t h e r c a u s e f o r t h e t e n d e n c y o f t h e w h e e l to run o n i t s o u t e r d i a m -e t e r o n a c u r v e . I t m i g h t b e a r g u e d , w i t h g r e a t p l a u s i -b i l i t y , t h a t s i n c e o n a s t r a i g h t t r a c k t h e w h e e l i n c l i n e s t o w a r d t h e h i g h e r ra i l , t h e s a m e i s t r u e o n a c u r v e . B u t w e t h r o w t h i s e n t i r e l y a s i d e . W e r e b o t h w h e e l s o f t h e s a m e s i z e , i. e., n o t c o n e d , the i r t e n d e n c y w o u l d b e to run t o w a r d t h e o u t e r r a i l ; t h a t i s , t h e w h e e l s w o u l d t e n d to f o l l o w t h e d i r e c t i o n o f t h e t a n g e n t to t h e c u r v e . O m i t t i n g t h e f u r t h e r e l u c i d a t i o n w h i c h wil l b e b r o u g h t in in y o u r s e c o n d p a r a g r a p h , I p a s s o n to i t s c o n s i d e r a -t i o n .

Y o u s a y : " T h e o r e t i c a l l y t h e w h e e l s m a y b e so c o n e d , " a n d t h e o u t e r rail o f a c u r v c so e l e v a t e d , t h a t , f o r a n " a s s u m e d s p e e d , t h e r e w i l l b e n o s l i p p i n g a n d n o " f r i c t i o n o f t h e flanges a g a i n s t t h o rai l ." I f t h i s w e r e s o , a n d t h o w h e e l s w o r e c o n e d a l i t t l e m o r e t h a n t h o t h e o r e t i c a l a m o u n t , o n y o u r a s s u m p t i o n , t h o t e n d e n c y o f t h e w h e e l s w o u l d b o to run t o w a r d t h e i n n e r ra i l . N o w i t i s a f a c t t h a t t h e i n s i d e o f t h e o u t e r rai l o n a c u r v e is w o r n ; b u t t h e flange s i d e o f t h e i n n e r rai l n e v e r . T h e r e m u s t bo c a s e s w h e r e t h e c u r v e i s s o g e n t l e t h a t y o u r t h e o r e t i c a l a m o u n t o f c o n i n g r e q u i r e d w o u l d b o e x c e e d e d ; y e t in n o c a s e l u a t h e i n n e r rai l b e e n f o u n d w o r n .

A n d n o w a l l o w m o to i n f o r m y o u w h e r e y o u r theo-re t i ca l c a s e i s d e f i c i e n t , a n d w h a t y o u d i d n o t t h i n k to t a k e i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n .

Y o u s h o u l d h a v e s a i d : T h e o r e t i c a l l y , if tli* axle* are

net radially to the curve and the gauge ailoui the proper tide-play, t h o w h e e l s m a y b e s o c o n e d and the radius of the curve Ite tiich t h a t thro w i l l b o n o s l i p p i n g a n d n o f r i c t i o n o f t h e flanges a g a i n s t tho rail . I t w i l l bo n o t i c o d tha t I h a v e i t a l i c i s e d w h a t I h a v o a d d e d , a n d l e f t o u t " a n d t h o o u t e r rail o f a c u r v e s o e l e v a t e d tha t " f o r a n a s s u m e d s p e e d , " a n d tha t I l e a v o o u t tho con-s i d e r a t i o n o f s p e e d a l t o g e t h e r t h a t o n l y p r o d u c i n g t h e c o n t r i f u l f o r c e w h o s e n o n - i n f l u o n c o I h a v o )ust s h o w n .

A s p r a c t i c a l l y tho a x l e s o n e a c h t r u c k m u s t r e m a i n p a r a l l e l , t h o d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e a b o v e c o r r e c t t h e o r e t i c a l a s s u m p t i o n is Ait i le . W o w i l l a s s u m e , then , t h a t t h e a x l e s a r e para l l e l , a n d t h a t t h e w h e e l s a r e c o n e d s o a s to o b v i a t o all s l ip ( t a k i n g i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n t h e r a d i u s o f t h e c u r v e a n d tho p l a y b e t w e e n t h o flange a n d t h e rai l ) . T h e l a s t c o n d i t i o n is r e q u i r e d , b e p a u s e t h o g r e a t e r tho p l a y b e t w e e n t h e flange and t h e w h e e l , t h o g r o a t c r t h o d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t h e t w o d i a m e t e r s w h i c h run o n t h o i n n e r a n d o u t e r ra i l s . F r o m t h i s f o l l o w s t h e s e c o n d c o n d i t i o n , i. ., t h a t o f t h e r a d i u s o f t h e c u r v e ; for t h o g r e a t e r t h e d i f f e r e n c e o f t h e j u s t - m e n t i o n e d d i a m e t e r s , t h o g r e a t e r t h e a n g u l a r c h a n g e in t h e d i r e c t i o n o f m o t i o n o f t h e w h e e l s ; w h i c h a n g u l a r c h a n g e m u s t b e s u c h a s to b r i n g t h i s d i r e c t i o n o f m o t i o n p a r a l l e l to t h e t a n g e n t o f t h e c u r v e at a p o i n t o p p o s i t e to t h e m i d d l e o f t h e t r u c k . T h i s a s s u m e d c a s e g i v e s t h e c o n d i t i o n s f o r t h e e a s i e s t r u n n i n g .

A n e x a m i n a t i o n o f o n e o f t h e a b o v e c o n d i t i o n s w i l l s u g g e s t t h e p r a c t i c a l i m p o r t a n c e o f h a v i n g t h o g a u g e a n d t h e d i s t a n c e a p a r t o f t h e w h e e l s p r o p e r a n d u n i -f o r m in a m o u n t , t h a t t h e r e m a y b e l e s s p l a y o n e a s y t h a n o n s h a r p c u r v e s ; o r t h a t t h o g a u g e s h o u l d b e a tr i f le l e s s o n t h e f o r m e r t h a n o n t h e la t ter .

T o u n d e r s t a n d t h o e f f ec t o f h a v i n g t h e a x l o s para l l e l , l e t u s t a k e a n e x t r e m e c a s e , w h e r e w o s u p p o s e t h e a x l e s to b o f a r a p a r t , a n d t h e c u r v c a s h a v i n g a s h o r t r a d i u s . N o w , s i n c e t h o d i r e c t i o n o f m o t i o n o f t h e t r u c k i s p a r a l l e l to a t a n g e n t to t h e c u r v o a t a p o i n t h a l f - w a y b e t w e e n t h e a x l e s , t h e flange o f t h e o u t e r f o r w a r d w h e e l m u s t c o m e a g a i n s t t h o rai l a t a n a n g l e w h i c h a n g l e v a r i e s , a s I s t a t e d in m y l a s t a r t i c l c , w i t h t h e d i s t a n c e b e t w e e n t h e a x l e s a n d t h e s h a r p n e s s o f t h e c u r v e ; a n d it i s for t h i s r e a s o n t h a t t h e o u t e r rai l i s w o r n a n d n e v e r tho i n n e r o n e .

T h e o b j e c t o f e l e v a t i n g t h e o u t e r ra i l i s n o t , a s y o u h a v e a s s u m e d , to c o u n t e r a c t t h o s u p p o s e d s l i p d u e t o t h e c e n t r i f u g a l f o r c e , b u t t h a t t h e l i n e o f t h e c e n t e r o f s t a b i l i t y m a y fal l m i d w a y b e t w e e n t h e ra i l s . Y o u w i l l find t h i s i d e a b r o u g h t o u t i n t h o s e e l e m e n t a r y b o o k s d i s c u s s i n g t h i s q u e s t i o n .

F i n a l l y , t h a t t h e r e i s an i n c r e a s e o f r o l l i n g f r i c t i o n d u e to c e n t r i f u g a l f o r c e , I a d m i t ; b u t b y c o m p a r i n g t h o c o m p o n e n t s r e s p e c t i v e l y o f g r a v i t y a n d o f c e n t r i f u g a l f o r c e , o r r a t h e r b y d e t e r m i n i n g t h e i r r e s u l t a n t , w o find t h a t t h i s i n c r e a s e i s v e r y s m a l l p r a c t i c a l l y t o o s m a l l to b e a t a l l r e g a r d e d , e s p e c i a l l y o n e a s y c u r v e s . A .

[ O u r c o r r e s p o n d e n t , in t h e first p l a c e , d e n i e s a s t a t e -m e n t w h i c h w a s n o t m a d o , n a m e l y : " tha t c e n t r i f u g a l " f o r c e is o n e c a u s e o f t h e s l i p p i n g o f t h e w h e e l s " w h e n o n a c u r v c . " T h e s t a t e m e n t in tho criti-c i s m r e f e r r e d to w a s , in e f f ec t , t h a t t h o c e n t r i f u g a l f o r c e w h i c h i s in t h e d i r e c t i o n o f a t a n g e n t t o tho c u r v c f o r c e s t h o o u t e r w h e e l s u p o n t h e i r l a r g o r d i a m e -ters , a n d t h u s jtreoenU a p o r t i o n o f t h o s l i p p i n g d u e to t h e o u t e r rai l b e i n g t h e l o n g e s t a n d t h e n u m b e r o f revo-l u t i o n s o f t h e o u t e r a n d i n n e r w h e e l s b e i n g e q u a l .

T h o c o r r e s p o n d e n t ' s I n f e r e n c e f r o m t h e q u o t a t i o n in t h o s e c o n d p a r a g r a p h is i n c o r r e c t . W h i l e it i s t r u e tha t a n e x c e s s i v e c o n i n g l ias a t e n d e n c y to c a u s e t h o w h e e l s " to run t o w a r d t h e i n n o r rail ," t h e r e o x i s t s a l s o t h e s a m e t e n d e n c y to f o r c o t h e m t o w a r d tho outer rai l , s o t h a t it i s u n n e c e s s a r y to l o o k f o r w e a r u p o n t h o i n n e r ra i l f r o m t h i s c a u s e . E D . RAILROAD G A Z E T T E . ]

T h o Canadian Monetary Timea r e p o r t s a s f o l l o w s t h o e a r n i n g s o f r a i l r o a d s o f t h o D o m i n i o n o f C a n a d a for t h e m o n t h o f J u n o

r Mailtan

r

240 T H E R A I L R O A D G A Z E T T E . [AUGUST 26 , 1871 .

n e c t i o n w i t h t l io m a n a g e m e n t o f t h e s e l i n e s . N o m a n c a n c o m m a n d m o r e e n d u r i n g o r c o n v i n c i n g e v i d e n c e s o f i n t e g r i t y a n d z e a l in a p o s i t i o n o f g r e a t t r u s t a n d o f h i g h r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t h a n t h o s e w h i c h i l l u s t r a t e y o u r c a r e e r a s s u p e r i n t e n d e n t o f t h i s c o m p a n y . "

O n T h u r s d a y e v e n i n g o f l a s t w e e k t h o o f f i c e r s a n d e m p l o y e s o f t h e " P u l l m a n I ' a l a c e C a r C o m p a n y p r e s -e n t e d t o M r . A . B . P u l l m a n , t h o G e n e r a l S u p e r i n t e n d -e n t , a v e r y fine h o r s e , c a r r i a g o a n d h a r n e s s , a s a t e s t i -m o n i a l o f t h e i r r e s p o c t a n d e s t e e m o n b i s l e a v i n g t h a t p o s i t i o n t o a c c e p t t h e v i c e - p r e s i d e n c y o f t h e c o m p a n y , t o w h i c h h e w a s c h o s e n s o m e t i m e a g o .

M r . C a r l P i h l , w h o d e s i g n e d t h e N o r w e g i a n r a i l -r o a d s y s t e m o f 3>- foe t g a u g e , a n d la w i d e l y k n o w n in E u r o p e a s a n e n g i n e e r o f g r e a t a b i l i t y a n d d i s t i n c t i o n , w a s in C h i c a g o l a s t w e e k . H o v i s i t e d T o r o n t o t h i s w e e k t o b e p r e s e n t a t t h e o p e n i n g o f t h e T o r o n t o , G r e y & B r u c o a n d t h o T o r o n t o & N i p i s s i n g r o a d s , w h i c h h a v e b e e n c o n s t r u c t e d v e r y m u c h a f t e r h i s d e s i g n s .

J . H . G a r d n e r h a s r e s i g n e d h i s p o s i t i o n a s G e n e r a l S u p e r i n t e n d e n t o f t h e S o u t h e r n M i n n e s o t a R a i l r o a d In o r d e r t o t a k e c h a r g e o f t h e w o r k o f t h e e x t e n s i o n o f t h e J a c k s o n v i l l e , P e n s a c o l a & M o b i l e R a i l r o a d t h r o u g h \V e s t F l o r i d a , h e b e i n g o n e o f t h e c o n t r a c t o r s . H i s p r e s e n t a d d r e s s is Q u i n c y , F l a . , n o w t h o w e s t e r n t e r -m i n u s o f t h e r o a d .

O L D A N D N E W R O A D S .

Denver & Rio Grande. A l a r g e l o t o f i r o n f o r t h i s r o a d h a s a r r i v e d a t N e w

O r l e a n s , a n d is n o w f o r w a r d i n g t o D e n v e r . A f e w m i l e s o f t r a c k , a b o u t t h e d e p o t a n d m a c h i n e r y s h o p s a t D e n v e r , is a l r e a d y l a i d , a n d t r a c k - l a y i n g - f r o m t h e r e s o u t h w a r d w a s to h a v e c o m m e n c e d t h i s w e e k . California Pacific,

T h e S a n F r a n c i s c o Call r e p o r t s t h a t t h e final t r a n s f e r of t h e p r o p e r t y o f t h i s c o m p a n y t o t h e C e n t r a l P a c i f i c will b e m a d e o n t h e f i r s t o f O c t o b e r .

" T h e s t e a m e r C a p i t a l h a s b e e n d r a w n o f f f r o m t h e Y a l l e j o r o u t e t o r e c e i v e s u c h r e p a i r s a s w i l l r e n d e r h e r s u i t a b l e f o r c o n v e y i n g o v e r l a n d p a s s e n g e r s c o m f o r t a b l y a n d s e c u r e l y t o a n d f r o m t h i s c i t y . A p o r t i o n o f t h e s e r e p a i r s w i l l c o n s i s t i n p r o v i d i n g b a t h - t u b s , b r u s h i n g -r o o m s , a n d o t h e r a p a r t m e n t s w h e r e p a s s e n g e r s m a y c l e a n s e t h e m s e l v e s f r o m t h e a c c u m u l a t e d d u s t o f t h e o v e r l a n d t r i p , i n o r d e r t o b e i n p r e s e n t a b l e c o n d i t i o n o n t h e i r a r r i v a l a t t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e h o t e l s . " Chicago & Northwestern.

T h e t r a c k o n t h e B a r a b o o A i r L i n e w a s l a i d a c r o s s t h e W i s c o n s i n R i v e r b r i d g e a t M e r r i m a c k , 11 m i l e s s o u t h e a s t o f B a r a b o o o n t h e 15 th o f A u g u s t . I t i s ex-p e c t e d t o h a v e t h e l i n e s c o m p l e t e d t o B a r a b o o a s e a r l y a s t h e 10 th o f S e p t e m b e r . Che M c r r i i m c k B r i d g e i s 1 ,90 1 f e e t l o n g , c o i b p o s e d o f 1 ,300 f e e t o f t r e s t l e w o r k , 3 s p a n s o f H o w e t r u s s , e a c h 150 f e e t , a n d o n e d r a w , 150 f e e t . T h o b r i d g e i s 4'i f e e t a b o v e l o w - w a t e r m a r k , b u i l t o n p i l e f o u n d a t i o n s , w i t h n o m a s o n r y , a n d c o s t $65 ,000 . Chicago, Dubuque & Minnesota.

T h e b r i d g e o v e r t h e T u r k e y R i v e r , 2 3 m i l e s n o r t h -w e s t o f D u b u q u e , i s n o w b e i n g p l a c e d i n p o s i t i o n . M r F . E . H i n c k l e y h a s t h e c o n t r a c t l o r a l l t h e b r i d g i n g o n t h i s l i n e . T h e i r o n w i l l b e l a i d t o t h e r i v e r b y t h e l a t t e r p a r t o f n e x t w e e k . St. Louis & Southeastern.

T r a c k - l a y i n g o n b o t h s e c t i o n s o f t h i s r o a d , f r o m M t . V e r n o n , 111., a n d E n f i e l d e a s t w a r d , i s p r o g r e s s i n g a i t h e r a t e o f t h r e e - f o u r t h s o f a m i l e a d a y . T h e t r a c k w a s t o h a v e r e a l i ed t o C a r a i , a b o u t 8 m i l e s e a s t o f E n -field, o n t h e 2 3 d . 1 h e b r i d g e a t C a r m i , e v e r t h e L i t t l e W a b a s h , i s t o b e c o m p l e t e d n e x t m o n t h ; m e a n t i m e t h e t r a c k - l a y e r s w i l l b e t a k e n t o w o r k o n t h e s e c t i o n b e -t w e e n E n f i e l d a n d M o L e a n s b o r o .

T h e g r a d i n g b e t w e e n M t . V e r n o n , 111., a n d t h e W a -b a s h b r i d g e i s t o b e finished n e x t m o n t h , a n d t h e t r a c k is t o r e a c h M c L e a n s b o r o f r o m t h e w e s t b y t h o 2 0 t h o f S e p t e m b e r . Kansas Railroad Projects.

A c o r r e s p o n d e n t w r i t e s f r o m T o p e k a u n d e r d a t e o f t h e 16 th , a s f o l l o w s : " T h e v o t i n g o f b o n d s f o r r a i l -r o a d s is g o i n g o n l i v e l y t h r o u g h o u t t h i s S t a t e j u s t n o w . O n t h e 111 h i u s t . S e d g w i - k C o u n t y v o t e d $ 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 b o n d s f o r t h e A t c h i s o n , T o p e k a & S a n t a F e R a i l r o a d t o e x -t e n d t h e r o a d f r o m N e w t o n t o W i c h i t a (27 m i l e s d i r e c t l y s o u t h o f N e w t o n ) b y 534 m a j o r i t y . O n t h e 15th M a r i o n C o u n t y v o t e d $ 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 t o t h e K a n s a s & N e b r a s k a R a i l r o a d ( J u n c t i o n C i t y t o W i c h i t a ) , b y 66 m a j o r i t y L e a v e n -w o r t h C o u n t y v o t e d $250 ,000 o f t h a t c o u n t y ' s K a n s a s P a c i f i c b o n d s t o t h o K a n s a s C e n t r a l N a r r o w - G a u g e , 50 m i l e s t o b e b u i l t t h e first y e a r , a n d 1U0 p e r y e a r t h e r e -a f t e r . T h e K a n s a s P a c i f i c f o l k s n o w t a l k o f s e l l i n g t h e i r L e a v e n w o r t h B r a n c h t o t h e L e a v e n w o r t h , L a w -r e n c e & G a l v e s t o n C o m p a n y , a n d b u i l d i n g a first-class r o a d f r o m L e a v e n w o r t h t o T o p e k a . T h i s w o u l d g i v e t h e m a m o r e d i r e c t r o u t e t o C h i c a g o f r o m W e s t e r n K a n s a s . T h e L a w r e n c e & P l e a s a n t l l i l l C o m p a n y is a s k i n g a i d t o r u n I t s r o a d u p t h o s o u t h s i d e o f t h e K a w R i v e r to t h i s p l a c e , a n d w e s t t o n e a r J u n c t i o n C i t y o r C o u n c i l G r o v e o n t h e M i s s o u r i , K a n s a s & T e x a s . T h i s c o m p a n y ' s d i r e c t o r s a n d s t o c k h o l d e r s h o l d a m e e t i n g o n t h e 18 th i n s t . , in T o p e k a , t o d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r t h o y w i l l b u i l d a b r a n c h f r o m L a w r e n c e t o C a r b o n d a l e , a p o i n t 1

AUGUST 36, 1871.J T H E R A I L R O A D GAZETTE. 247

Spirit Lake & Sioux Valley. A survey o f this proposed railroad from Jackson,

Minnesota, nearly duo south by way o f Spirit Lake, Iowa, to Storm Lake, on the Dubuque & Sioux City Railroad, about 75 miles, was to bo commenced last week.

Sheboygan & Fond du Lac. This company has located its lines from Fond du Lac

westward by way of l t ipon to Princeton, about 35 \v miles, and last, week advertised for contracts to be handed in by the 25th inst. It is intended to complcto this section o f the road by winter, and to extend tlio lino to the Mississippi as fast as practicable. Central of Iowa.

This railroad, by the terms o f contract, is to be ex-tended from Mason Ci ty northward 23 miles to North-wood, five miles south "of tho Minnesota lino, by the 10th of October inext. Oshkosh & Mississippi.

Officers of this company wore in N e w Y o r k last week negotiating for iron for the scction o f the road between Osnkosh and Ripon, the grading of which is under contract. Gilman, Clinton & Springfield.

Last Monday this railroad was completed to within fourteen miles of Springfield. Preparations arc already made for operat ng it It is reported that the Il l inois Central Railroad wil l run passenger trains between 8pringfleld and Chicago when it is completod. Peoria & Rock Island-

North & South, of Georgia. A contract fcr the construction of 20 miles of this

railroad has been let to A. J. Lane & Co. and John T. Grant

248 T H E R A I L R O A D GAZETTE. [ Acocht 3C, 1871.

MECHANICS AND ENQINEERINQ.

Protecting Telegraph Lines from Lightning, Much trouble has always been experienced from

lightning on a section of telegraph lino between River-side nnd the Stock Yards, on the Chicago, Burlington & Qulncy Railroad. Poles aro frequently shivered to splinters, and much other damage done during tho heavy storms which occur there during the summer. About a year and a hair ago, Mr. F. Il.'lubbs tried the experiment of attaching a lighting conductor to each pole of this section, consisting simply of a No. 7 iron wire, enc end of which was secured underneath the iron ring at the top of tho pole, and the other buried in the ground, tho wire making ono complete turn around the pole two or three feet below tho top. This simple and inexpensive precaution has thus far pre-vented any damage whatever from lightning on the sec-tion protected, although this is the second summer it has been in use, while formerly not a summer passed without several poles being destroyed in this manner. The Telegrapher. Mending and Re-Setting Band-Saws.

I usually mend and set band-saws in the following manner : Lay the raw flat on the saw-holder, with the end flush with inside of arms, twisting the saw so that | with a retiring room, 8>x27 the teeth lie in opposite directions, put on tho cramps, and with a smooth file file the ends about three or four teeth up, tapering off to nothing at the ends ; keep the joint clean, take off the cramps, take twist out of saw, lay the ends one upon the other in the center between the arms, bend the fine ends inwards a little, and keep the teeth fairtake a piece of thin solder, which you can get from the saw-maker, a little less than the lap, lay a little powdered borax on the solder and put between the joint; heat your tongs to a light cherry color, clean the tongs with a file, then

" work they were guaranteed to perform. I have "always had full faith in tho success of tho narrow-" gauge (three feet In this case), and the working of tho " cugines, as well as of tho other rolling stock, which " wo now havo on hand, fully demonstrate that we wero "justified in reducing the gauge on our road." Boston & Albany Shops.

The Boston & Albany Railroad will complete, next month, a shop at Allston315 feet long and 71 feet wide, with walls 18 feet high. A section or it, 250 feet long,

lions, built last year, comprise about 200 feet for a wood machine shop, 200 for making and repairing pas-senger coaches, 200 for a paint shop, 75 for blacksmith, with a total longth of shops of 815 feet.

Union Passenger Depot at Donver. The Denver New gives the dimensions of the new

union passenger depot about to be built for the Denver Pacific and Kansas Pacific companies :

" It is Io bo 80x80 feet, two stories, respectively 14 feet and 13 feet high. It will be built of brick, and will present a very neat and architecture appearance. The first floor will be divided into a ladies' room, 14%x27,

ticket and telegraph

grip the saw b}' the joint till you can see the sol-der is melted ; take away the tongs, and drop a few drops of water on the joint till cool ; if a good joint, file it to its proper thickness with a smooth file. The following sketch will explain everything that "An Old Subscriber" wants : Fig. 1 : A, saw-holder; C G, cramps to hold the saw on the holder ; K, tongs ; , cramps. Fig. 4 : E and F, tongs. Fig. 5: O H 1, saw set,which requires but a hammer and punch ; J J, saw in position for setting. Corres-pondence English Mechaanic. The Mont Cenls Tunnel.

Numerous disparaging rumors have of late been afloat respecting tho Mont Cenis Tunnel. It was said that the arch had fallen in for a length of 170 feet; it was affirmed that the heat in the tunnel was insu; ers had been sui locomotives. There has never been one stone displaced from the finished arch of the Apine tunnel, the work of which is bo solidly construct-ed that it is well nigh as durable as the rocks themselves. The only circumstance which served as a formation for these absurd reports was the falling in of eighteen or twenty feet of work, which happened in the last days of Juno at the Bardonneche end, in consequence of the falling of some scaffolding broken by the explosion of a blasting charge. In this accident two workmen wore killed and five were injured.

As yet no experiments havo been made with steam working through the tunnel, but all evi-dence goes to show that locomotives will fulfill all the requirements, and will do the duty well. Good ventilation is well established, and if it should be found insufficient, the compressors so long employed in the work of excavation, and which have been now idle for so long a time, can be used at both ends. The heat is not excessive ; before the completion of the work it did not exceed 82 or 84 degrees, and since the piercing was completed the temperature is so moderate that the workmen have no longer any necessity for working stripped to the waist, the through draught of air creating a decided ventiliatiou in the tunnel.Engi-neering, Aug. 4. The Baldwin Narrow-Gauge Locomotives at Work.

The narrow-gauge locomotives, built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Denver & Rio Grande Rail-way, have been set up and tried on the line of that road near Denver, and aro now in operation in the construction of the road. About three and a half miles of narrow-gauge track (three feet) had been laid out of Denver at last accounts, and upon this the small engines havo been thoroughly tested. Immediately upon leaving Denver tho track is laid to a temporary grade of 140 feet to the mile. Up this grade the freight locomotivo pulled 20 of their four-wheeled flat cars loaded with railroad iron. The engine handled this train without difficulty, stop-ping and starting readily with it on the grade. This engine has three pairs of drivers 30 inches in diameter,

truck" in front, and woighs, in running order! .14,000 pounds.

The passenger engino "Montezuma" (with two pairs or drivers and "pony truck," weight, 25,000 pounds) drew a train of six passenger cars at a speed of thirty miles un hour, making the liino with ease. The engines ride well and steam freely. Wo aro permitted to print the following letter from the General Superintendent and General Manager, Mr, W. II. Greenwood, to M. Baird & Co., who lias charge of the construction and operation of tho line. It is dated at Denver, Au-gust 12 :

" This is to certify that your engineer has delivered " to the Donver & Rio Grand Railway tho three engines " constructed for thum by your company. The engines,

" r as they have been used, have proved a perfect i, and I fully believe they will perforin all tho

have begun operations, and will set one span about every six weeks. The bridge is to be opened next spring.

Canal Boat Propulsion, At a meeting of the commissioners appointed to

oxamine plans for propelling boats on the New York canals in Syracuse on tho 14th inst., Mr. Geddea said that to remove misapprehension, and to prevent in-ventors from wasting their energies in fighting imagi-nary difficulties, lie would offer the following :

Resolved, That the experiments heretofore made in navigating the canals by f