LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY-. OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 Deceived ti, / , ,g 9 
 
 Accessions No. .~O I 7 Z. . Class No. 
 
RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 A TREATISE 
 
 ON THE 
 
 CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 
 
 OP 
 
 RAILWAYS: 
 
 DESIGNED TO AFFORD USEFUL KNOWLEDGE, IN A POPULAB 
 
 STYLE. TO THE HOLDEES OF THIS CLASS OF jPEOPEETY J 
 
 AS WELL AS TO BAILWA.Y MANAGEES, OFFIOEES, 
 
 AN AGENTS. 
 
 BY JOHN B. ^EEYIS, 
 
 CIVIL ENGINEER. 
 
 Facility of Communication, in Social, Commercial and Political Intercourse, 
 atatinguishing Index of Civilization. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO., 
 
 INDUSTRIAL PUBLISHERS, BOOKSELLERS AND IMPORTERS, 
 810 WALNUT STREET. 
 
7 
 
 BD according to Act of Omgrew. in tn yrw /MM* * 
 PHINNEV, bLAKEMAN & MASON. 
 r t OVER'S Office of the District Court of the United States, tor the fcourt 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THE following pages have been written with a view of 
 giving to railway proprietors, in a popular form, the cha- 
 racter of their property. In this I have aimed to give some 
 impression of tJ>e public importance of railways, but have 
 mainly discussed the methods of business involved in their 
 construction and operating management. In regard to con- 
 struction, it has been my cie-sign to give so much ol particulars 
 as will enable an intelligent buw.ness man to form a judgment 
 of the propriety of the several proceedings, and enable him 
 to decide on their wisdom and expediency, and at the same 
 time afford the junior engineer hints and outlines that may 
 be useful for his consideration. At this time, the operating 
 management, providing as it does for the care of near thirty 
 thousand miles of railway, is far more important than that for 
 construction, in which there is comparatively little doing. 
 
 The care of more than one thousand millions of dollars in- 
 vested in this kind of property, all must admit, is of very 
 great importance to the proprietors. In addition to tracing 
 out, and presenting the order of business, it has seemed to me 
 necessary to point out the danger to which the property is 
 peculiarly exposed, from infidelity to trust. Though I regard 
 the ordinary and current management of railways as very far 
 from perfect far from what it will be by and by, still tbe^e 
 can be no doubt that the failure of railway property to reruu- 
 
 iii 
 
v PREFACE. 
 
 nerate the proprietors, has, to a large extent, resulted from 
 unfaithful management, and therefore I have endeavored 
 to show the working of this evil, and, so far as practicable, the 
 remedy. 
 
 If, in the following discussion, the prospects of this class of 
 property do not look as encouraging as could be wished, it 
 must not be attributed to any desire on my part to disparage 
 it; but to the evils that environ it, and the difficulty of 
 wholly removing them. It will be seen that I do not regard 
 this kind of investment as well suited, in general, to small 
 proprietors, so situated that they can exercise no control, and 
 who are exposed to the danger of having their property 
 managed by unfaithful men, who seek to make the institution 
 subservient to their own interest, rather than to that of the 
 proprietors. 
 
 All that is solicited from the reader of the following pages, 
 is a candid and impartial survey of the subject. Doubtless I 
 have advanced some opinions that will not harmonize with 
 much of the existing management on many railways ; but it 
 is confidently believed that time and experience will fully 
 demonstrate the soundness of these opinions, and ultimately 
 introduce a practice that will greatly economize transport, 
 and extend the usefulness of this eminently beneficent im- 
 provement in the means of intercommunication. 
 
 The proficient in railway management will find much that 
 may appear to him commonplace ; but he will readily see, 
 that I have written to give useful information, chiefly to 
 those who have had less experience than myself, and who, I 
 hope, will derive some benefit from the labor I have bestowed 
 cu a subject of general, as well as of individual interest. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface, ui 
 
 Introduction, 9 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 CONSTRUCTION Introductory, . . . . . .84 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 Land and Land Damages, 85 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Location of Line, 44 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Method of Business, 60 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Grading, * 71 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Bridges and Culverts, 92 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Road Crossings, .113 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. PAGK 
 
 Ballasting Track, .117 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Cross Sleepers, 122 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Chairs and Spikes, 128 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Rails, . . .131 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Station Buildings, 148 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Locomotives, 153 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Coacnes and Cars, 177 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 OPERATING Introductory 203 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 Freight, ,206 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Passengers, . 210 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 Engine Drivers, , 221 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 Repairs of Track, . .... . . . 225 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. PAOB 
 
 Repairs of Machinery, 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 239 
 Civil Engineer, 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 Superintendent, 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 Supplies of Material, 258 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 263 
 Receipts, 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 Disbursements, 266 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 Statistics, 271 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 OH/T 
 
 Running Trains, 
 
 291 
 Competition, 
 
 Financial Management, 2 " 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 General Remarks, 32 
 
RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE vast amount of funds (about one thousand 
 million dollars) invested in American railways, 
 claims the especial attention of those who have 
 furnished the means for their construction. Yast, 
 indeed, if we consider the infancy of our coun- 
 try, and the large demands for capital, indis- 
 pensable for other purposes, namely, to clear the 
 forests, to drain and fence the lands, to erect 
 dwellings for the people; barns, stables, and 
 sheds for the storage of farm products and shelter 
 for animals; shops, manufactories, tools, imple- 
 ments, and machinery for artisans and mechanics ; 
 and for wharves, warehouses, stores, shops, ship- 
 ping and other appurtenances of commerce ; all 
 Which must be provided in a new country from the 
 surplus beyond what is necessary to supply current 
 wants. 
 
 1* 
 
10 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 It is now little over a quarter of a century since 
 railways were introduced as a means of promoting 
 the general intercourse of men. The opening 
 of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, com- 
 pleted in 1830, may be regarded as substantially 
 inaugurating this improvement. Previous "to this, 
 something had been done, as on the Stockton and 
 Darlington Railway ; but the wants of the general 
 traffic in passengers and freight by locomotive 
 power, were not fully met until the time above 
 stated. The success that attended the grand expe- 
 riment of George Stephenson, Esq., Civil Engineer, 
 was not lost on the mind of the civilized world, 
 and railway improvement, especially in England 
 and our own country, was pushed forward with ex- 
 traordinary zeal and energy. So far as a beneficial 
 result was anticipated, in advancing the commer- 
 cial and social intercourse of men, the strongest 
 hopes have been, realized. 
 
 It is not regarded as important at this time, after 
 so much has been demonstrated by practical opera- 
 tion, to say much in relation to the usefulness of 
 railways. It may be well, however, to call atten- 
 tion to the opinions formed at a period when the 
 experience of men could see, in a near view, the 
 advantages they afforded in 2ontrast with the 
 means of communication that existed before they 
 
INTRODUCTION. 11 
 
 were known. The following quotation, from the 
 " Westminster Review," for December, 1845, arti- 
 cle 7, presents in vivid language the view enter- 
 tained on this subject in England at that time. 
 " Let us clearly understand our position. "We 
 have arrived at a new epoch in the history of the 
 world. A new element of civilization has been 
 developed. As was the invention of letters, as was 
 the printing-press, so is the railway in the affairs 
 of mankind. It is a revolution among nations. A 
 moral revolution as affecting the diffusion of know- 
 ledge, the interchange of social relations, the per- 
 petuation of peace, the extension of commerce ; and 
 a revolution in all the relations of property. 
 
 " We refer, by the latter observation, to the 
 cheapening of all kinds of commodities by the 
 facilities of carriage and the saving of time on the 
 part of producers, afforded by railways, and espe- 
 cially to the influence of railway upon the value 
 of houses and lands . . . hence the demand for 
 railways to connect every town of the United 
 Kingdom . . . is a real bona fide want of 
 society, which sooner or later must be sup- 
 plied." This view, presented in 1845, has lost 
 none of its force by subsequent experience. No 
 reflecting mind, intelligent enough to contrast 
 the condition of the world before and since 
 
 1* 
 
12 RAILWAY PKOPEETY. 
 
 the introduction of railways, can fail to see the 
 force of the language held by the " Keview." If 
 attention be given to particulars, it will only show 
 its general conclusions to have been founded on the 
 most practical developments of the improvement. 
 
 " The diminished cost of transport invariably 
 augments the amount of commerce transacted, and 
 in a much larger ratio than the reduction of cost ; 
 so that, in fact, although a less amount of labor is 
 employed in the transport of a given amount of 
 commodities than before, a much larger quantity 
 of labor is necessary, by reason of the vast increase 
 of commodities transmitted. The history of the 
 arts supplies innumerable examples of this. . . . 
 The moment the first great line of railway was 
 brought into operation between Liverpool and 
 Manchester, the traffic between those places was 
 quadrupled. . . . Improvements in transport which 
 augment the speed, without injuriously increasing 
 the expense or diminishing the safety, are attended 
 with effects similar to those which follow cheapness. 
 . . . Numerous classes of articles of production be- 
 come deteriorated by time, . . . admit of transport 
 only when they can reach the consumer ... in a 
 sound state, ... as various articles of food ; . . . 
 animals of every species driven to market on com- 
 mon roads, were proved to suffer so much from the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 fatigue of the journey, that when they arrived at 
 market their flesh was not in a wholesome state ; 
 . . . sheep frequently had their feet literally worn 
 off, and were obliged to be sold on the road for 
 what they would fetch. Extensive graziers de- 
 clared that, in such cases, they would be gainers by 
 a safe and expeditious transport for the animals, 
 even though it cost double the price paid by the 
 drovers." (Lardner, on the Economy of Eailways, 
 pages 7, 8 and 9. London : 1850.) 
 
 In little over a quarter of a century 1826 to 
 1858 there were constructed and put in operation 
 in Great Britain about 9,000 miles of railway, at a 
 cost of say fifteen hundred million dollars. A. high 
 confirmation of the opinions and statements above 
 quoted. 
 
 " At the present time nearly 9,000 miles of rail- 
 ways have been completed in the British Isles. . . . 
 It appears from the published returns of traffic upon 
 railways for the year 1856, that 129,315,196 persons 
 travelled 1,822,049,476 miles, and paid nearly 
 11,000,000 in fares; 10,450,625 cattle, sheep and 
 pigs, . . . 23,823,930 tons of merchandise, . . . 
 " and 40,938,575 tons of minerals were carried. 
 The total receipts on the railways for the year 
 amounted to 23,165,493." (See " Edinburgh Re- 
 view " for April, 1858, Article 4.) 
 
14 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 Compared with the previous history of works and 
 improvements in the means to facilitate the com- 
 mercial, political and social intercourse of mankind, 
 the railway truly marks an " epoch." The superfi- 
 cial area of country on which the larger expenditure 
 above quoted has been made, is 121,000 square 
 miles ; but little larger than the area of the States 
 of 'New York and Virginia ; and three-fourths of 
 these roads are in England on an area of about 
 60,000 square miles, and afford nearly a mile of 
 railway to ten square miles of territory. Most of 
 the British railways have a double track; single 
 track railways occur only as rare exceptions. 
 
 The foregoing is a sketch of what has been done, 
 and of the views entertained on the subject of rail- 
 ways in Great Britain. And here it must be ob- 
 served, the country is surrounded by coast naviga- 
 tion that has always been extensively employed for 
 the transport of .persons and property the interior 
 provided with near 3,000 miles of canal navigation, 
 and 27,000 miles of McAdainized turnpike roads, 
 of the best quality.* 
 
 If railways have produced so great results in a 
 country like England, largely provided with the 
 best means of transport known previous to their 
 
 * See " Westminster Review," December, 1845, Article 7. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 introduction, how vast must be their beneficial 
 influence on a country like our own ! The United 
 States has many advantages of coast, lake and 
 river navigation, and a considerable extent of canal 
 navigation. In many of these, there are frequent 
 interruptions from drought, and all in the higher 
 latitudes are, during a portion of the year, locked 
 up by frost. At best, they leave broad districts of 
 country between them, that have no other means of 
 transport than earth roads, depending mainly for 
 their quality on the character of the natural soil on 
 which they are located; which are at all times 
 inferior, and often unfit for the transport of even 
 moderate loads. ~No such thing as rapid travelling 
 could be expected, and the stage-coach passenger 
 must be content to jog on at the rate of two to five 
 miles per hour, according to the dry or wet season. 
 This was peculiarly the condition of transport over 
 the deep loamy soils of the western States. At 
 this day the memory of many men will call to mind 
 the hardships of a winter journey between "Now 
 York and Albany, previous to the introduction of 
 railways. I have a vivid recollection of several 
 such journeys, and of one in particular, that occu- 
 pied two successive nights, and parts of three days' 
 continuous journeying. ISTow the jaunt is made 
 in five hours, with nothing worthy the name 
 
16 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 of fatigue, and at comparatively trifling expense. 
 A journey from the seaboard across the mountains 
 to the western States, was only encountered by the 
 vigorous and hardy, and by them only on high in- 
 ducements, that would justify the time, expense 
 and fatigue involved in such an undertaking. To 
 the invalid, there was little prospect of even mode- 
 rate journeyings. As an illustration of this, I refer 
 to an instance in my own experience. In March, 
 1836, it became important for me to make a jour- 
 ney from Albany to Rome, in the State of New 
 York, with an invalid wife, who was too feeble to 
 bear stage travelling. At that time, the railway was 
 opened from Albany to Schenectady (16 miles), 
 and so far I had its benefit. It required four days 
 to reach Utica (96 miles), at an expense of over 
 $50 for four persons. At this day, such a journey 
 could be performed in four hours, at an expense of 
 $8. On another occasion, an invalid friend, too 
 feeble to walk a dozen paces, was put into the rail- 
 way coach at Rome, New York, and in nine hours 
 made the journey to New York city, 250 miles, 
 without suffering inconvenient fatigue. Doubtless, 
 many instances might be added, to show the bene- 
 ficent influence of railways, in promoting the 
 comfort and convenience of the aged and in- 
 firm. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 By the old system of stage-coach travelling, the 
 average distance travelled in 24 hours cannot be 
 placed higher than 100 miles ; the expense of fare, 
 $5, other expenses, $1 50, total $6 50. A journey 
 of 500 miles would require five days, and an ex- 
 pense of $32 50. By railway, the journey would 
 require one day, or, 24 hours, at an expense not 
 often exceeding $15 (in some cases not exceeding 
 $11), thus saving $17 50 in expense and four days 
 in time on a journey of 500 miles. On some routes 
 the contrast is greater, both in time and expense. 
 Within two years, I was travelling on the railway 
 between Buifalo and Cleveland, and while the train 
 stopped at a station, I heard two young gentle- 
 men in discussion, complain sharply at the slowness 
 of our progress ; I inquired what speed they sup- 
 posed we were making, to which they replied 
 they did not know ; I said, we appeared to be on 
 time, and that would give us about eight hours 
 from Buffalo to Cleveland, and contrasting this 
 with experience I had had on the same route before 
 the railway was in operation, and at about the 
 same season of the year (winter), when it had occu- 
 pied four days of very dilligent travelling to 
 accomplish the same journey, our progress on the 
 railway appeared very satisfactory. The compara- 
 tive *,ime of the railway was about one-tenth. This 
 
18 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 incident is mentioned for the benefit of those whose 
 experience does not enable them to appreciate, by 
 comparison, the change the railway has wrought in 
 the means of easy and expeditious transport. 
 
 American industry, in agriculture, commerce, 
 and manufactures, has received an impulse from 
 railways, that has carried them beyond the most 
 sanguine anticipations, greatly advancing " the 
 value of houses and lands." The saving in time, 
 expense, and fatigue of travelling has increased 
 personal intercourse, it is believed, more than ten- 
 fold. This is manifest in the vast number of short 
 journeys; and those of 100 to 1,000 miles are now 
 undertaken with comparatively little thought, not 
 certainly more than would have been given under 
 the old system of travelling for journeys one-fifth 
 as long. Consequently, our political, commercial, 
 and social intercourse has been greatly extended. 
 In the interior districts, and especially in the west- 
 ern States, their influence on agriculture has been 
 most obvious. Farm products have advanced in 
 value from 20 to over 100 per cent., and this range 
 will hold good for a large portion of our territory. 
 
 By opening and enlarging the facilities of inter- 
 course giving increased value to the products of 
 labor introducing articles of necessity and com- 
 fort, and the means of intellectual and moral cul- 
 
IN TKODUCTION . 1 9 
 
 tare, it has made much of our country, that was 
 before secluded, pleasant and desirable for places 
 of abode ; thereby greatly promoting civilization. 
 
 ~No great effort of mind is necessary to see in the 
 railway, a vast labor-saving machine, diffusing its 
 benefits to all classes and conditions of men ; 
 increasing the value of each of their own products, 
 and cheapening the cost of articles of necessity 
 and comfort obtained from distant places. 
 
 Those who desire to examine particulars of the 
 history of intercommunication, and the contrast 
 between the facilities that existed prior and subse- 
 quent to the introduction of railways, are referred 
 to " Lardner's Economy of Railways," London, 
 1850, where they may find much that is interesting 
 on this subject. 
 
 By the last report of the postmaster-general, it 
 appears that the United States mail was transported 
 in June last (1858), over 24,431 miles of railway. 
 Doubtless, there was some railway opened at that 
 date on which the mail was not carried, and some 
 opened subsequently before the close of that year, 
 making an aggregate of 26,000 miles of railway 
 in this country in operation at the close of 1858. 
 The total cost may be set down approximately at 
 one thousand millions of dollars. Hunt's " Mer- 
 chants' Magazine," for September, 1858, states the 
 
RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 gross receipts for 1857 at $98,949,600, and for 1858 
 (which must have been partially estimated), at 
 . $106,013,600, and the net income for 1858 at 
 $44,589,400 ; equal say 4| per cent. 
 
 The extent of superficial area of that portion of 
 the United States over which the railways have 
 mostly been made, does not exceed one million of 
 square miles. This shows one mile of railway to 
 38 square miles of territory. 
 
 The following table shows a comparison of the 
 general features of the railway enterprise in this 
 country and great Britain. 
 
 
 Length In 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Sq. Miles of 
 Territory. 
 
 Aggregate 
 
 Sq. Miles of 
 Territory 
 to one mile 
 Rail. 
 
 Gross rec'pte 
 per Annum. 
 
 Great Britain . 
 
 9,000 
 
 121,000 
 
 $1,500,000,000 
 
 13 % 
 
 $112,584,286 
 
 United States . . 
 
 26,000 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 1,000,000,000 
 
 88^ 
 
 106,013,600 
 
 It appears that with a trifle over three times the 
 territory per mile of railway, the earnings per mile 
 are about one-third in the United States, what they 
 are in Great Britain. The earnings on capital 
 expended for construction in the United States are 
 about 41 per cent, greater than the earnings on 
 capital expended for construction in Great Britain 
 If the latter had only expended on 9,000 miles 
 what the former have expended on 26,000 miles 
 
INTRODUCTION. 21 
 
 the British investment would have been satisfactory 
 as to income. 
 
 The total area of the United States territory is 
 probably double that given above ; but as one-half 
 may be considered either very thinly inhabited or 
 an uncultivated wilderness, to which railways have 
 never been extended, there is no reason to include 
 it in this comparison. The population of the two 
 countries, at this time, is not probably very differ- 
 ent, and the gross earnings compare very well in 
 this respect. The British railways are mostly 
 double track, while those of the United States are 
 mostly single track. 
 
 As population and business increase, and more 
 railways are wanted in the United States, it will, to 
 a great extent, be accommodated by making double 
 tracks on existing roads, at about one-third the cost 
 of the first track. We cannot expect so dense a 
 population . as that of Britain, at least for many 
 years; but it will rapidly increase and become 
 much more dense than it now is, and this will 
 increase traffic. There are thousands of miles of 
 railways in the western States, that traverse dis- 
 tricts not more than one-sixth to one-half occupied, 
 an encouraging circumstance for such as are strug- 
 gling with inadequate traffic; as time, with good 
 management, is sure to improve their income, 
 
22 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 unless rival lines are constructed to interfere with 
 them, as the growth of the country proceeds. On 
 this point, however, it is to be considered, that 
 as population and business increase, the demand 
 for further railway facilities will stimulate the 
 construction of new lines, and to a greater or less 
 .extent, according to circumstances, they will pre- 
 vent this benefit from flowing to the old lines. It 
 is not probable that capital will seek railways, 
 merely as an investment of funds, for some time to 
 come; but the railway has become so much a 
 necessity, that local interests will make great efforts 
 to do what capitalists hitherto have been willing to 
 do for them. The local interest, when it becomes 
 strong enough to act, will not be so much con- 
 trolled by the expectation of dividends as by the 
 rise in the value of their " houses and lands," and 
 the general promotion of their business interests. 
 
 Men readily become habituated to look with 
 indifference on the most important improvements, 
 and this great work of art, so eminently influencing 
 all the affairs of life> has already come to be viewed 
 as a familiar, if not an ordinary medium of every- 
 day business. In our devotion to the onward pur- 
 suits of life, we are prone to seize the present and 
 almost the future, but rarely indulge in the retro- 
 spective, or stop to consider the element that so 
 
INTRODUCTION. 23 
 
 materially aids us in our onward career. Tims, in 
 a measure, we limit and restrict the horizon of our 
 view, and deprive ourselves of the benefit and 
 enjoyment of contemplating the history and pro- 
 gress of those useful arts that have been greatly 
 instrumental in the promotion of our material well- 
 being, and of our progress in intellectual and moral 
 civilization; and it should not be forgotten, that 
 the railway is " an epoch in the affairs of mankind." 
 The expenditure for this great improvement has 
 been large, and in England and this country has 
 been almost wholly contributed from private 
 sources. The country at large has received bene- 
 fits that in many districts have doubled and in 
 others quadrupled the cost of the railway, in the 
 increased value of property. Notwithstanding the 
 vast benefit conferred on the public, the average 
 net income to the proprietors has fallen far short 
 of the remuneration to which such outlays are 
 entitled. The net income has not been uniform 
 in some cases it has been fair, and even liberal in 
 a more numerous class it has been moderate, and 
 to a large number of stockholders the property has 
 become, or seems likely to become, a total loss. 
 This is certainly a hardship for men whose funds 
 mostly contributed to the construction of works 
 that have been so beneficial to the public. The 
 
24 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 hardship is more intense when the fact is consi- 
 dered, that these funds have, to a large extent, been 
 furnished by persons in moderate circumstances, 
 by widows and orphans, and by the aged and 
 infirm, who have been induced by shrewd stock- 
 dealers to invest their small properties in railway 
 securities, under the most plausible assurance that 
 they were perfectly safe and would produce a libe- 
 ral income. To some extent, these representations 
 were, no doubt, honestly made ; but this charity 
 can by no means be extended to the whole. In 
 some instances the proprietors have realized their 
 expectations. Railways that have had a fair basis 
 of business, and have been conducted with fair 
 capacity and fidelity, have returned to the proprie- 
 tary interest a fair, and in some instances even a 
 liberal remuneration for their investment. And 
 instances are not wanting, where lines, regarded 
 in the outset as offering very slender prospects 
 of remuneration, have, by the care, skill, and 
 fidelity of the management, proved to the proprie- 
 tors a source of steady and reasonable income ; 
 while incapacity and dishonesty have rendered 
 unproductive, railways that should have been, from 
 the liberal traffic they commanded, among the best 
 paying institutions of the country. 
 
 The celebrated roads of antiquity were made for 
 
INTRODUCTION. 25 
 
 military purposes they were little demanded, and 
 .little used for commercial intercourse. The rail- 
 way was a demand of civilization, and consequently 
 lias been appreciated according to the progress in 
 this respect of different people. It is an improve- 
 ment that in an eminent degree has commended 
 Itself to the wants, the interests, and the happiness 
 of men. It was ushered suddenly into notice, and 
 extended with unprecedented rapidity. It opened 
 a new field for the exercise of mechanical inge- 
 nuity and the researches of science, demanding in- 
 vestigations and modifications to meet its numerous 
 and hitherto little known requirements. Though 
 the railway had been in operation more than a 
 century, it had been confined to short lines, mostly 
 in mining districts, propelled by horse-power and a 
 few locomotive steam engines, with sundry in- 
 efficient means of traction, the most effective of 
 which was the cog-wheel, working in a rack. In 
 this condition it was unable to meet the wants of 
 genera] commerce, and the labors of several engi- 
 neers were engaged for years to ascertain some 
 more efficient means of applying steam locomotive 
 power for propulsion. 
 
 The attention of the late Mr. Nicholas Wood was 
 directed, for several years, to ascertaining how far 
 the adhesion of the wheel to the rail could be relied 
 
26 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 on for this purpose; and the world is much in- 
 debted to his investigations and experiments. 
 From the imperfection, and want of adaptation of 
 machinery, his results were slow ; but they served 
 to direct attention, and inspire confidence that this 
 was the best means that had been proposed, and 
 the practical result on the Stockton and Darlington 
 Railway greatly strengthened this confidence, and 
 with it the idea, that the railway would become an 
 important medium of general commercial inter- 
 course. The opening of the Liverpool and Man- 
 chester Eailway confirmed the principle of adhe- 
 sion, and even Mr. George Stephenson found he 
 could depend on this as a substitute for stationary 
 power on his inclined planes, having a rise of a 100 
 feet per mile. Thus, after slowly groping its way 
 for years, it was discovered that steam locomotive 
 power, by this simple means of adhesion, would be 
 effectually and economically used for the propul- 
 sion of carriages on railways. The result is a 
 striking instance of the time and labor often re- 
 quired to demonstrate and bring into use improve- 
 ments of great public utility, depending on so simple 
 a method of action, that we wonder how it could 
 so long remain undeveloped. 
 
 It now remained to consider and devise the best 
 mechanism for the railway, and the various appur- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 27 
 
 tenances required for its complete operation. "Very 
 little engineering experience on this subject existed 
 at that time, nor were the general characteristic 
 wants of the improvement appreciated, or how the 
 material and works of the varied mechanisms re- 
 quired, would successfully answer the almost un- 
 known service they were expected to perform. It 
 is therefore no matter of surprise, that many errors 
 were committed that numerous suggestions of 
 plan and improvement were found inapplicable, 
 and by degrees, as experience demonstrated their 
 futility, were laid aside. In our own country these 
 have been numerous, and even in England it can- 
 not now be said, they have arrived at perfection, 
 or uniformity in the machinery or management 
 of railways. Though they have undergone import- 
 ant changes, their engineers are still divided in 
 practice on important features. 
 
 We have had a railway gravely urged on the 
 pannier, or single rail plan, with the load suspended 
 on each side ; and this especially commended for 
 timber districts, where it was proposed to cut oif 
 trees at a suitable height, and lay the rails from 
 stump to stump as supports for the rail. Singular 
 as this now appears, I knew a board of directors to 
 go to the expense of fitting up a piece of railway 
 and a pair of pannier cars to try the experiment of 
 
28 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 its working, and their engineer had no small diffi- 
 culty in persuading them to abandon the plan. The 
 construction of an important railway in this country 
 was commenced, and a section laid and put in 
 operation, with the flanges of the carriage-wheels 
 on the outside of the rails. Locomotive engines 
 were made with joints in their machinery, so as to 
 be borne by two wagons, or trucks, connected 
 together by a movable joint, so that each truck 
 would take its own line on the rail, while the ma- 
 chinery of the engine would move on the curved 
 rail, by means of its movable joints. The anti- 
 friction car was introduced at an early day, and for 
 a time was, with many, a great favorite. All 
 these were presented by men of talent, who had 
 given much attention to the subject. The atmos- 
 pheric railway had, at one time, a great run of po- 
 pularity was advocated by distinguished engi- 
 neers, and several railways were constructed in 
 England on this plan. These instances are men- 
 tioned as reminiscences, not having on trial met 
 the requirements of railways. Others might be 
 mentioned, but these are sufficient to show, that 
 although the great principle of its successful opera- 
 tion had been established, the wants of its varied 
 mechanism were but imperfectly developed. 
 
 The history of railways has proved that serious 
 
INTRODUCTION. 29 
 
 errors originally existed in regard to the durability 
 of rails and rolling stock. The iron rails were for- 
 merly regarded as highly indestructible, and the 
 wear being supposed to be very slight, would 
 answer the service a great number of years. The 
 machinery, in great part of the same material, it 
 was thought would be very little subject to repairs 
 or renewal. For a time, the unexpected deteriora- 
 tion of rails was attributed to light weight ; and 
 this was increased until the rails were generally 
 made double, and in some instances about three 
 times the weight of the original rails on the Liver- 
 pool and Manchester Railway. At the present time, 
 the tendency is to fall back to a less weight, as best 
 calculated to secure a good article, and conse- 
 quently a higher durability. The engines and cars 
 have required large repairs, and more frequent re- 
 newals, and consequently the expense for repairs 
 and maintenance of stock has been materially 
 greater than anticipated in the early history of rail- 
 ways. This, error, no doubt, has arisen, in a great 
 measure, from the failure to appreciate the severity 
 of the service to which they have been exposed. 
 
 In the early operations of railways, the locomo- 
 tive engines weighed from six to ten tons, carrying 
 from one and a-half to two tons on a wheel ; the 
 weight has been increased to four and five tons or 
 
30 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 a wheel. The weight of cars was from three-quar- 
 ters to one and a quarter tons on a wheel, which has 
 been increased to two and two and a half tons on a 
 wheel. The early speed of passenger-trains was 
 from sixteen to twenty miles per hour it has been 
 raised to thirty miles and over per hour, and a run- 
 ning speed of forty-five to fifty miles per hour has 
 been not urifrequently made. Some may have an- 
 ticipated this speed, but not its effect on the rails 
 and machinery. When Mr. George Stephenson 
 was interrogated by the opposing counsel before a 
 committee of Parliament, he claimed that his en- 
 gine could run ten miles per hour. With a view 
 to lead him into some extravagance, he was asked 
 if u he did not think his iron horse could run 
 fifteen or twenty, or even twenty-five miles per 
 hour." To which Mr. Stephenson, forgetting the 
 caution that had been given him, modestly replied, 
 that he thought it could ; an indiscretion, that at 
 that time was regarded so extravagant, as nearly to 
 disconcert the applicants for the railway bill then 
 pending before the parliamentary committee. 
 
 Since the time above referred to, there has been 
 great demand for increased epeecj; and this in- 
 fluence has led to the necessity of more powerful 
 engines, and, consequently, to greater weight. In- 
 stead of six to ten tons, their general range has of 
 
INTRODUCTION. 31 
 
 late been 22 to 28 tons, and some even greater. 
 These weights are exclusive of tender. The running 
 speed has gone up, as before stated, to 50 miles per 
 hour, and a large proportion of trains now range on 
 their running time from 30 to 40 miles per hour. 
 It has been contended by many that high speed 
 was but little more expensive than low speed a 
 very superficial error. It has also been urged by 
 high engineering authority, that the safety of 
 travelling at 30 miles per hour was no greater 
 than at 100 miles per hour ; an equally superficial 
 and inconsiderate error. Whatever may be the 
 importance of high speed, it can only be obtained 
 at a corresponding sacrifice of expense and safety. 
 No intelligent mechanic can witness the passage of 
 a heavy express train, as it thunders past him at 
 a speed of 45 to 50 miles per hour, without at least 
 a momentary wonder that the materials can possi- 
 bly sustain the rapid action of the parts required 
 under such motion. This branch of the subject 
 will be more particularly discussed hereafter ; it is 
 now alluded to for the purpose of showing that the 
 progressive demands of railway service have called 
 for machinery and repairs not originally antici- 
 pated ; and, hence, much of the original error was 
 a mere want of foresight in providing for the 
 increasing demands that have been made for rail 
 
32 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 way accommodation. This cannot be regarded as 
 surprising, when we consider the extraordinary 
 revolution the railway has wrought in regard to 
 rapid transport. 
 
 It has been stated that the railways of this coun- 
 try have cost, in round numbers, $1,000,000,000. 
 This is not far from ten per cent, of the real and 
 personal property of the United States, as esti- 
 mated for taxation in the year 1856, and about 
 double the outlay of Great Britain, in proportion 
 to the wealth of the two countries ; the former 
 being estimated at $11,000,000,000, and the latter 
 at $30,000,000,000. Ten per cent, of the aggregate 
 wealth of a country, and especially a new country, 
 is a large appropriation for a single means of trans- 
 port, and that one of a comparatively modern 
 kind, that the world scarcely knew of thirty years 
 ago. 
 
 It is not regarded as worth while to set forth in 
 these pages the particulars of the progress and 
 working of railways, the large expenditure called 
 forth by them, and the business results that have 
 attended their unprecedented advancement. More 
 full particulars in regard to these may be obtained 
 from other works already before the public. Hav- 
 ing given the general features to show the difficul- 
 ties the vast interest of the public and the large 
 
INTRODUCTION. 33 
 
 outlay of private funds, I proceed to examine the 
 circumstances of business and the prospect the pro- 
 prietary interest has to obtain a fair return for the 
 funds appropriated for the promotion of works so 
 eminently advantageous to the public. 
 
34 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 CHAPTEK i, 
 
 CONSTRUCTION. 
 
 THIS branch will be discussed under the several 
 heads that constitute the sources of expenditure. 
 
 The first object for consideration in examining a 
 project for a railway, is the nature and extent of 
 the traffic to be provided for. If this is large and 
 of a character to demand high speed, the work 
 must be adapted to bear the contemplated service. 
 Bridges and rails must be stronger than for a 
 lighter traffic and lower speed. If a light traffic, 
 and especially with a lower rate of speed, is antici- 
 pated, much may be saved in expense of construc- 
 tion, and also in the expense of operating the rail- 
 way, by adapting the works to the service to be 
 performed. A careful consideration of this ques- 
 tion will have much to do with the value of the 
 investment. This question should be carefully 
 examined before commencing the work, not only 
 to ascertain the nature of the traffic, but its pro- 
 bable sufficiency to warrant the undertaking. 
 
LAND AND LAND DAMAGES. 35 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 LAND AND LAND DAMAGES. 
 
 To a large extent, railways have been excessively 
 burdened in expenses and charges for land. This 
 has been most severe in the older districts of our 
 country. The idea that a man should not be com- 
 pelled to part with anything he owns, unless he is 
 paid such an equivalent as he may consider himself 
 entitled to, has had great influence on this branch 
 of railway expenditure. The principle cannot be 
 controverted so far as it applies to general objects 
 of commercial intercourse. But railways cannot be 
 made without land, and the land they require must 
 be such as is called for by the line of their works ; 
 and they necessarily have no competition, as no 
 other land will answer their purpose. A town 
 or county road is no less dependent on some pro- 
 cess of valuation by disinterested parties. If there 
 were no proper way to take it, except on the 
 general principle of private purchase, the means 
 of intercourse, not only by railway, but also by 
 public roads and canals, would be greatly em bar- 
 
36 KA1LWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 rassed ; and these indispensable agents of civiliza 
 tion often held in abeyance, if not totally arrested. 
 The law has therefore decided that legislative 
 authority may prescribe the mode of determining 
 the value, as between the owner and the railway 
 corporation. But this has often been done with 
 so jealous a regard to the rights of the owner, that 
 the corporation have generally regarded it for their 
 interest not to resort to it if they could agree 
 with the owner for double or treble the real value ; 
 preferring this to the risk of the legal method of. 
 appraisal. The determination of this question by a 
 jury of twelve men, as has often been the provision 
 of the statute, is the most objectionable method, 
 especially if a jury is to be called for each particu- 
 lar case. In such cases juries are very likely to 
 enter into sympathy with the owner, and to have 
 very little for what they consider a rich corpora- 
 tion ; and moreover the idea of a return in kind, 
 from the owner, when he may sit as a juryman, 
 may have an influence prejudicial to a just and 
 equitable valuation. By the jury process I have 
 known tenfold damages assessed, and the corpora- 
 tion left with no alternative to escape payment. 
 The most just and equitable mode that I have 
 fcnown, is by commissioners appointed by some 
 -^ourt of high standing, which select men of char- 
 
LAND AND LAND DAMAGES. 37 
 
 acter from a different locality, without influence or 
 nomination from either party. Sometimes the par- 
 ties claim the privilege of presenting names to the 
 court as candidates from which a selection is to 
 be made ; but any court, with a proper sense of its 
 duty and responsibility, will not allow this, for the 
 obvious reason that a man placed on a commission 
 of appraisal by the nomination of one of the parties, 
 is most likely, if not certain, to lose his impar- 
 tiality, in favor of the nominating party. The court 
 in such cases should take the entire responsibilty, 
 and acquit themselves by their sound judgment 
 and impartiality in selecting men for commissioners 
 whose standing will be a guaranty for the com- 
 petent and impartial performance of their duty. 
 
 It rarely happens that a landed estate is not more 
 benefited than injured by a railway passing through 
 it. The exceptions are mostly on the small estates, 
 or building lots, and the disturbance of buildings, 
 when the property may be nearly destroyed ; and 
 this constitutes but a very limited proportion of land 
 required for such purposes. It is not often that the 
 appraisers are allowed to take the equitable view of 
 offsetting benefits against damages. But if the cor- 
 poration could obtain the land at its fair value, the 
 expense would not generally be large, or seriously 
 oppressive. 
 
38 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 Railway corporations were formerly made up, 
 mostly from the more enterprising portion of the 
 people, who were willing to risk something for 
 improvement, and it is certainly a hardship for 
 them to incur the hazard of the enterprise and pay 
 in addition large amounts in the shape of land 
 damages to those who are most likely to secure at 
 least an indirect benefit. If any parties are sure to 
 reap advantage from a railway enterprise, it is those 
 who own " houses and lands" on the route ; to these 
 the railway cannot fail to give increased value. 
 And yet it is this class that often impede their 
 progress and embarrass their finances. It is curio as, 
 but not very flattering, to see the developments of 
 humanity in its manifestations on the question of 
 land damages, especially in cases where it is obvious 
 the landowner would freely give his land, and 
 something more, rather than have the railway fail 
 of construction. But he considers the question 
 settled, that the work will be $one, and proceeds to 
 draw from the treasury of the corporation what he 
 can, thinking that a clear windfall for his benefit. 
 The morality of such proceeding may be easily 
 estimated. 
 
 The following anecdote illustrates this branch of 
 railway business : A railway corporation being in 
 want of an agent to procure land for their line. 
 
LAND AND LAND DAMAGES. 6V 
 
 employed a man highly esteemed for his business 
 capability. He was a stage proprietor, who had 
 made his way from the stage-box to the stage-coach 
 office ; and having had much experience with men, 
 he entered on his duties with high hopes of success. 
 When, however, he came in to report his proceed- 
 ings, he did not appear much elated, and remarked 
 that he thought he had seen human nature in all 
 its forms ; but he had come to the conclusion that 
 if a man desired to be fully acquainted with human 
 nature, he must be an agent to obtain land for a 
 railway. 
 
 The experience of the stage proprietor was not 
 peculiar among land agents of railway corporations. 
 One owner is devoted to literature, or seeks the 
 quiet and retirement of seclusion, and the sight and 
 noise of trains will damage his meditations or 
 repose ; another, for the want of a more substantial 
 basis of damage, brings forward proof to show that 
 the natural beauty of his scenery will be marred, 
 and the poetry of his place destroyed by so vulgar 
 a thing as a railway, and a professed artist gravely 
 testifies this will damage his property twenty-five 
 thousand dollars ; another is alarmed for the fear of 
 losing his trade, by the facilities the railway will 
 afford distant produce to compete in his market, or 
 give facilities for his customers to supply their wants 
 
40 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 at other places. Notwithstanding these varied ap- 
 prehensions, the railway does not fail to enlarge 
 every department of commerce and useful industry, 
 and to increase the " value of houses and lands." 
 
 The hurried manner in which railways have gene- 
 rally been planned and prosecuted has very much 
 increased the item of land damages. If a discreet 
 business-man contemplated the construction of a 
 railway on his own account, he would begin by 
 ascertaining the proper location, and then by con- 
 ditional contracts ascertain what the land would 
 cost. He would hold the decision, not only as to 
 route, but also as to the main question, whether he 
 would make the railway at all, subject to cost of 
 land and other expenses indicated by preliminary 
 surveys and estimates ; and if these appeared too 
 heavy for the probable income and other benefit he 
 might anticipate, he would abandon the project. 
 Under this kind of management landholders would 
 look on the project, not as a certainty, but depend- 
 ing materially on cost of construction and prospect 
 of revenue, to be decided, not by an association of 
 men, among whom there may be a strong interest 
 for the railway, without regard to direct profit, but 
 by a single man who will risk the expenditure, only 
 as the income promises to be remunerative. The 
 landowner in such cases realizes, that if his " houses 
 
LAND AND LAND DAMAGES. 41 
 
 ana Bands'- are to be increased in value by the rail- 
 way, he must be careful not to put any obstruction 
 in the way, and he will generally be willing to take 
 a fair price, or donate his land so far as required for 
 the object, and if it appear necessary, do something 
 in addition to insure the prosecution of the enter- 
 prise. 
 
 If a joint-stock company should adopt a similar 
 policy, and only call in a small amount of capital, 
 sufficient for such preliminary proceedings, and hold 
 the enterprise to the same business requirements, 
 they would obtain the same beneficial results. But 
 it often happens, while many individuals subscribe 
 their money to a railway stock merely as an instru- 
 ment, to be benefited only by direct income, there 
 are others that subscribe to the stock and interest 
 themselves mainly, if not exclusively, to enhance the 
 value of their " houses and lands." This latter class 
 are in great haste to have the railway in operation, 
 as that is the result to benefit them ; and whether 
 it is providently or improvidently constructed is not 
 material to their interest ; but they are essentially 
 interested in a rapid prosecution and early comple- 
 tion of the railway. To them it is of small moment 
 whether or not the lands are obtained at a large or 
 small price, provided the work is accomplished. 
 
 On the item of land damages, and law and legis- 
 
42 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 lative expenses, we have not suffered as English 
 railway corporations have for the same object of 
 expenditure. In a work recently published on 
 " European railways," by Colburn and Holley, page 
 33, it is stated that the average of British railways 
 have expended (for railways completed prior to 
 1856) for these items $50,000 per mile of railway ; 
 of which $43,000 per mile was for land damages. 
 Even the Hudson River Railway, that suffered 
 severely in this respect, cannot compete by a long 
 way with English railways. The same work, page 
 23, says : " The sums paid by many of the railway 
 corporations for land and compensation are almost 
 
 fabulous It is recorded that the sum paid to 
 
 one particular individual was so preposterously large 
 that his heir (?) returned the greatest portion of it 
 as conscience money! .... Railway corporations 
 have, in the majority of cases, paid from ten to a 
 hundredfold beyond the legitimate value of the 
 properties purchased by them. .... More re- 
 cently landowners are less clamorous for compen- 
 sation." It is indeed difficult to get clear of the 
 idea that the above statements are quite " fabulous." 
 Mr. Robert Stephenson, from whom the above 
 writer quotes, says, " almost fabulous." Looking at 
 this as applicable to more than 6,000 miles of rail- 
 way, mostly through farming lands, and a greater 
 
LAND AND LAND DAMAGES. 4.5 
 
 or less proportion of the land of little real value, it 
 certainly cannot be regarded as complimentary to 
 the intelligence and morality of the British nation. 
 Perhaps," had our ideas of the sacred character of 
 landed property been similar in degree to theirs, we 
 should not have fared better ; for according to the 
 value of lands, we have practised on the subject 
 with great skill. 
 
44 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 
 LOCATION OF RAILWAY. 
 
 THE first field duty is that of survey for location. 
 The terminal points are usually determined in the 
 outset of the project, and the work required is to 
 settle the intermediate line, which should devolve 
 on the engineer ; at least he should make all neces- 
 sary surveys, maps and estimates of expense, and 
 lay the whole before the Board of Directors, with 
 his opinion as to the most elegible route. In the 
 early history of our railways this was the usual, if 
 not the general practice. This method places a 
 direct responsibility on the engineer, who is best 
 qualified to meet it, and whose professional reputa- 
 tion is materially concerned to guard against errors 
 that a future observer might discover. On his skill 
 and fidelity much must depend, and the directors 
 of a railway company will need good judgment in 
 selecting one whose experience and skill will be a 
 guaranty that this duty will be discharged with 
 ability and fidelity to the interest of the enterprise. 
 The desirable result, it is evident, has not always 
 
LOCAflON OF RAILWAY. 45 
 
 been secured. Locations have been made that re- 
 quired large expenditures to correct, or when not 
 corrected have worked a permanent detriment to 
 the line. This has sometimes resulted from incom- 
 petent engineering, but not always. Scheming 
 directors and agents, and sometimes speculating 
 engineers have had other objects than the interest 
 of the corporation to control their action, and lead 
 to improper location. When persons of this class 
 obtain a seat in a board of directors, they will be 
 most likely to employ an engineer who they regard 
 best calculated to serve their object ; and these are 
 not engineers of high standing for professional skill, 
 firmness and fidelity. Another source of error in 
 this respect is, that of giving the contractor the 
 control over the location within certain restrictions 
 of grade and curvature, by which he may travel a 
 good deal out of the proper location, very much to 
 the permanent injury of the proprietors. It not 
 unfrequently happens that the citizens of a town, in 
 order to secure facilities for their accommodation, 
 are very active and contrive to exert an influence 
 011 questions of location, that involve large future 
 expenditures to correct the errors they induce. 
 
 In a new country, with its business undeveloped, 
 towns are in some instances started, make consi- 
 derable progress, and finally prove not to be in the 
 
4G RAILWAY PEOPEETY. 
 
 proper line of the commerce the railway is con- 
 structed to accommodate, and after falling into this 
 error, the corporation find themselves compelled to 
 change a considerable part of their railway or have 
 their traffic divided by a rival line. In whatever 
 way it may happen, an injudicious location will 
 work a damage to the proprietors. 
 
 If the termini of a railway be well settled, the 
 line should generally be located on the most direct 
 route between them, that the formation of the coun- 
 try will permit. It rarely happens that any local 
 object of traffic will warrant material elongation 
 of the line, especially in a new country. A railway 
 (unless for some special object) can only be sup- 
 ported by general traffic, and it is manifestly 
 important, that this should not be burdened for a 
 local object, unless that be of very considerable 
 magnitude ; for it is obvious, that so far as it travels 
 out of a proper line, it is at the expense of its mam 
 traffic. A further source of error in this respect is, 
 the haste very often indulged, to commence the 
 work, not allowing the engineer sufficient time to 
 perfect his surveys and examinations, and thereby 
 compelling him to act in this important duty, on 
 inadequate knowledge of matters affecting the 
 question. Nothing can be more impolitic or unwise 
 than this, for men who propose an investment of 
 
LOCATION OF RAILWAY. 47 
 
 funds. It should be kept steadily in mind that a 
 railway is an expensive thing at best, and to 
 increase this by hasty and inconsiderate action on 
 the important matter of location, may greatly im- 
 pair the value of the investment, while it only 
 gratifies an excessive ardor, by no means consistent 
 with a wise and energetic pursuit of important 
 business. 
 
 The duty of location is a very important one to 
 the proprietors and the public ; both being inter 
 ested in effecting the cheapest transport. In . pro 
 ceeding upon it, the first object should be to under 
 stand the general line of the trade of the country 
 through which the railway is to be made. Eail 
 ways that cross this line, at or near right angles, 
 are seldom successful. If no error be committed in 
 this respect, what remains is essentially to obtain a 
 thorough knowledge of the face of the country 
 between the termini, from which the- relative ad- 
 vantages may be reduced by calculation and esti- 
 mates of their bearing on the cost and the commer- 
 cial importance of intermediate objects. On some 
 lines the physical formation of the country clearly 
 points out the proper route. Others require exten- 
 sive surveys to determine it. The latter are most 
 likely to suffer for want of competent engineering. 
 Instances have occurred in which a considerable 
 
48 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 amount of new railway had to be made, to correct 
 errors of location, and receive the traffic the line 
 was originally designed to accommodate ; thus load- 
 ing the enterprise with large additional capital, 
 that would not have been necessary had the 
 original location been correct. But though the 
 error may not be such as to lead to the making of 
 a new line for any part, it may prove a permanent 
 injury by loading the traffic with unnecessary cur- 
 rent expense. From whatever cause this may have 
 happened, it is equivalent to a loss of capital, and 
 consequent diminution of dividends, necessarily 
 impairing the proprietary interest, especially that 
 of stockholders in the institution. 
 
 After the settlement of the terminal, and (if there 
 be any) any other controlling points on the route, it 
 is important to secure the most favorable grades and 
 allignment. On these points little need be said ; it 
 being obvious these should be as easy as the forma- 
 tion of the country may permit within the range of 
 suitable expense of construction. It has sometimes 
 been the practice to adopt a uniform curve for all 
 points that produce angles in the line, and in others 
 a maximum and minimum rule has been adopted. 
 The best method is to adopt the largest radii, or 
 least practicable curve the formation of the ground 
 will permit. The mode of construction of railway 
 
LOCATION OF RAILWAY. 4 
 
 carriages is adapted to run on straight lines, and 
 any departure from this must be forced against 
 additional friction. Sharp curvature is also objec- 
 tionable, as obstructing the view of approaching 
 trains. 
 
 In a line having considerable preponderance of 
 trade in one direction, there will be advantage in 
 inclination in this direction, corresponding to the 
 preponderance in the weight of traffic ; otherwise a 
 level is the best grade for a railway. This cannot 
 always be obtained, and indeed on most lines, only 
 to a partial extent. The practice should aim at the 
 least practical departure from it. To reduce what 
 is termed the ruling grade, will often justify pretty 
 heavy expense, and more or less elongation of line, 
 aa this feature will control the weight of trains. 
 
50 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 CHAPTEE IY. 
 
 METHOD OF BUSINESS. 
 
 THE method of business pursued in conducting 
 che work of construction has been widely different 
 at different times and on different railways. The 
 plan adopted in the commencement of railways was 
 to have maps and profiles of the line, and plans and 
 specifications of the manner in which the work was 
 to be done. As soon as these were prepared, the 
 work was advertised for contract, and let to the 
 lowest bidder who was considered responsible lor the 
 undertaking. Propositions for the work, received 
 In this way, were reduced to contracts, providing 
 for payment at certain rates on the several items. 
 The engineer was made the inspector and the 
 umpire between the parties, from whose decision 
 there was no appeal in regard to anything pertain- 
 ing to the contract the manner of performing the 
 work, the measurement and estimate of quantities 
 provided for in the contract, and the valuation of 
 any extra work that unforeseen circumstances might 
 call for in the course of construction. The samo 
 
METHOD OF BUSINESS. 51 
 
 mode of proceeding had generally been adopted in 
 the construction of canals. In this method, the 
 engineer stood between the corporation and the 
 contractor; and upon his capacity for his duties 
 and fidelity to the parties, the system very much 
 depended. A want of confidence could not fail to 
 produce dissatisfaction, and it is obvious it could 
 only be maintained by the administration of engi- 
 neers of sound business experience and unques- 
 tioned fidelity of character. 
 
 In the early history of railways, the line was 
 divided for construction contracts into sections of 
 one or two miles in length, and contracts made for 
 the grading of each section ; and for light work 
 several sections were sometimes let in one contract. 
 But the large amount of this kind of work soon 
 called into this service contractors whose ambition 
 aspired to larger contracts, and they gradually 
 drove from the ranks of original contractors many 
 that had been content with moderate contracts, and 
 who depended on their small capitals, and a per- 
 sonal supervision of their work, for their remunera- 
 tion. The latter were either compelled to abandon 
 their occupation or employ themselves on sub- 
 contracts from their more influential associates. 
 Eventually, contractors did not feel satisfied with 
 anything short of the entire railway ; including 
 
52 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 grading, bridging and laying track, with some 
 station buildings and rolling stock, with the addi 
 tion in some instances of the iron rails, chairs, 
 spikes, etc. So long as the original principle was 
 maintained, and the contract made with carefully 
 prepared specifications, and a competent engineer 
 placed in full authority as the inspector and umpire 
 between the parties in the contract, and the com- 
 pensation determined by the measurement of each 
 item of work done, as originally practised, the evil 
 of large contracts was not so great. Still it was 
 not the best method. The advantage over it 
 of several contractors, is, that work is generally 
 better done at lower rates ; and as contractors some- 
 times fail to perform their contracts, either by 
 doing their work improperly, or not as rapidly as 
 their contracts require, and the work has to be re- 
 let, in such cases when there are a number of 
 contractors on the work, the failure of one is of less 
 importance, and involves less difficulty and delay 
 in re-letting than when all, or the principal part of 
 the work is in the hands of one firm. A further 
 difficulty occurs most usually from letting in large 
 contracts to one firm, from the disposition to sub-let 
 the work, and thereby introduce upon the line men 
 as contractors whom the officers of the railway com- 
 pany would not accept, often causing embarrass- 
 
METHOD OF BUSINESS. 53 
 
 mcnt in the prosecution of the work. If, as is 
 usually the case, the contractor is restricted in his 
 contract in regard to sub-letting, he will more 
 or less contrive to evade or disregard the restric- 
 tion. 
 
 For some years past it has come to be a very 
 common practice to put the entire work of con- 
 structing a railway into one contract. The influ- 
 ence that has produced this practice has generally 
 impaired the authority and power of the engineer, 
 which was naturally to be expected, as the con- 
 tractor who can wield an influence to control so 
 much work is not likely to be controlled by an 
 engineer. He looks on the engineer as only use- 
 ful to set stakes and levels, and perhaps make 
 estimates for his sub-contractors. In some in- 
 stances the engineer has been appointed subject 
 to the approval of the contractor, and subordinate 
 engineers employed and paid by the contractor 
 directly. 
 
 One of the most common methods adopted by 
 contractors to obtain the entire work of a line, is to 
 contract for a large part of their pay in the stock 
 and bonds of the company. It will readily be per- 
 ceived that parties desirous of securing the indirect 
 benefits of a railway, and not able to obtain suffi- 
 cient cash stock to do the work, would roadily fall 
 
54: RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 into such a method of contracting. And if such 
 parties (as is most probable) have the controlling 
 management of a railway enterprise, they will find 
 plausible reasons to satisfy what cash subscribers 
 they may chance to have, that it is the wisest 
 policy to contract with one firm for the entire 
 work ; that they may know in the outset what the 
 work will cost, and not be subject to the uncer- 
 tainty of an engineer's estimate. This is a plausi- 
 ble fallacy, as experience has abundantly demon- 
 strated. 
 
 Now, if the object be to secure the incidental 
 benefits that may result from a railway, this method 
 of contracting may often be the best, if not the only 
 one practicable ; and if there are no stockholders, 
 except those who are so interested in the indirect 
 benefits of the railway that they regard income on 
 their stock as a secondary object, this plan of con- 
 tracting may be very well. Under these circum- 
 stances, a subscription is got up among parties so 
 interested, with a view of raising a portion of the 
 funds required, and mainly to give currency to the 
 bonds of the company that must be relied on to a 
 large extent. To do this, it is necessary in most 
 cases to obtain subscriptions from municipal cor- 
 porations of towns and counties; and so a very 
 respectable amount of subscription to the stock is 
 
METHOD OF BUSINESS. 55 
 
 obtained, and the work goes on. This is all very 
 well so long as the original parties only are inte- 
 rested. If, however, a cash subscriber falls in, who 
 has only interest in the income that pays dividends, 
 he will most probably be disappointed. To raise 
 some funds on stock, and give apparent basis for 
 bonds, the plan may be presented for illustration as 
 follows : A limited amount of stock will be taken 
 by individuals having a strong indirect interest in 
 the business of the railway. This subscription will, 
 to a greater or less extent, fail to be paid. The 
 municipal subscription will come in the form of 
 town and county bonds, guaranteed by the railway 
 company; these bonds will be sold at a discount 
 according to the credit that may be given them ; 
 the private subscription may in part (as frequently 
 done) be paid in farm mortgages, guaranteed by the 
 railway company, and sold by them in the same 
 manner as the municipal bonds, at considerable dis- 
 count. These are the cash elements on which the 
 contractor begins his work. To obtain the iron rails, 
 it is common to issue first mortgage bonds to a lim- 
 ited amount. The contractor must, of course, take a 
 large part of his pay in the stock and bonds of the 
 company. It is apparent that the contractor, in 
 regulating his compensation, must take into account 
 the value of the material he is to receive in pay- 
 
56 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 ment; and this will depend much on his ability and 
 skill in financiering his stock and bonds. If the 
 enterprise be faithfully carried out on this plan, it is 
 evident the nominal capital will be much above what 
 would be required in constructing a railway for cash. 
 But the method under consideration has further and 
 peculiar tendency to swell the cost. In such con- 
 tracts, by a single firm for an entire railway, it is 
 usual to provide for only so much work as will be 
 indispensable to run trains ; ballasting is rarely pro- 
 vided for to any further extent than may be furnished 
 by materials from excavation of prism ; and the result 
 is, that the work contracted for is not much more 
 than half done, and consequently requires large ex- 
 penditures after it is accepted by the railway com- 
 pany, showing conclusively that the contract did not 
 determine the cost of the work. The evil that has 
 resulted to railway property by this course of busi- 
 ness has been disastrous according to the necessities 
 of the enterprise, the character of the managers, and 
 the degree to which the system has been carried. 
 Under the most favorable circumstances, the whole- 
 sale system of contracting, even on the cash plan, 
 enhances the cost of the work, from the causes 
 before mentioned. Its tendency is to undermine 
 the authority and usefulness of the engineer as in- 
 spector and umpire, if it does not entirely override 
 
METHOD OF BUSINESS. 57 
 
 and dispense with his authority, and . inevitably 
 gives the railway company work inferior to what 
 they contracted for, and compels them to materially 
 increase their capital, in order to bring their work 
 to the standard required by the contract. In some 
 contracts the contractor has been allowed to vary the 
 grades and curves within certain limits. Hence it 
 was his interest (as his contract is usually for a round 
 sum) to make many modifications in these respects, 
 that prove a permanent source of embarrassment 
 and injury in operating and conducting the traffic 
 of the railway, necessarily impairing the interest of 
 the proprietors ; and, instead of the contract settling 
 the cost of the work, it leaves the question, even 
 after it is opened for use, totally unsettled, except 
 that the cost is to be looked for much beyond the 
 limits of the contract, and represented in second and 
 third mortgage bonds, under which the value of the 
 stock gradually depreciates, and sometimes passes 
 out of view. Though I regard the mode as highly 
 objectionable, it must be admitted a few railways 
 constructed in this way have turned out to be fair 
 investments for the stockholders: such have been 
 located in a comparatively new country, with great 
 facility for cheap construction ; strong natural 
 sources of traffic, that were rapidly developed by the 
 railway ; and having fallen into the hands of favorable 
 
58 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 managers, the evils of the system were only par- 
 tially experienced, and the traffic proved sufficient 
 to afford fair dividends. This, however, does not 
 prove the system good ; it is only an exception to a 
 ruie generally bad. The railways more recently 
 constructed on this plan have added to their capital 
 from 25 to 100 per cent, over the amount that would 
 have been required by a sound system of business ; 
 and hence one cause of the depreciation of this kind 
 of property ; and there can be no doubt the old 
 method of business is the best for parties who fur- 
 nish cash to build railways, as an investment of 
 funds. 
 
 Amalgamations have been made, and branch 
 lines constructed, under the plausible idea of in- 
 creasing the income of the main line, while the 
 result has shown that, in most cases, the capital has 
 been increased proportionably more than the net 
 income, and the only party benefited has been 
 some scheming contractor or jobbing manager. 
 
 The financial business of railway corporations was 
 originally commenced by opening books for sub- 
 scription to the stock; and having secured the 
 amount supposed to be sufficient for the undertak- 
 ing, installments were called in as wanted for the 
 work. In this way the principal capital was raised. 
 It was regarded necessary to have at least half, and 
 
METHOD OF BUSINESS. 59 
 
 tiometimes three-fourths or the whole of the amoun 
 needed in the form of stock. If bonds were issued 
 it was not done until the investment by stock had 
 made a good basis for the security of the bonds. 
 The bonds were usually sold under advertisement 
 to the highest bidder, provided there was no restric- 
 tion as to usury, and commanded par, or nearly 
 par, for seven per cent, bonds. 
 
 Gradually the old method of conducting the 
 finances gave way to a different system. In the 
 ardor of the railway movement, opportunity was 
 afforded for men to enter into their management, 
 not faithfully to discharge a trust, but for the pur- 
 pose of enriching themselves at the expense of those 
 who confided in their supposed fidelity. Such men 
 have ruined the stock, and greatly impaired the in- 
 terest of the bond proprietors of railways that 
 should have been the best investments of this kind 
 in the country. A small clique of such men will 
 often baffle the efforts of a majority of fair-minded 
 directors, and gradually deplete the proprietary in- 
 terest. They enter the management with fair pre- 
 tensions, and contrive to obtain sufficient, if not most 
 of the proxies for elections. Where the railway is 
 far distant from most of the proprietors, and they 
 know little except from reports, the means for con- 
 trolling the institution is not difficult to compass. It 
 
60 BA1LWAY PKOPEKTY. 
 
 is hardly worth while to go into particulars, at this 
 time, of the process of the financiering of such men ; 
 they have left their marks too indelibly fixed on the 
 railways that have come under their financial man- 
 agement, to require anything more than an allusion 
 to this source of depletion, to which railway pro- 
 prietors may look for a large portion of the loss of 
 their property. This, with the method of contract- 
 ing, the construction of branch lines, and amalgama- 
 tions, has so overloaded many of our railways with 
 capital, that the prospect of the stock proprietors is 
 very discouraging, if not hopeless; and even the 
 bond proprietors find their interest greatly de- 
 pressed, and what they had regarded as very safe, 
 has proved to be very uncertain. 
 
 There can be no doubt the old method of finance 
 and contracting was the best. It had sound busi- 
 ness principles to rest on, and by it, enterprises of 
 a difficult and expensive nature have been carried 
 through, and succeeded as fairly remunerating in- 
 vestments of capital. A board of directors, with 
 fair business capacity and integrity of purpose, with 
 a competent and faithful engineer, will accomplish 
 all that can be obtained, and if they do not make 
 the enterprise profitable to the proprietors, it will 
 be for the want of sufficient inherent elements of 
 success in the enterprise itself ; and no system of 
 
METHOD OF BUSINESS. 61 
 
 wholesale contracting and jobbing financiering will 
 do as well, if investment of capital be the object of 
 the enterprise. 
 
 A practice has prevailed, I believe, very gene- 
 rally in England, of jobbing the engineering of 
 railways at a percentage of five or more per cent, 
 on the cost of the work ; the engineer employing 
 and maintaining such force in this department as 
 he judges expedient. There are two serious objec- 
 tions to this method : First, it offers an induce- 
 ment to the engineer to increase the cost of the 
 work and secondly, to employ an inadequate force 
 and capacity of assistants to meet the proper super- 
 vision of the duties that devolve on this depart- 
 ment of service. It encourages a speculating spirit 
 of action in the engineer ; and this once getting 
 hold of his mind, will be very likely to lead to 
 many abuses. A fixed salary should be the only 
 pecuniary resource an engineer should have in 
 view, in a work committed to his supervision, and 
 if he possesses the morality that should control him, 
 his entire energies will be devoted to the duties he 
 owes to the proprietors, and as umpire between 
 them and the contractors. An engineer devoted to 
 the acquisition of knowledge, in the noble and re- 
 sponsible objects of his profession, and the attain- 
 ment of the high character that should animate and 
 
62 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 possess those who are charged with the care and 
 management of the interests of others, will have no 
 time for speculating schemes ; and it may be set 
 down as a rule, that an engineer given to specula- 
 tion and effort for a rapid accumulation of wealth, 
 will be superficial in his professional acquirements, 
 and very unsafe in his duties generally, and espe- 
 cially as an umpire between the proprietors and the 
 contractors. 
 
 It is often remarked, that the estimates of engi- 
 neers, made of the cost of projected works, are much 
 below the actual expenditure. No doubt this is 
 very generally true. The engineer who makes the 
 estimate must bear the responsibility, at least so 
 far as professional reputation is concerned. He is 
 exposed to the suspicion of acting with a view to 
 obtain occupation in the prospective supervision of 
 the work. He is not, however, the only erring 
 party. Men who have an indirect interest to serve, 
 are often engaged as promoters, and perhaps mana- 
 gers of the preliminary business of the enterprise : 
 to whom the actual cost and net income are second- 
 ary considerations subordinate to the incidental 
 benefits they expect to derive from a railway. 
 Their object is to induce capitalists to furnish funds 
 for construction ; and to make it as promising as 
 possible, a low estimate of cost is advantageous. 
 
METHOD OF BUSINESS. 63 
 
 Such persons accompany the engineer in his ex< 
 animations, and usually represent the facilities of 
 the work, in the most favorable light. All kinds 
 of material wanted for construction are easily and 
 cheaply to be had ; and if some desirable kind does 
 not present itself, substitutes, though of acknow- 
 ledged inferiority, are strongly urged as proper 
 and suitable under the circumstances the aspects 
 of trade are urged as offering the prospect of low 
 rates for all kinds of labor. These are pressed on 
 the consideration of the engineer, not merely by an 
 individual, but generally by the influential men he 
 meets in the course of his examination. To meet 
 these influences, he has comparatively small means 
 and limited time. Often the parties that bring 
 these influences to bear, furnish the means for the 
 preliminary survey and estimate, and the engineer 
 is not allowed to be ignorant of the result of an un- 
 favorable estimate; namely, that the money fur- 
 nished for the survey will be lost to those who 
 have been his patrons. To all this it will be pro- 
 perly said, the engineer should not allow himself 
 to be controlled by influences that lead him into 
 professional errors. A less reprehensible source of 
 error, in original estimates, is found in the inade- 
 quacy of the views and plans of work, to meet the 
 unexpected demands of the traffic : the develop- 
 
64: RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 ments of business raising this sometimes 100 per 
 cent, above the original estimates of trade, and con- 
 sequently demanding works of more capacity of 
 accommodation, and necessarily of greater expense. 
 This state of things is not unusual, and while the 
 cost of construction is carried up to meet a largei 
 traffic than was anticipated, it is not reasonable to 
 hold the engineer responsible for the excess that 
 arises from this contingency. 
 
 The duty involved in the preliminary survey anc 
 estimate for an important railway enterprise is no 
 easy task. To do it properly, so as to secure a 
 reasonable approximation to the cost, the engineer 
 should have sufficient time and means to make sur- 
 veys, essentially adequate for a location of line by 
 trial pits obtain at least a fair general knowledge 
 of the soils to be excavated prepare plans for the 
 various structures in sufficient detail, to enable 
 him to make computation of the quantities for the 
 several kinds of work required and to ascertain 
 the existing facilities for obtaining materials for the 
 wants of the various structures necessary in the 
 work. Thus prepared, an estimate may be made 
 that would form a reasonably safe basis for the 
 financial interest involved in the construction of a 
 railway. This method, however, is rarely adopted. 
 No one perhaps will object to it-, as being a sound 
 
METHOD OF BUSINESS. 65 
 
 and sensible mode of reaching the object. But it 
 requires considerable expense and time to obtain 
 the desired information in this way ; the means may 
 be wanting to meet the expense, and patience is 
 wanting to grant the necessary time. 
 
 If a company of discreet business men should 
 undertake the construction of a railway for the 
 single object of making it an investment of funds, 
 they would proceed in the manner last described, 
 preferring to risk a loss of one per cent, in obtain- 
 ing reliable knowledge of the probable cost, to 
 that of hazarding greater loss by trusting to insuffi- 
 cient examination. It does not invalidate the argu- 
 ment, that the proceedings in the preliminary steps 
 for this kind of enterprise have generally been of a 
 different character ; and that, notwithstanding this 
 deficiency in examination, they have sometimes 
 been successful; for while cases of success have 
 occurred, many have resulted unfavorably, greatly 
 disappointing the expectations of the promoters of 
 the enterprise. 
 
 There are two legitimate objects that appertain 
 to the construction of a railway, namely, the direct 
 one of making it a profitable investment as a divi- 
 dend-paying enterprise; the other, the indirect 
 benefits to trade, general intercouse, and to increase 
 the " value of houses and lands." For either of 
 
DO RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 these, a man may legitimately seek to promote his 
 interest by furnishing funds for a railway ; and in 
 either case, he will need the same care in all the 
 methods of business. Other inducements to pro- 
 mote the enterprise may be found by speculat- 
 ing men, who contemplate benefits to arise out of 
 the current business of the corporation as the 
 contracting, that looks only to the chance of a good 
 job, to be secured by a position of influence ; also 
 the financiering, that looks to the use that may be 
 made of transactions in the stock, bonds, branch 
 lines, amalgamations, and other fiscal operations of 
 the company and have no further regard to the 
 funds, or the econ'omy of the work, than may be 
 necessary to secure their personal object. How- 
 ever little desirable, the latter have been fully 
 represented in many important enterprises of this 
 kind, as the history of railway management too 
 clearly shows. In England they had one of this 
 sort, who was styled " railway king," and at one 
 time many people supposed it hardly possible to 
 build a railway without the support of his coopera- 
 tion. He was regarded a man of extraordinary 
 capacity, and his advice was sought as of one pos- 
 sessed of incomprehensible powers. The deception, 
 however, as to his great powers of business, was 
 not of long continuance. His frauds were disco- 
 
MRTH3D OF BUSINESS. 67 
 
 vered ; the diadem stripped from his brow, and his 
 seat in parliament did not secure him from the 
 degradation so fully earned by the abuse of mis- 
 placed confidence. Our country has not escaped 
 the influence of this class of men, nor can we claim 
 
 -exemption from the blind devotion that gave them 
 power of mischief. In proportion to capital, they 
 have probably been as injurious to railway invest- 
 ments in this country as in England. If their 
 history could be read by railway, proprietors, it 
 would point out a cause for a large share of their 
 losses, which arise from excessive capital in the con- 
 struction account, and which weigh down the 
 stock of many railway corporations with a load 
 that hardly admits the hope of recuperation; 
 and this on lines that, under sound management, 
 should have been good investments of funds. 
 
 From what has been said in relation to contract- 
 ing, no imputation must be inferred in respect to 
 the honest contractor, who in fair and open competi- 
 tion takes his contract ; nor are the contracting par- 
 ties to be regarded as so mischievous as those who 
 hold indirect interest in their contracts by means 
 of oflicial influence. The great field of action for 
 
 f depleting a railway corporation will be found, for the 
 most part, within the board of directors ; at the same 
 time, there may be a majority, or a respectable 
 
68 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 minority of intelligent and fair-minded directors, 
 who would do nothing knowingly to injure the 
 property of the corporation. Two, three, or four 
 men in the direction generally conduct affairs ; and 
 if these are fair and upright men, the institu- 
 tion may be properly conducted. But if not, they 
 may easily manage affairs with reference to their 
 personal interest, which will be developed by 
 placing men in their own interest in all positions 
 of trust, and keeping the books to their own liking, 
 so that other directors will find difficulty in obtain- 
 ing information of the real course of proceeding 
 And if perchance any one becomes suspicious and 
 troublesome, no effort will be spared to impair his 
 influence. He is impracticable, an old fogy, not up 
 to railway times, or is influenced by jealousy ; and 
 his less suspicious associates, busied with their pri- 
 vate affairs, and having no time for long stories, pass 
 over his complaints, and put them down as the result 
 of a suspicious mind, and no serious objection is made 
 at the next election to leaving out of the board the 
 impracticable director. Now, perhaps with a little 
 more caution, the ruling men go on, more or less to 
 the damage of the proprietors. No doubt much 
 of the evil of unfaithful management arises from 
 the fact, that directors have generally but little 
 practical knowledge of railway business, and con- 
 
METHOD OF BUSINESS. GO 
 
 sequently are easily misled by artful and unfaithful 
 associates. The business, moreover, is of great 
 detail, and requires much time to obtain an intelli- 
 gent knowledge of affairs, especially if not con- 
 ducted on the most direct and strict principles of 
 business ; and directors are not generally disposed 
 to give the time necessary for thorough examina- 
 tion. They receive little or no compensation ; their 
 position is regarded an honorary one, and they 
 naturally expect the officers to do the work; if 
 they act on a committee, they expect all the work 
 prepared to their hand. This is clearly wrong; 
 they should make full investigation and know from 
 original sources the basis of their action. But this 
 would require much time, and the officers, Very 
 likely, would feel themselves insulted by such 
 manifestation of want of confidence, and if coun- 
 tenanced by their friends in the direction, they 
 might, by indirect proceedings, greatly embarrass, 
 if not defeat the object of the committee. Such 
 interference, however, if attempted, would cease, 
 if the practice of investigation was vigorously 
 maintained. A committee of the board of direc- 
 tors, under no circumstances, are of service to the 
 proprietors, if they are of that party in the board 
 that "may hold rule adversely to the proprietary 
 interest, as they are to be regarded a mere cloak to 
 
TO RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 more effectually hide what should be seen. It is 
 apparent, the safety of the property must depend 
 on the efficient action of a competent and faithful 
 board of directors, and it would be better for the 
 interest of the institution to make them such com- 
 pensation as would be reasonable for the time 
 devoted to the management, and thereby fix a 
 business responsibility ; to ask them to devote their 
 time, and to neglect other business, without remu- 
 neration, is not reasonable, and rarely expedient. 
 Yery few men devote themselves to transact the 
 business of others, without compensation in some 
 form, and if it is not direct and open, it may be 
 indirect, and this no-compensation may be regarded 
 as liable to be of the most expensive kind for the 
 proprietors. Honor will satisfy some men that can 
 afford the time, but, in general, the ox that tread- 
 eth out the corn, must needs have a portion. 
 
OliADLNQ. 71 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 GRADING. 
 
 GRADING is understood to embrace all the work 
 required to bring the surface of the ground to the 
 grade lines, and is mostly earth-work ; for a limited 
 extent of line it is rock-work. This work prepares 
 the bed for the superstructure, and when the earth 
 is not composed of sufficiently hard gravel (and 
 this only happens occasionally) it is excavated to a 
 proper depth, so as to give space for the ballast. 
 In this branch of construction the drainage is to be 
 provided for, and is a very important part of the 
 work. The most experienced engineers were early 
 impressed with the necessity of thorough attention 
 to this, as essential to a good railway. In soils 
 through which water percolates freely, as coarse 
 gravel and sand, the drainage may be so well 
 provided for as to require little attention ; but most 
 soils are too retentive for this, and require drains to 
 be so made, as to take the water off quickly to some 
 natural or artificial channel, which will carry it 
 beyond the reach cf influence on the road-bed. It 
 
. RAILWAY PKOPEBTT. 
 
 is not sufficient to reduce the level of the water 
 merely to the base of the road-bed, or foundation 
 of the ballast. "Water standing at or near this level, 
 will soften the foundation and allow the ballast to 
 settle, and thus derange the superstructure. Stand- 
 ing water at this level, while it leaves the top of the 
 ballast dry, will, by capillary attraction, rise so as to 
 soften the bottom, and particularly the close reten- 
 tive soil that forms the bed of the ballast. An 
 embankment that has a standing pool of water 
 against it, though three or four feet below its top, 
 will be impaired in its stability for supporting the 
 superstructure, so as to require frequent adjustment 
 of the rails. Whether from rain or springs, the 
 water should have quick passage to some point 
 beyond the reach of influence on the road-bed ; and 
 if the embankment be exposed to standing water 
 that cannot be removed, its height, if practicable, 
 should be raised, with heavy gravel and stones, at 
 least four feet (and six would be preferable) above 
 its standing level. It is not often this difficulty 
 exists to an extent that cannot be removed by 
 opening ditches so as to lead the water to lower 
 ground. 
 
 It is not often that much difficulty or expense ib 
 encountered to protect embankments against the 
 influence of water ; they are raised above the natu 
 
GRADING. 73 
 
 ral surface of the ground, and by moderate ditching 
 their base is easily laid dry. According to the 
 nature of the soil on which they rest, they require 
 more or less attention, in order to insure their 
 stability, and give regular support to the super- 
 structure. Where circumstances give ' a choice of 
 grade, it is always best to adopt that which raises 
 the rail above the natural surface two or three feet ; 
 this with small side ditches generally gives a good 
 drainage : it makes a cheap road-bed, and is parti- 
 cularly important if ballasting material is not con- 
 venient. It generally happens, however, that such 
 locations admit of cheaper grading, by running the 
 grade nearer the natural surface of the ground ; a 
 circumstance that a contractor working by the mile 
 or under a lumping contract, who has power to 
 modify grades, will most likely take advantage of, 
 to the detriment of the proprietors. 
 
 In excavation, there is no way of obtaining ade- 
 quate drainage but by side ditches, that are low 
 enough to take the water from the road-bed. This 
 requires the width of excavation beyond what is re- 
 quired for the road-bed, to be sufficient for the side- 
 ditches. The bottom of these ditches should be 
 not less than six inches below the foundation of the 
 ballast, when the latter is two feet deep, or with 
 more shallow depth of ballast, not less than two and 
 
 4 
 
RAILWAY PEOPERTY. 
 
 a half feet below the top of the ballast, and provided 
 with a quick discharge, that will readily carry off 
 all falling water. If the ground be springy, and 
 furnish water constantly, or the greater part of 
 the time, the ditches should be deeper, so as to effec- 
 tually take the water from the foundation or road- 
 bed. The ground that forms the foundation of the 
 ballast should be shaped so as to easily lead the water 
 that settles though the ballast to the side ditches. In 
 long cuttings, with level or nearly level grades, it 
 is advisable, where circumstances permit, to raise 
 the grade at the point from which the water will 
 most readily flow, so as to give more free and easy 
 discharge from the ditches through the cut. The 
 inconvenience to the traffic in such cases, by the 
 extra rise of grade, will be more than compensated 
 by the superior condition in which the track will be 
 maintained under more perfect drainage. It is 
 obvious different soils will require different degrees 
 of attention to drainage ; but it is not probable any 
 will receive more attention than will be useful. To 
 make the necessary ditches in deep cuttings involves 
 considerable expense in opening the cuttings wide 
 enough to provide for the widths and slopes of the 
 side ditches. From the desire to avoid as much as 
 possible this expense, the ditches are generally in- 
 adequate ; small at first, and soon filled up from 
 
GRADING. 75 
 
 the wash of the banks. The width required for a 
 side ditch and its slopes will vary in different soils ; 
 but it will rarely happen in soils of a retentive kind 
 that less than eight feet will be sufficient to do the 
 work well. This for the two ditches requires sixteen 
 feet to be added to the width of the cutting, besides 
 what is necessary for the road-bed. This extra 
 width of cutting, it will be perceived, does not 
 increase the excavation in proportion to the whole 
 cut ; for the slopes are required for any width, and 
 the addition is a parallelogram of the extra width 
 and depth of the cutting. If, however, the cut be 
 deep, it will add considerably to the excavation, and 
 hence twenty feet width has often been adopted as 
 the rule instead of twenty-six to thirty feet. In 
 rock-cutting, as no slope is required, the ditch will 
 need much less width ; and the drainage is not as 
 important as in earth cuttings. The ballast cannot 
 sink in rock, and if it be of a hard gravel or broken 
 stone it will not suffer much from water ; at the 
 same time, it will not answer to neglect drainage 
 even in rock-cuttings, as frost would operate in cold 
 weather on the ballast, and by heaving derange the 
 superstructure : also, if the ballast is not of a supe- 
 rior quality, drainage is necessary to enable it to 
 bear the service of trains. 
 
 This is a department of work very likely to be 
 
76 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 imperfectly done, if the funds provided are made 
 quate to the work, and the ruling effort is to get a 
 railway on which trains may be run at some rate. 
 The railways made under general contracts almost 
 invariably fail in securing good, or even tolerable 
 drainage. The after- work that follows imperfection 
 in this respect, usually, and it may be said always, 
 is done at a great increase of cost ; and it will gene- 
 rally be a long time before it will be brought to a 
 reasonable degree of perfection. In the meantime 
 great injury is experienced to the rails and rolling 
 machinery. Railways intended to be run more or 
 less (as is often the case) without ballast, or with 
 light and imperfect ballast, are especially in need 
 of good drainage. It cannot be recommended to open 
 a railway for transportation without ballast, but if 
 circumstances demand this, the drainage should be 
 thoroughly done, in order to obtain the best condi- 
 tion for poor materials that is practicable to sustain 
 the service of trains. By thorough attention to this 
 department of work, inferior soil may sustain a con- 
 siderable traffic. In any case, where there is a 
 want of suitable material for ballast, or if the funds 
 are not at command to put it on, the machinery of 
 the railway should be much lighter than may be 
 suitable for use on a well ballasted railway. 
 
 There can be no doubt the railways of our coun- 
 
GRADING. 77 
 
 try are greatly deficient in drainage. This causes 
 a large additional expense in repairs of track, and 
 in the wear and tear of rolling machinery. No rail- 
 way management that neglects thorough drainage 
 can be regarded as sound in economy ; the saving 
 in the original outlay will be much more than 
 absorbed by the extra subsequent expenditure pro- 
 bably three or four fold. If the grade line of a 
 railway has been laid so low that the water cannot 
 be fully taken off by drainage, the grade should 
 be raised so as to carry it out of the reach of this 
 destructive influence. 
 
 In a work recently published by Colburn and 
 Holley, on European railways, there are some very 
 appropriate remarks on the subject of drainage, con- 
 trasting foreign and American railways in this 
 respect. They go to show the superiority of the 
 English practice over the American.* Drainage is 
 
 * Though I approve of Messrs. Colburn and Holley's remark? 
 on the subject of drainage, I must protest against some of their 
 statements of facts. They state the width of cutting on the Hudson 
 River Railway at 16 feet for single and 26 feet for double track ; 
 whereas, the fact is, 26 feet for single and 40 feet for double track 
 in earth-work, exclusive of side slopes. I notice other errors iu 
 relation to that railway. I refer to the section between New York 
 and Poughkeepsie, which was constructed under my supervision, 
 but do not know the dimensions of this work between Pough- 
 keepsie and Albany. 
 
78 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 a feature in this kind of work that should never be 
 lost sight of by the engineer, whether he is con 
 Btructing new work or supervising a railway in 
 operation. 
 
 The embankments or fillings required in grounds 
 that are below the grade level are not usually diffi- 
 cult works, as to the mode of execution. Where 
 the level of the natural surface is not more than 
 five feet below the grade level, the perishable mat- 
 ter should be removed from the base of the bank. 
 For greater heights it is often expedient to remove 
 the coarser kinds, and especially such as would 
 injure the early consolidation of the embankment. 
 In low banks, from one to four feet in height, and all 
 that may require side drains, the first material 
 should be taken from the side ditches, so far as they 
 may afford it of suitable quality, or that sufficiently 
 free from vegetable matter. By judicious manage- 
 ment in such cases, the most effective drainage may 
 be secured at small expense. If the ordinary width 
 of ditches does not furnish sufficient material for the 
 embankments, they should be laid out and cut such 
 additional widths as may be necessary, keeping an 
 eye to the most efficient drainage. The extent of 
 this will be controlled by circumstances ; as a sur- 
 plus from cuttings, or more convenient source for 
 borrowing, where no more width need be given the? 
 
GRADING. 79 
 
 side ditches than may be required for good draining. 
 So far as the surface of the country will permit the 
 grade line to be established at two or three feet 
 above the natural surface of the ground, it is the 
 most favorable for the construction of a railway ; 
 and in laying out the work in such cases, care should 
 be given to cut the material from side ditches, or 
 otherwise borrowed for filling, in a regular form, 
 extending over no more ground than is necessary 
 to obtain the amount wanted. The slovenly, irre- 
 gular manner in which this is often done, taking 
 unnecessary ground, and leaving bars and patches 
 that injure the drainage and give a barbarous, 
 untasteful appearance to the work and the country, 
 is no credit to the taste, judgment, economy or 
 management of the supervising engineer, if there be 
 any such, not controlled by the contractor. The 
 first resource for material for filling after the side 
 ditches required for drainage are exhausted, should 
 be the excavation from the prism of cuttings. It 
 should be the rule in establishing grades, to absorb 
 the excavations in the embankments ; and it will be 
 best, as far as circumstances permit, to provide that 
 the excavations be rather short, and if necessary to 
 have more material from the cuttings, to obtain the 
 balance by an increased width, and thereby improve 
 the facilities of drainage. So far as this method can 
 
80 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 be carried out, it gives the most neat and finished 
 aspect to the work, avoids unsightly spoil-banks, 
 gives the least slope-face to be subject to the wash 
 of rains, and in every way gives the greatest advan- 
 tage for easy and effective drainage. If the undu- 
 lations of the natural surface be short, it is not often 
 difficult for the engineer to establish the grade, 
 so as substantially to secure this result, without 
 unreasonable haulage. But if the undulations be 
 long and rather heavy, the haulage may be long 
 and the expense too great, and spoil-banks must be 
 formed. It will be better to pay some additional 
 haulage, rather than put material into spoil-banks ; 
 and the engineer should carefully consider the 
 question. By suitable provision of temporary track, 
 where the quantity of earth to be moved is large, 
 the expense of moving may be greatly reduced, and 
 the cost of moving it horizontally a considerable 
 distance will be less than to put it into spoil-bank, 
 and in most cases it will be found the best economy 
 to encounter the haulage, and put the material into 
 embankments. If the side ditches and excavations 
 from the prism of cuttings do not furnish sufficient 
 material for the embankments, it must be made 
 up by what is termed borrowing : i. e. taken from 
 grounds outside of the regular work. This should 
 be done with as much care in reference to form a. 
 
GRADING. 81 
 
 circumstances may permit, so as to do no unneces- 
 sary damage to the lands by waste or disfiguration. 
 By a little attention to this, much dissatisfaction 
 to landowners will be avoided, and neatness in the 
 work secured, without sacrifice of sound economy. 
 
 The best mode of building an embankment, in 
 order to secure early and regular consolidation, is to 
 carry the material on by carts and wagons, laying it 
 over the surface in regular courses of six to twelve 
 inches. If the material be lumpy (as is very often 
 the case), the feet of the horses and wheels of the 
 vehicles will break it down and compact it, and 
 thereby secure an even and early consolidation. 
 "Where the material is within carting distance, this 
 course can be easily adopted, and is of great advan- 
 tage in securing early stability to the road-bed. If 
 it be necessary to haul the material by a railway, this 
 cannot be done ; as it must be dumped from the cars 
 standing on the grade levels and forms a looser bank 
 than any other mode, not excepting that by the bar- 
 row, for in this case, though not effecting consolida- 
 tion in the process, the material may be laid on in 
 regular courses, and by exposure to the air and rains 
 acquires more compactness and regularity of firm- 
 ness in the progress of the work, than that done by 
 cars. It is apparent that according to the mode of 
 construction and time for consolidation during the 
 
 4* 
 
82 KAUWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 progress of the work, allowance ghould be made in 
 the height and top width of the bank, to provide for 
 settling. This can only be done on the judgment 
 of the engineer, whose experience must be the 
 guide, as to how much will be necessary to secure 
 the proper height and width after consolidation. 
 In addition to the waste by shrinkage or settlement, 
 the banks will lose by the wash of heavy rains, 
 until by compactness and a covering of vegetation 
 they may be able to resist this influence. For as in 
 cuttings, insufficient dimensions in the banks will 
 cause much after-work, which is always done at 
 increased cost after the railway is put in operation. 
 
 The slopes of cuttings and embankments may 
 vary in different soils, but rarely should be less 
 than one and a half horizontal to one vertical, 
 unless there be walling or other artificial means 
 to support them. 
 
 Embankments on soft marshy grounds require 
 much attention. If the formation of the adjacent 
 country permit it, the grade should be brought as 
 near the level of the marsh as will admit suitable 
 drainage. If the marsh can be drained only a few 
 feet, it will improve its capacity to bear the railway 
 trains. The object of reducing the grade in such 
 cases is to avoid the weight of bank, leaving as near 
 as possible its total strength for the support of 
 
GRADING. 83 
 
 trains. After such improvement by draining us 
 may be practicable, it will usually be necessary to 
 do something to form a broad base for the support 
 of the road-bed. Fascines, or small sapling trees, 
 from half an inch to one inch in diameter, made up 
 in bundles of six to eight inches in diameter, and 
 eight to ten feet long, have been regarded as the 
 best means of securing a broad and equal-bearing 
 base. The mode of laying them is across the track, 
 breaking joints and compacting them together, so as 
 to cover a width corresponding to the nature of 
 the marsh usually ^about sixteen feet for single 
 track. If well put in, they form a mass that in 
 most cases is of sufficient strength ; they fit well 
 and uniformly on the marshy soil, and being elas- 
 tic, are better than a foundation of more rigid 
 material. Other methods may answer a useful 
 purpose, as a course of trees, five to ten inches in 
 diameter, laid across the track, and closely chincked 
 by a smaller and shorter course, under the road 
 bed. Courses of plank may be put down, taking 
 care to have an extra course of shorter plank under 
 the road bed, so as to diffuse the pressure on the 
 course first laid. Longitudinal sleepers for a sup- 
 port to the cross sleepers of the track may be bene- 
 ficially adopted in some cases, to further diffuse the 
 pressure on the foundation. It must be kept in 
 
84: KAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 mind that any plan depending on the crust, or 
 upper surface of the marsh, must be liable to some 
 degree of uncertainty, and- great care in the exami- 
 nation is necessary, in order to determine whethei 
 there is sufficient substance to support the railway. 
 The marsh may be too soft ; if not on the surface, 
 at some point below, which is sometimes more filled 
 with water, and softer than the surface, and by 
 yielding under pressure, causes the crust to break 
 in. The surface of a marsh sometimes, by the 
 growth for ages of aquatic plants, acquires a con- 
 siderable degree of firmness, while the sub-stratum 
 is very soft, and so intermixed with water, that it is 
 easily displaced by pressure on the surface. This may 
 generally be ascertained by careful soundings, noting 
 the pressure required to force the iron sounding-rod 
 at different depths as it passes through the marsh. 
 
 By a process essentially similar to that first 
 described (by fascines), the Liverpool and Manches- 
 ter Kail way, in England, was carried about four 
 miles across the celebrated " Chat Moss," which 
 has been represented as a very soft, spongy marsh, 
 but not as soft as some we have had to con- 
 tend with in this country. It was susceptible of 
 improvement by ditching ; and after the drainage it 
 received from the railway works, a large portion 
 was reduced to cultivation. In 1850, I saw hun 
 
GRADING. 85 
 
 drcds of acres of nearly matured wheat, barley and 
 oats, of luxuriant growth, waving on each side of 
 the railway. This proved the marsh to have had a 
 good degree of substance, which, being consolidated 
 by drainage, has, with the aid of fascines, supported 
 a heavy railway traffic for over thirty years. 
 George Stephenson, Esq., the engineer of this 
 work, showed great boldness and self-reliance in 
 the undertaking, and no doubt had many anxieties 
 during the progress as to whether or not it would 
 answer the purpose, and is eminently entitled to 
 the credit of success. But it would not be safe to 
 conclude that all marshes could be successfully 
 treated by the same process ; at the same time, it 
 should lead the engineer that meets this kind of 
 obstacle to the most thorough examination to ascer- 
 tain the probability of his being able to cross a 
 marsh by works that may be supported on its sur 
 face, as this is by far the least expensive. 
 
 If the country surrounding a marsh is too high 
 above it to permit bringing the grade level near 
 its surface, and a heavy embankment is required to 
 carry it across, there will be little probability that 
 the crust will sustain the weight. If the soundings 
 show the marsh to be shallow, it may be filled in the 
 usual way, by which the material will force the soft 
 mud, until it finds support on the solid substance bty 
 
86 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 low. But if there be found great depth of vegetable 
 matter, it will be important to conduct the filling 
 so as to make the marsh material available as far as 
 practicable, and thereby reduce the quantity. The 
 soft, vegetable matter and fine mud, fully saturated 
 with water, will yield laterally before the bank 
 filling, and the surface of the marsh on each side will 
 rise from the pressure of the solid earth filling, as it 
 passes toward the bottom of the marsh. If the 
 marsh material can be kept under the filling, instead 
 of being pushed aside, it will be compressed until 
 it is capable of sustaining the weight of filling ; and 
 though it will be much reduced in bulk, it will be 
 an important saving in expense. A narrow bank, 
 dumped on a soft marsh, acts like a wedge, on the 
 semi-aqueous material, to force it laterally, and 
 displaces horizontally what it is desirable to com- 
 press. To guard against this, make the base of the 
 filling wide in the commencement, and fill it evenly 
 on the outer parts, keeping the centre of filling be- 
 low the sides as much as convenient. According 
 to the texture of the marsh, this floor of filling 
 should be extended beyond the width required for 
 the filling, ten to twenty feet, and carried up as far as 
 may appear necessary to prevent the marsh rising 
 outside the bank, but not to such weight as will 
 break the crust of the marsh, unless the latter is 
 
GRADING. 87 
 
 very soft. This extension will tend to hold the 
 marsh material" in place, and cause it to settle 
 under the filling, instead of moving it laterally, 
 and thus secure the compression of the marsh 
 material under the bank filling. In the process, 
 care will be required to carry the outsides of filling, 
 with the extension filling, forward of the pressure 
 on the central part, so that the soft earth will move 
 from the sides toward the centre, and finally the 
 central filling will compress it vertically instead of 
 laterally. The compression may reduce the bulk 
 one half or more, but still it will be an important 
 saving in the filling that would otherwise be 
 required in the base, and the bank will come to a 
 rest much sooner than if it is so formed as to force 
 the marsh material outward. The plan of spread- 
 ing the bank, if the marsh is not very soft, and thus 
 guarding against lateral movement, will reduce the 
 general sinking of the bank, and in some cases will 
 prevent the breaking of the crust, and save much 
 expense. The engineer cannot be too cautious in 
 examining by thorough soundings of the marshes 
 in his way. Sometimes boring may be advan- 
 tageous ; but in general a good sounding-rod will 
 enable him to judge of its character. In the haste 
 that often prevails in commencing the construction 
 of railways, and from the fact that marshes only 
 
88 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 occur occasionally, this preliminary examination ia 
 often very imperfect, and the evil is not understood 
 until the work has made considerable progress ; the 
 crust often sustaining a considerable height of bank, 
 and then yielding suddenly, the bank wholly dis- 
 appears, leaving only water to mark its track. At 
 this stage of the work, if the marsh be deep and 
 of considerable length, it may, and probably will 
 be, the best plan to proceed at once with exten- 
 sion banks on each side, so as to arrest the lateral 
 movement as much as possible. If they be short 
 and not very deep, it will probably be best to con- 
 tinue the filling as begun, which will result in build- 
 ing a bank from near the foundation of the marsh. 
 
 The width of embankment has often received too 
 little attention, hardly forming in some cases suffi- 
 cient support, when new, for the cross sleepers, and 
 the deterioration of a fresh-made and insufficient 
 bank, by settling and the wash of rains, will re- 
 quire constant repairs to maintain the track iii 
 operation. After allowance for settling, the top 
 width of bank should extend not less than three 
 feet beyond the end of cross sleepers on each side, 
 to give firm support to the track. Care should be 
 taken to give an inclination on the top, from the 
 centre each way, to carry the falling water quickly 
 to the sides, and prevent it as much as possible 
 
GRADING. 89 
 
 from sinking into the road-bed. With nine feet cross 
 sleepers this gives a bank of 15 feet width, or 
 about five feet outside of the outer rail on common 
 gauge, arid may be considered sufficient for banks 
 raised only a few feet above the natural surface. 
 This width, however, is not sufficient to afford ade- 
 quate protection against a car or engine that has left 
 the track from running off the bank ; nor is this 
 important on low banks, not of sufficient height to 
 upset the engine or coach. The occurrence of rail- 
 way vehicles leaving the track is comparatively 
 rare; still it does occur, and at times on an embank- 
 ment, the car or engine passes over the margin 
 and upsets on its slope, doing much damage to per- 
 sons and property. According to the height of 
 embankment and the exposure in this respect, 
 attention should be given to secure reasonable 
 safety. On the Hudson River Railway between 
 New York and Poughkeepsie, the width established 
 in the construction for the river side of the track 
 was ten feet outside the outer rail. The object was 
 to prevent a car, on leaving the track, from falling 
 into the river. Unless the train is propelled with 
 unusual force, this is believed to be sufficient to 
 prevent it from passing off the bank ; and after ten 
 years operation on that line, I have not heard of an 
 instance occurring over the ten feet margin. It is 
 
90 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 obvious that this question depends on the speed 
 of trains, and the curvature and condition of the 
 railway and machinery. Near all bridges of con- 
 siderable height, a margin of ten feet is as little as 
 can be regarded reasonably safe ; and to give proper 
 security in this respect, all banks of sufficient 
 height to upset a car in passing off the track, 
 should have a margin of seven feet, and if of great 
 height or otherwise exposed to great hazard in this 
 respect, they should have a margin of ten feet. It 
 is well known that little regard is paid to this fea- 
 ture in our railways ; and for the most part they 
 have experienced only occasional damage. Still 
 serious accidents have occurred for the want of 
 adequate marginal width, demanding the exercise 
 of greater care in guarding by all reasonable pre- 
 caution against their recurrence. The expense is 
 the objection to this view of marginal widths, and 
 in very high banks, will be considerable ; especially 
 if the material for filling is not convenient ; and 
 want of funds will be likely (as it has done) to 
 induce the narrow and less safe margin ; but the 
 instances that often occur, where material may be 
 moved at moderate cost for the safe and proper 
 width, should be improved to give as much safety 
 as may be practicable in this respect. On railways 
 of moderate traffic, where high speed is not re- 
 
GRADING. 91 
 
 quired, a margin of five feet will generally do j ery 
 well, and as traffic and speed increase, it should be 
 enlarged in a corresponding degree, for all ligh 
 and hazardous banks. 
 
 In carrying a railway through a forest of h( avy 
 timber, all trees that by falling would reach the 
 track, should be felled and cleared off. The best 
 method is to clear all the timber within 100 feet 
 of the rail ; this distance will ordinarily prote< t the 
 track from the danger of falling trees, and by y^en- 
 ing the railway to the sun, be of great ben< f i to 
 the track. 
 
BAIL WAY PROPERTY. 
 
 CHAPTEK YI. 
 
 BRIDGES AND CULVERTS. 
 
 UNDER this head may be classed such works as 
 are necessary to provide for the passage of water, 
 that, by natural streams or artificial channels, flows 
 across the railway. The term culvert is used for 
 works on small streams, and bridges for large ones. 
 No exact line seems to have been settled, to deter- 
 mine the dimensions that constitutes the extent of 
 opening for a culvert, and where a bridge begins ; 
 but the true culvert is usually applied to arched 
 openings not exceeding 20 feet, and covered by an 
 embankment. The same style of work, however, is 
 sometimes carried to openings of 30 feet, when the 
 parapets are merely retaining walls for the em- 
 bankment over the arch, and may with propriety 
 be styled culverts. 
 
 There is no material for culverts equal to sound, 
 durable stone. In a climate of moderate tempera- 
 ture, good hard-burnt brick will answer very well ; 
 but where severe frosts act on the structure, stone 
 is much better. So far, therefore, as the formation 
 
BRIDGES AND CULVERTS. 93 
 
 of the country will permit (and a location that 
 makes suitable provision for drainage will usually 
 permit it), there should be provided room for arched 
 culverts. "Where only a small opening of one and 
 a half to two feet is required, or even two and a 
 half feet, and sound blocks of durable stone can 
 be had for covering, they may be used advanta- 
 geously instead of arches. If such covering stone 
 cannot be had, cast iron may be used, and is con- 
 sidered second only to stone ; but if durable stone, 
 and a good article of hydraulic cement can be had, 
 it is best to adopt stone-work, either on the square 
 form or arches, as the material may require. With 
 stone of fair, natural beds, laid up in the style of 
 rough hammered work, in hydraulic cement, cul- 
 verts may be made that will stand indefinitely, in 
 this way they will be of moderate cost for work- 
 manship. If the stone were squared and dressed 
 to courses, the work would be more stable ; but 
 this expense is not often necessary in railway cul- 
 verts, if a bank of several feet in depth of earth 
 lies on the arch, and between it and the superstruc- 
 ture of the railway. Care should be taken to place 
 the floor of the culvert low enough to give full 
 freedom to the drainage of the water course, and if 
 the foundation is of wood, so low that water will 
 always cover it. Wood will not answer for a foun- 
 
94 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 datiou that is dry a portion of the year. If liable 
 to this contingency, the foundation should be of 
 stone, which may be made by forming a pavement 
 across between the abutment walls, as a floor for 
 the water course, and should be in the form of an 
 inverted arch, which is more firm in itself, and 
 greatly improves the supporting foundation of the 
 abutments. If the situation does not admit of 
 timber foundations, it will not answer to use wood 
 for sheet-piling, and stone-masonry must be substi- 
 tuted. The foundations for culverts should be per- 
 fectly solid, or so as to give adequate support, and 
 if to support a bank of great height, formed in the 
 usual mode of slope sides, care should be taken to 
 give strength of foundation in proportion to the 
 pressure it is to bear, so that if any settlement take 
 place, it may be uniform. It most generally hap- 
 pens, that a good and sufficient foundation may be 
 formed on the natural ground ; the light and yield- 
 ing surface being removed with other excavations 
 required to reach the necessary depth for drainage : 
 but if such is not found, bearing piles should be 
 driven to such a depth as may be required to 
 secure stability. The foundations of bridges and 
 culverts are exposed to injury from floods, and 
 should be thoroughly protected in this respect. In 
 all cases where the water is liable to get under the 
 
BRIDGES AND CULVKRT8. 95 
 
 foundation, sheet-piling should be put down ; this 
 will generally be necessary at the head of the cul- 
 vert, and in some cases a course will be required at 
 about one-fourth to one-third of the distance below 
 the head, which should be carried up close to the 
 rear "of abutment walls, or what is better, a wing 
 buttress of masonry in connection with and above 
 this sheet-piling and projecting about three feet 
 beyond the rear face of abutment walls, and carried 
 over the crown of the arch, rising about two feet 
 above it, so as to effectually cut off any water that 
 might find a passage along the rear of the masonry, 
 and between it and the earth filling, which is liable 
 to happen when floods raise the water at the head 
 so as to give considerable pressure. Sheet-piling 
 should be very thoroughly put down at the foot of 
 the culvert, to prevent undermining by the action 
 of the water as it leaves the culvert ; in many cases 
 it will be best to substitute a wall at this end for the 
 sheet-piling, sinking the foundation as low as cir- 
 cumstances may require, to place it below the 
 power of disturbance from the discharging water. 
 The filling of earth next the culvert should be done 
 with a view to make a water-tight connection, and 
 not with sticks, stumps, stones, and earth indiscrimi- 
 nately, as is too often done. The failure of culverts 
 often arises from currents of water getting under 
 
96 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 their foundation, finding a passage behind the 
 walls, or from undermining at the lower end ; 
 hence will be seen the importance of carefully 
 attending to these details, the neglect of which will 
 very probably be followed by the loss of the cul- 
 verts, and much additional damage. It is always 
 well to place foundations low, especially if they do 
 not rest on bearing-piles or rock ; by this course, all 
 foundations in permanent streams, however small, 
 may be covered at all times with water, thereby 
 protecting any timber in the work from decay. 
 
 It not unfrequently happens, that suitable stone 
 for culverts cannot be had at reasonable expense, 
 at the time the railway is in construction, and 
 timber must be used until transportation by the 
 railway afford the means to procure it. In such 
 cases, and if the stone can be procured after the 
 railway is open, the timber, or small bridge, that 
 may be temporarily adopted, should be made with 
 sufficient opening to allow the culvert to be put in, 
 and the earth filled over it, without disturbing the 
 traffic of the railway, which may easily be done 
 If the foundation be such as to require bearing- 
 piles, it will be best to put them in before the 
 timber bridge is built, as it will be more convenient 
 to drive them before than after the railway is in 
 operation. As soon after the railway is put in 
 
BRIDGES AND CULVERTS. 97 
 
 operation as circumstances will permit, the work 
 of collecting materials and putting in the stone 
 culverts should be proceeded with ; commencing 
 with those, that from any cause may be less safe, 
 and carrying forward the work as fast as economy 
 will permit so as at least to secure completion before 
 any portion of the timber may fail. 
 
 To construct culverts of the character here con- 
 templated, the mason-work must be well done, the 
 stone well shaped and laid in good bond, and the 
 joints full bedded in hydraulic mortar. If the en- 
 gineer is careless on this point, the work will proba- 
 bly be poor. A mason is very apt to devote his 
 attention mainly to the outside face of his work, 
 leaving the interior poorly bonded, and the mortar 
 joints not half filled, and as far as filled, done with 
 untempered mortar of inferior materials. It is not 
 difficult to find samples of pretended mason-work 
 that offer no good reason for substituting it for tim- 
 ber-work. In such cases the engineer is at fault, 
 and not the principle of stone culverts. There is 
 very small comparative difference in the expense of 
 good and poor masonry, and the engineer who 
 allows the latter, cannot be justified on professional 
 or any other grounds. 
 
 Care should be taken in filling a bank over a 
 culvert, to load it equally on each side ; where it is 
 
 5 
 
98 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 done by a head bank, as is usual when the material 
 is brought on by a railway, there is great danger 
 of pushing the culvert out of form, if counterweight 
 be not brought to support it. 
 
 There have been many instances of failure in 
 railway culverts, and this has led some persons to 
 suppose they are unsafe, and that it is better to 
 adopt timber bridges. It can hardly be said that this 
 substitute more rarely fails than culverts of stone. 
 That there has been a good deal of failure in both 
 is beyond question. But I have rarely known a 
 well built culvert, with sufficient water-way, to fail, 
 though instances have occurred where the water, 
 during floods, has risen at the head from ten to fifteen 
 feet high. The real difficulty is. that the culverts of 
 late years have been to a great extent poorly built, 
 imperfectly founded and protected, and often of ina- 
 dequate dimensions for water-way. A stone culvert, 
 like any work of human hands, may fail without 
 fault, but well-built stone culverts are works of per- 
 manent and reliable character more safe for the pas- 
 sage of trains, and almost free from expense of 
 repairs ; but if the railway company have not the 
 skill necessary in their employment to construct 
 them properly, it will be better for them to procure 
 it, and not trust works of this importance to incom- 
 petent men. 
 
BRIDGES AND CULVERTS. 99 
 
 In this country bridges are mostly constructed of 
 wood ; in England, brick is very extensively used, 
 and in that mild climate may answer a good pur- 
 pose. So long as bricks continue durable, they give 
 similar stability to stone ; but in the northern States 
 of our country they cannot be recommended. In 
 any situation where good building stone may be 
 had, it admits a cheaper structure than brick ; it 
 has fewer joints and is less exposed to fracture. 
 Timber is generally used for its cheapness, and the 
 facility it affords for rapid construction. Such 
 bridges are sometimes constructed with stone abut- 
 ments and piers, but often with frame-work of the 
 same materials. It cannot be denied that in many 
 cases in this country, considerations of expense 
 absolutely control this question, and leave the engi- 
 neer no choice. It is nevertheless a matter of im 
 portance, both in regard to the permanent economy 
 of a railway, and of its safety in use. Timber has 
 only a moderate degree of durability, when exposed 
 to the vicissitudes of our climate ; and efforts for its 
 preservation in bridges in this country have not 
 been attended with any great success. Housing 
 has proved very useful for bridges on common 
 roads, but the danger of destruction from fire by 
 locomotive engines renders this form of security 
 
100 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 on railways less desirable. If a bridge is covered, 
 the inside that is exposed to fire from the engines 
 should be kept well covered with a wash of lime 
 and salt, as a protection of much value against fire. 
 Covering the top with a decking has proved of 
 doubtful utility, and many are now left to the 
 free action of the elements. 
 
 The length of time timber will last in a bridge, 
 especially an open one, is quite uncertain, and there 
 is danger that it will be trusted too long for safety. 
 The first decay will be in the joints of framing, and 
 in the interior of the scantling ; this may be to a 
 serious extent, while all exposed to observation 
 appears sound and safe. The traveller on the rail- 
 way cannot examine the bridge he must depend 
 on the railway agent, under the proprietary interest 
 in the question ; and the agent may be satisfied with 
 the exterior, or from other cause neglect the proper 
 examination, until some train falls through, when it 
 will be sadly certain that it should not have been 
 trusted so long. I have seen the record of four 
 serious disasters the past year from the giving way 
 of bridges, causing the loss of fifteen lives, and 
 injuring forty-seven persons. Others less serious to 
 life have been attended with great loss of property. 
 The present year (1859) will not be less disastrous, 
 judging from its history thus far. 
 
BRIDGES AND CULVERTS. 101 
 
 A large portion of the bridging that has been 
 built with timber spans, might be made with stone 
 arches not exceeding forty feet span, and many of 
 these with less span. Where abutments of stone 
 are made, as retaining walls for the bank, and to 
 support the timber span, in such situations as allow 
 sufficient height for arching with stone, it will often 
 be found that stone arches may be erected with 
 small additional expense over the wooden structure, 
 resting on stone abutments and piers. Arches for 
 this purpose may be substantially made with a good 
 quality of building stone and hydraulic cement at a 
 moderate cost. Dressing stone to courses is not gene- 
 rally necessary for the permanence or stability of the 
 work. Arches of unhewn stone, with proper span- 
 drels, have been successfully built of seventy-five feet 
 span, with rise of one-quarter, for the use of common 
 roads. I would not recommend going to this extent 
 without dressing the stone for a railway bridge, but 
 there is not the least difficulty in carrying them to 
 fifty feet with one-quarter to one-third rise according 
 to quality of stone. When materials can be had that 
 are suitable for abutments and piers, they can gene- 
 rally be found sufficient for the sheeting of an arch. 
 In making arches of unhewn stone, a common error 
 Bhould be avoided namely, dressing the ring or 
 heading courses ; which not settling with the rest of 
 
102 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 the arch, is very likely, in arches of considerable 
 size, to split off and separate from the main body. 
 This is mostly done for appearance, and is sadly at 
 the expense of stability. The heading should be of 
 the same workmanship as the body of the arch, giv- 
 ing it no more care than would be given to the face 
 of an undressed, wall. 
 
 There are comparatively few situations where 
 arches of more than 50 feet are required, to provide 
 sufficient opening for the water-way. If one arch 
 is not enough, two or more may be provided. 
 Small arches are less expensive for the span they 
 provide than large ones ; and hence it is often bet- 
 ter to make two arches of equal aggregate span than 
 one, to provide a given opening ; and they require 
 less height. The size of the opening for water-way 
 will depend much on the exposure to obstruction 
 from drift-wood or ice ; and it will require careful 
 observation to settle this on a safe basis. It is not 
 often serious on small streams ; but for large streams, 
 exposed to heavy floating ice and drift-wood, the 
 safety of the structure will depend materially on 
 the proper disposition of this question. The open- 
 ing that may be necessary to give free passage to 
 the water, is the first question to be considered in 
 planning a bridge or a culvert. It should be suf- 
 cient to pass any floating substance likely to be 
 
BRIDGES AND CULVERTS. 103 
 
 brought by the current to the bridge. On this point 
 it is best to err on the safe side, in order to be pre- 
 pared for that great flood, more weighty than any 
 previously known by the " oldest inhabitant." A 
 water-way barely adequate to pass a flood will 
 severely try the foundation ; and it should be kept 
 in view, that occasionally perhaps once in a quar- 
 ter, or half a century streams of water are swollen 
 much beyond ordinary floods, arid sweep off what 
 had been regarded as well tried and safe. The 
 water-way may require two or more spans to pro- 
 vide sufficient flow, but each should be wide enough 
 to allow any ice or drift-wood that the stream may 
 bring down to pass through freely, so as not to dam 
 up and obstruct the flow of water. In regard to 
 ice, if the stream directly above the bridge is rapid, 
 the ice will be broken into small pieces, and pass 
 off with little hazard of forming a dam at the 
 bridge ; or if it be very crooked and sluggish, the 
 ice will be held in its original position, until it 
 becomes too weak to cause much obstruction in 
 passing the bridge. There are comparatively few 
 streams that would not be safely secured against ice 
 or drift-wood forming a dam, by spans of 50 or 60 
 feet; and if more is required to give sufficient 
 water-way, the number of spans can be increased 
 accordingly. If larger openings than 60 feet are 
 
 UiflVE:;. 'ITT 
 
104 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 required, and there be sufficient height, stone bridges 
 may be advantageously erected, but will require 
 more expensive workmanship and materials. 
 
 The remarks in relation to the masonry of cul- 
 verts are applicable to that required for bridges. 
 For bridges of unhewn stone, the stone should be 
 larger in proportion to the magnitude of the walls 
 and the pressure they may be required to sustain. 
 The judgment and experience of the engineer must 
 decide, as to the pressure from the height or span 
 of the work required, how far he may with safety 
 adopt rough or unhewn stone-work. So far as this 
 can be done, it will be much more economical than 
 hewn stone; and, as before remarked, it will be 
 found in general that by far the greatest proportion 
 of bridges may be constructed of unhewn stone, 
 without sacrifice of any material stability. It 
 sometimes happens that the stone quarries that must 
 be resorted to will furnish stone in such shape, that 
 it is little more expensive to make regular courses 
 roughly hewn than rubble- work, and in such cases 
 it will be advisable to form courses of uniform thick- 
 ness of stone for the more important features of 
 the work. 
 
 Stone arch bridges require more height, or space 
 below the grade level, than timber ; and it is to bo 
 considered whether or not this can be obtained 
 
BRIDGES AND CULVERTS. 105 
 
 without too much sacrifice in the cost of grading. 
 It sometimes occurs that the formation of the ap- 
 proaching country, on which the line of railway is 
 laid, is low in comparison with the bed of the valley 
 or stream over which the bridge is required to be 
 made, and the most favorable grade for the ap- 
 proach does not give space for the stream in time 
 of floods under the bridge ; and the expense of rais- 
 ing the grade will sometimes so control this ques- 
 tion, as to lead to the adoption of timber or iron for 
 the want of room for arching. The grade should be 
 high enough to be beyond the reach of all floods in 
 the stream, and a few feet additional is all that is 
 necessary for arches of small span ; and when this 
 can be obtained at moderate additional cost for the 
 filling, arches of stone should be provided for. In 
 .examining the circumstances of grade with a view 
 of ascertaining what room may be had for arching 
 the bridge or culvert, it will be kept in mind, that 
 raising the grade will improve the facilities for 
 drainage, a matter never to be lost sight of in the 
 construction of a railway, and will always justify 
 some expense to improve it, even when otherwise 
 fair. 
 
 It must be conceded, however, that there are 
 situations, where a railway passes over a flat coun- 
 try, with shallow valleys for its streams, where 
 
 5* 
 
106 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 timber or iron must be used for the spaces or spans 
 between the abutments and piers, for the want of 
 room to put in arches of stone ; but the cases are 
 not comparatively numerous in which this may not 
 be avoided by a j udicious management of the grade 
 lines. Cheap construction in the outset will call 
 for low grades in a flat country, but the true and 
 permanent interest of the work requires them to be 
 higher than they generally are, both in relation to 
 passing streams with safety, and to give effective 
 drainage. Low grades, and consequent imperfect 
 drainage, have been a very prevalent error on the 
 railway constructions of this country. The engi- 
 neer should keep this in view, and avoid the error. 
 If stone for bridges is not to be had on the line 
 of railway, then the remarks in relation to culverts 
 in this respect will be applicable to bridges, namely, 
 the foundations prepared, and the temporary timber 
 structure so constructed, that when materials can 
 be brought on, stone-work may be erected without 
 disturbing the operations of the railway. 
 
 When there has not been space enough for arches of 
 stone, as before observed, timber has generally been 
 substituted ; but this is not indispensable, as beams 
 of wrought iron may be constructed for supports 
 between and resting on the stone abutments and 
 piers ; and if the span is not to exceed 50 or 60 
 
BRIDGES AND CULVERTS 107 
 
 feet, will not be very expensive. Such beams 
 should be strong enough for the service without 
 counter-supports, in the manner of a simple beam. 
 Make two beams of boiler-plate iron, one for each 
 side of the track, and by rods from them support 
 the cross-beams on which the rails of the track lie. 
 The cross-beam may be of iron, and no timber used 
 in the structure, except for the stringer on which 
 the rails are laid. Such a structure will be free 
 from the objection that arises from the expansion 
 and contraction of iron, as the action of the tempe- 
 rature does not change its character for support, 
 and may easily be provided for. For a short span, 
 not exceeding 40, or perhaps 50 feet, a single sheet 
 of iron, with flange pieces at top and bottom to give 
 lateral stiffness, and secured with angle iron, may 
 be made. If the span is greater than 40 or 50 feet, 
 the beam should be cellular, having two upright 
 sides, and connected at the top and bottom with 
 plates secured with angle iron. The depth of beam 
 should be about one-tenth of the span, and the 
 breadth about one-sixth of the height. This would 
 be a tubular beam, to which the cross-beams would 
 be attached as above described. It has the same 
 principle as the tubular bridge ; it is equally firm 
 for support, but the span must not be carried too 
 far, or beyond its means of lateral stiffness. The 
 
108 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 objection to this plan is, that the solid sheets in the 
 side plates contain an unnecessary amount of mate- 
 rial. With sufficient strength in the upper and 
 lower chord, all that is wanted between them is 
 what will be sufficient to hold them firmly in posi- 
 tion, and this may be secured by a system of brac- 
 ing requiring much less material than the side 
 sheets. It is however a question, if the extra 
 workmanship in the bracing will not require greater 
 expense than can be saved in the material of the 
 tube, as is claimed by Mr. Eobert Stephenson. 
 Mr. S. must be regarded as high authority on this 
 point, and should not be disregarded without 
 careful experiments that might demonstrate the 
 economy of a modification. There have been some 
 experiments on the plan of connecting the upper 
 and lower chords by bracing, on the New York 
 Central Railway ; which, so far as I have been abls 
 to learn, has satisfactorily stood the service of trains 
 for some time ; but I do not know what difference 
 there has been in the expense as compared with 
 full sheeted sides. 
 
 Railways must occasionally be carried across 
 large rivers, that demand works of a different 
 character from what has been contemplated in the 
 preceding remarks. In some cases, circumstances 
 render it necessary to make a greater span than 
 
KIbGE8 AND CULVERTS. 109 
 
 could well be made by stone arching. Timber has 
 been mostly used for such cases in this country. 
 In England, the tubular wrought-iron bridge has 
 been used for the greatest spans ; and the Grand 
 Trunk company adopt this for their bridge at 
 Montreal, over the St. Lawrence River, and for 
 many smaller bridges on their line. The latter 
 plan is, no doubt, substantial and good, but has the 
 objection of being expensive. The wire suspension 
 bridge has been adopted to a limited extent in this 
 country for railway purposes ; as at Niagara Falls. 
 An iron truss bridge, invented and patented by 
 Mr. Fink, an engineer of the Baltimore and Ohio 
 Railway, has been several years in use on that line, 
 and is spoken of favorably ; I have seen a copy of 
 the plan and specifications, and think it the best for 
 an iron truss that I have seen. It has a very satis- 
 factory arrangement to provide for the unequal 
 expansion and contraction of large and small pieces 
 of iron, whereby the different stages in time of 
 change in large and small bars, and of cast and 
 wrought iron, are equalized by an adjusting 
 motion. 
 
 The suspension plan cannot be considered as 
 favorable for railway use as the rigid plan, and the 
 former will not probably be adopted, except for 
 large openings in situations that do not admit of 
 
110 RAILWAY PKOPEBT1 
 
 division by piers, as the one at Klagai^ Falls. 
 Where there are reasonable facilities to found piers, 
 and circumstances do not admit of stone arches, 
 iron in some form may be advantageously adopted. 
 In considering any plan for an iron truss it is indis- 
 pensable to see that provision is made for the 
 unequal expansion and contraction by changes of 
 temperature : wrought iron and cast iron do not 
 work equally, and the large and small bars will 
 require different spaces of time to reach their limit 
 of change by the same degree of temperature. 
 This, as before remarked, seems to be well provided 
 for in Fink's plan, and which is certainly very 
 ingenious. But the open tube has the advantage 
 of not needing any such provision, the metal being 
 of uniform kind and thickness, its variation in 
 length is all that requires attention, and for this it 
 simply rests on rollers ; and being simple in con- 
 struction, will be likely to obtain preference 
 when iron bridges of large span are wanted. Iron 
 used in bridges should be carefully and well cov- 
 ered with paint to protect it from oxidation ; and 
 this should be watched, and renewed as it wears oft 
 by the action of the weather. 
 
 Pile bridges are sometimes used ; but they 
 cannot be recommended, and should only be 
 adopted as a temporary expedient, to hasten the 
 
BRIDGES AND CTTLVERT8. Ill 
 
 opening of the railway, after which they should be 
 superseded by more substantial and durable struc- 
 tures. 
 
 The observing railway traveller cannot fail to 
 see, that, as a general thing, our railway bridges 
 are far short of the stability necessary to their 
 safety and the true economy of such works. The 
 rapid demand for railway accommodation, and 
 the limited means at command for construction, 
 have doubtless led to the erection of temporary 
 and perishable structures. But these should give 
 place to those of a more substantial and durable 
 character as fast as circumstances permit. It is 
 not to be supposed that timber bridges can, in all 
 cases, in the construction of a railway, be dispensed 
 with. Circumstances of a controlling nature will 
 often render them expedient ; and all the engineei 
 can do, is to so plan and prepare his work, that this 
 perishable material, unsafe from fire and ordinary 
 . decay, may at the earliest period give place to 
 durable structures, that will be safe for travellers, 
 and best promote the interest of the proprietors. 
 
 At this time there are numerous timber bridges 
 on our railways, and many of them have stood as 
 long as they should be trusted ; and it is quite time 
 they were replaced by stone or iron the most suit- 
 able, if not the only suitable materials for such pur 
 
112 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 poses. These wooden bridges are dreaded by all 
 passengers, who are aware of the uncertainty of 
 their strength, and the danger of their failure under 
 an exterior appearance of soundness, when, in fact, 
 they are rotten at heart. If those whose business it 
 is to know, are often mistaken as to their condition, 
 how shall passengers understand if, or not, they are 
 safe ? But they are sometimes used, when those in 
 charge know that they are not only hazarding the 
 property of the company, but the lives of the pas- 
 sengers. It is hoped and believed the latter fault 
 is not often practised ; but whether from error in 
 knowledge, or lack of fidelity, the hazard is the 
 same. It will properly be said, there is no excuse 
 for this ; the man in charge should be competent 
 and faithful. Now, men are men, and the true 
 way is to construct works of such great importance, 
 as far as practicable, in a manner that will need the 
 least possible watching. 
 
ROAD CROSSINGS. 113 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 KOAD CROSSINGS. 
 
 THE more prevalent practice in this country is to 
 make the highway crossings on a level with the rail 
 track bridges being the exception and not the 
 rule ; while in England, a level crossing is rarely 
 seen; and where they do occur, gates made of 
 strong bars of scantling are put up, and so arranged 
 as to close the highway when the track is open, 
 and vice versa, so that no passing can occur on 
 both at the same time. The highway is usually 
 kept open ; and when a train approaches, the man 
 that tends the crossing shuts the highway and opens 
 the track until the train has passed. I do not re- 
 collect seeing this gate arrangement at crossings in 
 this country, except at some of the railway cross- 
 ings in the streets of Boston. 
 
 There are many situations in which a bridge to 
 pass a highway over a railway track would be very 
 expensive, and this is a strong reason for the level 
 crossing ; and in some situations near stations there 
 would be inconvenience in the approaches to the 
 
114: RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 railway. That highways should pass over or under 
 a railway, where circumstances permit it, no one 
 will question. The level method of crossing has 
 caused much personal injury, the loss of many 
 lives, and many persons maimed for life, and much 
 damage to property. It is therefore incumbent on 
 the engineer to consider well every facility the lo- 
 cation presents, of guarding against the necessity 
 of a level crossing, especially where there may be 
 obstruction, preventing a good range of sight. 
 This subject is of sufficient importance to justify 
 some modification of grade or line, if by that means 
 a highway may be passed by a bridge. There are 
 situations that favor bridging over or under; in 
 some cases, the route of the highway may be 
 changed, so as to permit bridging without serious 
 expense. To raise an embankment to the elevation 
 required to pass over a railway, sometimes inter- 
 feres with other avenues or objects to such a de- 
 gree, that it cannot well be done ; but if there be 
 nothing of this kind, and the expense of raising the 
 bank for landing the highway over the railway be 
 the only objection, the case should be very un- 
 favorable to warrant a level crossing. The objec- 
 tion to merely an elevation of the highway as in- 
 juring the public accommodation for travel, is by 
 no means worthy of being placed against the bene- 
 
ROAD CROSSINGS. 115 
 
 fits the travellers on the public road will feel, in the 
 safety from collision that will be secured by the 
 bridge. If a level crossing must be adopted, the 
 guard gate should also be adopted to prevent col- 
 lisions ; especially if there be not a good view by 
 1 which parties on the railway or the highway may 
 readily see each other. 
 
 The same reasoning, in a modified sense, holds in 
 relation to farm-road crossings. Serious accidents 
 have occurred at these when made on the level of 
 the rail. As they are numerous, and less import- 
 ant than highways, they are more generally made 
 level; but, so far as reasonably practicable, it is 
 better to adopt bridges for these. I am well aware 
 this subject has received very little of the considera- 
 tion due to its importance, and that the expense of 
 the methods recommended will be regarded a para- 
 mount objection, except in quite easy cases. If all 
 the damage the level crossings have cost could be 
 collected together, I am sure it would show, that 
 as a mere question of economy the practice 
 should be less common. In addition to this, there 
 are the uncertainty and consequent anxiety that 
 must be experienced by the managers and on the 
 part of travellers, especially if trains are run at high 
 speed. 
 
 To the guard gate it will be objected, that it will 
 
116 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 involve the expense of an attendant keeper, more 
 or less of the time. Doubtless it will involve this 
 current expense ; but it will save life, and prevent 
 damage to the railway proprietors, that will eventu- 
 ally be equivalent to the extra cost. The expense 
 of a guard gate-keeper is a legitimate considera- 
 tion to be weighed in favor of a bridge. 
 
 In this, as in all matters relating to railway man- 
 agement, there should be a careful consideration of 
 the means that may relieve the chances of accident. 
 It is not sufficient that it is some man's duty to 
 watch and prevent apprehended danger ; for men 
 supposed to be careful, and who for some time may 
 be so, yet from the daily routine of a specific duty, 
 are liable to become listless, and however we may 
 complain of their neglect of duty at the important 
 time, the mischief is done. No doubt, some men 
 are more negligent than others, and the most rigid 
 scrutiny should be exercised in their employment 
 and supervision ; but men will be men, and as in- 
 fallibility is not to be expected, the works of a rail- 
 way should be arranged, as far as reasonably prac- 
 ticable, so as to avoid the necessity of special watch- 
 ing. There will be ample field for this duty, after 
 the works are arranged in the most favorable man- 
 ner. 
 
BALLASTING TRACK. 117 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 BALLASTING TRACK. 
 
 THERE are two objects to be secured by ballast; 
 first, a material that by its open, porous character, 
 will allow falling water to pass off freely, and pre- 
 vent heaving by frost ; and, second, by its hardness 
 and firmness in all states of weather, to sustain the 
 action of trains, so as to prevent, as much as possi- 
 ble, the derangement of the track. If these condi- 
 tions are secured, all others will be essentially pro- 
 vided for, so far as depends on ballast. In districts 
 abounding with clean gravel and sharp sandy soil, 
 a good material for ballast is easily procured, and 
 may be put on at the time of grading the railway. 
 But it more generally happens, that suitable mate- 
 rial for ballast cannot be had in sufficiently close 
 proximity to allow profitable hauling by teams, and 
 it will be necessary to haul it by trains on the track. 
 This may be done by laying the track on sub-grade, 
 or on the base that is designed for foundation of 
 ballast ; it should be done with care, so as not to 
 bend or otherwise injure the rails. Where circum- 
 
US RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 stances permit, it is best to put down the ballast 
 before the track is laid ; but if proper care is used, 
 no great objection exists to laying on sub-grade, 
 and is most economical if a track is required to be 
 made for its transport. 
 
 The quantity of ballast required will depend 
 much on the material on which it rests, and the 
 depth penetrated by frost ; and will range from one 
 to two and a half feet. If there be any difference 
 in the quality of the ballast pit, the most clean, 
 open and hard should be placed in the cuttings ; 
 the inferior on the banks, where settlement will be 
 likely to demand an extra quantity, and where the 
 drainage is more perfect than it can be in cuttings. 
 With a well drained road-bed, fifteen to eighteen 
 inches of good ballast will, in most cases, be suffi- 
 cient. 
 
 In many locations, ballasting material is only 
 found at a few points on the line of railway, and 
 requires a long transportation for such a purpose ; 
 and sometimes it can only be had by constructing 
 more or less of temporary railway to reach it. This 
 has often led to a postponement of ballasting, and 
 the railway has been opened for use without it. In 
 such cases, the rails are pretty certain to be more 
 or less damaged, if the track be run in this condi- 
 tion for any considerable length of time If in the 
 
BALLASTING TRACK. 119 
 
 course of construction it appear probable that such 
 plan must be pursued, the rolling stock necessary 
 to operate the railway before ballasting can be done, 
 should be as light as will reasonably answer for the 
 work to be done. The light stock procured for 
 such. purpose need not be lost, or thrown aside after 
 the railway is in condition to bear a heavier class, 
 as there will always be found sufficient business to 
 employ this light machinery advantageously. It is 
 obviously of great importance that, under these cir- 
 cumstances, the drainage should be most thoroughly 
 done. There are many soils, that if well drained 
 would bear the track and sustain a considerable 
 traffic, conducted with light machinery and mode- 
 rate speed. But to dispense with or defer ballast, 
 can only be tolerated under the pressure of urgent 
 necessity, especially for a liberal traffic. 
 . Clean gravel and sand are the best materials for 
 ballast. Broken stone is very good it makes the 
 most durable ballast, and has the least tendency to 
 make dust ~ but is not so favorable for the dura- 
 bility of the rail, or rolling machinery. Formerly 
 it was considered the only suitable ballast, and is 
 still used to a considerable extent where suitable 
 gravel cannot be had. Stone, for such a purpose, 
 should be broken so that any piece will pass a two- 
 inch ring. The quality of stone to be preferred, ie 
 
120 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 a rather friable, hard, silicious kind, rather than a 
 more solid and unyielding quality, as it favors the 
 elasticity desirable in a rail track. It seems a con- 
 tradiction to require solidity, and at the same 
 time elasticity; but experience has shown there 
 may be too much solidity ; traction, or adjustment of 
 track may be improved by it, but the rail and roll- 
 ing machinery in high speed are too severely acted 
 on, and hence a compromise has to be sought, and 
 experience has settled on gravel and sharp sand as 
 most beneficially securing the respective objects. In 
 England, brick clay has been burned for this pur- 
 pose, and is said to answer very well ; and where 
 suitable clay is found, and coal or wood can be had 
 at moderate cost, it may be advantageously used in 
 this country, where the usual material cannot be 
 had. 
 
 The width of ballasting should be such as to give 
 a good support to the cross sleepers, and prevent 
 them from moving laterally, and if it is intended 
 to give the track a good margin for safety on 
 embankments, the ballast should be full width. In 
 cuttings, it is not necessary to extend more than 
 one and a half to two feet beyond the ends of the 
 cross sleepers ; no more width being wanted than 
 necessary to protect the sleepers from lateral move- 
 ment, and except in sharp curves they are rarely 
 
BALLASTING TRACK. 121 
 
 known to move, if the ballast on the top extends so 
 as to cover the ends of the sleepers, and slopes off 
 to one and a half feet beyond. 
 
 Ballast is necessary on all soils that do not of 
 themselves constitute a good ballast: it is necessary 
 in rock, to give the degree of elasticity found to be 
 necessary on a rail track. On a soft base it is a 
 good plan to lay a course of broken stone, and 
 complete the ballast with gravel. The injurious 
 effect of too great solidity in the support of the 
 rail has been alluded to, and this is strongly mani- 
 fest where the road-bed is made solid by frost. 
 The effect of frost is in a measure counteracted 
 by good ballast, as there is more elasticity in a 
 free, porous ballast than in a retentive soil when 
 frozen. 
 
122 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 CHAPTEK IX. 
 
 CROSS SLEEPERS. 
 
 IT was formerly regarded necessary to the proper 
 stability of a railway, that it should be laid on 
 stone blocks resting on a bed of broken stone. 
 This plan gave great firmness to the structure, and 
 easy traction to the machinery ; but as speed came 
 to be increased, it was found to operate severely on 
 the rails and rolling stock, and has given place to 
 timber sleepers. Some experiments have been 
 made in England on cast iron as a substitute, but 
 as yet very little has been done toward displacing 
 timber. The elasticity of timber increases the trac- 
 tile force required to haul a train ; but this elasticity 
 is too important to be disregarded, if high speed is 
 to be maintained ; this circumstance, together with 
 the facility with which timber can be used, gives it 
 a great advantage for this purpose, and notwith- 
 standing the objection from its liability to early 
 decay, it will probably be used for a long time to 
 come. 
 
 As rails are laid in this country, resting their 
 
CROSS SLEEPERS. 123 
 
 base directly on the sleeper, without the inter- 
 vention of a chair, except at the joints, it is de- 
 sirable the wood should be hard, to prevent the 
 rail from sinking into the sleeper. What are 
 termed soft woods, will not long sustain this ser- 
 vice ; and what is wanted in a sleeper is, durability 
 with sufficient density to bear the action of the 
 rail. The kind of sleeper most generally preferred 
 in this country is white oak. Chestnut and Chest- 
 nut oak are good timbers. Locust and red cedar, 
 though not as hard as oak, from their great durabi- 
 lity and fair density, make good sleepers, and if the 
 weight of machinery is not too great, would be 
 the most valuable kinds ; but these timbers do not 
 abound, and can rarely be obtained at suitable 
 cost. Red elm makes a good sleeper, hard and 
 durable, scarcely inferior to white oak. Black 
 cherry and black walnut answer very well. Other 
 kinds have been used. The engineer will most 
 generally be compelled to use, in original construc- 
 tion, the timber that can be obtained not very 
 remote from the line of railway, and should take 
 the best that may be had. 
 
 In England, and in Europe generally, timber is 
 much more expensive than in this country, which 
 has led to various methods for preserving it from 
 decay ; and from the best information I have 
 
124 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 obtained, they have succeeded in giving the sleep- 
 ers about double their natural durability. This is 
 a very important point for them, where the renewal 
 is attended with heavy expense. The cost of the 
 preserving process is variously stated for the diffe- 
 rent methods, from ten to twenty-five cents per 
 sleeper, and shows an important saving secured by 
 the increased durability. The cost of sleepers in 
 England may be taken at not less than one dollar 
 each, and therefore the object of preservation is 
 much greater than in this country. Timber, how- 
 ever, is becoming dearer with us, and attention will 
 soon be, if not already in some parts, demanded 
 for its preservation. On the methods that have been 
 adopted to increase the durability of timber, much 
 information is given in the work before quoted, 
 " Colburn and Holly on European Railways." 
 
 Sleepers should be well seasoned before they are 
 laid down, in order to obtain the greatest natural 
 durability, and to hold the spike well that secures 
 the rail. Green white oak is very unfavorable ; it 
 will, in a short time, so corrode the spike that it 
 may easily be drawn. If care is taken, as the 
 sleepers are got out, to pile them properly, a good 
 degree of seasoning may generally be secured 
 before they are required for the track ; this should 
 not be neglected, though I think it often is. 
 
CROSS SLEEPERS. 125 
 
 The most usual method of getting out sleepers 
 is to hew two sides parallel and leave the others 
 round, or in their natural state ; this makes the best 
 sleepers used in this country. Sometimes the bark 
 is removed from the unhewed parts, which im- 
 proves their durability. They are sometimes sawed 
 or split out of large timber, but these are not so good 
 or convenient for adjustment of track as the flatted 
 sides. The English mode of sawing is better than 
 ours ; the sleeper is first sawed in a square for two, 
 and then sawed diagonally, so as to produce two tri- 
 angular sleepers ; and being laid with the large angle 
 down, they are easily adjusted. The width of the 
 flatted sleeper should be considered the heart, or ex- 
 clusive of the sap of the wood, as the latter will soon 
 decay and should not be relied on for the support 
 of the rail. The timber being hewed only on two 
 sides, it should be reasonably straight, so as to give 
 steady and firm support to the rails. 
 
 For the ordinary gauge o track, sleepers have 
 usually been from seven to eight, and sometimes 
 nine feet long. The latter seems most suitable, as 
 giving an equal support each side of the rail ; but I 
 have known very good tracks well and easily main- 
 tained with sleepers eight feet long. The usual length 
 of rail is eighteen feet ; a joint sleeper ten inches wide 
 and ten feet long, with seven intermediate sleepers 
 
126 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 eight feet long, with a minimum width of seven 
 inches, and six and a half inches .thick, makes a 
 good support. A minimum of seven inches will 
 give an average of eight inches in width, and 
 should be laid so as to give, as near as may be, a 
 uniform support to the rails. This number and size 
 of sleeper makes them as close as is convenient for 
 repairs. The Goshen line of the Michigan Southern 
 and Northern Indiana Railway was laid on this 
 plan of sleepers, and under a high rate of speed, 
 proved very satisfactory, and may be considered a 
 good basis for a first-class railway. For branch 
 lines, and railways designed for a moderate traffic 
 and moderate speed, the cross sleepers may be pro- 
 portionably reduced in size. 
 
 Sleepers are in some cases laid on longitudinal 
 sills, but, except on soft ground, and where the 
 railway is to be put in operation without ballast, 
 they are worse than useless. In a few cases, where 
 it is important to spread the bearing of the track 
 over a marshy or other spongy foundation, they 
 may be necessary. At this time they are rarely 
 adopted. 
 
 To some extent, timber stringers have been laid 
 on the sleepers, and the rail laid on the stringer ; 
 on this plan the sleepers are laid further apart. 
 This is not so convenient a method for adjustment, 
 
CROSS SLEEPERS. 127 
 
 as that of laying the rail in the usual way. directly 
 on the sleeper ; it increases the perishable part of the 
 superstructure, and is now rarely seen in this coun- 
 try. I do not think it has advantages to counter- 
 balance the objections, except where a very light 
 rail is adopted for a small specific traffic ; and even 
 in this case, if timber is not very cheap, it is be- 
 lieved a light T rail on cross sleepers is the better 
 plan; and for a railway of good general traffic, 
 there does not appear room to doubt the superiority 
 of the usual practice. 
 
128 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 CHAPTEK X. 
 
 CHAIRS AND SPIKES. 
 
 IN this country, chairs are used only at the joints 
 or ends of rail. In England, they use a chair at 
 every sleeper. This requires for the American rail 
 a broad, flat bottom, or web-footed base, to give 
 the requisite bearing surface on the sleeper, to pre- 
 vent the rail cutting into it ; whereas the English 
 rail is the same, or nearly the same form on the top 
 and bottom, and is wholly supported by the chair. 
 A chair on each sleeper gives greater facility in 
 furnishing a broad bearing on the sleeper, and 
 allows softer wood to be used ; for the chair may 
 be broad, and the action on the rail will not 
 so soon cut into the sleeper. Rails are sometimes 
 laid without chairs at the joints, depending wholly 
 on the spike to keep them in place a plan that 
 cannot be recommended. The chair at the joint is 
 necessary to hold the ends of the rails firmly in 
 piace, and cannot with prudence be dispensed with, 
 unless the fishing joint be used. 
 
 A great variety of patterns for chairs, both of 
 
OHAIR8 AND SPIKES. 129 
 
 cast and wrought iron, has been used, some with 
 wooden keys and some without. Of late, the most 
 usual chair has been some form of wrought iron 
 without keys. A wood key saves the expense of 
 close fitting. It is hardly possible to obtain so close 
 work, between the manufacturer of rails and of 
 chairs, that there will not, in many cases, be more 
 or less work required to make a good joint, or one 
 that will be reasonably close ; and no care will make 
 the track so good and free from rattling sound as 
 may be secured by a wood key. "Wrought iron 
 chairs are the most safe, but, in order to economize 
 their weight, so as to bring them near the cost of 
 cast iron, they have often been made too light to 
 be as good as they may be made without wood 
 keys, and I have never seen one with a key. To 
 make wrought iron chairs to receive a key, would 
 make them still more expensive. It is not so easy 
 to give the proper form of chair to receive a key 
 in wrought, as in cast iron. Though a key would 
 add to the safety, and take away the rattling sound 
 of a track laid without, still there can be no doubt 
 that a wrought iron chair of the most approved 
 pattern, well laid, holds the rails very firmly to- 
 gether, and makes a good track. What is now 
 wanted is a chair in some form that will take the 
 bearing of the wheel, and prevent its dropping at 
 
 6* 
 
130 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 the point of the rail when it is opened by contrac- 
 tion, or drawn out of place, and so prevent a blow 
 that batters down the ends of the rails. This would 
 considerably increase the expense of the chair, but 
 would serve a very important purpose in preserving 
 the ends of the rails. This feature will be further 
 considered in the discussion of rails. 
 
 On the subject of spikes, little need be said. The 
 form of rail generally adopted in this country re- 
 quires the brad, or hook-headed spike. The form 
 is well understood, and they will require to be made 
 of the best quality of iron. They are usually from 
 half an inch to five-eighths of an inch square, and 
 four and a half to five inches long, clear of the 
 head; which is quite sufficient for hard wood 
 sleepers. Two spikes are required for each rail at 
 each sleeper, and two extra at the joint will be re- 
 quired to make a good track. Fewer are sometimes 
 used, and may answer for railways of light traffic 
 and moderate speed. 
 
RAILS. 131 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 BAILS. 
 
 THE first form of rail used in this country, consisted 
 in a timber stringer, on which a flat bar of iron was 
 laid ; the iron bar forming the rail track for the 
 wheel, and the timber the supporting material. 
 Though now generally out of use, this kind of rail- 
 way has done much service in this country, in a 
 very economical way ; and paid the proprietors, in 
 several cases, the best dividends, and, in fact, bet- 
 ter than when subsequently laid in a more perfect 
 and substantial manner. With suitable machinery, 
 and working at a moderate speed, such rails may do 
 a profitable work ; but they cannot be recommended 
 at this day for the service that is now required by 
 general traffic on railways. For short railways, 
 doing a mineral traffic, or for short branches, there 
 may be situations where they could be advantage- 
 ously used ; and, in fact, some are still in use. The 
 wear on the iron is very light ; doubtless owing to 
 the elasticity of the timber on which it rests, and 
 the light machinery generally used on them. It has 
 
1.32 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 been stated that the timber stringer has been and 
 still is used for a heavy iron rail in some cases. The 
 longitudinal timber, as it is termed, being adopted 
 for its advantage in giving a more uniform support 
 to the rails ; but the practice is limited, and rails 
 are now generally made, for railways of general 
 traffic, to rest directly on the cross sleepers. 
 
 The difference in the general methods of support 
 between the English and American railways has 
 been noticed. The railways on the continent of 
 Europe have adopted, to some extent, the American 
 plan, but for the most part, I think, they have the 
 English. The former has the advantage of simpli- 
 city and ready adjustment ; the latter, that of in- 
 creased means to enlarge the bearing on the sleep- 
 ers ; and it has been urged as a further advantage, 
 that they admit the form of top and bottom of rail 
 to be alike, so that when the top is too much worn 
 for use, they can be reversed and the wear of the 
 two heads obtained from one rail. This is certainly 
 a plausible consideration ; but for some reason it 
 does not appear to be much practised, the greater part 
 of English and continental rails on this plan of sup- 
 ports do not have the top and bottom exactly alike ; 
 from which it would appear that this is not gene- 
 rally regarded of material importance. The Ame- 
 rican rail was invented by the late Robert L. Ste- 
 
BAILS. 133 
 
 vons, of New York, and first used on the Camden 
 and Amboy 'Railway. On its first introduction 
 (about 1830) it was regarded of doubtful utility ; it 
 being apprehended the brad-head spike would not 
 secure it against lateral thrust, and if it did, the 
 rail would fail in the waist. These apprehensions 
 have been dissipated by very general experience, 
 and they are at this time almost wholly used in this 
 country. Manufacturers do not like them so well, 
 on account of the difficulty in forming the thin, 
 broad, web base, which is not as easily done as the 
 more compact and rounded form given to a rail 
 that depends on chairs for support. The American 
 rail in dispensing with the intermediate chairs, is less 
 expensive to lay, and has the greatest facility for 
 adjustment ; and we may be satisfied with it, as on 
 the whole equal and, I think, superior to any other. 
 
 The U rail, as it is called, resembles the letter U 
 inverted ; it has been mostly used on the timber 
 stringer, and has some advocates, but has not come 
 into general use. 
 
 A great deal of ingenuity has been exercised on 
 the form of rails, both in this country and in Eng- 
 land. The plans do not seem to have yet reached 
 a satisfactory result, at least not sufficient to pro- 
 duce uniformity, and modifications continue to be 
 proposed for their improvement. They have gone 
 
134 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 through many changes, and the best of each kind, 
 so far as relates to the bearing and strength of the 
 rails, may be regarded as pretty fairly adapted to 
 their use. There is, however, one point that ap- 
 proaches slowly to the proper form ; namely, the 
 face or track surface on which the wheel rolls. It 
 is remarkable that this has had, to a great extent, 
 and at times almost universally in England and this 
 country, a round form. Whatever advantage this 
 may give to the form and durability of the rail, it is 
 obviously very bad for the wheel ; as the tendency 
 is, and. the result has long shown it, to cut a groove 
 in the rim or tyre, more rapidly destroying the 
 wheel, and as the groove forms, increases its fric- 
 tion at the periphery, and operating injuriously on 
 the rail. The groove is liable to be neglected until 
 it is unsafe to run the wheel. With a flat top, a 
 groove will eventually be formed, but much less 
 rapidly; and the later patterns are less rounded, 
 and, what is better, some have a flat surface for the 
 wheel. What is wanted is, as much breadth of flat 
 top as can be got, leaving so much to be rounded 
 off, as will give adequate firmness and wearing sur- 
 face on the edge that receives the action of the 
 flange of the wheel. 
 
 The weight of rails that rest directly on the 
 cross sleepers for support, has been increased from 
 
KAILS. 135 
 
 35 pounds per yard, the original pattern on the 
 Liverpool and Manchester Kailway, to about 95 
 pounds. For some time past the tendency has 
 been to reduce from the greater weights, and from 
 56 to 65 pounds per yard may be regarded as 
 embracing most of the patterns now being made. 
 The manufacture of large patterns is not considered 
 to be as perfect, at least they are more likely to be 
 imperfect than smaller ones ; and to this, in a great 
 measure, has been attributed the disappointment in 
 the durability of the largest class of rails. The 
 strength of rail to support the weight that comes 
 upon it, must depend on the frequency of support- 
 ing sleepers ; and consequently as these are near 
 each other, the rail may be lighter. "With such an 
 arrangement of sleepers as has before been pro- 
 posed, a 60 pound rail may be formed, so as to be 
 sufficient for the service of a first-class railway. 
 
 The conditions I would propose for such a rail on 
 the American pattern are : height, three and five- 
 eighths inches; breadth of web, three and seven- 
 eighths inches ; thickness of waist, five-eighths of an 
 inch, and a level surface on the top of one and a half 
 inches. These dimensions properly formed to a 60 
 pound rail may be well manufactured, and will 
 make a first-class railway. 
 
 There are lines of railway in operation that have 
 
136 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 a light traffic, mostly local ; and doubtless there 
 are many other districts, that as the country is 
 improved, will require similar railways to provide 
 for their traffic, and are not sufficient to support a 
 first-class railway ; for these lines a rail weighing 
 45 pounds to the yard may be quite sufficient, 
 more durable, and be adopted with better economy 
 than a heavy rail. A railway of this kind should 
 have all its parts to correspond ; engines and cars 
 should be proportionately light. It would not be 
 necessary in such districts to run trains at high 
 speed, and the traffic may be conducted as cheap 
 per ton, or per passenger, as on ordinary first-class 
 railways, and confer great benefits on the routes 
 they traverse. This view of railways will increase 
 in importance as the population increases, in dis- 
 tricts that, from the formation of the country, are 
 not and cannot be traversed by leading lines, and 
 can only reach the main lines, or the marts of com- 
 merce, by common roads, or by railways that may 
 be supported by a local traffic. As the science of 
 railways comes to be more thoroughly studied, it 
 will be found that a light class may be profitably 
 and usefully conducted, and its benefits extended 
 to many situations that now look hopelessly for 
 such accommodation. Strange as it may seem, it 
 has been the usual practice to put machinery of 
 
RAILS. 137 
 
 essentially the same character and weight on rail- 
 ways of light traffic, as is used for those of heavy 
 traffic, even in cases where the track has been 
 made with a rail of lighter weight. This is one of 
 the errors of railway practice, and will doubtless 
 be corrected in time ; but as yet the weight on the 
 rail and the speed of trains have not had adequate 
 consideration, and especially on those having a 
 secondary amount of traffic. 
 
 The rail, in most cases, fails first at the ends, and 
 a good deal of attention has been directed to find 
 means to protect it in this respect. The effect of 
 temperature to open and close the joint is well 
 known ; this is sometimes increased by the want 
 of proper attention in laying down the rails ; work- 
 men do not always judge well of the temperature 
 existing at the time ; and if allowance is made for 
 too low a temperature, there will be danger the raL 
 may rise up and sometimes be very troublesome to 
 adjust, and dangerous for passing trains; hence, 
 they usually err on the other side, causing greater 
 opening at the joint than is due to temperature. 
 The longer the rail bar, the greater this difficulty. 
 Other causes operate to draw the joints apart, and 
 it is not unusual to see openings of half an inch to 
 one inch, and occasionally I have seen them two 
 inches on railways of large traffic ; this is danger- 
 
138 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 rous and should not happen. To remedy theee 
 evils, rails have been made in two pieces longitudi- 
 nally, and put together so that the joint of one 
 part is supported by the other, by what is termed 
 breaking-joints, and is known as a compound rail. 
 The two bars are riveted together as they are laid 
 in the track, and form, united, the usual pattern of 
 rail. They have been usually divided vertically, 
 so that the joint passes through the head or track 
 for the wheel. Other forms of compound rail have 
 been used ; I have seen one that leaves the head 
 in one entire piece. A wheel rolls much more 
 smoothly over a compound rail, and gives a very 
 agreeable motion, free from the jar at the joints. 
 Not only pleasant motion is secured by breaking 
 the joints of the rail, but the effect of the blow 
 caused by the common joint on the foundation of 
 the track and the rolling machinery is avoided. 
 The importance of securing these results is obvious ; 
 but the compound rail has not been generally 
 adopted. It does not appear to have the same dur- 
 ability as the common rail, though the joints are 
 much better protected, probably owing to the 
 head or track being divided in two parts, and held 
 together by rivets that are hardly sufficient for the 
 severe action to which they are exposed; and of 
 late they are not as much esteemed as when first 
 
KAILS. 139 
 
 iaid down, and I think but few of them are used 
 at this time. The full-headed compound rail before 
 noticed, presents the full form of the head, without 
 joint, to the action of the wheel, but does not pre- 
 vent the joint from opening by the contraction of 
 the rail, but secures it from opening by any other 
 cause, the same as a fishing-joint. I have seen a 
 piece of this rail that had been down on a grade 
 of 80 feet per mile, and four years in use under a 
 very heavy traffic. The bolts or rivets were con- 
 siderably worn, and many of them loose, but the 
 rail was in fair order for the traffic it had borne ; a 
 piece on the same railway, and laid at the same 
 time on a light grade, was in very good order. 1 
 do not see that anything is secured by this rail, 
 beyond what is secured by a good fishing-joint. 
 
 To guard against the difficulty at the joint, a 
 method before alluded to, and styled a fishing-joint, 
 has, to some extent, been adopted. This consists 
 in riveting two plates of iron, one on each side of the 
 rail, the rivets passing through the rail ; the plates 
 are rolled in form to fit the rail at the edges of the 
 plates, and are from 18 to 24 inches long, with two 
 rivets in each end. They are very efficient to hold 
 the rails in line, and are in considerable esteem in 
 England. It is obvious, however, they cannot pre- 
 vent the action of the temperature in opening and 
 
140 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 closing the joint, but are effective against other 
 causes of opening. The plates are strong enough 
 to sustain the wheel, and are laid so as to bring the 
 joint between, instead of on the sleepers, as no more 
 support is required at the joint than for other por- 
 tions of the rail, and consequently joint sleepers are 
 not required. If the outside plate was so formed 
 that its upper surface should come to the level of 
 the rail, and be able to take the wheel at any in- 
 stance of the opening of the joint, it would greatly, 
 if not effectually, protect the ends of rail from being 
 worn off, and relieve the jar materially at the in- 
 stant the wheel passed over it. 
 
 A method has been adopted to sustain the wheel 
 at the joint, by laying a wooden scantling imme- 
 diately behind the joint, and having its top level 
 with the rail, the scantling extending from, and 
 resting on the two sleepers each side of the joint 
 sleepers, and firmly secured in place. A hard piece 
 of seasoned white oak is said to bear this service 
 very well, and the plan is much approved by some 
 who have adopted it. It, no doubt, will be much 
 relief to the rail joints, so long as the timber sus- 
 tains its level with the rail ; but it may be doubted 
 if any wood will long bear such service. Such a 
 piece ot scantling has been used to form a fishing 
 joint; in which case it is formed to fit the side of 
 
RAILS. 141 
 
 the rail, and is bolted to it, but does not rise to the 
 level of the rail ; I am not aware that it lias been 
 used any great length of time ; but it is said to have 
 worked very well. This is merely using wood in- 
 stead of iron for a fishing plate, and I think it has 
 advantages over iron in the elasticity of the wood, 
 which favors the bolts. It differs from the iron 
 fishing in having the scantling only on one side, 
 whereas the iron fishing has a plate on each side 
 the rail ; with an iron plate opposite the scantling, 
 the strength to support the rail would be improved, 
 and without this it is necessary the joint should rest 
 on, and not between the sleepers. As before ob- 
 served, the fishing of the joint cannot prevent the 
 opening that arises from temperature, but secures it 
 against any further opening, and this is very import- 
 ant. Kit be found important that the fishing joint 
 oe made sufficient to sustain the weight of the 
 wheel between the sleepers, as is tne usual practice 
 in England, the iron plates will most probably be 
 preferred to the timber scantling. I saw at the 
 engineers' office of the New York Central Railway 
 a full-sized model of fishing plates, that I think will 
 succeed well for iron fishing if made a little longer, 
 so as to take two bolts at each end. 
 
 On railways of heavy traffic and high speed, it is 
 not probable any method of securing the joints will 
 
142 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 hold them permanently. The severity of the ser- 
 vice will wear and weaken some part, and repairs 
 and renewal will demand watchful attention; at 
 the same time, and for this very reason, it is im- 
 portant to ascertain the best method, and this must 
 result only from careful experiments on the differ- 
 ent modes. The scantling method that has been 
 described now promises favorably, and is worthy a 
 careful trial in comparison with the iron fishing. A 
 chair that will securely hold the rail in place is a 
 very fair method, and will answer a good purpose 
 on roads of moderate traffic, where high speed is 
 not required. The engineer will find this subject 
 one of great interest, and a wholesome tax on his 
 ingenuity and capacity, notwithstanding it may ap- 
 pear to some as having been exhausted. The de- 
 terioration of rails, especially at the joints, under 
 the service they have been required to perform, has 
 assumed an importance not heretofore well con- 
 eidered. 
 
STATION BUILDINU8. 343 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 STATION BUILDINGS. 
 
 THE convenient arrangement of station buildings 
 is highly important to the transaction of railway 
 business, and demands careful attention from the 
 engineer, especially for the terminal and more im- 
 portant way stations. It is not necessary that they 
 be expensive, but arranged so as to effect the most 
 convenient transaction of business. Local circum- 
 stances, as also the nature of the traffic, will have 
 great influence on this question, and more or less 
 modify the extent and main features of the plans. 
 On some lines, the handling of freight is done by 
 individuals, in which case a portion of the expense 
 of station building is, or may be, borne by other 
 parties a practice of not very general use. For 
 the most part, the railway company do the hand- 
 ling, and if they put it in the hands of others, most 
 generally provide the necessary buildings. 
 
 In a freight station it is necessary to considei 
 well the plan that will bring the goods to a point, 
 that with the least movement will allow the transit 
 
Jt* RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 between the railway cars and the vessel, wagon, or 
 cars of other railways, to or from which it is to be 
 transferred ; having reference to the labor of load- 
 ing, unloading, stowing, and taking account of the 
 parcels of goods ; amounting to a large item in the 
 expense of railway freighting. Proper facilities in 
 this department, not only economize current ex- 
 pense, but greatly reduce the chances of error by 
 the tallying checks. The station should be provided 
 with suitable machinery, according to the value and 
 extent of the traffic, so as to render available the 
 economy of horse or mechanical power, the latter 
 preferable where the business will warrant it. This 
 is particularly important in a large grain trade, 
 when the transit is between the railway and water 
 craft ; in which great improvement has been made 
 within a few years past, and the time and expense 
 of transit has been greatly reduced. I have known 
 a station that, on a charge of one cent per bushel on 
 grain, paid all the expenses, from the time the car 
 was brought to the station until the grain was on 
 shipboard, and, in addition to these expenses, paid 
 a rent of 20 per cent, on the building and ma- 
 chinery ; the work done, included the unloading the 
 jar, elevating the grain to a shipping loft, and weigh- 
 *ng and conveying it to the hold of the vessel ; 
 the latter being done at the rate of 3,000 bushels 
 
STATION BUILDINGS. 145 
 
 per hour for a single hold to receive, uid double if 
 the vessel had two receiving holds to operate at the 
 same time. 
 
 The floor of the building, or whatever constitutes 
 the channel of transit from or to the railway, should 
 be under cover, and lie between the vessel and the 
 car, as this is most convenient for the transitory 
 storage often required. For miscellaneous goods, 
 one story high is sufficient, and to prevent exposure 
 from fire, it is best to have no loft in such a build- 
 ing, which would prove of small account, as storage 
 is not wanted for such length of time as would war- 
 rant the expense of hoisting : but a portion of the 
 loft may in some cases be advantageously occupied 
 as an office for current freight business. For goods 
 not liable to theft, open sheds are economical and 
 convenient, and to considerable extent may be used 
 for housing freight. 
 
 In connection with the freight buildings, there 
 should be spare tracks, on which trains of cars may 
 be conveniently made up, so as to require as little 
 movement as practicable, and prepared to start out 
 on their appointed time ; also, for incoming trains 
 that may not be able at once to take their proper 
 position for unloading ; and for empty cars to stand, 
 while not wanted, or Waiting for small repairs. To 
 provide the spare track, so that all these objects 
 
 7 
 
146 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 may be accomplished with the least labor and 
 hazard of confusion, will be found, in most situa- 
 tions, to require much study. The entire freight 
 arrangements at important, and especially at ter- 
 minal stations, should, if possible, be kept wholly 
 disconnected from the passenger station after 
 branching from the main track. 
 
 At way stations, the extent of accommodations 
 will depend on the amount of business, and some- 
 what on the competition of other railways; the 
 latter may require more careful economy, and bet- 
 ter inducements to shippers than would otherwise 
 be necessary, and should be carefully regarded in 
 the plans for station arrangements. They should be 
 more simple than the terminal stations, as the busi- 
 ness will be less ; but so far as they have business, 
 they should be arranged with similar views of eco- 
 nomy and convenience. Where a large grain busi- 
 ness is done, the loft is used for grain, and the main 
 floor for miscellaneous goods. In many cases the 
 grain is elevated to the loft by a roadway, on which 
 the team that brings the grain to the railway tra- 
 vels up an easy grade ; in others, an inclined-plane 
 railway extends to the loft, and when the grain is 
 unloaded from the wagon into a light car standing 
 at the foot of the plane, the car is drawn up by a 
 rope over a pulley the rope being hitched to the 
 
STATION BUILDINGS. 147 
 
 wagon, and as the team moves off with the wagon, 
 it draws up the grain car. - In either case, the 
 railway company (except for the fixtures) is at no 
 expense for the elevating power ; and either method 
 is usually satisfactory to shippers. The latest and, 
 as I consider, the most approved roadway, is carried 
 up into the end of the building, and the team passes 
 through and down by a bridge from the other end 
 of the building. The load is weighed before it 
 goes up, and the grain emptied directly into the 
 garners, requiring no machinery to transfer it from 
 the wagon the whole is very economical. I have 
 only seen this plan of roadway on the Chicago and 
 Rock Island Railway. The elevated roadway is 
 best for a large business, and the inclined railway 
 for a small business. From the loft, the grain is 
 conveniently loaded into the cars by spouts. The 
 elevating is sometimes done by machinery, with 
 horse or steam power ; and in some instances this is 
 required by local circumstances ; but it is very ex- 
 pensive, and one of the other modes, above de- 
 scribed, should be adopted if practicable. 
 
 PASSENGER STATION. The indispensable thing 
 here is, to provide sufficient tracks to accommodate 
 all the incoming and outgoing trains, so that they 
 need not interfere with each other ; and also such as 
 may be required for standing coaches. The terminal 
 
148 RAILWAY PEOPEETT. 
 
 stations should* be covered, where there is much 
 traffic, so far as to afford shelter for passengers and 
 baggage, while making up and discharging trains. 
 Waiting rooms should be provided for passengers, 
 who will be more or less detained for the trains, and 
 for conveyances to take them from the discharging 
 train. A convenient ticket-office should be placed 
 in this building ; and rooms provided for baggage, 
 especially such as may not be at once called for. 
 The covered part, where the trains are made up 
 and discharged, should have a floor over the whole 
 area. Formerly it was the general practice to 
 have a raised platform alongside of the out-going 
 and in-coming tracks, elevated from one to three 
 feet, to facilitate the passengers in getting in and 
 out of the coaches; but this has generally given 
 place, in modern stations, to the plan of making 
 the whole floor on a level with the track, and 
 which is no doubt more convenient and safe for 
 general use; it is more convenient for receiving 
 and discharging passengers, and if more than one 
 track is required for out-going and in-coming trains, 
 it is perfectly convenient to use either, as no track- 
 pits are in the way to embarrass passengers, or 
 expose them to hazard. A further advantage in a 
 level floor arises from the convenience afforded of 
 moving baggage trucks in any direction. 
 
STATION BUILDINGS. 149 
 
 An office will be required at one of the teimi- 
 nal stations, where the general business of the 
 company should be transacted. This office should 
 be convenient to the station, as here all reports, 
 way-bills, check-rolls, and accounts are sent for 
 arrangement and disposal. If the situation be 
 favorable, it may be combined with some other 
 station building ; but in regard to safety from fire, 
 it is usually better to have a separate building, 
 with ample fire-proof safes, as a large quantity of 
 documents will be collected here, in a few years, 
 the loss of which would be very great to the rail- 
 way company, and seriously embarrass the manage- 
 ment. 
 
 The terminal stations will require some provision 
 for engine and coach sheds; the latter may, in 
 some cases, be provided for sufficiently in the pas- 
 senger coach shed. Shop accommodations in con- 
 nection with the engine-shed, should be provided 
 to some extent for small repairs. In most cases, it 
 will be best to have the main shop for repairs of 
 engines, coaches, and cars, at one of the terminal 
 stations. In the latter case, the main shop, with 
 engine and other sheds, should be placed outside, 
 and as near to the station as the ground will per- 
 mit. If the situation of ground permit, it should 
 have its side-tracks immediately back of the 
 
150 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 switches, or points that separate the passenger from 
 the freight trains as they go into the station. That 
 portion of the shop designed for repairs of, engines 
 should be in convenient position in reference to the 
 engine shed, so as to require the least practicable 
 movement of engines between the shop and shed. 
 The coach and car-shop will require a paint-shop 
 connected, for repainting and varnishing, and liberal 
 spare track for standing-room. It will be economy 
 to so arrange the shops, that the same stationary 
 power will drive the machinery of both. The 
 blacksmith's shop should be convenient to do the 
 work of both the other shops. 
 
 An important feature in shops of this kind is, 
 some arrangement by which an engine, coach or 
 car may be placed in and removed from the shop 
 without disturbing the repairs of others; this is 
 often done in a very bungling way. The transfer- 
 table, if well made, so as to work easy, is, I think, 
 the best method ; when properly constructed, it 
 works easy, and meets the wants of the case in 
 a most direct and convenient manner. 
 
 The magnitude of the various station structures 
 must depend on the traffic to be provided for. 
 This is likely to be larger at some future day than 
 for the first few years of the operations of the 
 railway, and it will not, in most cases, be economy 
 
STATION BUILDINGS. 151 
 
 to make the outlay in the commencement sufficient 
 for the probable future wants of the railway ; and 
 with this view, the plans, so far as may be practi- 
 cable, should be made with reference to enlarge- 
 ment, as further accommodation may be demanded 
 by increasing traffic ; and in most respects this 
 may easily be done, if seasonably looked after. 
 
 It often happens that railways are put in opera- 
 tion before any considerable progress is made in 
 station buildings; but if few or no buildings are 
 prepared at the opening, the engineer should have 
 his plans matured, so that the work, as it may pro- 
 gress, shall be in conformity ; that the whole, when 
 completed, may have the order and symmetry that 
 will secure the greatest ultimate economy in con- 
 ducting the traffic of the station. I am well aware 
 that the engineer of a railway is not always respon- 
 sible for ill advised station arrangements, especially 
 when not completed until after the railway is put in 
 operation ; for then a superintendent of the operat- 
 ing department, if not of the railway in full, is put 
 in charge, and in some cases, he may have little 
 education to fit him for studying the requirements 
 of a railway station; but usually enough of self- 
 reliance to regard his capacity for such matters as 
 much beyond that of the engineer ; and if he has, 
 as is most likely, the influence of the board of 
 
152 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 managers, he will often disregard the engineer, 
 and under plea of some present necessity, proceed 
 with some part of the works with little regard to 
 interference with any well devised arrangement 
 that the ultimate wants of the station may demand. 
 If the engineer is incompetent, a competent one 
 should be obtained, as his education is best designed 
 to secure the capacity wanted in such matters ; nor 
 is it the proper province of a superintendent to con- 
 trol him. A further difficulty is sometimes ex- 
 perienced by agreements between the managers and 
 citizens of towns in regard to station arrangements, 
 that prove very embarrassing to the future business 
 of the railway. In one of these ways, or in the 
 failure of the engineer to prepare suitable plans, 
 may be traced the awkward and inconvenient sta- 
 tion arrangements that are not unfrequently to be 
 Been on railways. 
 
LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES. 153 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES. 
 
 THE locomotive engines are a part of the rolling 
 stock, and constitute a portion of the construction 
 of a railway, and should be carefully considered by 
 the engineer. 
 
 After an extensive use for over a quarter of a 
 century, the locomotive engine is a machine that 
 does not fail to inspire the feeling of wonder and 
 admiration in those who witness its movements, 
 and especially those who are familiar with its 
 mechanism, and can appreciate its duties and its 
 power. That such a machine may travel in day- 
 light in the darkness of midnight in sunshine 
 and in storm through cultivated fields and dense 
 forests through hill and over dale at the rate of 
 fifty miles per hour carrying hundreds of people, 
 as it thunders its way onward to the distant station 
 and in all its marvellous speed and power, holds fast 
 to the narrow track, is truly a wonder ; and though 
 a thousand times witnessed, I never fail to admire 
 
 7* 
 
14 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 and enjoy ) as it passes with its long train, this 
 splendid specimen of art. 
 
 Locomotives should be adapted to the work they 
 are required to perform. As has been noticed, they 
 are now made much heavier than when the system 
 was first brought into use. It should be kept in 
 mind that heavy engines require more expense for 
 repairs of track, and for their own repairs, than 
 lighter ones. A judicious arrangement in the 
 weight of engines will have great influence on the 
 economy of working the railway, and it should not 
 be forgotten, that the object of the proprietors is, 
 remuneration for the outlay they are required to 
 make. 
 
 In the service of all railways there is a consider- 
 able portion that may be done most economically 
 by light engines ; and on many railways a large 
 proportion. The speed required will have much 
 influence on the weight of engines. No intelligent 
 railway manager will run at a higher speed for 
 express trains, than 25 miles per hour, including 
 stops,. unless compelled by some competitor for the 
 passenger traffic. Attempts have been made to 
 show the relative cost of high and low speed ; but 
 none, so far as I know, on any well-founded data. 
 It is not easy to get at a basis that would be suffi- 
 cient to warrant any computation on which a rule 
 
LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES. 155 
 
 or formula to determine this question might be 
 made. Fast trains and slow trains heavy engines 
 and light, are used indiscriminately on the same 
 track, and it is impossible to decide how much of 
 the wear of track is due to each. The wear 
 and consequent repair of engines may be deter- 
 mined from the careful accounts of work done and 
 repairs made on each class, and the relative cost 
 and work may be ascertained with satisfactory 
 approximation. Beyond this, so far as I know, 
 this question of comparison in all its bearings can 
 only be estimated from the statistics of mileage, 
 and long and careful observation of the influence 
 of weight and speed on the track, the rolling ma- 
 cninery, and the hazard of accidents that necessarily 
 follow. In regard to the latter, their number must 
 be increased by high speed ; also their intensity as 
 to damage to persons and property. As before 
 observed, we have no exact data to determine the 
 relative cost of different rates of speed : some have 
 estimated it to be as the squares of the velocity ; 
 others a lower rate of difference ; my own opinion 
 is, that on the whole the former is not far wrong. 
 With two engines of suitable weight, one to hau' 
 a train at the rate of twenty miles per hour, th 5 
 other to take the same train thirty miles per hour, 
 the cost per mile for the train having a speed of 
 
J.56 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 twenty miles per hour may be approximately esti- 
 mated at one-half the cost of a train having a speed 
 of thirty miles per hour. This of course embraces 
 not only the engines, but the cars, coaches and 
 track, all of which suffer increased wear and 
 damage from increased speed. 
 
 At the celebrated trial of engines, on the opening 
 of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the suc- 
 cessful competitor, the Rocket, was mounted on 
 four wheels ; one pair driving wheels and one pair 
 supporting wheels. This plan of four-wheeled en- 
 gines, with one pair of drivers, or with both pairs 
 connected as drivers, continued in general use for 
 several years in England : it was used on the rail- 
 ways of this country, mostly in the eastern States, 
 until after the opening of the western railway of 
 Massachusetts; and down to 1845, was more or 
 less used in that section. In 1831, the Mohawk 
 and Hudson Railway Company imported an engine 
 from England, made under the direction of George 
 Stephenson, the distinguished engineer in this de- 
 partment of the profession. This engine was on 
 four wheels, all drivers, and weighed about seven 
 tons. The wheels were four feet diameter, and the 
 axles four and a half feet apart, or from centre to 
 centre. The performance of the engine was at that 
 time satisfactory as to power. The frame was 
 
LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES. 157 
 
 twelve feet long, and the axles, being four and a 
 half feet apart, it projected beyond the bearing on 
 the axles near four feet each way. It was readily 
 observed that a vertical inequality in the surface 
 of the rails, caused a vertical motion at the ends 
 of the frame of about double this inequality, pro- 
 ducing an unsteady and shaking motion to the 
 frame of the engine, very unfavorable to the 
 machinery and the engine-men. It was further 
 evident that this leverage action of the frame was 
 unfavorable to the track. The first thought for a 
 remedy for this difficulty was to spread the axles 
 further apart ; but to do this to such an extent as 
 would materially remedy the evil, was at that time 
 considered inadmissible, on account of the in- 
 creased labor and danger it would cause in passing 
 curves in the line of railway. The track of the 
 Mohawk and Hudson company was a well con- 
 structed one of the kind, very direct, and in good 
 .order, probably as smooth at the time referred to 
 as any railway ; it was a flat bar or plate rail, laid 
 on southern pine rail timbers well secured ; still, 
 the action before mentioned was very unsatisfac- 
 tory. 
 
 My observations on the action of the Mohawk 
 and Hudson engine, led me to inquire into some 
 means of providing a remedy. There had been 
 
158 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 six-wheeled engines put in operation, but they were 
 on a single frame, the third pair of wheels merely 
 added for support, and all worked in the single 
 rigid frame ; at that time no six- wheeled engine, or 
 of more than six wheels, had been successfully run 
 at high speed. It appeared important to provide 
 guiding wheels that should be geared favorably to 
 follow the track, and support one end of the engine 
 frame, so that the engine and all its working parts 
 would be supported by the same rigid frame, as on 
 the four-wheeled plan. While engaged with these 
 considerations, the attempt was made by a fellow- 
 engineer, to mount an engine on eight wheels, 
 geared as two wagons, so coupled that each would 
 be free to conform to the curves of the rail, and the 
 machinery to conform to the changing parallels of 
 the two wagons by movable joints. Here was the 
 idea of working two wagons, so coupled as to con- 
 stitute an eight-wheeled vehicle, but without a 
 common rigid frame, and consequently the machi- 
 nery, resting on two separate frames, depended on 
 their movable joints to adapt them to the changes 
 of parallelism constantly taking place on the rail. 
 A similar effort had previously been made, to 
 adapt two wagons as support for an eight-wheeled 
 engine ; but the plan had not succeeded in a man- 
 ner to be practically useful. It did not appear to 
 
LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES. 159 
 
 me thai; any plan would succeed, that did not pro- 
 vide a rigid frame for the engine machinery. The 
 difficulty appeared to be in obtaining a connection 
 between two frames, that should work free and be 
 secure on the rail under high speed. There was no 
 doubt it would work well at low speed ; but no- 
 thing of the kind had been adapted to, or pre- 
 viously attempted for high speed, then much de- 
 manded for railway travel. Two four-wheeled cars, 
 or wagons, had been coupled together, so as to form 
 one eight-wheeled car, for transporting long timber 
 and. heavy stone, but it gave no confidence for 
 high speed. 
 
 After devoting a good deal of labor to this sub- 
 ject, I prepared a plan, which it is hardly necessary 
 to describe at this time, as it is in general use in the 
 locomotives of this country. This plan, in its 
 general features, had a guiding truck, or a four- 
 wheeled car, arranged as best adapted for following 
 curves on the rail, and keeping on the track, and, 
 at the same time, supporting steadily the forward 
 end of the engine frame. The plan of the engine 
 was prepared in the fall of 1831, and sent to the 
 West-Point Foundry Association, who built the 
 engine, and it was placed on the track of the Mo- 
 hawk and Hudson Kailway in the summer of 1832. 
 The working of this engine (PAT?*'* the Brother 
 
160 EAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 Jonathan) satisfied me that the truck principle 
 would be successful, though the engine was not so 
 in other respects, the attempt having been made to 
 adapt the boiler to the use of anthracite coal, and 
 this required to be changed, which was done the 
 following winter. I then prepared a new plan for 
 an engine for the Saratoga and Schenectady Rail- 
 way, following substantially the same plan, except 
 as to the boiler, and sent it to George Stephenson, 
 Esq., of Liverpool, who constructed the engine, and 
 it was placed on the Saratoga and Shenectady 
 Kail way early in the following summer (1833). 
 
 As this truck system has come into general use 
 in this country (it was never patented), it may be 
 interesting to refer to its early history, as put on 
 record at the time, and I therefore think I may be 
 excused in making the following quotation from the 
 "American Eailroad Journal" (1833), vol. ii. p. 468. 
 
 LOCOMOTIVE STEAM ENGINE. BY JOHN B. JERVIS. 
 
 To THE EDITOR OP THE AMERICAN RAILROAD JOURNAL. 
 
 DEAR SIR : The locomotive steam engine for the Saratoga and 
 Schenectady Railroad, of which I promised to give you some 
 account, was put on the road the 2d inst., and has been in regular 
 operation since, making usually two trips per day each way, equal 
 84 miles, and carrying daily over the road about 800 passengers. 
 
 The engine was made by George Stephenson & Co., at Newcastle, 
 England. The boiler has tub 'lar flues, on the same plan as all ol 
 
LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES. 161 
 
 recent construction at that establishment. The leading object I 
 had in view, in the general arrangement of the plan of this engine, 
 did not contemplate any improvement in power, over those hereto- 
 fore constructed by G. Stephenson & Co. ; but to make an engine 
 that would be better adapted to railroads of less strength than 
 were then in use in England ; that would travel with more ease to 
 itself, and to the rail on curved roads and would be less affected by 
 inequalities in the rail, than is attained by the arrangement by the 
 most approved engines. 
 
 You are aware of the fact, that the Saratoga and Schenectady 
 rail is constructed with timber, capped with an iron plate. This 
 kind of road cannot be expected to bear as heavy weight on the 
 wheels of its carriages as those that have an entire iron rail ; and, 
 in order to obtain that degree of power which is desirable for an 
 engine intended for high speed, it becomes an object to put the . 
 weight on six wheels, instead of four. Engines mounted on six 
 wheels were constructed several years ago in England. The object 
 was to distribute the weight on more points, to make them easier 
 for the road than the four-wheeled engines ; for even with the iron 
 rail, the heavier carriage is injurious to the road. There was diffi- 
 culty, however, in the practical operation of the plan adopted. 
 The load was found to bear at times very unequally on different 
 wheels, owing to the inequalities in the road ; and having all their 
 wheels under one frame, they did not work as well on curved roads 
 as the four-wheeled engines, which could be geared much shorter. 
 In consequence mainly of these difficulties, the six-wheeled engines 
 were abandoned, and I believe no attempt has since been made in 
 England to use more than four wheels.* 
 
 In the Saratoga engine, I have adopted two distinct frames. One 
 
 * Since the above was written, six-wheeled engines have been 
 mostly adopted in England and other parts of Europe ; and will be 
 noticed hereafter. 
 
162 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 frame embraces four wheels in the same manner as a common 
 wagon : these wheels are small (32 inches) in diameter and of uni- 
 form size ; one end of the second frame is mounted on the third 
 pair of wheels, which are the working wheels, and the other end ia 
 rested on friction rollers, in the centre of the first frame, to which 
 it is secured by a strong centre pin. The small wheels, with their 
 frame, work on the road the same as an independent wagon ; and 
 being geared short, they go round a curve with as much ease as a 
 common wagon, and being leaders, they bring round the working 
 wheels, and the large frame on which the whole machinery of the en- 
 gine rests, with as much ease as practicable. By this method it will 
 be seen the engine may pass a curve with the same ease as a com- 
 mon railroad carriage, having the same weight on the wheels. The 
 machinery of the engine is not affected by the curve motion of 
 the carriage. In order to give the four-wheeled engine carriage as 
 much facility as practicable in turning curves, the wheels have gen- 
 erally been placed near together, bringing the bearing points of 
 the frame so near the centre, in a longitudinal direction, as to 
 cause the inequalities of the rail to produce increased motion at 
 the ends of the frame, and consequently to the engine and boiler 
 which is connected with it. This, in the English engine belonging 
 to the Mohawk and Hudson company, was such as to make the 
 motion very unfavorable to the engine, and severe on the road. 
 By allowing the bearing points to be near the ends of the large 
 frame, and resting one of these points on the centre of the small 
 frame, as is done in the Saratoga engine, the difficulty is almost 
 entirely remedied. 
 
 The engine was set up at the shop of the Mohawk and Hudson 
 Railroad Company, under the direction of Mr. Asa Whitney, the 
 present superintendent of that road, and who has from the com- 
 mencement, had charge of the machine-shop connected with it. 
 
 Thus far, the engine appears to do all that was anticipated fro it 
 
LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES. 163 
 
 i* No test has yet been made of its power ; but, from the rapidity 
 with which it generates steam, there appears no doubt of its per- 
 forming all that it was calculated to do. It passes a curve without 
 any more appearance of labor than a well-geared common carriage. 
 The principle of its arrangement does not admit of more strain 
 coming on any one wheel than is assigned for its regular labor. 
 The motion of the engine is highly satisfactory ; it moves with 
 almost as smooth and steady motion as a stationary engine ; it 
 travels over the road in an elegant and graceful style. 
 
 I made a plan for a six-wheeled engine for the Mohawk and 
 Hudson road, which was completed and put in operation before I 
 made the plan for the Saratoga engine. This engine proved satis- 
 factory so far as regarded the principle of a six-wheeled carriage, 
 and was an important pioneer for the second plan. The superior 
 ease with which this engine moved, both for its own machinery 
 and the road, led to the determination to alter the English engine 
 on the Mohawk and Hudson road, so that it could be placed on a 
 six-wheeled carriage. As the engine was particularly arranged for 
 four wheels, this could not conveniently be done in any other way 
 than by communicating the power through the intervention of a 
 bell crank,* which was very successfully done by Mr. Whitney. 
 This engine is now working on six wheels, and the ease and 
 smoothness of her motion, over that she had when on four wheels, 
 is very striking. 
 
 The arrangement on six wheels does not admit of the wheels 
 under the main frame being connected with those under the small 
 frame ; consequently, we can only obtain the adhesion of one pair 
 of wheels. This, however, is hardly of any importance where high 
 speed is wanted. 
 
 Should further experience confirm what the operations thus far 
 
 * An improved method has since been adopted, and will be dis 
 cussed hereafter. 
 
164 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 appear to warrant, the plan of the Saratoga engine may be viewed 
 as a valuable improvement. She has used for fuel a coke of in- 
 ferior quality, made in New York, with which she has worked very 
 well. Yours, etc., 
 
 JOHN B. JKRVIS. 
 ALBANY, 18th July, 1833. 
 
 From what has been stated in the preceding 
 pages, it will be seen that the truck arrangement 
 was adapted to an engine with only one pair of 
 driving wheels. At that time, passenger engines 
 were mostly made with one pair of drivers, even for 
 four-wheeled engines, both in this country and in 
 Europe; and the practice has more or less pre- 
 vailed, to within ten years of the present time, and 
 is still, I think, the prevalent plan of English pas- 
 senger engines. There can be no doubt that a 
 single pair of drivers work more kindly, easier for 
 the rail and the engine, and will do more work for 
 its power, than any others. To give a better 
 support, and to relieve the weight on the driving 
 wheels, a pair of trailing wheels, usually termed 
 relief wheels, were placed behind the drivers, 
 receiving a portion of the weight of the fire-box. 
 As engines were enlarged, this method of support 
 Wfs the first measure adopted in England to obtain 
 for modern engines the benefit of six wheels. But 
 as the want of increased power grew with the 
 development cf railway traffic, more drivers were 
 
LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES. 105 
 
 wanted to give the necessary adhesion to the rail. 
 This was more especially required for freight 
 engines, and to a greater or less extent, for passen- 
 ger engines. It did not require much time to 
 adapt the arrangement to two pair of drivers, and 
 to some extent three pair have been adopted, and 
 used with favor by some railway managers. Still 
 the truck is generally, and almost invariably used 
 as the leading wheels, supporting the forward end 
 of the engine frame. Comparatively a very small 
 number of freight engines are made with three pair 
 of drivers, without a leading truck, and those that 
 have been tried, as far as I know, are but little 
 esteemed ; they are very severe on the track, acd 
 subject to heavy repairs. 
 
 Some of the truck engines were sent to England ; 
 but were not received with favor. When in that 
 country, in 1850, I endeavored to ascertain the ob- 
 jection to them ; and the only one I was able to 
 learn, was an impression that they would not keep 
 the track well under high speed. If this had been 
 a good objection there, it certainly would have 
 been here ; but no such difficulty has been expe- 
 rienced with us. We have tried the principle 
 thoroughly, and in fact carried it to extremes, in 
 the close gearing of the truck, barely giving 
 clearance to the wheels in the line of track ; which 
 
166 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 is the worst position that can be given to the 
 wheels, for safety in keeping the track. A truck, 
 or what is the same thing, a railway wagon on four 
 wheels, should not have its two pair of wheels 
 either too close together, or too far apart ; in either 
 case it is more liable to leave the track ; it does not 
 work easy when too long, and is unsteady when too 
 short. It is better for the track, and also for steadi- 
 ness of motion, to have the truck wheels as far 
 apart as is consistent with easy movement on the 
 track ; and I have never seen a good reason for the 
 fashion that prevailed very much a few years since, 
 of very close gearing of the truck. Four and 
 a-half to five feet between centres of axles, may be 
 regarded as securing a good result. But notwith- 
 standing errors in close gearing, nothing has oc- 
 curred in this country to impair confidence in the 
 safety of the truck engine for keeping the track. 
 
 In regard to locomotive engines in the railway 
 practice of Europe, the English plan, and to a great 
 extent the English manufacture, has been adopted. 
 They found the four-wheeled engines insufficient for 
 the enlarging demands of traffic ; and soon adopted, 
 as before noted, the third pair, called trailing 
 wheels ; the leading and the trailing wheels were 
 small, and the drivers (one pair) were placed be- 
 tween them. As before observed, the engines, in 
 
LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES. 167 
 
 the early history of railways (reference being had 
 to the time subsequent to the trial on the Liverpool 
 and Manchester Railway), had generally but one 
 pair of drivers ; and this was continued as the gene- 
 ral practice for passenger engines in England down 
 to 1850, at which time very few had two pair of 
 drivers ; and, as before stated, this is believed to be 
 the prevalent practice at this time. The freight 
 traffic required more adhesion, and for this service, 
 the trailing wheels gave place to a pair of drivers. 
 In all these arrangements on English engines, the 
 six- wheeled engines had all their wheels attached 
 to one frame, and worked on the track in the same 
 manner as the four-wheeled, except that the frame 
 was longer, and the bearing of the front and rear 
 wheels nearer the ends of the frame. It will be 
 perceived that no ease in the working on the track 
 was gained by this, over the four-wheeled plan ; it 
 is, in fact, so far as the movement of the carriage 
 part of the engine is affected, the same as to extend 
 the four wheels to the same distance apart as the 
 leading and trailing wheels are placed, and the third 
 pair, whether as trailing or driving, are merely so 
 much additional support to the engine. It is, there- 
 fore, apparent that the English six wheeled engine 
 has all the objections of a long-geared railway wagon 
 in passing curves. To remedy the oscillating mo- 
 
168 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 tion, both lateral and vertical, the front and rear 
 wheels have been spread from four and a half feet, 
 to ten, twelve, and even fourteen feet apart. On a 
 railway nearly straight, there would be no objection 
 to this ; but railways are not all straight, either in 
 Europe or America, and all must have turn-outs 
 from one track to another, that necessarily require 
 pretty sharp, if not very sharp curves. In England 
 they have been more liberal in expenditure to secure 
 a good direction of line, than we have in this coun- 
 try; but the more favorable formation of surface 
 with us, has allowed us to make lines that, on the 
 whole, will compare favorably with theirs. The 
 superior ease in the movement in the truck engine 
 on curved rails, over that of the long-geared, rigid 
 frame of the English engine, is so manifest to an 
 intelligent observer, that it seems strange that Eu- 
 ropean engineers should not appreciate it, and that 
 they should continue to discard it after the experi- 
 ence of this country has so long given unequivocal 
 preference to its use, on three times the length of 
 railway they have in England. I saw a few truck 
 engines in Belgium, in 1850, and at this time, I 
 believe, a large proportion of those used in Russia 
 are of this kind. That the English should at first 
 have entertained the apprehension that the truck- 
 would be liable to leave the track, did not surprise 
 
LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES. 109 
 
 me, for this was the most serious apprehension in 
 my own mind when engaged on the plan, at a time 
 when no such machine, or any double car or wagon, 
 had been successfully used for any purpose but such 
 as admitted slow speed as in transporting long 
 timber or other heavy material for short distances. 
 But more than twenty years of experience, and 
 most of the time on thousands of miles of railway 
 in this country, would appear to afford experience 
 enough to satisfy them of the groundless nature of 
 their fears. Perhaps they do not respect our prac- 
 tice as much we do theirs, and hence our advan- 
 tage. 
 
 In all that relates to thorough building, and in 
 avoiding all tinsel in their engines, the English are 
 our superiors. It would be much better for us, if 
 we substituted wrought iron for much of our cast 
 iron material, and left off the brass ornaments, 
 which are not in sound taste on a machine that is 
 made to perform work, and not for show. An 
 English engine is black, with very little bright work, 
 except where it is necessary to reduce friction in 
 the moving parts. 
 
 I have been somewhat particular in my remarks 
 on the truck engine. It is proper that I should 
 state frankly that I have two objects for this : first, 
 the truck has proved to be a highly important 
 
 8 
 
170 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 improvement in the locomotive engine is of Ame- 
 rican origin, and the credit is due to American 
 engineering. In this view it is interesting to all 
 who have a taste for inquiring into the origin of 
 valuable improvements, and who desire a reliable 
 history of them ; and secondly, it is due to myself 
 that the public should understand that I was the 
 inventor, and had the sole responsibility of intro- 
 ducing this improvement in railway machinery. 
 As I took no patent for the invention, that kind of 
 publicity has not been enjoyed ; and very few per- 
 sons who now use the engine, have the least idea to 
 whom the railway public is indebted for its intro- 
 duction. I do not complain ; as an American 
 engineer, it was a satisfactory compensation to be 
 able to present to the railway interest a valuable 
 improvement, and to see it rapidly dissipate in this 
 country the preference that, in many quarters, had 
 been tenaciously given to the English plan. 
 
 It will be seen from the preceding remarks that 
 the truck engine is materially different from ttue 
 English, and in our country it so completely 
 takes the precedence on nearly thirty thousand 
 miles of railway, as to lead to the belief that it will 
 eventually do the same in Europe. 
 
 It has been stated that a single pair of driving 
 wheels work more favorably to the ease of the 
 
LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES. 171 
 
 engine than two pair ; and so far as the adhesion 
 can be obtained without too great weight on one 
 pair, it is the best engine, especially for high speed. 
 The coupling of two pair of drivers increases the 
 number of parts, and the slightest difference in the 
 diameters of the two pair coupled together, causes 
 severe strain on the working parts of the engine 
 and increases the wear on the rail. The English 
 continue this plan up to a weight of five and six 
 tons on a wheel, which not only requires a strong 
 rail to support it, but is attended with severe wear 
 both on rail and engine. My opinion is, that one 
 pair of drivers with three-fourths the weight of 
 two, will do the work of two pair for high speed, 
 with more ease to the engine and less wear on the 
 track. In this country, at the present day, an 
 engine with one pair of drivers is rarely seen. 
 For passenger service, if the work required can be 
 done with an engine having about six tons on one 
 pair, or three tons on a wheel, it will be the best 
 economy to adopt one pair ; and on railways having 
 a large passenger traffic, requiring high speed, I 
 should prefer four tons on a wheel with one pair, 
 to three tons on a wheel with two pair. 
 
 Passenger engines designed for high speed, where 
 t may be important to secure punctuality in the 
 time, in their connections with other railways form 
 
172 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 ing portions of a general line, must be provided 
 with power to meet difficulties beyond what would 
 be otherwise necessary ; such as strong head winds, 
 an unfavorable state of the rail, and to make up 
 time that may be lost by incidental delays. The 
 importance of punctuality in these connections de- 
 pends mainly on the position of a rival line, and, if 
 often missed, the reputation of the line will suffer, 
 and the importance in this respect will depend on 
 the value of the traffic in competition. Rivalry is a 
 feature in railway affairs that tends greatly to 
 increase expenses, and no doubt it often happens in 
 these struggles that the traffic secured costs more 
 than it is worth. The local traffic of a railway may 
 be done with more definite calculations for economy ; 
 there is no necessity of running power in excess, 
 and often to great waste, as is frequently the case 
 in rivalry with other lines ; and hence, so far as 
 regards the local traffic, or any other that is not 
 affected by competition, the power of the engine 
 may be economically arranged to provide for it. 
 
 Freight engines should be designed to travel 
 slowly, and to these the objection to connected driv- 
 ers is not so important, and the necessity of greater 
 adhesion will generally determine in favor of that 
 plan. The weight and power of freight engines 
 will depend on the extent of the traffic. On a 
 
LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES. 173 
 
 double track, they may be arranged so as to make 
 the most economical transportation ; for in this case 
 the number of trains may be increased to meet 
 almost any amount of traffic; but on a single 
 track railway there may be a difficulty in sending 
 as many trains as the freight may require, and 
 larger trains than otherwise desirable must be made 
 up, and of course an engine of larger power, or 
 duplicate engine, must be employed to haul it 
 The latter plan is often adopted, either by dividing 
 the train into sections, or by coupling two engines 
 together ; each of these methods has its advocates, 
 while neither is much liked, the preference being 
 generally given to one engine of sufficient power to 
 do the work alone, if that be practicable. The 
 latter mode is certainly the most simple, while its 
 economy in many cases is more than doubtful. 
 An engine best adapted for a freight train, with a 
 judicious time table, will, in nine cases out of ten, 
 haul the train, and the inconvenience of occasionally 
 putting the train in two or more sections, to meet 
 an extra run of freight, is a trifle compared to the 
 injury of an engine that must always take the train, 
 whether large or small. So long, however, as 
 single track railways prevail, there will be an 
 excuse for a class of larger freight engines than is 
 profitable for a railway. The question for the 
 
174 JRAILWAY PR..PERTY.7 
 
 engineer is, to consider well the character of the 
 railway and the traffic it is to carry, and design the 
 engines of all classes on the plan that will conduct 
 the anticipated service with the greatest net profit. 
 In this the engineer will bear in mind the wear 
 and repairs of track, as well as that of the engines 
 and will find it a field requiring his best judgment 
 and experience. 
 
 In this country wood has been the usual fuel for 
 locomotive engines. Coke has mostly been used in 
 England,, and is a much more convenient fuel than 
 wood ; it does not require, as the wood-burning 
 engines do, a screen or spark arrester, to prevent the 
 escape of small burning coals or cinders, carried 
 through the smoke-pipe from wood. This spark 
 arrester diminishes the power of the engine, and is a 
 heavy appendage to the machine. Coke is a very 
 convenient fuel ; it is of less weight and much less 
 bulk than wood, per mile run. They have been 
 compelled to use coke in England, not being 
 allowed to use coal, which is a much cheaper fuel, 
 on account of the smoke, which seems to be a very 
 offensive thing to an Englishman : but recently, it is 
 said, a mode of consuming the smoke, by introduc- 
 ing a volume of atmospheric air, so as to unite with 
 the gases and smoke as they rise from the surface 
 of the burning coal, causes so complete a combus- 
 
LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES. 175 
 
 tion, that no smoke of consequence escapes from the 
 smoke-pipe. If this shall be found by experience 
 to succeed, it will greatly improve the economy of 
 fuel in English engines, and in all others where 
 bituminous coal of good quality can be cheaply had. 
 Coal has been used in this country for several years 
 in freight engines, and to some extent, recently, in 
 passenger engines; the question must be one t of 
 increasing importance, as wood becomes scarce and 
 dear, which in some parts is already the case. 
 Coal, however, in most parts of this country, is 
 dearer than in England. Even the anthracite is 
 more expensive, and good bituminous coal, suitable 
 for locomotive engines, can only be had east of 
 the Alleghany range by the cost of long trans- 
 portation. Still, there are many railways on the 
 Atlantic district, that will find bituminous coal to 
 be cheaper than wood. There have been several 
 attempts to use anthracite coal in locomotive 
 engines, and I believe it to have succeeded very 
 well in some cases, for low speed, as required for 
 freight trains. 
 
 In the western States there is a large supply of 
 bituminous coal, some of which is of very good 
 quality, but a large portion is inferior and will 
 only be used from necessity; and this necessity 
 will, no doubt, bring much of it into use in the 
 
176 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 prairie districts,, where wood is scarce; and the 
 engines must be adapted to use the fuel that can be 
 obtained with the greatest economy. There are many 
 railways in this country situated so that they can 
 purchase good wood, delivered at their stations for 
 $1 50 to $2 50 per cord ; in such cases, coal will not 
 supersede wood, except in those localities that fur- 
 nislj a good article at a low price. The engineer 
 will see that the question of fuel to be used in 
 engines, will depend on the price and relative 
 quality at which the different kinds can be obtained, 
 tor the locality to be provided for. 
 
COACHES AND CARS. 1/7 
 
 CHAPTEE XIY. 
 
 O-O ACHES AND CABS. 
 
 THE trains used in England for railway vehicles 
 are, namely, wagons, for such as are adapted to 
 freight, and coaches, for those adapted to passengers. 
 In this country the term car has generally been 
 adopted for all railway vehicles, though to some ex- 
 tent the term coach has been used for passenger cars. 
 The term car has the advantage of brevity, and of 
 signifying a vehicle adapted to a railway, as contra- 
 distinguished from the vehicles of ordinary roads. 
 If we adopt the term coach, for passengers, it must 
 have the prefix of railway, to distinguish it from 
 coaches used on common roads, so we do not abbre- 
 viate or cut off the prefix by this term ; the prefix 
 is necessary in either case, to hold the distinction 
 between vehicles adapted to freight, and those for 
 passengers on the railway. If the term coach be 
 adopted, then to make the distinction complete, it 
 must be railway coach ; and in the other, or Ameri- 
 can term, passenger car; between these there is 
 
 8* 
 
178 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 little to choose for brevity in writing, and one may 
 be considered as easy of pronunciation as the other. 
 In the ordinary intercourse of the operations, in 
 using the term coach for passenger, the railway 
 prefix would be omitted, whereas, in the term car, 
 the prefix of passenger must be used ; the advan- 
 tage, therefore, of brevity and convenience in the 
 parlance of the station, is in favor of coach. The 
 term car, if applied exclusively to freight vehicles, 
 nas the advantage of sufficient distinction from 
 other railway vehicles, and from those on common 
 roads. If, therefore, the term coach is applied to 
 vehicles for the conveyance of passengers, and the 
 term car to those for freight, baggage, etc., we shall 
 secure terms, expressive, and of the greatest brevity 
 and convenience for the use of the ' operatives on 
 the railway, and shall lose nothing in writing. The 
 full terms will then be, railway coach, freight car, 
 baggage car, platform car, cattle car, gravel car, 
 and hand car. All, except the coach, are in general 
 use in this country, and as before observed, to some 
 extent, this is also used. These terms will be 
 adopted in the following remarks on this branch of 
 the subject, as best calculated to serve general con- 
 venience, and not inconsistent with usage. 
 
 Railway coaches and cars were formerly four- 
 wheeled vehicles, and this was the general practice 
 
COACHES AND CABS. 179 
 
 down to 1838. Shortly previous to this date, the plan 
 of eight- wheeled coaches and cars began to be intro- 
 duced in this country, and they are now in general 
 use for both freight and passenger traffic. It will 
 require no labor to show that the plan was simply a 
 duplication of the truck of the locomotive engine, 
 then, and for several years previous, in successful 
 operation. The truck that would work successfully 
 for the leaders of an engine, could not fail to work 
 for a car ; and if it worked for leaders, there could 
 be no doubt it would work equally well for the 
 hind, or trailing end of the car. In this way two 
 trucks were adapted to take the place of two pair 
 of wheels, supporting the upper frame at both ends, 
 in the same way as the truck supported the forward 
 end of the engine. Such a coach or car, it was 
 easy to see, would run equally well in either direc- 
 tion. The frame of the coach or car, resting on the 
 centre of the truck, would secure to its motion 
 the same advantage of steadiness, that it gave the 
 engine, and the same facilities for easy and safe 
 working on curve lines of rail. From its action, as 
 described on engines, it will be perceived, that the 
 truck may be made so as to pass curves with the 
 greatest ease and safety that is attainable. The 
 ends of a four-wheeled car, extending about as 
 much from the bearing point on the axle, as the 
 
180 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 axles were from each other, produced at the ends 
 of the frame, double the amount of vertical and 
 horizontal vibration that occurred at the wheels, or 
 bearing point on the rail ; whereas, in the truck 
 arrangement, the motion of the main frame at the 
 point where it rests on the centre of the truck (near 
 the end of the main frame) is only half as much as 
 that due to the motion of the truck wheels, thereby 
 reducing the horizontal and vertical motions of the 
 end of the frame to a trifle over one quarter of 
 what they were in the four-wheeled arrangement. 
 
 The four-wheeled coach was made for the seating 
 of eighteen to twenty-four passengers. The eight- 
 wheeled coach was originally made for seating 
 thirty-six to forty persons, and has been increased 
 in size to provide for seventy-two ; but the general 
 rule at this time is to provide for sixty seats. 
 Coaches have been made with six- wheeled trucks, 
 and some of this kind are now in use, but they are 
 not generally regarded with favor, and very few 
 railway managers adopt them. The four-wheeled 
 truck is more simple, has less friction, and meets 
 every requirement that is desirable. The only 
 thing gained by the six-wheeled truck, is more 
 wheels, and the capacity for a larger coach, which I 
 do not consider economical in the working of the 
 railway. The four-wheeled truck is a very simple 
 
COACHES AND CABS. 181 
 
 machine, and is adapted to produce the best motion, 
 with the least friction, and admits the form that 
 will traverse curve rails with the greatest ease and 
 safety. It admits as large a coach as is wanted, 
 with the least number and weight of wheels re- 
 quired to secure its peculiar advantagss ; and may 
 be "made to reduce the pressure on the rail, by 
 reducing the coach to the same capacity as the 
 four-wheeled coach. 
 
 Large coaches are regarded by some persons 
 as more safe for passengers than small ones. E"o 
 doubt a strong coach is safer than a weak one ; 
 and a large coach is necessarily weaker than a 
 small one, if its weight is in the simple propor- 
 tion of the relative sizes. To make a large coach 
 as safe as a small one, its weight and strength 
 must be in geometrical instead of direct propor- 
 tion. The danger of injury from accidents, arises 
 mostly from the momentum of the train, and the 
 question is, what size of coaches in the train will 
 experience a sudden check to the momentum the 
 most severely. If there was but one coach in the 
 train, and that of the size of five ordinary coaches, 
 the momentum would all be in that one coach, 
 %nd the whole action would be instantaneous ; but 
 if the train was in five coaches, they would all be 
 separated a lew inches, and the first coach, at the 
 
RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 instant of meeting an obstruction, would only act by 
 its own momentum, and the second, as it came up, 
 would first act on its buffer springs, which would 
 modify its force, and between the instant of time 
 and the action of the buffer springs, the momentum 
 would be somewhat checked ; and so to the last 
 coach, the joints, the small separation, and the 
 action of the buffer springs, would reduce the mo- 
 mentum of the train by dividing its power. It is, 
 therefore, obvious that small coaches tend to check 
 or to ameliorate the force of momentum, and thereby 
 reduce the severity of its action and the danger to 
 the train. 
 
 When the eight-wheeled coaches were first intro- 
 duced, it was believed, that in cases of accident, 
 they were not as liable to overset as the small four- 
 wheeled coaches, which I think was true at that 
 time ; but as speed has increased, it is quite com- 
 mon for them to be upset, in accidents by which 
 they are thrown from the track, and the roof and 
 floor badly broken up. If the coach, large or small, 
 when thrown from the track, is strong enough to 
 resist breaking up, there is not usually much perso- 
 nal injury to passengers. There is, doubtless, a 
 medium for the size of coach that is most safe, and 
 I think a forty-seated coach is as good, and quite as 
 \ikely to be safe as any larger size. 
 
COACHES AND CARS. 183 
 
 In England, and generally in Europe, the mana- 
 gers adhere to the single frame in coaches and cars, 
 not having adopted the double frame, or truck plan. 
 In their railway coaches they have generally spread 
 their wheels further apart, so as to reduce the mo- 
 tion at the ends. It will appear obvious, that the 
 close gearing of the wheels in coaches, produced an 
 action at the ends of the frame, similar to that 
 which has been described as unfavorable in loco- 
 motive engines. The coach wheels were originally 
 about four and a half feet apart from centres, in a 
 longitudinal direction. This distance was gradu- 
 ally extended until it reached ten feet, in four- 
 wheeled coaches; and finally, the third pair of 
 wheels was introduced, and the extreme wheels 
 spread to twelve and fourteen feet. This plan ma- 
 terially reduced the motion at the ends of the coach ; 
 but it is subject to the objection of increased fric- 
 tion on the rail, and cannot be as safe in its adhe- 
 rence to the track, on the curved parts of the rail. 
 For reasons before stated in regard to engines, the 
 end motion of a single frame must be greater than 
 when the main frame rests on the centre of a truck 
 frame ; and if the English coach had no auxiliary 
 means to steady its motion, it would be a much 
 worse riding coach than the American; but the 
 English have adopted a very good plan to steady 
 
184 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 the coach, by means of a right and left fcoupling- 
 screw, which draws the coaches to a close bearing 
 on their excellent buffer springs, which greatly con- 
 trols the vibratory motion caused by the inequalities 
 of the rail. . The passenger on a fast train very soon 
 discovers whether or not the buffers are properly 
 screwed up ; in fact, the motion would be extremely 
 unpleasant if the coach was left to act without any 
 means of this sort to control the vibratory motion. 
 With all the aid of this device, this motion, at 
 points where the rail is not in good line, or when 
 entering on a curve, is very sharp and unpleasant, 
 even on their best lines of railway. If the same 
 excellence was given to the springs of the Ameri- 
 can railway coach (both bearing and buffer) that is 
 given to the English, the former would ride much 
 more pleasantly than the latter. The decided supe- 
 riority of the English springs go far to make up for 
 the advantages the American coach derives from 
 its truck arrangement. 
 
 The English railway coach with six wheels has 
 four apartments for passengers, with six seats each 
 for first-class coaches, and eight seats for second- 
 class coaches, or respectively 24 and 32 passengers 
 for each coach. The body of the first-class coach is 
 about 22 feet long, and of the second class coach 
 about 20 feet long ; or the latter is about half the 
 
COACHE8 AND CARS. 185 
 
 length of the American sixty-seated coach. It does 
 not appear from the experience of English and 
 American railway travelling that any inci eased 
 eafety is secured to passengers by large coaches. 
 
 On the continent of Europe, American railway 
 coaches on the truck principle have been intro- 
 duced to a limited extent : I believe they are mostly 
 used on the Russian railways, and very few in other 
 parts of Europe. In this country they have super- 
 seded (except for the horse railways of cities) all 
 others, and undoubtedly possess advantages supe- 
 rior to any other now in use. But in their detail 
 there is room for improvement. The truck arrange- 
 ment undoubtedly adds something to the weight of 
 the coach, as there must be the truck frames, which 
 are an addition to the main frame ; but this disad- 
 vantage is more than compensated by its superior 
 ease of motion and traction, and its ease to the rail 
 and machinery ; and considering the facility of in- 
 creasing the number of wheels, it is quite practi- 
 cable to make a coach for a given number of passen- 
 gers on the truck plan, with less weight on each 
 wheel than on the old plan ; and as railway science 
 improves, and the influence of the weight on the 
 wheel comes to be duly considered, the truck ar- 
 rangement will be found to possess great advan- 
 tages in the economy of railway management. 
 
186 RAILWAY PROPER'IT. 
 
 'As before mentioned, the English railway coach 
 spring is excellent ; the American spring is far in- 
 ferior to it. The latter is too short to afford the 
 soft motion that is desirable both for the comfort 
 of the passengers and the durability of the coach 
 and the track. This has arisen in part from the 
 erroneous short gearing of the truck, not allowing 
 room for the proper length of spring. The short 
 gearing was an early error, growing out of the sup- 
 posed necessity of running most favorably on curved 
 rails, which is gradually giving way to a better 
 rule. With a truck geared with its wheels five and 
 a half feet from centres, the spring may be much 
 improved, and the truck made safe and steady. 
 
 We have gone largely into india rubber as a 
 material for railway coach-springs ; a material bet- 
 ter calculated for a bouncing motion than for the 
 legitimate wants of a coach-spring, and as the prac- 
 tice is now getting out of favor, it is hoped it may 
 be soon laid aside, and steel, the best article now 
 known, be wholly substituted. There are several 
 points in which a soft, easy spring is important in 
 coaches run at high speed : First, it is more easy 
 and agreeable to the passenger; secondly, it re- 
 duces the wear and tear of the coach ; and, thirdly, 
 it saves all its cost in the wear and tear of track. 
 The weight of the railway coach has gone up from 
 
COACHES AND CARS. 187 
 
 14,000 pounds to 21,000 pounds, and this great 
 weight at high speed renders it highly important to 
 secure the best springs that can reasonably be 
 made. 
 
 As before stated, the American railway coach is 
 usually designed for 60 passengers the English 
 taking their second-class six-wheeled coach for 32 
 passengers. The former carry seven and a half 
 passengers on a wheel, and the latter five and a half 
 passengers on a wheel. Comparing the American 
 with the first-class English coach, the former carry 
 seven and a half and the latter four passengers on a 
 wheel. The American has cast iron wheels and 
 the English wrought iron wheels. It has been ob- 
 served, that the American coach, owing to its truck- 
 frame, has greater elements of weight than the 
 English coach; but the latter is notwithstanding 
 about the same weight per seat as the former ; and 
 being shorter, is much stronger and better able to 
 resist crushing in a collision. While the English 
 coach is about the same weight per passenger as 
 the American, the wheel of the first-class English 
 coach carries four passengers, and the wheel of the 
 American coach carries seven a/nd a half passen- 
 gers, or nearly double the number on a cast iron 
 wh.ee! than the English coach carries on a wrought 
 iron wheel of about equal weight. Cast iron is not 
 
188 RAILWAY ^PROPERTY. 
 
 used in English coaches in any part requiring 
 strength ; even the jaws on the frame for steadying 
 the bearing springs are of wrought iron, instead of 
 cast iron, as in ours. Wrought iron, if it fail, is not 
 like 3ast iron, liable to sudden rupture, but usually 
 gives warning sufficient to guard against actual 
 failure, and is therefore a much safer material. As 
 evidence of the anxiety in this respect of the man- 
 agers of American railways, it may often be noticed 
 at stopping-places that men pass round the train 
 with hammers, sounding the wheels in order to dis- 
 cover if they have received on the journey any 
 checks not discoverable by the eye ; a practice that 
 cannot be neglected with prudence. Now, a mate- 
 rial that requires so much watching should not be 
 used for high speed if a better or safer can be had 
 at reasonable cost if indeed at any cost. But it is 
 doubtful if cast iron wheels are any cheaper, except 
 in first cost ; and this extra first cost, it is believed, 
 is compensated by superior durability ; and if the 
 damage by accidents caused by the breaking of 
 cast iron wheels be taken into account, there can be 
 no doubt the wrought iron is the cheapest wheel in 
 the end, and far more satisfactory as to safety. 
 
 The American railway coach has no cross parti 
 tions, and generally no doors in the sides ; it has a 
 passage longitudinally through the centre through 
 
COACHES AND CARS. 189 
 
 which the passengers pass to the seats on either 
 side, and thus requires the body of the coach to be 
 of an extra width equal to the width of the passage, 
 which is an element of weakness, especially as it 
 can have no cross support between the ends, except 
 what it has in the roof and floor. There being no 
 doors in the sides, adds to the strength in this part, 
 and goes to compensate for the want of cross parti- 
 tions, and if the coach was not unreasonably long 
 and wide, would balance the want of cross support. 
 The English coach is divided by cross partitions, 
 inclosing two rows of cross seats in each division or 
 apartment, which gives good facility for combining 
 the floor and roof, but has the weakening effect of 
 side doors, and if the body was very long, like the 
 American coach, this would be a serious objection 
 to its strength. But as it is only half as long as the 
 American, and the body supported at three points 
 instead of two, it must on the whole be regarded 
 for equal material a stronger coach, and less liable 
 to break up by collision. It cannot, however, be 
 recommended to put partitions and their necessary 
 appendages, side doors, in the long American coach ; 
 the strength of this coach is very dependent on its 
 sides, and if the long beams were not supported by 
 the deep side plank under the windows, they would 
 require to be very heavy and well trussed with 
 
190 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 iron. It has been noticed that the English coach 
 is about the same weight per passenger, while its 
 plan has less elements of weight than the Ameri- 
 can ; and that the former carries but little more 
 than half the weight of passenger per wheel that is 
 carried by the latter ; that the former use wrought 
 iron as a material where the latter use cast iron. 
 These circumstances, with the general superiority 
 of their track and police, sufficiently account for the 
 greater safety of English railway travelling. 
 
 The plan of the American railway coach is 
 adapted to at least an equal degree of safety. It 
 has the objection of some additional weight to pro- 
 vide for its truck frame. Its motion is more favor- 
 able for the track, the coach and the passenger ; and 
 by its eight wheels may be, for a given number of 
 passengers, lighter on the rail and more favorable 
 for its durability ; with bearing springs equal to 
 those of the English coach, it would have superior 
 ease of motion. It is, however, obvious from the 
 general practice in this country, that these advan- 
 tages have not been fully secured. There has been 
 a taste for a large railway coach early inculcated 
 and very generally perpetuated in our railway his- 
 tory. The prevalent idea seems to have been that 
 a large coach gives importance to a railway, and 
 little consideration has been given to the mechanical 
 
COACHES AND CARS. 191 
 
 principles, or the true economy involved in this 
 question. I think the most prominent claim of late 
 for a large coach is that it is more safe ; a position 
 I regard as untenable. As before observed, the 
 safety of a railway coach depends materially on its 
 strength. A long coach body, having no interior 
 cross supports, is necessarily more likely to crush in 
 a collision than a short one having the same sized 
 timbering. A coach body resting on its two ends 
 is subject to the same laws of strength as a bridge ; 
 and it is fully appreciated that a bridge of long 
 span, or length between supports, requires its scant- 
 ling to be stronger in proportion to a short one, as 
 the squares of their respective lengths ; and hence 
 a coach body 40 feet long between supports requires 
 four times the strength to sustain the same weight 
 that would be required for one of 20 feet between 
 supports; and in this case, the strength must be 
 further augmented to provide for a double weight, 
 as the large coach is m*de double length for the 
 purpose of carrying double the load. The influence 
 of momentum has been noticed ; it has been shown 
 that the large coaches will feel its influence more 
 severely than the small ones, and are more exposed 
 to be broken up in a collision. No doubt, there is 
 a size of coach that is most convenient for use a 
 size that best meets all the wants to be provided 
 
192 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 for. In this must be considered safety, cost, con- 
 venience of ingress and egress for passengers, 
 facility of seats, handling at stations, and the trac- 
 tion of the coach. All these points can be better 
 secured by a coach of 40 seats than one of 60 
 seats. I am well aware that railway men in this 
 country will generally dissent from this view, for I 
 have often discussed the question with many of 
 them, and know the tenacity with which they ad- 
 here to large coaches, though I have yet to learn 
 one single argument worthy of consideration that 
 has been urged in their favor. The folly of hauling 
 a house, with an audience-room capable of seating 
 60 people, through the country at the rate of 40 
 to 50 miles per hour, and calling it a vehicle for 
 travelling, does not seem to have entered the general 
 mind of railway managers. 
 
 Cars for freight have had a similar history as that 
 described for coaches. The eight-wheeled, or truck 
 principle, was adopted in this country for cars about 
 the same time as for coaches ; and has much the 
 same advantages over the old four-wheeled railway 
 wagon previously in use. The English adhere to 
 the old single frame arrangement, and, I believe, 
 generally with four wheels instead of six, as in their 
 more modern coaches. They have spread the 
 wheels longitudinally, from about four feet apart to 
 
OOACHE8 AND CARS. 193 
 
 six and eight feet apart. If it be, as it undoubtedly 
 is, an advantage to reduce the weight on the wheel, 
 as well as to secure other advantages, eight wheels 
 are certainly better than four; and in regard to 
 freight, not requiring high speed, it is difficult to 
 see the reason that prevents English engineers from 
 adopting the truck plan. As in coaches, we have 
 generally adopted the truck principle in cars ; but 
 though we have, as I think, the best principle of 
 construction, we have not made a wise improvement 
 of it ; for, instead of improving the opportunity of 
 lessening the weight on the wheel, we have in- 
 creased the load, so that no advantage in this re- 
 spect is gained. Our cars are usually designed for 
 ten tons of freight ; and the car will weigh from 
 seven to eight tons. On a few coal railways they 
 have used eight- wheeled cars, that carry a load of 
 three and a half to four tons, the weight of empty 
 cars from one and a quarter to one and a half tons ; 
 but these are exceptions to the general practice, 
 though they have been in successful use twenty 
 years, and have resulted from superior engineering 
 and management. The general tone of opinion 
 among railway managers has been in favor of large 
 cars as well as coaches. It seems to have been the 
 prevailing idea, that the car should be as large as 
 possible. The true question here involved is, un- 
 
 9 
 
194: RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 doubtedly, the car that will afford the means oi 
 cheapest transport. If the car furnish suitable ac- 
 commodation to the freight carried, and is conve- 
 nient for management, the essential requisites are 
 provided for. The large cars are necessarily more 
 severe on the track causing greater derangement 
 and wear than small ones ; this must be obvious to 
 the least consideration. The argument, claiming 
 greater safety in large cars, is not tenable for coaches, 
 and much less so for cars, not having even a plausi- 
 ble basis to rest on. No doubt there is a size of 
 ears as well as coaches, best fitted for the service 
 they are to perform. The car should be of sufficient 
 size to permit convenient stowage of the freight 
 generally transported. It is not incumbent, nor 
 good economy, to provide, in the general plan, for 
 those occasional pieces of freight that may be offered 
 a few times in the course of a year ; it should pro- 
 vide for the articles that constitute the great mass 
 of the traffic. On the English railways, where there 
 is as much necessity for this provision as here, they 
 conduct all their traffic on cars ranging from twelve 
 to fifteen feet long, and do not seem to feel any em- 
 barrassment. They transport live stock of every 
 variety, and in large numbers ; and the ease and 
 facility of handling the cars at their stations, greatly 
 impressed me when witnessing their operations. 
 
OO ACHES ANL OARS. 195 
 
 If it be said, that it is at times necessary to trans- 
 port long timber, or other article requiring a longer 
 and larger car, let there be a suitable number 
 adapted to this object, if it appear a branch of 
 traffic that will warrant the expense. It would cer- 
 tainly be bad economy to incur extra expense on 
 one hundred cars, that any one of them may be 
 adapted to some peculiar form of freight requiring 
 only the capacity of one. But there would not 
 generally be one car-load of this kind of exceptional 
 freight in a thousand, that would not be sufficiently 
 provided for in cars well adapted to the general 
 traffic. 
 
 Having been long convinced of the impolicy of 
 large freight cars, some years since I proposed to 
 stock a new railway with cars eighteen feet long for 
 covered and twenty-one feet long for platforms ; 
 and contracts were made accordingly, and continued 
 until about two hundred cars were placed upon the 
 railway. The cars were satisfactory to the men 
 who managed them they were lighter in propor- 
 tion to their useful load more easily moved about 
 the station by hand (of which more or less is always 
 necessary), requiring less than half the force to 
 handle them no inconvenience was experienced in 
 stowing freight less labor was required in loading 
 and unloading grain they carried a greater per- 
 
196 KAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 centage of useful load in the train, and in collisions 
 were less injured than large cars, and the practical 
 operation was satisfactory in every respect. But 
 the directors of the company thought it would not 
 do to have small cars, when other railways had 
 large ; alleging that it would give their railway a 
 diminutive character, and injure the stock in the 
 market ; and, contrary to my advice, made contracts 
 for as large cars as were in use on other railways. 
 Against this, for a time, I remonstrated, urging 
 that the small cars were working very satisfactorily, 
 and that the value of the capital stock would de- 
 pend on the net money that would be earned, rather 
 than on the size of cars used, and that perseverance 
 would show the true interest of the proprietors as 
 affected by the size of cars. In reply, says one of 
 the directors, " What do we care for the value of 
 the stock twenty years hence ?" I mention this, 
 merely to show the short-sighted policy that often 
 controls railway management. 
 
 Little as the subject regarding the weight of ma- 
 chinery has been considered, there is no one that 
 more intimately concerns the economy of railway 
 management. This cannot fail to impress the engi- 
 neer who carefully examines the mechanical prin- 
 ciples involved, and the result of railway practice. 
 No superficial attention will prove a corrective ; it 
 
COACHES AND CABS. 197 
 
 .must be thorough, careful, practical, and laborious, 
 to reach a beneficial result. The wants of the traffic 
 must be well studied ; as they are to be provided for, 
 and the traffic to be extended to new items, as fast 
 as they may pay remunerative rates. This settled, 
 and the important question follows, what sort of 
 machinery will afford the means of doing it in the 
 most economical manner ? 
 
 In relation to coaches and cars, the question does 
 not involve any difficulty when regarded in view 
 of well known principles, and their proper adapta- 
 tion to the use required. A coach of 40 seats is 
 quite as convenient for making up a train as one 
 for 60 seats. If a greater number are required for 
 the train, they are as easily moved if in train ; and 
 if single, they may be moved more easily in cor- 
 respondence to their capacity, and this is important 
 so far as the movement is required by manual 
 labor. The ingress and egress of passengers is in 
 favor of the small coach ; it may be lighter in pro- 
 portion to the load carried, and it will often be 
 sufficient for the fraction of a train ; in which case 
 it will serve all the purpose of a larger coach. 
 Where, then, is the superiority of the large over the 
 small coach which is to compensate for its more ex- 
 pensive maintenance ? I have not been able to see 
 it, though the large coach is adhered to with all the 
 
198 RAILWAY PKOPERTT. 
 
 tenacity of u red tape." Some excuse it on account 
 of the spring or elasticity of the long body, and 
 claim that it rides more easily for the passenger 
 than the shorter body. This is an admission that 
 it is weaker than the short one, and, of cour R e, so 
 far less safe, as it could have no more spring if it 
 was equally rigid. "Now the body of a coach should 
 be made so as to give it the requisite strength ; and 
 the springs should be under it, not in it. The truth 
 is, the spring of the larger body arises from its 
 weakness between supports, and the greater elasti- 
 city is not an object, but a mechanical necessity, 
 arising from the desire to avoid the weight of scant- 
 ling, that would be required to give it the same de- 
 gree of strength that appertains to the more rigid 
 frame of the short coach ; and hence the resort to 
 iron trussing in the body of the large coach to im- 
 prove its stiffness, not its elasticity. 
 
 In regard to cars, there is nothing gained, even 
 in convenience, in carrying from two to two and a 
 half tons on a wheel, over such as may carry one 
 and a quarter to one and a half tons, car and load 
 included. 
 
 The real difficulty in this matter is the habit, that 
 lias become very general on railways, of using large 
 cars and coaches. To remove this is no easy task, 
 and considerable time must elapse before the ill- 
 
COACHKS AND CARS. 199 
 
 founded prejudice can be removed ; and the engi- 
 neer who may appreciate this subject will find it 
 necessary to proceed cautiously with any changes 
 he may desire to make ; and to keep in mind that 
 he will be opposed by men who have influence, 
 although they do not comprehend the principles 
 involved. From long observation and much reflec- 
 tion, I am satisfied of the substantial truth of the 
 position I have taken, and that sooner or later it 
 must come to be properly considered. Though I 
 look appropriately to the professional efforts of civil 
 engineers for improvement in this department, it 
 must not be expected that all engineers will meet 
 the requirements of the case. I have seen the 
 regular daily operation of passenger trains on an 
 important railway, under the advice of an engineer 
 of extra profession of scientific claims, drawn by an 
 engine of 20 tons weight, with two coaches nearly 
 half filled with passengers, over a soft, unballasted 
 prairie railway ; the bouncing of the coach such as 
 to alarm passengers not accustomed to this kind 
 of travelling, and even to try the nerves of others. 
 The discomfort of this sort of travelling is obvious, 
 as the difficulty, or rather impossibility, in wet 
 weather, of keeping the track in order, and the 
 damage to the machinery, must correspond to its 
 weight and the roughness of the track, and the net 
 
.200 EAILWAY PKOPERTY. 
 
 profits of this kind of management, if anything, 
 must be very small. An engine of less than half 
 the weight, and coaches of scarcely more than half 
 the weight, would have performed the service per- 
 fectly, and so reduced the weight on the rail, that 
 the expense of adjustment would be comparatively 
 small, and the whole machinery kept in order at 
 less than half the expense. 
 
 I have seen the operations of a railway that had 
 no heavy business, either in freight or passengers, 
 and the daily passenger train rarely containing 
 more than one coach, and this drawn by a 20 ton 
 engine. The little Saratoga engine, before de- 
 scribed, weighing less than seven tons, would have 
 taken in suitable coaches double the number of 
 passengers, at the rate of 25 miles per hour, at half 
 the expense incurred by this inconsiderate practice ; 
 and yet no one engaged in the management in 
 either of the cases above mentioned seemed to sus- 
 pect any want of sound economy. The practice 
 arises, not from any inherent difficulty, but from 
 the absence of careful thought, and from a ready 
 yielding to careless and ill-advised habits. 
 
 On single track railways, there is an advantage 
 on account of the inconvenience that may arise in 
 a heavy traffic of too great a number of trains in 
 having as much power in the engines as is compati- 
 
COACHES AND CARS. 201 
 
 ble with a due regard to economy in other respects ; 
 and this will often lead to pressing the weight of 
 engines beyond the best limit, and must be ad- 
 mitted to be some excuse for the practice. Bui 
 this does not apply to the coaches and cars gene- 
 rally, for whatever be the amount of traffic suppos- 
 able on a railway, the most favorable size of the 
 coach will be essentially as good for a large as for a 
 small traffic; and freight may be transported to 
 any amount on a six-ton, eight-wheeled car, cheaper 
 than it can on a larger one. 
 
 It is claimed by some that large cars are best 
 for transporting live stock. Why are they better ? 
 Will the stock be more safe ? The safest plan would 
 be to have but one animal in a place ; then there 
 would be no other to injure it; and injury from 
 each other is admitted to be the main source of 
 damage, consequently the greater number together, 
 the greater the risk. The English carry a large 
 amount of every description of live stock in their 14 
 feet cars, and have not learned their inconvenience. 
 I have not yet learned a valid reason for the im- 
 agined superiority of large over small cars for live 
 stock, unless it be that when a car is once placed 
 for receiving them, it would be more convenient to 
 drive a whole train-load on, and save the trouble 
 of changing cars in the process. 
 
 9* 
 
202 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 The constructing engineer should carefully con- 
 sider the traffic he is to provide for, and aim, so 
 far as he may have the power, at securing such 
 machinery as will effect the most economical trans- 
 port; and in this, I am well aware, he will find 
 much prejudice. It is nevertheless highly impor- 
 tant, and by degrees, the necessity of more strict 
 economy will compel attention to this branch of 
 railway management. On railways of large traffic, 
 at good rates, the necessity will more slowly deve- 
 lop itself, but on those of light traffic, this atten- 
 tion to a more thorough scrutiny into expenses can- 
 not long be delayed, and engineers should give this 
 branch of supervision their most careful and dili- 
 gent attention ; bearing in mind, that it is not the 
 largest machinery that should be run on a ranway, 
 but that which will afford the best net profit on the 
 traffic they conduct. 
 
OPEBATING DEPARTMENT INTRODUCTORY. 203 
 
 CHAPTER XY. 
 
 OPERATING DEPARTMENT INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 THE term operating has come to be understood as 
 expressing the business of maintaining the railway 
 and machinery and conducting the traffic. 
 
 In the general practice there is placed at the head 
 of this department a superintendent, with subordi- 
 nate agents to attend to the various branches of 
 business. The subordinates are more or less varied, 
 according to the magnitude of the traffic conducted. 
 On prominent railways there are often assistant 
 euperintendents, who, under the general instructions 
 of the superintendent, exercise his authority in his 
 absence. On some railways a civil engineer is em- 
 ployed ; but his branch of duty has not been, so far 
 as I know, a very important one, in the operating 
 department. There is a freight department, and a 
 passenger department ; an auditor and a cashier ; 
 or in some form their equivalents. 
 
 The superintendent directs in regard to all repairs 
 of track and machinery, and for this purpose em- 
 p^oys track-masters, and a master machinist ; also 
 
204 HALLWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 constructs time-tables for the running of trains, em- 
 ploys conductors for running them, station agents, 
 clerks, wood and water men, watchmen and switch- 
 men. The auditor and cashier are not properly 
 under the supervision of the superintendent, but 
 receive their appointment from the board of Direc- 
 tors, and are responsible directly to the President 
 or Treasurer. 
 
 The first business of operating a railway is to 
 organize the conducting of the traffic, which must 
 be immediately followed by the organization of a 
 system for repairs and maintenance. 
 
 At the head of the freight department there is 
 sometimes placed a general freight agent, but in 
 others a chief clerk has the charge of the account- 
 ing duties under the direction of the auditor. If 
 the former, it is usual for the general freight agent, 
 under the direction of the superintendent, not only 
 to attend to and supervise the freight traffic, but to 
 make contracts for freight and perform other outside 
 duties in this branch ; in the latter case, these duties 
 are more or less committed to the local agents at the 
 stations, under the general direction of the super- 
 intendent. 
 
 The head of the passenger department is styled 
 the general passenger agent. He keeps the accounts 
 with all persons authorized to sell tickets, and 
 
OPERATING UiCl'ARTMENT INTRODUCTORY. 205 
 
 receives the reports of the passenger conductors, 
 also keeps the accounts with connecting railways 
 in the sale of through tickets, which has become 
 an extensive practice, and involves corresponding 
 accounts. 
 
206 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 CHAPTEK XVI. 
 
 OPERATING FREIGHT. 
 
 ON important railways, the freight department 
 requires thorough system in the accounts. If strict 
 attention is not given, so as to present full and ex- 
 plicit statements of the numerous parcels of goods 
 received, forwarded, and delivered, confusion and 
 loss will occur. The accounting duty of the freight 
 department is by far the largest in railway opera- 
 tions, and demands the most careful and strict 
 attention. In the early history of this business 
 there was much confusion. Persons who had been 
 employed in the ordinary methods of transporta- 
 tion by vessels and common roads, were often found 
 quite inadequate to the rapid transaction required 
 on a railway. One of the difficulties arose from 
 the effort to make complete bills for lots that were 
 distributed in several cars of the train. This has 
 for some time been abandoned, and bills are made 
 for each car, without reference to the particular lots 
 to which they belong, at the same time aiming to 
 
OPERATING FREIGHT. 207 
 
 keep lots together so far as may be. The goods for 
 any particular station are usually placed by them- 
 selves in one or more cars, and such car or cars are 
 left with their bills of lading at their destined sta- 
 tion, to be unloaded and delivered by the station 
 agent, who is held responsible for the charge and 
 the proper delivery of the goods. If small lots of 
 goods are to be sent to several stations, they are 
 .sent by a distributing car, and delivered to the 
 respective stations from the train, which must stop 
 a sufficient time to unload them at the stations. 
 From the office of shipment a copy of the bill of 
 lading is sent to the auditor, who charges the agent 
 at the office of destination with the same. By this 
 means the auditor's books show the accounts of the 
 station agents, who are required to make daily 
 reports to him of their cash receipts, and transmit 
 the funds they collect to the cashier, or other fiscal 
 officer. This makes the check complete ; the audi- 
 tor's accounts showing how much should be paid in 
 by the agent, and the amount received by the 
 cashier, and he is at all times able to show the 
 Treasurer of the Company, or the board of Direc- 
 tors, the amount of funds that may be transmitted 
 or paid over. 
 
 The station or other receiving agent may not col- 
 lect the charges immediately, in which case his 
 
208 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 reports state the amount of goodg on hand, and the 
 charges due on the same. Occasionally, there will 
 be lots of goods remaining for considerable time 
 before called for by the consignee; and so far 
 as not called for, the agent cannot collect the 
 charges, and must report " goods on hand." If the 
 agent improperly choose to keep the funds he has 
 collected, he may do so by false returns as to goods 
 on hand ; and if suspicion of this arise, the auditor 
 should send an agent to examine the goods on hand, 
 and if he find the goods have been delivered he 
 will know the agent has made false reports, and the 
 correction may be promptly applied. With proper 
 diligence on the part of the auditor no great loss 
 can occur. 
 
 The conductor of a train has what is called a 
 train list of the cars in his train, setting forth the 
 number that are to be left at the several stations, 
 and as he leaves the cars, takes a receipt for the 
 same from the station agent, which is his voucher 
 for their proper disposition ; and if from any acci- 
 dent he is compelled to leave a car before it reaches 
 its destination, he reports it at once to the office of 
 the station where it was loaded and billed, and also 
 to the general office, where means are taken to send 
 it forward to its destination. In addition to the 
 train list, the conductor usually carries the bills of 
 
OPERATING FREIGHT. 209 
 
 the goods in his train, that are made to the station 
 to which they are due, and these with the cars he 
 delivers to the station agent. In some instances, 
 the bills are sent forward by a passenger train, and 
 received by the agent before the goods arrive : in 
 some instances it has been the practice to send for- 
 ward the train before the bills were made out ; in 
 such case the bills follow, and may not arrive until 
 after the goods reach their destination. It is a bad 
 practice and leads to embarrassment in the delivery 
 of goods, and should not be tolerated. 
 
 The freight business is now so well organized, 
 that losses seldom occur from stray goods, and the 
 mode of checking appears to be complete. 
 
210 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 CHAPTEE XYII. 
 
 OPERATING PASSENGER 8. 
 
 IN the passenger department, the accounts are 
 kept by the general passenger agent, who supplies 
 from his office tickets to all persons authorized to 
 sell them, and the checks in this department, so far 
 as relates to ticket agents, are complete. Deception 
 can hardly be practised except by collusion with a 
 third party. 
 
 The conductors of the passenger train report t' 
 the general passenger agent, and there has not been 
 found any means of checking him for the collec- 
 tions he makes in the coaches, except so far as it 
 has and may be done by espionage. In conse- 
 quence of this difficulty most raihvay companies 
 offer inducements to passengers to procure tickets 
 at the offices by allowing a discount of 5 to 
 10 cents on a ticket. This induces a largely in- 
 creased purchase of the ticket agents ; but there is 
 a considerable amount still collected in the coaches 
 by the conductor, which is consequently dependent 
 on the integrity of his return. I know of no means 
 
OPERATING PASSENGERS. 211 
 
 to wholly remove the difficulty arising from this 
 want of a check on the conductors. 
 
 On English railways most of the stations are in- 
 closed, and the passengers on leaving and usually 
 on entering the station, must in the former case 
 give up, and in the latter show their ticket ; but 
 there is nothing to prevent the ticket collector from 
 taking the fare, and if the passenger has no ticket, 
 the integrity of the collector must be relied on, to 
 account for the money. In large towns a different 
 course is pursued : about one mile from the station, 
 a ticket collector gets on the train and collects the 
 tickets, the train being delayed time enough for this 
 purpose. Here the collector occasionally finds a 
 passenger without a ticket, and I have seen a col- 
 lector in such a case collect the fare for the distance 
 given by the passenger, without remark, and have 
 concluded it not to be a rare occurrence. Of course 
 the return of such a collector can have no more 
 check than that of a conductor. The English are 
 very watchful of the entry of passengers into the 
 coaches; but in the large towns I have seen no 
 great difficulty in a passenger getting into the 
 coach of a making-up train ; the passage from the 
 ticket-office to the coach shed being open and often 
 without a doorkeeper, affording no impediment to 
 his entering the coach, and if asked when in the 
 
212 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 coacli if he had a ticket, was seldom required 
 to show it, the man engaged in seating the passen- 
 gers usually being content with the word of the 
 passenger. I have known instances in which pas- 
 sengers had no tickets, but paid fare to the collector 
 at the large town station. Though the English 
 system does not appear to be complete, I think ~a 
 much greater proportion of fare is paid at the offices 
 than on our railways. If the English system re- 
 quired, in the case of a passenger not having a 
 ticket, that he should go to the ticket-office and ob- 
 tain one before he could pass the gate either out or 
 in, and not allow either gatekeeper or collector to 
 take fare in any case, it would seem to render the 
 check complete. This would' require the same 
 practice at the terminal and other large stations, as 
 at the smaller ones. I have supposed the practice 
 of sending a collector before entering the large 
 towns, was introduced to avoid delay to the passen- 
 gers, who take carriages in the station-yard ; and 
 so long as it prevails, the system of checks must be 
 imperfect. If the English system was carried out 
 as above suggested, it would not allow a fare paid, 
 except to a ticket agent, and the collector would be 
 merely a collector of tickets. Some effort has been 
 made in this country to pass the entering passen- 
 gers through a gate or door, and there requiring 
 
OPERATING PASSENGERS. 213 
 
 them to show their tickets before they pass Into the 
 station, and I have often gone on a train directly 
 from such a station, and seen the conductor quite 
 busy in receiving fare from those who had no 
 tickets. The fact is, it often happens that a crowd 
 is collected around the doorkeeper, and passengers 
 have some delay in finding their tickets, and with 
 sundry items of hand baggage, and sometimes 
 (often) infants, and children but little more ad- 
 vanced, causes delay and impatience, offering in- 
 ducement and opportunity for others to crowd the 
 passage, and more or less pass without showing, 
 and without even having tickets to show. 
 
 I see no effective mode of forming a check on the 
 passenger receipts, without complete inclosures, so 
 arranged that no person can go into the car-shed or 
 yard of the station ground, without passing a door 
 or gate arranged with one or more openings, and a 
 tender at each, so that no greater number need pass 
 any tender than he could examine and see that 
 they had tickets; for most stations one passage 
 would be sufficient; and the arrangement would 
 require to be extended to all stations where passen- 
 gers were received. There would still be one source 
 of evasion ; namely, a passenger may procure a 
 ticket for the next station, and continue on to a 
 more distant station. The conductor would, of 
 
RAILWAY PEOPERTY. 
 
 course, detect him ; but how is the fare to be col- 
 lected beyond the station ticketed ? If the con- 
 ductor collect, as is the present custom, then the 
 check on this fare is lost. To carry out the system, 
 the passenger should be treated as one that refused 
 to pay his fare, when ae extended his passage be- 
 yond the station ticketed, and put off the train, un- 
 less he could satisfactorily explain to the conductor 
 the fact of not possessing a ticket, and would agree to 
 procure a ticket at the next station. But who is to 
 control the conductor in such a case, if he choose to 
 take the fare, and allow the passenger to proceed 
 on the train ? As the conductor is the only man of 
 authority on the train, from the beginning to the 
 end of his route, no direct check can be had on his 
 proceedings with a passenger on the way, although 
 there would be an indirect check in the fact becom- 
 ing generally known that the conductor was not in 
 any case allowed to receive fare. The fact of receiv- 
 ing it would thus be likely to attract the notice of 
 passengers, and hazard a report that would bring 
 the conductor to an account. This might not, in all 
 cases, be a protection, but it would be a salutary 
 check. 
 
 If, upon any plan, the exit gate be used as in 
 England, to insure the full collection of fare, the 
 tender should not be allowed to take fare from any 
 
OPERATING PASSENGERS. 215 
 
 lelmquent passenger ; his business should be con- 
 fined to the collection of checks or tickets, and if 
 that is wanting, the passenger should be required 
 to procure it at the ticket-office. The exit gate is 
 objectionable at large stations, and hence the Eng- 
 lish railways only adopt it at the secondary stations, 
 and depend on a collector at the large stations, as 
 before explained ; and on the collector there is no 
 check, any more than on a conductor. 
 
 It must be conceded that the crowd and hurry 
 that occur at important stations, in making up 
 trains, and more especially at the breaking up of 
 the train at terminal stations, involve a difficulty 
 in any system that can be relied on as a perfect 
 check. The entrance gate is the most easily 
 guarded, and if this part were well arranged, there 
 would be but a small exposure to loss. It involves 
 the necessity of receiving the baggage at or near 
 the ticket-office, in order to save the passengers 
 from delay and confusion, in attending to both 
 ticket and baggage checks. It is often the practice 
 to allow friends to pass the gate with passengers, 
 with a view to see them seated in the coaches ; this 
 is obviously an error, and should not be allowed on 
 account of its liability to abuse. With proper 
 arrangement of in closure and gates, very nearly all 
 the fare will be collected at the ticket-offices ; and 
 
216 KA1JLWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 if the conductor and all collectors of tickets were 
 prohibited, in all cases, from taking fare, making it 
 the duty of the former to require any delinquent 
 passenger to go to the office of the next station and 
 procure his ticket ; or failing to satisfy him that he 
 had a fair excuse for his delinquency, to put him 
 off the train, as is now done if payment is refused, 
 would leave but a small deficiency in checking the 
 passenger receipts. No system can be safe from 
 collusion ; but this is a far more difficult practice 
 under a plan like this proposed, and with proper 
 care in the selection of agents, no great or material 
 delinquency will be likely to occur. 
 
 In all business involving trusts, the importance 
 of a system of complete checks in reports and 
 accounts is very obvious ; to both parties it is bene- 
 ficial, securing to the principal full accounts of his 
 dues, and to the honest agent the means of showing 
 the fidelity of his proceedings. By the existing 
 practice the faithful conductor has no power to 
 prove his fidelity, nor the railway managers any 
 exact means to prove the truth of any suspicions 
 they may entertain, except by espionage, which is 
 not desirable if it can be avoided a state of things 
 Dften very embarrassing to both parties; and action, 
 when taken, is usually based on conjecture, and in 
 many cases no certainty can be arrived at. The 
 
OPERATING PASSENGERS. 217 
 
 reports of conductors may appear fair, but as there 
 can be no proper check to verify their accuracy, 
 they afford no conclusive evidence in the case either 
 way, and the unfaithfulness that may be supposed 
 to exist, generally rests on suspicion, arising from 
 general indications, as habits of dissipation and ex- 
 penditure, or the reputation of acquiring property 
 faster than is compatible with the salary received ; 
 and these facts may or may not be known, accord- 
 ing to the prudence of the agent in keeping them 
 out of the sight of those who are interested to know 
 them. It must be the desire of all honest con- 
 ductors, that their business should be placed on a 
 system of the most perfect checks ; and the railway 
 company, in order to protect themselves against 
 such as may be unfaithful, and be able to know 
 those that are trusty, should adopt the most efficient 
 system practicable, for securing the fidelity of their 
 passenger, as well as their freight receipts. There 
 is, no doubt, a difficulty in attaining this end, and 
 it will involve considerable, though not serious, ex- 
 pense to prepare the stations properly, so as to meet 
 the requirements of any efficient system. With 
 faithful men for conductors, no great evil will arise 
 from a partial collection in the coaches ; but, as 
 before observed, it is a difficult, if not an impracti- 
 cable tiling, to discriminate between those that are, 
 
 10 
 
5218 KAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 and those that are not faithful ; and therefore the 
 temptation, as much as possible, should be removed. 
 In addition to the fidelity of his fiscal duties, the 
 conductor has important duties in the management 
 of his train. His good manners and attention to 
 the incidental wants of passengers will have much 
 to do in promoting their comfort and convenience, 
 especially with the infirm, and with females who 
 may be without an escort. He should be a man 
 of good sense and ready sagacity, in discovering 
 how he may be useful in these respects, as upon his 
 judgment and promptness the reputation of the 
 railway with the travelling public will a good deal 
 depend. Upon him rests mainly the responsibility 
 of a proper regulation of the stops of the train ; to 
 see that due notice is given to the passengers that 
 they may be ready when the train stops to leave 
 with the least delay, and that passengers to be re- 
 ceived are promptly got on, so that there be no 
 unnecessary delay of the train ; for what is lost here 
 must be made up by increased speed between sta- 
 tions, which it is important to avoid. The system 
 of marking, registering, and checking baggage is 
 now so well arranged tliat the baggage-man may 
 have the whole assorted, and that for the next sta- 
 tion ready to be delivered the moment the train 
 stops; and as that to be received is prepared by the 
 
OPERATING PASSENGERS. 219 
 
 % 
 
 station agent, ready to be handed in as soon as tlie 
 baggage-man on the train has discharged that to 
 be left, very little time is necessary for baggage, 
 and usually it can be discharged and received on 
 board by the time the passengers are changed. If 
 the train is not delayed to take on fuel and water, 
 the stop need not consume over a half to one minute, 
 according to the traffic of the station. This may 
 seem a small matter, but the character of the man- 
 agement of a railway may be determined by the 
 manner their stops are conducted. The baggage- 
 man and brakemen are under the supervision of 
 the conductor ; and much depends on the prompt- 
 ness and judgment of the latter in stopping the 
 train; at all times they should be quick on the -sig- 
 nal, and exercise discretion in stopping the train as 
 soon as possible, at the same time, not to cause the 
 wheels to slide, except in cases of danger to the 
 train. The engine driver is also under the super- 
 vision of the conductor to a certain extent, to see 
 that his duty is performed skillfully in stopping and 
 starting his engine in maintaining uniformity of 
 speed in entering or leaving curve lines, so as to 
 avoid disagreeable lateral motion to the train. 
 These things are not only important to the easy 
 motion of the train, but to the saving of repairs in 
 machinery and track, which are unnecessarily in- 
 
220 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 jured by the jerking motion and irregular speed 
 caused by an unskillful running of engines. The 
 conductor is the captain of the train, and if any 
 of the men employed on it fail to obey his direc 
 tions, or transgress the regulations of the managers, 
 it is his duty to report the delinquent to the super- 
 intendent. 
 
 From the preceding remarks, it is obvious that 
 the conductor should be a man combining fidelity 
 with courteous manners, general intelligence, and 
 sound practical sense ; careful to avoid danger, and 
 skillful to extricate his train in case of difficulty ; 
 ne must be unknown at saloons of dissipation an 
 indulgence which would inevitably impair his cha- 
 racter for fidelity to his trust, and should be care- 
 fully avoided. 
 
OPERATING ENGINE DRIVERS. 221 
 
 CHAPTEE XVHL 
 
 OPERATING ENGINE DRIVERS. 
 
 COMPETENT engine drivers are indispensable to 
 good railway management. A man may be a good 
 mechanic, and understand the machinery of the 
 engine well, and still be a poor driver. It is neces- 
 sary that he have good judgment as to time and 
 speed: this is less important in running very 
 high than in running low speed, as the former 
 usually requires the full power of the engine ; but 
 at a lower rate of speed, he will be in danger of 
 arriving too early or too late at the stations, or will 
 run too rapid a part of the time, and too slow at 
 others ; and as it is the interest of the railway to 
 run the lowest speed that will answer the demands 
 of the traffic, all unnecessary high running is a 
 damage to the proprietors ; and it is therefore an 
 object to obtain the greatest regularity in speed. 
 "With a skillful driver, jerks are rarely felt in start- 
 ing no running past the station where a stop is to 
 be made, nor more breaking up than is necessary, 
 especially such as to slide the wheels, which is very 
 
222 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 severe on both wheels and rails ; coaches and car& 
 are injured by sudden starting and stopping, and 
 great care should be exercised to guard against these 
 evils as much as possible. In passing to and from 
 curves in the line of track, the skill of the engine 
 driver is to be exercised, and will demonstrate how 
 well he understands the handling of his engine : if 
 well done, the motion will hardly *be noticed, and 
 if ill done, a disagreeable lateral motion will result, 
 as may often be noticed. This is a test that few 
 drivers can stand well. It requires a good eye on 
 approaching or leaving a curve, and power and 
 judgment in handling the engine. I never notice 
 this duty well performed without a desire to express 
 my satisfaction to the driver, as I regard it as a 
 high exhibition of skill in this department. 
 
 On express passenger trains the work of the 
 engine driver is of short duration, and not over one 
 or two operations of taking on fuel and water will 
 occur on his route. But on way-passenger and 
 freight trains, stops are more numerous, and much 
 more time is taken to perform the route. It is of 
 great importance that the business at these stops be 
 dispatched in the least time practicable ; for, as 
 before observed, whatever is lost in time here, must 
 be regained by so much increase of speed. In this 
 matter much will depend on the conductor, but the 
 
OPERATING ENGINE DRIVERS. 223 
 
 usefulness and value of a prompt and competent 
 engine driver is very obvious ; his fuel and water 
 should be taken on, and his engine oiled with the 
 least delay, so that he may be ready to move 
 promptly on the signal. A freight train at the sta- 
 tion will often have more or less cars to be taken 
 out, and others put in the train, all of which should 
 be done with the utmost promptness, to save all 
 possible time for appropriation to moving on the 
 railway. It should be the constant care of the 
 managers to inculcate on the engine drivers the im- 
 portance of occupying as much as possible their 
 card time in movement on the track, and to establish 
 a judicious discrimination in favor of those who 
 most effectually discharge their duties. 
 
 The interests of railway proprietors are materially 
 affected by the skill and fidelity with which the 
 engines are run, and the very general practice of 
 paying the drivers all alike is incompatible with 
 sound management. There is an important differ- 
 ence between a first-class, and a fair engine driver, and 
 of course a greater difference between a first-class and 
 an ordinary driver : and though this seems to have 
 received very partial attention, there can be no 
 doubt, that a judicious system of grades, under the 
 supervision of a competent foreman or master 
 mechanic, would produce a salutary and laudable 
 
224: RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 spirit of emulation would give satisfaction to the 
 best and most competent, and show the careless and 
 unskillful, the necessity of effort, cultivation, and 
 fidelity to reach the first rank. A knowledge of 
 the manipulations required to start and stop, and to 
 perform the current operations in the ordinary work 
 of running an engine, is but a small part of the 
 accomplishment of a first class engine driver. He 
 must know how to feel his engine, and apply the 
 power judiciously to the work required; and the 
 skill to do this well, is only acquired by experience 
 and good judgment. The objection has been 
 raised, that it would not do to discriminate, and that 
 the attempt to establish grades of compensation and 
 service, would produce dissatisfaction ; but clearly 
 not with the first class ; and I can see no force in 
 this objection, other than appertains to any branch 
 of business. Certainly, a duty that involves so 
 much of fidelity and capacity as this, should not be 
 left to an indiscriminate equality in rank and pay, 
 treating the best with scarcely a consideration 
 above the least competent ; a rule that would be 
 discarded as inefficient in any other branch of 
 responsible business. To do any business well, re- 
 quires attention, firmness, and sound discretion, and 
 that is all that is required in this. 
 
OPERATING REPAIRS OF TRACK. 225 
 
 CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 OPERATING REPAIRS OF TRACK. ; 
 
 THE repairs of track will require attention as soon 
 as the running of trains commences. If the railway 
 has been thoroughly constructed, these will be very 
 light at first, and the running may continue for a 
 considerable time before the expense is great, and 
 will be confined mostly to the adjustment of rails, 
 keeping side drains clear, and fences in order. The 
 bridges, even if of timber, if they have been well 
 constructed, will require but little attention for 
 some time. According to the weight of traffic, the 
 expenses will gradually and pretty steadily in- 
 crease. It however rarely happens, that our rail- 
 ways are opened for use, on a thoroughly con- 
 structed work. The more general practice has been 
 to commence the running as soon as a train may 
 pass with tolerable safety the track imperfectly 
 adjusted, with little or no ballast to support it the 
 side ditches imperfectly opened the approaches to 
 bridges indifferently secured, and station buildings 
 
 10* 
 
RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 more or less unfinished, even if commenced. It is 
 therefore obvious that the current expenses of main- 
 tenance and repairs will be, at the outset of 
 operating a railway like this, much greater than on 
 a thoroughly constructed work, without regard to 
 those expenses that are properly chargeable to con- 
 struction. 
 
 The usual mode of conducting repairs of track, is 
 by trac^-masters, acting under the general instruc- 
 tions of the superintendent, or his assistants. The 
 length of railway assigned to the care of a track- 
 master, varies from twenty-five to seventy-five 
 miles, according to the condition of the work and the 
 judgment of the superintendent. It is usual for the 
 track-master to divide his forces into parties of four 
 to ten men, with a foreman over each, occasionally 
 bringing several of these together to man a gravel 
 train, or for other work requiring a large force. He 
 will have one or more carpenters to look after and 
 repair bridges, and these are sometimes required to 
 attend to repairs of buildings at small stations. 
 Tools and materials for the track-master are sup- 
 plied by the storekeeper of the company, who keeps 
 an account of what he furnishes, charging the same 
 to the track-master. Such articles as lumber, cross- 
 sleepers, etc., may be most advantageously obtained 
 along the line of railway, and the track-masters fre- 
 
OPERATING REPAIRS OF TRACK. 227 
 
 quently purchase under the direction of the super- 
 intendent. 
 
 It is the duty of the track-master to understand 
 the condition of the track, and all the structures 
 required for its support : to see that his men are 
 properly distributed and arranged for efficient 
 work, and that the foremen are capable and reliable 
 men. The latter becomes more important as the 
 length of his district is increased, and his time for 
 personal supervision over each party is reduced ; 
 as in this case he must depend more on his fore- 
 men than would be necessary with a less extent of 
 district. It is not always the practice to place the 
 repairs of buildings at way-stations in charge of the 
 track-master this is sometimes placed under the 
 care of a general superintendent of all the buildings 
 on the railway. The track-master is sometimes 
 charged with the purchase, inspection, and mea- 
 surement of wood for the engines. It is his duty to 
 certify the monthly check-rolls of his men, and all 
 bills of wood for fuel and articles he may purchase 
 or inspect ; these are also certified by the superin- 
 tendent ; but it is evident he must rely mainly on 
 the track-master for the accuracy of the check-rolls 
 and bills, though an active and vigilant superinten- 
 dent may detect important errors, and exercise a 
 salutary supervision. 
 
228 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 In addition to the duties above stated, it is the 
 duty of the track-master to see that signals are 
 placed at any points of danger that may require the 
 train to move with caution or come to a stand ; and 
 if a train be thrown from the track, or break down, 
 to promptly supply sufficient force to clear the track 
 and put affairs in order. Much depends on the 
 fidelity, vigilance, and good judgment of this agent ; 
 he has large expenses in his department, and his 
 forces are necessarily scattered over a large district. 
 There has been much diversity of opinion as to the 
 proper length of district for a track-master. This 
 doubtless depends measurably on the nature and 
 weight of traffic, the character of the railway, and 
 his own capacity and efficiency for business. If the 
 district is long, he will take the opportunity of 
 trains to pass from one point to another, and seldom 
 see his track, except at points, only as he sees it 
 from the train as he rapidly passes over it. This 
 practice may properly be adopted in occasional in- 
 stances ; but where it is the means used for the 
 greater part of his movements for the inspection of 
 his track and the supervision of his men, it neces- 
 sarily affords him but an imperfect knowledge of 
 its condition, and renders him more dependent on his 
 foremen, a class of men not expected to possess the 
 same capacity and judgment as himself, and there- 
 
OPERATING REPAIRS OF TRACK. 229 
 
 fore practically lowering the intelligence it is designed 
 to give to the supervision of the track. There is 
 but one way of movement over his district that will 
 enable a track-master to properly inspect his track 
 and superintend his men namely, on foot; even 
 the hand car should not supersede walking as the 
 usual practice. The hand car or the train may 
 occasionally be very proper, when it is necessary to 
 go quickly from one point to another ; but at least, 
 as often as once or twice a week, the track-master 
 should pass carefully on foot over his district, in- 
 specting carefully the condition of the track and 
 other works, and be able to consider well its condi- 
 tion, and give full instructions, devoting as much 
 time as may be necessary or practicable to his men, 
 in order to understand well what has been done 
 and what is necessary to be done. There can be 
 no doubt, the want of thorough supervision in this 
 department has often been the cause of very serious 
 accidents, causing much expense that proper atten- 
 tion would have saved. The mere neglect of a 
 side fence has opened the passage for an animal to 
 get on the track and throw off the train. This is 
 especially dangerous in the night, when animals are 
 prone to lie down between the rails, assuming the 
 most formidable position to throw off the train with 
 disastrous violence. 
 
230 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 One of the first things that indicates an inefficient 
 track-master is the neglect of the side ditches, and 
 consequent imperfect drainage of the road-bed. 
 This neglect will not fail to increase the expense of 
 keeping the track in order, and at times of rain, 
 render it impossible to maintain it in good adjust- 
 ment. To remedy this, more ballast must be pro- 
 vided to give temporary support, often at heavy 
 expense, and ballast cannot give a good track until 
 the draining is properly attended to. A light bal- 
 last, with good drainage, is far better than heavy 
 ballast, surcharged with water. 
 
 It often happens, that in the construction of a 
 railway, even if the general plan is of a thorough 
 order of work, that circumstances lead to the adop- 
 tion more or less of temporary structures, that will 
 soon require the substitution of more durable, if not 
 more substantial materials. It may be that build- 
 ing stone could not be had in reasonable proximity 
 to the work, and timber had to be used for culverts 
 and bridges, and sometimes for the foundations of 
 buildings. As noticed under the head of " Con- 
 structions," there is no material equal to durable 
 Btone for culverts and bridges; and when it be- 
 comes necessary, for want of this material, to use 
 timber, it should be regarded only as t temporary. 
 So far as timber may have been adopted, the pro- 
 
OPERATING REPAIRS OF TRACK. 231 
 
 cess of superseding it with more durable materials 
 should be commenced as soon as those materials 
 can be commanded, and the work proceeded with 
 as circumstances may require. It may be assumed 
 that substantial works of timber may be relied on 
 from five to ten years, according to durability and 
 exposure ; and by commencing soon after the rail- 
 way is put in operation, the work of substitution 
 may be carried forward gradually and with econo- 
 my. The engineer of the company should carefully 
 examine and decide on the most important struc- 
 tures for the commencement of this work, keeping 
 in view the current necessities of the track, and the 
 probable comparative durability of the structures. 
 It may happen that the finances of the company 
 will not admit of a complete substitution of all dur- 
 ing the life of the timber structures ; in which case 
 the engineer should proceed on those most impor- 
 tant, and so far as renewal with timber may be ne- 
 cessary, see that this is done in good season, to 
 effectually guard against any giving away that 
 might cause accident to the passing trains. "Wooden 
 bridges are often built over valleys that have very 
 small, or perhaps no permanent water-courses, and 
 are proper situations for culverts of stone sur- 
 mounted with an embankment of earth. I have 
 known cases where the bridge cost nearly, and some- 
 
232 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 times quite as much as the culvert and embani 
 ment would have cost, if stone could have been had 
 for the culvert in the vicinity of the work. In con- 
 sidering the renewal, the question will probably be 
 entirely changed by the facility the railway will 
 afford in transporting stone from distant quarries, 
 which by ordinary roads were out of reach in the 
 original construction ; and the economy of the case 
 in renewal would be entirely changed, requiring 
 thorough examination, so that perishable works be 
 not rebuilt in situations of this kind, where no mate- 
 rial saving in cost can be secured by adopting the 
 original plan. In no case should a wooden bridge 
 be neglected, if a doubt may exist as to its safety 
 for the passing trains. 
 
 As the work of renewal with durable materials 
 goes on, the railway will be steadily assuming a 
 more substantial and permanent character, render- 
 ing it more secure for the passage of trains, and 
 diminishing the expense of repairs and maintenance. 
 
 In the maintenance of track, a very important 
 duty should rest on the engineer, to see that the 
 original drainage proves adequate for maintaining 
 a dry road-bed ; and if not, to devise and pro- 
 ceed with measures that will effectually secure this 
 object ; a branch of railway affairs that demands 
 the most diligent attention. As this, together with 
 
OPERATING REPAIRS OF TRACK. 233 
 
 the kind of material for bridges, has been pretty 
 fully discussed under the head of construction, it 
 does not appear necessary to say more in reference 
 to .them in this place. Whatever is necessary for the 
 construction of a track and its appurtenances, is to 
 be maintained in the work of repairs and renewal. 
 
 For a time after a railway track is opened for use, 
 no great expense for the renewal of rails and cross 
 sleepers will be required. The length of this time 
 will depend on the quality of the materials, the 
 amount of the traffic, and the weight of machinery 
 used. As decay and wear produce .their effects on 
 those materials, the expenses of repairs and main- 
 tenance must necessarily increase, until they reach 
 a point that will require an annual expense, vary- 
 ing each year, but forming an approximate average 
 in a series of five years. The sleepers will begin to 
 fail ordinarily in about five years, while a portion 
 may last eight years ; the rail will be very depend- 
 ent in its wear on the weight and speed of the 
 machinery used ; the latter will be more important 
 than the extent of the traffic. The circumstance of 
 increasing expenses, at least for a few years, indi- 
 cates the propriety of holding in reserve a portion of 
 the net earnings, to meet future expenses, if it be 
 the purpose to maintain regularity and uniformity 
 in dividends to the proprietors. 
 
234 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 OPERATING REPAIRS OF MACHINERY. 
 
 THE English term is " rolling stock," frequently 
 termed " the plant." In this country, the terms 
 "equipment" and "machinery" are both used. I 
 Bee no more propriety in applying the term equip- 
 ment to railway machinery than to cotton or woollen 
 machinery ; it is purely a technical term in military 
 affairs, and its application to civil, is an innovation 
 that may be applied with as much propriety to all 
 other as to railway machinery ; and it would be 
 much more appropriate to apply it to farm tools 
 than to the machinery of a railway. Rolling stock 
 is a more expressive and better term ; but I con- 
 sider it fully entitled to the term " machinery," and 
 therefore use it. There is a portion of stationary 
 machinery used in the railway repair shops, but 
 what is understood generally by the term railway 
 machinery is that adapted to motion on the track. 
 
 The machinery of a railway peculiarly requires 
 to be kept in good order ; and as soon as the ope- 
 rating service is commenced, this kind of repair 
 
OPERATING REPAIRS OF MACHINERY. 235 
 
 will demand attention. With a new stock in good 
 order, it should not for some time involve heavy 
 expenses ; but they will steadily increase, and even- 
 tually become a large item. Unless when ' radical 
 changes are found expedient in the plan of ma- 
 chinery, the repairs will be a perpetuation of each 
 machine. There may, and probably will be cases 
 where a coach or car may be so entirely destroyed 
 as to leave nothing to rebuild upon ; but I have 
 never known an engine to be so destroyed that 
 there was not sufficient left on which to rebuild. 
 In the ordinary deterioration, it will be found that 
 new parts may be advantageously ingrafted with 
 those that have suffered a comparatively mode- 
 rate degree of wear, and still sufficient for much 
 useful service. In this way one part after an- 
 other is substituted, until there may be nothing 
 of the original structure left ; still it is practically 
 the same engine, coach or car, with the same name 
 or number ; the repairs, therefore, involve the 
 renewal and complete maintenance of the ma- 
 chinery, and will demand shop accommodations 
 and stationary power sufficient for this object. 
 
 This department of business is placed under the 
 supervision of a master-machinist, who is not only 
 charged with the works of the shop, but with the 
 direction of the engine drivers and firemen, as to 
 
236 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 their order of service and their general duties. It 
 is for him to judge of their capacity and grade of 
 service, and to correct any delinquency in duty. 
 On some important railways there is a master-car- 
 penter, who has charge of all woodwork, and is in- 
 dependent of the master-mechanic ; on others, the 
 master-carpenter is subject to the general supervi- 
 sion of the master-machinist, though the latter has 
 no specific charge of the workmen in the carpen- 
 ter's department. The latter plan I regard as the 
 best, as it is better to have a single head in such an 
 establishment, where the works of the two branches 
 must be brought together, and the order of work in 
 each should be so directed that delay in the work 
 of one may not embarrass the progress of the other, 
 or disturb the efficient harmony of the system of 
 which this department is a portion. This leaves the 
 master-carpenter independent, so far as relates to 
 the employment and control of his men, and in the 
 management of the affairs of his shop, subject only 
 to general direction in the order and plan of work 
 as the master-machinist may regard proper. 
 
 The master-machinist has the general supervision 
 of such secondary shops as, in some cases, are esta- 
 blished at the end of routes for the purpose of mak- 
 ing small repairs, required to keep the machinery 
 in use, or to enable it to run to the principal shop. 
 
OPERATING REPAIRS OF MACHINERY. 237 
 
 The master-machinist requires a clerk and time- 
 keeper (those at shops of small business may be 
 both in the same person), to enable him to keep his 
 accounts so as to charge to each machine the ex- 
 penses incurred on its repairs, and for the general 
 accounts of his department. It is indispensable to 
 a good administration of business, that a strict 
 account should be kept of the cost of repairs on 
 each machine ; this will show the quality and value 
 of each and is particularly important in respect to 
 engines, as it will indicate the care and skill with 
 which they are run. It will also show the expense 
 of each department of traffic, so far as respects the 
 machinery, an item of information important to be 
 known by the superintendent, that rates may be pro- 
 perly adjusted to the expenses, and that he may 
 know to what extent he may go in cultivating a 
 doubtful branch of business. On this plan the re- 
 pairs of passenger machinery and that for freight 
 are kept separate ; a distinction that cannot with 
 exactness be maintained in the repairs of track, 
 though quite practicable for machinery, and should 
 not be neglected. 
 
 The master-machinist will require a number of fore- 
 men, who should be experienced mechanics, to take 
 the special charge of the different branches of work. 
 
 In addition to the work of repairs, it is the duty 
 
238 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 of the master-machinist to keep an account of the 
 miles run by each engine the oil and waste used 
 by each of the engine-men ; and to these is, in rare 
 cases added, what should always be done, the 
 amount of fuel used by each, which will be further 
 discussed hereafter. 
 
 The master-machinist occupies a station of much 
 responsibility ; to fill it properly, it is not merely 
 necessary that he should be a good mechanic ; he 
 should add to this a knowledge of the essential 
 principles of machinery, and a good general know- 
 ledge of business, that he may comprehend the 
 system required to carry forward with order, regu- 
 larity, and efficiency the various works .committed 
 to his charge. He should also be able to judge of 
 the qualifications of his workmen, and to enforce 
 proper discipline ; the latter is peculiarly import- 
 ant in respect to his engine drivers, who, during 
 most of their time on the trains, will be out of the 
 range of his personal inspection; and on whose 
 fidelity and skill much will depend in the repairs 
 of machinery. To a railway of any considerable 
 importance, it is poor economy to employ an in- 
 ferior man as master-machinist, on the competent 
 and faithful performance of whose duties so much 
 of the economy and efficiency of the operating de- 
 partment depend. 
 
OPERATING CIVIL ENGINEER. 289 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 OPERATING CIVIL ENGINEER. 
 
 THERE are some railways that regularly employ a 
 civil engineer, and others that do not. In some in- 
 stances the superintendent of the railway is a civil 
 engineer ; but his duties are necessarily so general, 
 that he can give but little attention to those 
 peculiar to engineering. Some managers are pre- 
 judiced against the employment of an engineer 
 after the railway is put in operation, which is a 
 short-sighted view of the subject, and not at all 
 consistent with a proper knowledge of the duties 
 required. It is true, some railways are managed 
 without the aid of an engineer ; in such cases 
 various works will be put up by ordinary me- 
 chanics, who sometimes manifest very good judg- 
 ment, more particularly on works of minor import- 
 ance ; but in general (not that the mechanic cannot 
 execute well any work in his trade, but from want 
 of the experience required, he may not comprehend 
 the kind of structure most suitable for the object), 
 it will be found that they are deficient in system, 
 
24-0 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 often entail much unnecessary expense, and fail to 
 produce the regularity, economy, and efficiency 
 that would result from the supervision of a compe- 
 tent engineer. It is the engineer's business to 
 study thoroughly the wants of the railway, in 
 regard to the track and its appurtenances the 
 effect of the action of the machinery upon it the 
 kind of machinery that will produce the most 
 economical transportation and the most favorable 
 arrangement for the stations, station-buildings, and 
 shop accommodations. He should be the autho- 
 rized adviser of the master-machinist and track- 
 master, and superintend all contract work for 
 renewals of bridges, culverts, buildings, and ma- 
 chinery. By his connection with the track and 
 machinery, he will be able to judge of the effect of 
 one on the other, and by general observation and 
 carefully conducted experiments, will come to a 
 more thorough understanding of the interests of the 
 railway, than will be likely to be reached in any 
 other way. 
 
 These views may fairly be urged on general 
 principles ; as a man who is educated to a par- 
 ticular business whose time is devoted to a full 
 understanding of its requirements and who is 
 stimulated by the consideration of professional 
 reputation, is more likely to conduct affairs advan- 
 
OPERATING CIVIL ENGINEER. 24:1 
 
 tageously than one who picks up his ideas at 
 random, and though doing some things very well, 
 will probably often fail in respect to others. Cer- 
 tainly, the important matter of maintaining the 
 track and machinery of a railway should be com- 
 mitted to the most competent hands. My own ex- 
 perience and observation fully sustain the pro- 
 priety of the course of management recommended. 
 Any other course is precisely like giving the pre- 
 ference in a business to a man who has not made 
 it his study, or practised the arts involved in its 
 current transactions ; a course that is not practised 
 by intelligent men in other departments of labor or 
 "business. To this argument it may be said, that 
 men have managed railways successfully who have 
 had no previous training. The reply to this is : 
 That such have mostly been on short railways, with 
 little or no rival interests that called for close and 
 strict management ; and that they have depended on 
 the master-machinist for all that related . to ma- 
 chinery, and on the track-master for the manage- 
 ment of the track ; and though by a ready facility 
 of adaptation they have succeeded very well, there 
 can be no doubt that they managed better as they 
 acquired knowledge and experience. The success 
 of such may be compared to that of a man, who, 
 never having learned the trade, begins to make 
 
 11 
 
242 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 shoes. At first lie makes slow work, getting infor- 
 mation any way he may, and by perseverance 
 makes progress according to his aptness for the 
 work, and though he spoil much leather, eventually 
 may become an expert shoemaker, having lost 
 much time and material in acquiring the art. So 
 it may readily be perceived, that the company must 
 expend more or less to educate their man, if he has 
 not previously been educated. The evidence of this 
 I have often seen in the machinery used on railways ; 
 very powerful it may be, but so damaging to the 
 track and the repair shop, that if it could not be ap- 
 propriated for its material, the interest of the proprie- 
 tors would be best consulted by dropping it in some 
 abyss, too deep to admit the hope of recovery. 
 
 The perfection of machinery has thus far been 
 dependent mostly on the machinist, and on the 
 competition of rival manufacturers; and in this 
 way much has been done to make powerful and 
 effective machines. I have known some very in- 
 telligent and excellent machinists who have contri- 
 buted largely to improvement in the arrangement 
 and workmanship in this department, to whom the 
 public and the railway interest are greatly indebted. 
 At the same time, I have rarely noticed in them 
 any special concern as to the effect of their 
 machines on the track. 
 
OPERATING CIVIL ENGINEER. 243 
 
 It has been the general practice to commit the 
 care of machinery to the master-machinist, and this 
 is proper in all that relates to manipulations, and, 
 to a large extent, to the plans of work ; but, as be- 
 fore observed, this class of men rarely give much 
 attention to the influence of their machinery on the 
 track, nor can this be expected, as they have no 
 supervision of the track. They regard the power 
 of their machinery as the best and proper indication 
 of their ability as machinists, and consider that the 
 track should be able to bear it ; and if it does not 
 actually break down under the service of the train, 
 the machinery is regarded as all right draws large 
 trains and runs high speed. The machinist has no 
 care, and takes no note of those every-day expenses 
 that are required to keep the track in adjustment. 
 Then the track-master has no charge of the machi- 
 nery, and rarely realizes that it involves any ques- 
 tion in relation to his duties, but goes on as best 
 he may to make his track capable of sustaining the 
 service. Thus nothing can be more clear than that 
 the track and machinery should be under the gene- 
 ral supervision of the same man, who should be 
 capable of comprehending not only the adaptation 
 of one to the other, but the service of each in effect- 
 ing the most economical transportation of the traffic 
 to be provided for. To merely run trains, is a 
 
244 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 thing that may be done with small experience : To 
 run trains and manage the track and machinery, so 
 as to effect the most economical transport, is a very 
 different thing, and as yet very imperfectly studied. 
 
 I am well aware, that a large proportion of rail- 
 way superintendents will not concur in the views 
 here advanced. For some reason which it is not 
 necessary to discuss, they seem to have an aversion 
 to civil engineers, and usually contrive to get them 
 off the railway, or restrict their authority to a very 
 limited iield. They seem willing to see them em- 
 ployed in hunting up maps and examining doubtful 
 questions on right of way occasionally to set 
 levels, stake out work, and compute contracts ; all 
 of which are their proper duties ; but further than 
 this they will not tolerate. Thus, under these cir- 
 cumstances, the engineer cannot enter on the main 
 and more important field of duties which his pro- 
 fession should enable him to fill more effectually 
 and beneficially than any other person. 
 
 In the duty of selecting an engineer for the re- 
 sponsible charge here recommended, it is necessary 
 to exercise the same scrutiny, the same practical 
 sagacity, that is called for in other departments of 
 business. What, then, is the course ordinarily pur- 
 sued by business men ? If a man has on hand an 
 important litigation, he does not take the first law- 
 
OPERATING CIVIL ENGINEER. 245 
 
 yer he meets, nor in case of ill health, the first 
 physician that may chance to be named, or come 
 in his way. He is not satisfied with the mere pro- 
 fessional title. The title of lawyer or physician is 
 good as far as it goes, or is sustained, and the same 
 for an engineer. But the man sought is one well 
 skilled in his profession, and capable of rendering 
 the special service for which he is wanted. A busi- 
 ness may be badly done by a professional man, and 
 the responsibility of failure may rest mainly on the 
 employing party, who has failed to exercise due 
 discretion in the selection of his agent. Men may, 
 and often do, bear the professional title of civil 
 engineer, as well as of lawyer and physician, with 
 very slender qualifications. It is not the mere 
 scientific engineer, who may bewilder with hair- 
 spun and useless calculations, nor the practical 
 engineer', who may be able to collect statistics, run 
 levels, set pegs and stakes, copy drawings, and 
 make out estimates for contractors, if these be the 
 end of his accomplishments, that is needed. For 
 the object here proposed, the engineer should be 
 familiar with mechanical principles understand 
 well the strength, durability, and adaptation of 
 materials by experience, observation and study, 
 should have a fund of practical information at com- 
 mand, that may be available as occasion or emer- 
 
 X^^JC^ -^ "^>p^S. 
 
 & 
 
 UHIVBRSITT 
 
246 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 gency may require. It is, moreover, necessary for 
 him to be a good business man, familiar with the 
 varied interests of a railway, in which he will find 
 ample scope for sound practical sense and ex- 
 perience in his dealings with both men and things. 
 Not a man that is punctilious of his dignity, and 
 unwilling to profit by a good hint from the most 
 humble workman, but ready to rest his standing on 
 his good sense his frankness and uprightness in 
 intercourse with others. Such a man will never 
 have occasion to complain of a want of respect in 
 his business intercourse. The list of criterions 
 would be incomplete if the too-prevalent vice of a 
 speculative spirit (the quicksand that has sometimes 
 destroyed or perverted the best talents of an engi- 
 neer) was omitted. An engineer should be so com- 
 pletely content with his salary that his mind would 
 be wholly devoted to the work placed under his 
 charge, and his own happiness as much concerned 
 as that of the proprietors in obtaining a favorable 
 result for the enterprise. Not less than for a law- 
 yer, physician, or merchant, an engineer, to succeed 
 well, must enjoy his profession, and find his chief 
 recreation in the cares, duties, and results of his 
 labors. 
 
 It will be asked : " Where are you to find men 
 of this grade for all the railways ?" Certainly we 
 
OPERATING CIVIL ENGINEER. 247 
 
 do not find ally in any profession, to come up to this 
 standard, and probably no more can be said for that 
 of engineers than for others ; and the same course 
 must be taken in one case as in others. A man 
 will seek an agent according to the importance of 
 the service he requires ; one of moderate or high 
 attainments, as in his judgment may be necessary 
 for the business he has to provide for. There is no 
 difference in providing for a railway ; the most im- 
 portant will demand the best experience and quali- 
 fications. First of all, see that the engineer is a 
 man of prudent habits, sound practical sense and 
 fidelity such a man, with fair elementary qualifi- 
 cations and experience, will fill most of the duties 
 required, and steadily improve by experience in the 
 special service that may be involved in the work 
 required to be managed ; and although he may not 
 at first be able to fully meet the requirements of the 
 situation, will, from his education, have a ready 
 adaptation, and be likely to improve in qualifica- 
 tions, so as to meet all the duties and successfully 
 conduct the business that may be committed so his 
 charge. No engineer can go upon a new work and 
 not find something peculiar, that will demand his 
 careful reflection, and the deliberate consideration of 
 any advice that he may receive ; and nothing so fully 
 reveals his incapacity as a pretentious assumption 
 
248 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 of knowledge, claiming to understand everything. 
 In short, the same business sagacity that is required 
 in other important affairs is required in this, and 
 will have the same prospect of being rewarded with 
 success. 
 
 I have been thus particular on this point, from 
 having observed very indiscreet selections, and from 
 the conviction that incompetent engineering should 
 be held in the same light as in competency in any 
 other profession ; and from the conviction I have 
 long felt, that much of the prejudice entertained 
 against their proper position in the management of 
 railways, has resulted from or been perpetuated by 
 injudicious selections. 
 
 The difficulties in railway management, noticed 
 in a former part of this work, arising from their 
 recent introduction and rapid extension, has neces- 
 sarily led to much imperfection, and the engineer- 
 ing profession has not kept pace with demands so 
 hastily urged upon its attention ; and having been 
 mostly occupied in works of construction, engineers 
 have not generally had time and opportunity for that 
 close attention that is necessary to render them as 
 useful as they should be, in the maintenance of rail- 
 ways. Notwithstanding this deficiency must be ad- 
 mitted as of general application, it does not change 
 the position of this question ; for when they are 
 
OPERATING CIVIL ENGINEER. 24:9 
 
 placed in their proper position in the management, 
 they are, from their professional training, experi 
 ence, and habits of careful study, more likely to 
 succeed in perfecting this branch of service than 
 men who are not especially fitted by professional 
 acquirement. 
 
 It will be admitted that training of some sort is 
 necessary for every department of labor or business. 
 It must also be admitted, that youth is the most 
 favorable, as well as the most economical season for 
 acquiring elementary knowledge. At a later period 
 in life, the mind is diverted by various objects 
 time is more valuable, and elementary learning, if 
 it be sought in the age of maturer manhood, will be 
 sought as a necessity, not as an appropriate pursuit, 
 and is likely to be hurried and imperfect. The 
 same may be said of any branch of art ; there is no 
 time of life for the training in elementary art or 
 knowledge so valuable or economical as youth. 
 Though there are exceptions, it is a general truth, 
 that it is expensive to learn a new occupation in 
 maturer manhood ; and, consequently, the railway 
 company that commit their business to unskilled or 
 uneducated men, must be at the expense of educat- 
 ing them during their supervision of business, and 
 while they are learning its arts and duties ; mean- 
 while depending on advice, trusting to th*3 guide ot 
 11* 
 
250 RAILWAY PEOPERTY. 
 
 others as they may chance, to find out matters be- 
 yond their own powers of criticism. Can there be 
 a doubt that the proceedings of the pupil will 
 often be undecided, wavering, and wanting in that 
 system indispensable to the efficient and successful 
 conduct of intricate and important business ? Now, 
 it has happened that such, in some cases, have even- 
 tually acquired a good knowledge of business, but 
 it is obvious that this education has been of the 
 most expensive kind, and what is particularly im- 
 portant, it has been at the expense of the proprie- 
 tors, who paid a salary while the incumbent was 
 obtaining the qualifications that would enable him 
 to earn it. 
 
 If in the construction of a wooden building, the 
 proprietor would trust its care only to a carpenter, 
 who had the reputation of proficiency in his art, 
 why should the intricate affairs of the track, ma- 
 chinery, workshops, and appendages of a railway 
 be committed to men who had no previous educa- 
 tion in the skill and arts required to be practised ? 
 Certainly there is but one excuse that can justify 
 such a proceeding namely, that the properly edu- 
 cated man could not be found. 
 
OPERATING UUPERINTENDENT. 251 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 OPERATING SUPERINTENDENT. 
 
 IN conducting the operating affairs of a railway, 
 the superintendent has the general oversight of all 
 departments of its business. This at least is the 
 American plan. It has the advantage of maintain- 
 ing system, and the proper harmony and efficiency 
 of every department of the service. This is entirely 
 consistent with the efficiency and responsibility of 
 those having the care of separate branches of 
 duty. 
 
 The more especial duty of the superintendent is 
 to arrange the running of trains establish time- 
 tables see that the trains are regularly run that 
 station duties are well administered to establish 
 rules and regulations for the government of all 
 charged with the conduct of train or station duties 
 see that full statistics of traffic and expenses are 
 prepared, so as to form an intelligent basis of busi 
 ness obtain information of the sources of traffic 
 and its productiveness in all its particulars, so as to 
 be able to judge of its profitableness, and whether 
 
252 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 in any respect it fails to afford proper remunera- 
 tion ; and under the advice of the board of mana- 
 gers, to establish the tariff rates for freight and 
 passengers. It is especially his duty to study care- 
 fully the statistics of expense, in the several 
 branches, so as to be able to judge as to the most 
 economical method of conducting the traffic, and 
 thereby be able to establish such rules and regula- 
 tions as will produce the best result to the proprie- 
 tors. In the numerous and often complicated 
 duties involved in railway management, this will 
 call out the best capacity and the most diligent ap- 
 plication of the superintendent. 
 
 In some cases, the president of the railway com- 
 pany acts as superintendent ; a method that may 
 answer on short or unimportant railways, but can- 
 not be recommended for other cases. The presi- 
 dent should be the organ of the board of directors, 
 and so far as he gives attention to the operating 
 department, it should be as the medium of the 
 board, and the general executive head of the insti- 
 tution, in which capacity he would confer with, 
 advise and direct the superintendent. The two 
 officers should be kept distinct, as admitting a better 
 organization, with salutary checks, and especially 
 as between those general officers appointed by the 
 board of directors, and those appointed by the 
 
OPERATING SUPERINTENDENT. 253 
 
 superintendent, which is important in securing har- 
 mony and efficient cooperation. 
 
 The superintendent should appoint or select for 
 employment all persons in the operating depart- 
 ment, except the heads of important subordinate 
 departments, who, though to some extent subject 
 to his general direction under the by-laws and 
 regulations of the company, should be appointed by 
 the board of directors. With the power to appoint, 
 he should have the power to dismiss any that may 
 be delinquent in duty. This is indispensable to the 
 maintenance of discipline, and the exercise of pro- 
 per responsibility. 
 
 On railways having important business connec- 
 tions, forming a general line with other railways, 
 there will be much to demand attention from the 
 superintendent in arrangements for the running of 
 trains, and for tariff rates, for the common traffic 
 of the line in connection. This duty is often em- 
 barrassed by the conflicting interests as to rates of 
 speed as well as rates of tariff, and requires much 
 experience and sound discretion in its manage- 
 ment. 
 
 In all arrangements for special rates of traffic, it 
 is the province of the superintendent to direct and 
 control proceedings a duty that is often diffi- 
 cult as it is liable to conflict with the regular rates, 
 
254: RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 and to give rise to dissatisfaction among the custom- 
 ers of the company, and is in danger of interference 
 with the regular checks of business. So far as 
 practicable, it is best to avoid special rates; still, 
 there may be items of traffic that will afford a 
 beneficial result, and can be commanded in no 
 other way. 
 
 It is obvious that the superintendent has charge, 
 especially, of much that can only be occasionally 
 under his personal supervision. The trains are, at 
 different points, scattered over the whole length of 
 the railway, depending on their conductors and 
 men under their charge. The station agents are 
 equally removed from his eye, and he must depend 
 mostly on the fidelity of reports, to know how business 
 is conducted. The extensive use of the telegraph, 
 greatly aids the superintendent in obtaining infor- 
 mation of what is going on, at distant points, but 
 there is still much that he can rarely know. Many 
 improper things may occur on the railway and still 
 the train come in in time, such as fast running 
 between stations, and particularly with freight 
 trains, and the time thus gained improperly wasted 
 at the stations ; some one will know the fact, whose 
 duty it may be to report it ; but the repugnance of 
 one employee to report the breach of rules by an- 
 other, is such, that the report will often be ne^ 
 
OPERATING SUPERINTENDENT. 255 
 
 looted, especially if it be of a nature the omission 
 of which is not liable to exposure. Hence, the 
 most important qualification in a superintendent 
 is, the ability to discriminate character, and 
 thereby place in all positions men suitable for the 
 duty, both in regard to capacity and fidelity. In 
 any event he must largely trust them, and his de- 
 portment toward them should be that of con- 
 fidence, until he has evidence that they are not 
 worthy, and then having carefully ascertained the 
 fact, he should at once dismiss them, without parley. 
 Some men are so distrustful of others, that their 
 manners toward them plainly indicate that they 
 regard it necessary to watch, and that they have 
 no confidence beyond their personal vision. This 
 is an error that operates unfavorably with men 
 who know that it is indispensable to trust them. 
 Honest men will not object to any proper scrutiny, 
 and a discreet watchfulness may be maintained in 
 consistency with a liberal confidence ; whereas, if 
 this necessary trust is coupled with manifest sus- 
 picion, it tends to repress the laudable ambition of 
 honest men, and to destroy the interest they would 
 otherwise exercise for the prosperity of the institution. 
 It must be confessed, that a large proportion of 
 the men who seek and obtain employment on rail- 
 ways, are deficient in those qualifications that are 
 
256 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 necessary to secure an intelligent and faithful dis- 
 charge of their duties; and in his selections, a 
 superintendent is liable to be more or less deceived. 
 But, notwithstanding this difficulty, there are many 
 capable and faithful men to be had, and often may 
 be selected with little doubt ; and if he exercise a 
 discreet diligence, in removing the deficient, and 
 promoting from lower ranks of the service those 
 more faithful, who may have developed their 
 capacity and fitness, by filling well the duties of an 
 inferior rank, he will eventually secure, what is of 
 great importance to the proprietary interest, a body 
 of reliable men to fill all places of trust. To see 
 the proper bearing of this duty, and be able to 
 judge well of the fitness of men for the various 
 positions they are to occupy, is the high qualifica- 
 tion of a superintendent ; and without great tact in 
 this branch of his duty, he will never succeed, no 
 matter what personal capacity and vigilant in- 
 dustry he may exercise. I am well aware this is a 
 difficult duty, and one in which few men succeed 
 well ; but in order to attain that success, the super- 
 intendent must have a single eye to the interests of 
 the institution. He must be free from that vanity, 
 that lifts him above the work he has in charge. He 
 must know how to treat men who are worthy of 
 his confidence, and not disgust them with supercili- 
 
OPKRATTNO SUPERINTENDENT. 257 
 
 ousness but be frank, candid, upright and respect- 
 ful to his subordinates, that they may feel that he 
 considers them men. He must discard favoritism, 
 especially toward family friends, which is a bane- 
 ful influence, producing dissatisfaction and the 
 most serious evil to discipline, and consequently to 
 the interest of the proprietors. He must, by his 
 proceedings, encourage confidence in his firmness 
 and discretion, to advance, as opportunity may 
 arise, those in the service of the railway whose 
 tried conduct and capacity may merit it. Is this 
 too exacting? I think not. The position is evi- 
 dently one of trust, in which trust must be trans- 
 mitted to others, under circumstances involving 
 important interests, and if the head of this depart- 
 ment is deficient in these necessary qualifications, 
 matters must go on more or less imperfectly, and 
 to this extent the proprietors must bear the loss. 
 
 It will be seen by the preceding remarks, that 
 the duties of the superintendent are of a highly 
 responsible character surrounded with cares and 
 difficulties that will demand an upright mind a 
 clear head unceasing vigilance, and business qua- 
 lifications of a comprehensive order. Upon his 
 ability and fidelity the proprietors must materially, 
 if not mainly, depend, for an efficient and economi- 
 cal administration of affairs. 
 
258 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXIII. 
 
 OPERATING SUPPLIES OF MATERIAL. 
 
 THE supplies are a large source of expenditure in 
 the operating business of a railway. The work 
 cannot be long in operation before rails, chairs, 
 spike and sleepers will be wanted for the main- 
 tenance of the track. The repair shops will require 
 iron, steel, copper, wheels, axles, tyre, and nume- 
 rous other articles, mostly hardware. Oil for light 
 and the lubrication of machinery, cotton-waste, and 
 fuel for the engines. On important railways it is 
 usual to establish a store, with a storekeeper in 
 charge, to receive and distribute supplies. Sup- 
 plies are in some cases purchased by the store- 
 keeper ; in others a purchasing agent is charged 
 with this duty. In either case the party purchasing 
 should not pay, but certify to all bills, and transmit 
 them to the paymaster, who, on payment, charges 
 them to the storekeeper. In order to understand 
 what supplies are necessary, estimates are made 
 under the direction of the superintendent, of the 
 kinds, quality and quantity of articles that may be 
 
OPERATING SUPPLIES OF MATERIAL. 259 
 
 Wanted, once in six months, and oftener if neces- 
 sary, for the guide of the purchasing agent. It is 
 the duty of the storekeeper to receive and take care 
 of the goods, and to deliver them as wanted to the 
 order of such agents as may be authorized to draw 
 supplies from the store ; and to keep the accounts, 
 so as to show the consumption by the different 
 departments. Notwithstanding the existence of a 
 purchasing agent, it will be necessary for the 
 superintendent to give so much attention as will 
 secure articles best adapted to the uses for which 
 they are wanted, and to see that they are obtained 
 on the most favorable terms for the company ; his 
 attention will be especially required in procuring 
 rails, wheels, axles, tyre and oil. Cross sleepers, 
 lumber and fuel are usually procured on the line of 
 the railway, by agents under his direction. By 
 whomever purchased, all articles should go on the 
 storekeeper's books, and be there charged to the 
 proper account, in order that his statistics may 
 show a complete account of consumption in each 
 department. Whoever be the purchasing or con- 
 tracting agent, he should be under the direction of 
 the superintendent, who should cultivate a know- 
 ledge of the quality and market, that will enable 
 him to judge of the propriety of the purchases 
 made, and guard against a quite too common vice 
 
200 RAILWAY PEOPEBTY. 
 
 of bribery commissions paid to the agent, to secure 
 a high price, or a good price for a poor article. 
 Detection in so gross and degrading a practice, 
 should be followed by quick retribution. 
 
 It rarely happens that sufficient care is exercised 
 in the fuel department. As yet, wood is the fuel 
 generally used in locomotives of this country ; and 
 much care is required in its inspection, measure 
 ment, and in seasoning. Careless supervision in 
 the former, and neglect of the latter will be produc- 
 tive of much loss. Unseasoned wood for fuel, or 
 that kept on hand too long a time, is unprofitable 
 for use. "Wood cut in the winter and piled in the 
 open air, will generally be fit for use the August 
 following, and should then be housed, and will be 
 good for a year from that time, when the succeed- 
 ing lot for the next year may follow ; but if left 
 exposed to the weather, it will depreciate, and be- 
 come less valuable according to the time of expo- 
 sure, and if it cannot be housed, no more than one 
 year's supply should be provided at one time ; 
 being an article of general use, it is often exposed 
 to depredation, or misappropriation. It may seem 
 too much a detail, to require the agent who has 
 charge of the wood at his station to account for its 
 use ; but it is the only way to maintain a check on 
 the purchase and consumption. To do this some 
 
OPERATING SUPPLIES OF MATERIAL. 261 
 
 method must be adopted to measure and account 
 for the quantity taken for use by each engine. 
 This, if properly arranged for, need not be attended 
 with much labor. Let there be racks of suitable 
 size, placed on hand-carts, and containing a mea- 
 sured quantity, say one-sixth to one-fifth of a cord, 
 not more than may be readily moved by one man 
 on a platform. These racks may be loaded by the 
 wood-men, and arranged in convenient position to 
 be dumped or thrown on the tender of the engine ; 
 and on a suitable blank, fill out the number of 
 racks, the name or number of the engine, etc., and 
 as often as necessary return the memoranda to the 
 agent, and he will have the elements for a daily or 
 weekly report of the quantity used by each engine. 
 If the platform be raised to the proper elevation, 
 these racks, being on carts, may be dumped into 
 the tender, and one man do the work of half a 
 dozen, in less than half the time employed by the 
 prevalent custom ; it would require the wood to be 
 elevated a trifle higher to facilitate dumping, but 
 this could be done by the wood-men, while waiting 
 for the engine, and save at least half the number 
 required to be on hand when the engine arrives ; 
 while the fuel, on arrival of the engine, would be 
 promptly dumped from the cart-racks, saving 
 more than half the delay of the engine in receiving 
 
'262 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 fuel, that arises from throwing up, stick by stick at a 
 time, as usually practised. If coal be the fuel 
 used, the same arrangement may be modified to 
 its requirements. A system of this kind, well car- 
 ried out, would not only afford a proper check on 
 the purchase and consumption of fuel, but also a 
 complete basis to show the fuel of each engine ; an 
 item of information well worth all the care required 
 tu procure it. It would only be carrying out for 
 fuel the same principle of check, that has been 
 adopted in the consumption of oil for each engine. 
 It will be perceived, that this course would afford 
 means to determine separately, the consumption of 
 fuel for the passenger and freight traffic, which is 
 important to the proper understanding of the ex- 
 pense of each. 
 
OFKRATING RECEIPTS. 
 
 CHAPTEK XXIY. 
 
 OPER AT ING BECE IPT 8. 
 
 IN addition to what has been said in relation to 
 receipts from passengers and freight, it may be 
 remarked : that in addition to receipts by conduc- 
 tors (which should be a small proportion at most) 
 and the collections made by connecting railways, 
 the station agents will be the principal receivers of 
 the dues of the company. At important stations, 
 there will be required, a passenger and a freight 
 agent; each of these will make his report to the 
 principal office: at small stations, one agent is 
 charged with all the duties, administrative and 
 fiscal. All agents charged with fiscal duties should 
 report daily, and with reports, send in their funds 
 to the Cashier (Treasurer or the fiscal officer who 
 may act as such). The report goes to the Auditor, 
 from the station agent, and the Cashier reports to 
 the Auditor the amount of cash received, who 
 thereupon charges the Cashier with the funds, and 
 gives the station agent credit for the remittance. 
 This method places on the books of the Auditor the 
 
RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 fiscal affairs of the agents of all classes, who are 
 authorized to make collections for the railway ; con- 
 sequently the Auditor is a check on all accounts, 
 and his report to the President, or financial officer 
 of the company, shows to the board of Directors 
 the state of their finances. This department of 
 business should be rigidly conducted, so that a 
 strict accountability may be maintained, and funds 
 not be allowed to accumulate in the hands of 
 agents ; and that the Board may, at frequent inter- 
 vals, understand the condition of their finances. 
 
 In addition to dues received from the traffic of 
 the railway, there will grow up credits from the 
 sale of old materials, of considerable importance. 
 A practice to some extent has prevailed of allowing 
 certain agents to exchange these, or sell them to 
 manufacturers, in part payment for new goods. 
 This is not well, as it tends to confuse accounts, 
 and often to embarrass the examination of vouchers. 
 The proper, and as I think the obvious, course to 
 secure a correct administration, is to make it the 
 duty of some agent to see to the collection and sale 
 of all old materials, who should remit to the Cash- 
 ier all funds received for the same, and make report 
 to the Auditor in the same manner as in the case 
 of dues from traffic. The old rails may be an 
 exception, as these materials go into the re-manu- 
 
OPERATING RECEIPTS. 265 
 
 facture, and the same weight of new rails is 
 returned, at a specific price for the re-manufacture, 
 including the new material that must be put in, to 
 supply waste and improve the quality ; and it is 
 only necessary for the Superintendent to collect 
 and take the weight of old rails, and the bills for 
 the re-manufacture, and perhaps transportation, will 
 be simple vouchers, and charge them directly to 
 the repairs of track, the old material being still in 
 
 tiie track in the shape of new rails. 
 12 
 
266 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXY. 
 
 OPERATING DISBURSEMENTS. 
 
 THE disbursements for the operating "business of 
 a railway, include payments to the officers, agents, 
 artisans, laborers and numerous bills for supplies, 
 taxes, damages and sundry other items, thr,1 will 
 involve expense. 
 
 The agents in the several departments keep check 
 or time rolls of the men under their respective 
 charges, on which it is their duty to record daily 
 the wo.rk done. At the end of each month these 
 time rolls are reported over the certificate of the 
 agent to the Superintendent, whose duty it is to 
 examine the same, and from them cause pay rolls 
 for the month to be made out, which should be cer- 
 tified by him. In the same manner all bills that 
 may be made by authorized agents, are certified by 
 such agents, and submitted to the Superintendent, 
 who examines and so far as he judges them correct, 
 approves them by attaching his signature. If bills 
 or claims occur, out of the regular course of busi- 
 ness, the Superintendent examines, and so far as he 
 
OPERATING DISBURSEMENTS. 267 
 
 deems just and proper, puts them in form and 
 approves as in other cases. This latter class is 
 mostly for damages, taxes, and incidental expenses, 
 and has no certificate from a subordinate agent, 
 and depends wholly on the approval of the Superin- 
 dent. It must be apparent, that on railways of 
 considerable extent, having a large traffic, the Su- 
 perintendent can know but very little of the accur- 
 acy of detail in the monthly time rolls and bills 
 that must be submitted for his approval still it is 
 necessary that they should have his sanction, as on 
 him rests the responsibility of the expenditure, and 
 he must depend on the fidelity of the agents, and 
 his general knowledge of the business of the rail- 
 way his familiarity with the work in progress, 
 with prices of labor and materials, and the current 
 wants of the several departments, to guide him in 
 the discharge of this duty. It will be incumbent 
 on him to take the precaution of giving to all agents 
 who may be authorized to incur bills, and especially 
 the purchasing agent, such instructions as to rates, 
 quality and kind of materials wanted, as will guard 
 as far as practicable against improper bills, and 
 especially against a practice that has, as before 
 observed, too often prevailed, of agents taking a 
 commission on purchases, and also guard against 
 an abuse arising from influential employees recom- 
 
268 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 mending certain firms, or certain articles used, and 
 from obtaining patents for others ; certainly a most 
 pernicious and degrading practice, from which it is 
 supposed even railway directors are not always 
 wholly exempt. 
 
 After the rolls and bills are approved by the 
 Superintendent, they are handed over to the Audi- 
 tor, who examines and corrects any clerical errors, 
 and if there is anything inconsistent with the rules 
 of the company, or in any respect in his judgment 
 improper, he suspends them until satisfactorily ex- 
 plained, and then enters the abstracts on his books, 
 after which he hands them over to the Paymaster, 
 with a draft on the Cashier for funds to pay the 
 same. When paid, the Paymaster returns the ab- 
 stracts and vouchers to the Auditor, who credits the 
 account of the Paymaster for the amount paid. In 
 some cases the Superintendent hands the rolls and 
 bills to a Committee of the Board of Directors,, 
 whose approval is necessary before payment. But 
 this is inconvenient and attended with delay, espe- 
 cially if the officer of the board is not on the line 
 of the railway, and in my judgment is not as well, 
 for no man is so well situated to understand the 
 whole subject as the Auditor, who keeps the books 
 and readily acquires a better knowledge and under- 
 standing of the details of expenditure and the 
 
OPERATING DISBURSEMENTS. 269 
 
 wants of this department than any committee would 
 be likely to possess. The Auditor should be a man 
 of capacity, firmness and fidelity, and with proper 
 rules, established by the Board of Directors, there 
 would be small probability of errors. This course 
 would not supersede an examination by a commit- 
 tee of the Board, who should occasionally take up 
 and investigate these and all other fiscal affairs of 
 the institution, and so far as this relates to the ope- 
 rating department, the office of the Auditor will 
 furnish the books and vouchers, and such incidental 
 aid as a committee may require. On this point it 
 is to be kept in view, that committees are usually 
 composed of members of the Board, who have 
 their own occupations, and can rarely give the time 
 required for a thorough examination. By the sys- 
 tem here recommended, the Auditor holds no funds ; 
 but he has the entire books and accounts, by which 
 are established complete checks on all the fiscal 
 officers engaged in this department, and no great 
 wrong can occur without collusion. An intel- 
 ligent board of directors will see the importance 
 of selecting a man for Auditor to whom, from his 
 character for capacity, firmness and fidelity the 
 interests of the proprietors may be safely com- 
 mitted. 
 
 A rule of the company should establish the 
 
270 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 principle, that in all examination of bills, full de- 
 tail of items, with price and quantity, should be 
 presented. A practice has more or less prevailed 
 on some railways, of charging in lump several 
 items, and especially in matters of personal and 
 incidental expenses. This is very liable to abuse, 
 and is wholly inconsistent with the systematic tho- 
 roughness of business that should be required for 
 railway management, and should not be tolerated. 
 Excuses are often made for the practice, but they 
 should be wholly discarded. 
 
OPERATING STATISTICS. 271 
 
 CHAPTEK XXVI. 
 
 OPERATING STATISTICS. 
 
 IN most of the States, annual reports are required 
 from each railway within their limits, making it 
 imperative on the officers to present nearly all the 
 statistical information that is wanted ; but this is 
 not always complied with with that exactness of 
 fact and detail that is designed, and, if up to the 
 legal requirement, does not secure all the informa- 
 tion it is desirable a railway company should have. 
 It is often regarded an onerous and unnecessary 
 duty, and therefore not always fully carried out, so 
 as to meet either the intention of the Legislature 
 or the true interest of the railway companies. It 
 must be admitted, however, that a large amount of 
 useful information is obtained from these annual 
 reports, many of which possess a considerable full- 
 ness of detail. 
 
 The statistics most important for a railway com- 
 pany, are those that show the working expenses in 
 each department, and the cost of every kind of 
 traffic. A railway without this information, may 
 
272 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 carry on a branch of traffic that is unprofitable, or 
 which does not afford the remuneration that should 
 be derived from it. The indiscriminate mixture of 
 this with the profitable part, both in relation to ex- 
 penses and rates, prevents a clear understanding of 
 the matter, and so long as the business is transacted 
 on general impressions, this evil will exist to a greater 
 or less degree, according to the multiplicity of the 
 items of traffic. It is more especially important 
 for so much of the traffic as may be affected by 
 rival lines, in which case it should be known what 
 rates will pay, at least something over expenses. A 
 zeal for business is always commendable, but it 
 should never go so far as to pursue it at a loss. It 
 is also necessary, in order to judge how far the rail- 
 way may enter on sources of undeveloped traffic, 
 that have been dormant from the want of accurate 
 information. 
 
 To collect and arrange the statistics of a railway 
 will add to the expense of clerk-hire ; a small mat- 
 ter, when compared to the benefits that may be 
 derived from reliable information, to be used in 
 economizing expenses, and giving the best possible 
 direction to the administration of the traffic. But 
 this is not all the benefit of thorough statistics. It 
 gives order, efficiency, and economy in the current 
 transactions of business, by the checks incidental to 
 
OPERATING STATISTICS. 273 
 
 the system, and is in this respect, worth all the 
 extra cost. 
 
 A very important feature in the statistics of a rail- 
 way is, the separation of the expenses of the passen- 
 ger and freight departments. This cannot, in all 
 respects, be exact. The general officers are the 
 same individuals in both departments ; the agents 
 at small stations attend to the business of both. 
 The maintenance of track is also common to both 
 branches. For these expenses some method of 
 estimate must be adopted, and though not exact, I 
 know of none better than the mileage of trains. 
 The repairs of engines, cars, and coaches of each ? 
 may be kept separate, thougli there is often a mix- 
 ture of service by engines in both departments, 
 which on unimportant railways of small traffic 
 may be most convenient ; but it cannot be recom- 
 mended that important railways should make this 
 indiscriminate service of engines. There is no 
 difficulty in appropriating engines according to 
 their power to the various services ; the engines 
 for light way trains should be exclusively devoted 
 to such trains ; they are not sufficient for express 
 trains, and to see a heavy engine hauling a way 
 train of one or two coaches, half filled, indicates 
 great want of skill and economy. The engines 
 designed for express trains must be more powerful, 
 12* 
 
274 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 according to the weight of trains, and will require 
 a greater expense for repairs than those for low or 
 medium speed the same may be said of coaches, 
 which must be stronger built, and of consequence 
 of greater weight and subject to greater expense 
 for repairing when used for high, than for low 
 speed ; thus so far as the question of separation of 
 expenses is affected by the engines and coaches, it 
 is practicable to ascertain it; and it is necessary to 
 an intelligent administration of business, to know 
 what these differences are. They can only be 
 known by a strict attention to the statistics of ex^ 
 pense. It is not to be supposed one set of coaches 
 would be made for low speed and another for high 
 speed, on the same railway, but that the new and 
 strong coaches would be taken for the express 
 trains, and those impaired by age and use, would 
 be taken for the way, or low-speed trains ; a course 
 that would be dictated by ordinary business pru- 
 dence. 
 
 As before observed, there are items that belong 
 to this question, that can only be obtained by esti- 
 mates as the maintenance of track, subject to the 
 daily use of trains of all classes. The best way to 
 reach this item is, by a strict attention to the com- 
 parative influence of speed on the maintenance of 
 engines and coaches ; as the ratio of these will not 
 
OPERATING STATISTICS. 275 
 
 differ materially from the influence of speed on the 
 track. Tlie fuel account may be easily kept sepa- 
 rate from the passenger and freight traffic, by 
 adopting a system of accounts to show the quan- 
 tity used by each engine, as mentioned under the 
 head of supplies. 
 
 With results carefully reduced from a thorough, 
 system of statistics, the Superintendent will have a 
 basis, not of guess-work, but of fact, to judge of the 
 speed he should adopt, and of the tariff necessary 
 for a high, as compared with that sufficient to pay 
 equally well at a low speed. He would be able to 
 determine on all questions of rivalry with other 
 lines, what could be done to best secure the inte- 
 rest of his own line. 
 
 There is yet wanting much of that thorough- 
 ness, required to obtain all the statistical knowledge 
 needful. Profitable and unprofitable traffic is in- 
 discriminately thrown together, and the value of 
 the aggregate only is known, while the relative 
 value of the parts are merely guessed at. The 
 same may be more emphatically said of expenses. 
 Now, it is not denied that much useful statistical 
 information is obtained ; but the fault is, in not 
 carrying it to that detail which is necessary to 
 obtain the information so valuable and necessary 
 to the economical administration of business. 
 
276 . RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 If a full and accurate knowledge of the expenses 
 on track and machinery, and of the extensive, and 
 in a great measure irresponsible, outside and inside 
 agencies involved in rival efforts to control business 
 were well understood, there would doubtless be 
 great modification in the operations of competing 
 lines. The general practice on American railways 
 has been to charge the same passenger fare on fast 
 as on slow trains ; a course that cannot be justified 
 by the expenses, and must rest on some other 
 basis : this is mostly competition, and the only one 
 that can justify it. 
 
 There is a general opinion among railway man- 
 agers, that high speed is more expensive than low, 
 and this is the result of an impression derived from 
 the fact, that increase of speed has been attended 
 with increase of expenses; but the information is 
 indefinite, uncertain, and not competent to meet the 
 necessities of the question, or lay the foundation of 
 business with the exactness that is attainable, and 
 should be had for affairs of so much importance. 
 Let it not be said the thing is impracticable ; it 
 only requires system and energy to secure the most 
 useful results to the railway interest, and must be 
 done before railway management can be said to be 
 complete. 
 
OPERATING RUNNING OF TRAINS. 277 
 
 CHAPTER XXVH. 
 
 OPERATING RUNNING OF TRAINS. 
 
 THE running of trains must depend much on the 
 weight and character of the traffic to be provided 
 for. It is necessarily controlled by the fact, whether 
 *Jie railway has a single or double track. In the 
 latter case, the arrangement of time tables is more 
 simple than in the former, and a double track will 
 of course accommodate a much larger traffic, and 
 the traffic may be done at a lower rate of expense. 
 The greater portion of the railways in this country 
 have only a single track, and on many of these 
 there is quite an important traffic. It is obvious 
 that regularity is highly important, in fact indispen- 
 sable, especially on a single track, as delay in one 
 train causes delay in several others, and is particu- 
 larly injurious to freight trains, which are required 
 to give the preference to all passenger trains. It is 
 therefore obvious that whatever tends to delay, and 
 thereby cause irregularity, should be carefully guard- 
 ed against, and the most energetic means used in 
 case of accident, to remove the impediment to other 
 
278 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 trains. In passenger trains, high speed is more 
 likely to cause accidents than low speed, and great 
 care should be used to avoid unnecessary hazard 
 from this source. High speed is also more expen- 
 sive in other respects, as has been remarked in rela- 
 tion to track and machinery, to which may be 
 added the increased cost of fuel. Not only are 
 accidents more likely to occur under high speed, 
 but the injury will be much more severe than when 
 they occur on trains at low speed. 
 
 The question to be considered is, what rate of 
 speed is necessary to secure the traffic ? Within 
 reasonable limits, it may be regarded true, that the 
 interest of the proprietors will be best promoted 
 by establishing the lowest rate of speed. There is 
 doubtless some traffic secured by high speed that 
 would be lost on a low speed, and the first question 
 is, will that be sufficient to defray the extra ex- 
 pense ? Aside from the rivalry of competing lines, 
 this question could be easily settled. Any speed 
 over twenty-five miles per hour for express trains, 
 may generally be regarded as of doubtful expedi- 
 ency, if the traffic is not affected by competition. 
 An express train of this speed, making few stops, 
 and those- mostly, for fuel and water, would not 
 require a high or very expensive running time ; it 
 being premised that the arrangements for taking on 
 
OPERATING RUNNING OF TRAINS. 279 
 
 supplies of fuel and water admitted promptness in 
 this respect, and no unnecessary time is consumed 
 at stations. Such an express would have an impor- 
 tant advantage in regularity over a higher rate of 
 speed, and rarely miss its connections with other 
 lines ; which would arise from two causes : first, 
 its less exposure to accidental delays, and second, 
 that in case of delay it would be more likely to 
 recover the loss on its moderate time. Hence it 
 often occurs that a journey of five hundred 01 
 one thousand miles is made in less time by the 
 moderate express than by the extra express ; arising 
 from delays occasioned by lying over at points 
 where connection is lost with the next link in 
 the line. 
 
 It will be contended that the public would not 
 be satisfied with slow trains; and it is admitted 
 some attention is due to this consideration ; but the 
 first party in interest is the Proprietor, who has 
 furnished the means to construct the railway, and 
 is responsible for the conduct of the traffic. Not 
 only does he bear the original burden of the under- 
 taking, and the current expense of high speed, but 
 if life or limb is damaged, a much more likely 
 occurrence at high speed, he must pay. It cannot 
 be denied that the proprietor must be indemnified, 
 and if it be expedient to maintain the high or extra 
 
280 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 speed, the tariff rate should be in proportion. It 
 is the practice in England to charge a high rate foi 
 the extra express trains, and still it is contended, J 
 think with propriety, by English writers, that ever 
 they do not make sufficient difference. 
 
 It is certainly a very pleasant thing to travel 
 thirty miles per hour including stops, on a well 
 managed railway, provided no apprehension of 
 danger is felt; and no doubt most people would 
 prefer it to a train of more safety at twenty-five 
 miles per hour. But if a higher rate, corresponding 
 to the increased expense was charged, it would be 
 found that most travellers would be satisfied with 
 the twenty-five mile express. In regard to speed 
 there is one thing that may be controlled by the 
 Superintendent, namely, that no unnecessary time 
 be consumed by stops at stations. The time wasted 
 at stations must be made up by extra speed between 
 them ; and a great deficiency of promptness in this 
 duty may often be observed, and a striking differ- 
 ence on different railways. In one case the passen- 
 gers are duly notified, and ready to leave the coach 
 the moment the train stops ; in the other, they 
 receive no notice until it actually comes to a stand, 
 and then it often happens that the name of the sta- 
 tion is announced in such a confused, inarticulate 
 sound as to leave the passengers in doubt, if not 
 
OPERATING RUNNING OF TRAINS. 281 
 
 ntter uncertainty, as to what station they have 
 arrived at. The time required depends on the num- 
 ber of passengers to be discharged and received, 
 and this is easily understood. Passengers are gene- 
 rally ready to do their part, and if it is understood 
 there will be promptness on the part of the conduc- 
 tor, they will move at the earliest moment in get- 
 ting off or on the train. If fuel and water are to be 
 taken on, there will be necessity for a longer stop ; 
 but even this is often longer than necessary, and 
 sometimes appears lengthened out to give time for 
 refreshments that are quite unnecessary. Certain 
 stops should be arranged to give time for refresh- 
 ments ; but these need not occur oftener than once 
 in one hundred and fifty or two hundred miles, on 
 express trains. 
 
 It is often observed that way trains, which are 
 understood to be trains that stop at all stations, are 
 run at as high speed between stations as express 
 trains. This can only arise from unnecessary waste 
 of time at the stations, or from too high a time- 
 table speed for such trains, which in general should 
 not be greater than eighteen miles per hour, inclu- 
 ding stops, and if the latter be promptly made, the 
 running speed will not be great. The time lost in 
 stops is not simply the delay at the station ; but 
 to this must be added that required in bringing 
 
282 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 down and raising the speed from and to the run- 
 ning rate of time. This requires good practice. cm 
 the part of the engine driver and the brakeman. 
 The steam should not be kept on so long as to 
 require the brake to stop the rolling and cause a 
 sliding motion to the wheels. A light train is more 
 easily stopped than a heavy one, and as way trains 
 are not usually as heavy, and do not require as 
 heavy engines, nor as high speed, they may be 
 brought to a stand more easily than express trains. 
 On railways having a large proportion of heavy 
 express trains, there will be an object of some con- 
 venience in having all the coaches of the same size 
 for both way and express trains ; but the engines 
 for way trains may be lighter than those adapted 
 to express trains. To see, as may often be seen, a 
 way train with one or two coaches, containing 
 twenty or thirty passengers, and rarely exceeding 
 sixty, drawn by an express engine with five and a 
 half to six feet drivers, and weighing from twenty- 
 two to twenty-five tons, is certainly no credit to the 
 capacity of the management. On a railway having 
 a comparatively small amount of light traffic, or 
 such as is best done by small trains, the practice 
 here recommended is of less importance. If, on the 
 other hand, there is a large amount of the total 
 passenger traffic that is light, then it is especially 
 
OPERATING RUNNING OP TRAJNS. 283 
 
 important that not only the engines, but the coaches 
 should be lighter than those required for a heavy 
 traffic. 
 
 There are railways that do a large passenger 
 business, a very considerable portion of which is 
 properly a light-train business, and should be done 
 with machinery adapted to it, and with' proper 
 arrangements of trains and machinery. Much of 
 the local traffic would be better accommodated, 
 and as a consequence better cultivated and more 
 economically done, than by the more expensive 
 mode of doing a large portion of it on express 
 trains. There are two classes of railways, on which 
 this is very important : First, those that enter large 
 cities, passing through a densely-settled country, 
 having a large local traffic in passengers, that 
 require, not heavy, but frequent trains. It is a 
 great error to do this business by heavy, or any 
 express train, especially if the express is run in 
 competition with other lines. The objection that 
 will be urged, namely, that business will be con- 
 fused by this course, and you must not have so 
 much variety in machinery, is nothing more than a 
 confession of incapacity for proper administration, 
 and should not be regarded, if it be intended to 
 maintain a thorough and economical management. 
 The second case is, a railway having a light aggre- 
 
284: RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 gate traffic, not sufficient to support frequent 
 trains, even if they be light. Here, in the absence 
 of a heavy traffic, there is small hope of meeting 
 expenses, if heavy machinery is used. It may be 
 generally noticed that railways of this class use 
 the same, or nearly the same character of ma- 
 chinery, as those doing double, or quadruple traffic ; 
 a practice ruinous to the proprietors, and unless 
 changed, must lead in some cases to the abandon- 
 ment of the railway as a means of transport. The 
 traffic may carry them along and pay current ex- 
 penses until the renewal of rails and machinery 
 becomes necessary, when it will appear that there 
 are no funds for such a purpose, and the railway 
 must be abandoned, the proprietors making the 
 most they may out of the old rails and machinery, 
 and the district return to the old method of trans- 
 port, no doubt, much to the disadvantage of all 
 parties in interest. 
 
 In arranging express trains, especially on a rail- 
 way of large traffic, much judgment is requiied in 
 determining the rate of speed. It is not always 
 necessary to run all trains alike fast. So far as 
 they may be induced by competition, the speed of 
 some will probably be higher than others, and they 
 should have few stops, so as to give all time prac- 
 ticable to the track, and thus keep the running 
 
OPERATING RUNNING OF TRAINS. 285 
 
 speed as low as will make the time required by the 
 competition, and best secure the object sought. 
 Other express trains should have more time, and 
 make stops at the more important way stations, 
 when the business may justify such extent of ac- 
 commodation, leaving the minor stations to be pro- 
 vided for by the way trains. This will be likely to 
 excite in the latter case some jealousy, of the influ- 
 ence of which the Superintendent must judge, as 
 the railway cannot be expected to provide accom- 
 modation, beyond the fair profit of the traffic. 
 
 It is quite proper that freight trains should give 
 the right of track to passenger trains, and in case 
 of accidental delays of the latter, this is sometimes 
 quite serious, especially on single track railways, 
 having three or four passenger trains each way daily. 
 Of course, every practicable effort should be made 
 to avoid such delays, and at this time, on well- 
 managed railways, they are of more rare occur- 
 rence than formerly. Freight trains require much 
 judgment in their arrangement, from the fluctu- 
 ations of the traffic, and will require modifications 
 as the varying seasons of business occur. Those 
 established for daily use through the year, should 
 be limited to the number that may be required 
 through the season of light traffic; aud as this in- 
 creases, extra sections of trains will be provided for 
 
286 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 a time, and as it further increases, it may be expe 
 dient to put on additional regular trains. It is 
 very material to the economy of management, that 
 no unnecessary trains be run, or more than is suf- 
 ficient for the traffic at the time. The passenger 
 train must be run daily, for though at times it may 
 have a light business, it can only change by a new 
 time-table, dispensing with a portion of the trains, 
 which is not usually done oftener than twice in a 
 year ; but freight is more easily managed in this 
 respect, and no more trains should be run than 
 necessary to provide for it. This will produce 
 some irregularity in the employment of train men, 
 and some other work or occupation must at times 
 be provided for them. So far as they are mecha- 
 nics, this may be found in the repair shops, and 
 others should be employed at such work as they 
 can do, or dismissed for the time. But it will 
 rarely happen that work cannot be found for the 
 useful employment of laborers. Some railway 
 managers contend this cannot be done, and that 
 train men must be kept constantly under employ- 
 ment, equal to any emergency of business, which 1 
 regard unsound and inconsistent with proper eco- 
 nomy. If due attention is paid to the wants of a 
 railway, useful employment may generally be 
 found for all train-men, from trains temporarily 
 
OPERATING RUNNING OF TRAINS. 287 
 
 suspended. At such times, which occur after a 
 season of heavy traffic, the machinery will require 
 more than usual attention, and should be put in 
 good order, so as to be in condition to meet the de- 
 mands of a returning pressure in the traffic, and the 
 mechanics suspended from the train service, may 
 be fully employed to aid this work. "When the 
 traffic is heavy, the machinery is kept in so con- 
 stant use, that only temporary repairs can well be 
 made, leaving the more important work to be done 
 when it is less occupied, and just when the me- 
 chanics from among the train men may be at 
 liberty to go to the shops. 
 
 The freight trains should be ready to start on 
 their time with the same promptness as a passenger 
 train. There is often neglect in this respect, arising 
 from the impression that it is less important ; but 
 the freight should be as punctual on time, both in 
 leaving the terminus and from way stations, as a 
 passenger train. This is quite necessary to an eco- 
 nomical administration of the freight traffic, and to 
 the convenience and economy of the work of repairs 
 on the track, and the wood trains transporting fuel 
 for the use of the engines, which are embarrassed 
 and delayed by the untimely freight train. 
 
 The running speed of freight trains should not 
 exceed twelve miles per hour, except for freight 
 
288 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 that can pay extra for greater speed. This princi- 
 ple is not sufficiently regarded, as one that enters 
 intimately into the economy of railway transport, 
 and will be likely to be understood only by a closer 
 supervision of all that affects expense than lias 
 hitherto been practised on most railways. Speed 
 in freight transportation requires a corresponding 
 weight and power of engine, or the load must be 
 diminished to allow the speed ; in either case extra 
 speed will involve extra expense. Whatever be 
 the speed adopted, the load of the freight engine 
 may be adapted to its power ; in this it differs from 
 the requirements of an express passenger engine, 
 in which the load cannot so readily be adapted to 
 its power ; and hence the freight engine for high 
 or low speed may be of the weight and power that 
 will produce the best economy of transport. In 
 arranging the time for a freight train, provi- 
 sion must be made for necessary detention at the 
 stations for letting oif or taking on cars. If the 
 train is properly made up, the station service may 
 be as regularly and promptly done as any other ; 
 the station agent should have his side track clear, 
 in order to remove the cars to be left at his station 
 without delay ; and the cars to be put on should be 
 ready and in position for prompt attachment. If, 
 as will be required for way freight at small stations, 
 
OPERATING RUNNING OF TRAINS. 289 
 
 a car must be loaded with freight to be deliveied 
 at several stations, and of course unloaded by the 
 discharge of parcels for each, the parcels for each 
 station should be loaded in the order of the stations, 
 so as to admit of prompt discharge. If unnecessary 
 time is taken at the stations, it will be made up, if 
 the engine has power, by a corresponding increase 
 of speed between them, and this will be easy if 
 there happen to be a descending grade, and it is no 
 unusual thing for time to be wasted by idle habits 
 at the stations, in the expectation of making it up 
 by increase of speed, though against the rules. 
 This is an evil to be carefully guarded against ; and 
 attempts have been, made, requiring the station 
 agent to report the time of the arrival and depart- 
 ure of trains, and any circumstances of unusual 
 delay ; but unless very closely looked after, the 
 reporting will be defective, and the Superintendent 
 left in ignorance of proceedings in this respect. It 
 is no uncommon thing to witness heavy freight 
 trains moving under a time table of twelve to four- 
 teen miles, but actually at the rate of thirty miles 
 per hour, thundering along the rails with their 
 heavy cars of more than two tons on a wheel, and 
 these resting on bits ot india-rubber bouncers, or 
 short, st eel springs of substantial rigidity. Nor is it 
 a matter of rare occurrence that such things hap- 
 
 13 
 
290 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 pen, and go seriously to add to the expense of 
 repairs on track and machinery. If run at proper 
 speed, freight engines may be heavier than passen- 
 ger engines, and be no more injurious to the track; 
 they should have low drivers, as this tends to restrict 
 their speed, and increase their power of traction. 
 
 The Superintendent who aims to effect an eco- 
 nomical transport of freight, will find much to de- 
 mand his attention in the management of his trains. 
 He must study, not to see merely how large a train 
 he may haul, or how fast he can run it with one 
 engine ; but how small a sum he can make trans- 
 port a ton of freight. When this last proposition 
 comes to be well studied, machinery will be better 
 adapted to the rail and the traffic the road accom- 
 modates. 
 
OPERATING COMPETITION. 
 
 CHAPTEK XXVm. 
 
 OPERATING COMPETITION. 
 
 THE competition of rival lines has become a 
 matter seriously affecting many prominent railways, 
 and has led to many convocations of railway mana- 
 gers, for the purpose of harmonizing the conflicting 
 interests. These assemblies have produced agree- 
 ments as to running trains and rates of tariff, hav- 
 ing at least the ostensible object of securing fair 
 rates and a proper division of traffic. There are, 
 however, some inherent difficulties in the way of 
 such arrangements, arising out of the peculiar cir- 
 cumstances that control traffic at the same rates on 
 different and rival lines, which when left to its 
 natural action, will flow more to one than to the 
 other, and the result is pretty sure to cause sus- 
 picion and jealousy on the part of those having 
 the least ability to control this tendency ; and when 
 trade flows against them, the suspicion is easily 
 aroused to account for this result, as arising from 
 some transgression on the part of their rival, against 
 the programme of the arrangement previously 
 
292 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 entered into. And, perhaps, without waiting to 
 obtain correct knowledge of facts, they proceed to 
 measures equally inconsistent with the contract, 
 and the parties are soon floating in the broad field 
 of rivalry. In some cases of rivalry, there is no 
 material difficulty of this sort, and with fair ar- 
 rangements each party will obtain its due share of 
 the traffic. 
 
 No railway can consent that its rival should be 
 allowed to establish lower rates for a competing 
 traffic than its own, for of all the advantages that 
 control it, there is none so effective as lower rates, 
 and any rival line, possessing inferior inducements, 
 should be content with uniform rates, and proper 
 time arrangements for the running of trains, and 
 take such portion of the traffic as will naturally 
 flow to it under the circumstances that may 
 exist. Without this, no arrangement can be made 
 of any practical value and it is better for the 
 inferior line to submit to this, and obtain fair rates 
 for what it carries, than struggle by various means 
 to do a business that will not pay expenses. But 
 no difficulty need to exist, where the lines will 
 naturally make a fair division of the traffic com- 
 peted for at equal rates. 
 
 It must be conceded, that in general this kind of 
 arrangement or contract between rival lines, has 
 
OPERATING COMPETITION. 293 
 
 not been very successful in promoting the interest 
 of the proprietors. It has rarely happened that 
 they have been in force any great length of time, 
 before some party imagines he can make something 
 out of his adroitness, and sets at work to obtain 
 some advantage not consistent with the contract ; 
 he may employ agents to solicit traffic, and secure 
 an influence by misrepresentations, which are not 
 particularly unusual with that class of men, who 
 often exercise great skill, and produce considerable 
 effect on the course of traffic ; or, by the aid of 
 free tickets, drawbacks and commissions, the rates 
 are often actually reduced, though the tariff stands 
 formally as unchanged. Such practices are sure to 
 be found out by the injured party, before a large 
 amount of traffic can be secured, and of course 
 measures are taken to counteract them, and the 
 agreement falls to the ground. The measures that 
 have been attempted to enforce such agreements, 
 and punish the faithless party by fines, have not pro- 
 duced any important results that I have known. 
 This class of contracts must rely mainly on the good 
 sense and fidelity of the parties. 
 
 Railway managers make great efforts to estab- 
 lish arrangements, that will enable all to obtain 
 fair rates and reduce expenses, a proceeding that 
 should be beneficial to their mutual interests ; but 
 
294: RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 the several parties (usually the principal operating 
 officers), pursue this with different motives ; one 
 enters upon the negotiations in good faith, intend- 
 ing to carry out faithfully the arrangement he 
 agrees to, while another only designs to make it a 
 cover, to secure undue advantages. No sooner is 
 the contract made, than the latter, considering his 
 rival restricted by the contract, and relying as 
 before observed on his ingenuity and cunning, goes 
 to work to defeat the object of the contract by 
 various devices, which he designs to hide from his 
 rival ; and by employing the means before described, 
 aims to influence the direction of traffic, and all in 
 conflict with the contract between the parties. 
 
 In view of the short time that such measures 
 may be practised, before the facts will come to the 
 knowledge of his rival, the practice indicates great 
 want of sagacity on the part of the offending party, 
 whose bold denials and slender evasions, to fasten 
 tne fault on some subordinate, are often as ludicrous 
 as they are dishonest. 
 
 It is quite apparent that contracts with such 
 parties must be of short duration, and end in open 
 rivalry, greatly to the prejudice of the proprietary 
 interests of both lines. Some operating managers 
 appear to regard this as shrewd practice, and as a 
 laudable aim to advance the interest of their lines ; 
 
OPERATING COMPETITION. 295 
 
 but it presents a grave question to their employers ; 
 for if their agent is ready to cheat their rivals, little 
 doubt can be entertained, on the occurrence of an 
 opportunity, that he would be quite as ready to 
 cheat them. The real difficulty is, the employers 
 generally know very little about the matter, and 
 what they do know, is usually from the offending 
 officials. 
 
 The mischief of competition cannot be healed 
 without good faith on both sides. In the absence 
 of this on either side, all efforts will be abortive. 
 But the end to be secured, namely, fair rates and 
 moderate expenses must be reached, or the proprie- 
 tary interest must suffer, and the means suggested 
 are indispensable from the circumstances of com- 
 peting lines of railway. Certainly so far very little 
 has been effected in securing fair rates for rival 
 traffic, a fact by no means creditable to railway 
 management. 
 
 It is in the nature of things, that railways hold- 
 ing certain relations to each other, divide the 
 traffic, or a certain portion of it, on equal tariff 
 rates, and the traffic must take one or the other 
 line. The question for the proprietors therefore is, 
 shall equitable arrangement be made and main- 
 tained, which shall secure fair rates and economize 
 expenses ? or shall we, by costly, and irresponsible 
 
296 KAIL^Al PROPERTY. 
 
 agencies and other extra expenses, endeavor to 
 show large gross receipts, and thus control at un- 
 remunerating rates a traffic that should afford a 
 reasonable profit ? It must be borne in mind that 
 no increase results from extra expenses and low 
 rates, for the rival line, by similar efforts, still 
 divides the traffic in about the same ratio as would 
 be the case on a fair and equitable contract. The 
 public gain by the low rates, and under this in- 
 fluence there will probably be an aggregate in- 
 crease in the volume of the traffic, but this will be 
 lost in density and value, and the proprietors will 
 only have the consolation of loading their track 
 with a traffic that yields little if any profit, if not 
 productive of positive loss. 
 
 In the condition of many railways in this coun- 
 try, the amount of traffic in competition is very 
 large, and the proprietary interest involved in 
 its management very important. Cases occur in 
 which it is very difficult to manage it successfully ; 
 but in many others, the only thing necessary, is a 
 sound business sagacity, exercised with fidelity 
 and firmness to secure paying rates. A competing 
 railway is not like the competition of stage coach 
 lines, where one party aims at breaking down the 
 other, and thereby securing a monopoly of the 
 trade; for a railway that has a local traffic suffi- 
 
OPERATING COMPETITION. 297 
 
 cient to keep it in operation, will always have the 
 power to act on its rival. It cannot be broken 
 down, and will always be in the field as a compe- 
 titor, and if it cannot maintain the rival traffic at a 
 profit, will be able to prevent its competitor from 
 making profit; and though naturally inferior in 
 capacity, its inferiority is not often so decided as to 
 prevent it from destroying in a great measure, if not 
 wholly, the profits of the rival line. 
 
 It is sometimes urged that a railway is so loaded 
 with capital and other liabilites that it cannot com- 
 pete with one less burdened in this respect. A 
 little reflection will indicate the fallacy of such 
 reasoning ; for whatever may be the liabilities, if 
 there is sufficient local traffic to pay current ex- 
 penses, and so much for the use of the rails as 
 they are worth for old iron, it is pretty certain to 
 be kept running, and there 'are few that cannot do 
 this on their local traffic. If the railway was a 
 project to be made, then its cost would be a legiti- 
 mate question in reference to its ability to maintain 
 successfully a competition with a line already in 
 operation ; but it is constructed, and whether it has 
 cost little or much, will most likely find traffic 
 enough to perpetuate its running, and keep it in 
 the field as a competitor with lines, having in some 
 respects greater advantages. Is it therefore wise to 
 13* 
 
298 EAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 lightly esteem a rival ? far better to arrange terms 
 on the basis of existing facts, and by equitable 
 arrangement secure a fair rate for the traffic to be 
 carried. 
 
OPERATING FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. 299 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 OPERATING FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. 
 
 IT would be superfluous to discuss in detail the 
 leading object the proprietors have in advancing 
 funds for a railway. A limited number have 
 doubtless been influenced by considerations of the 
 indirect benefits they may derive from the results 
 of the anticipated working of the railway on pro- 
 perty and trade; but in the main, they look for 
 remuneration in direct net profits from the traffic. 
 It cannot be doubted that the indirect benefits are 
 far greater than the direct, and these accrue, not 
 only to those who subscribe with this object, but to 
 the community on the route, generally, who may 
 not, and generally do not, furnish any mateiial 
 portion of the funds required for the work. For 
 the main part, the funds have been furnished by 
 those who take the securities as an investment, 
 depending wholly on obtaining compensation from 
 the net profits of the traffic, and are no way inter- 
 ested in the indirect benefits that result to property 
 and trade. This class, and especially those that 
 
#00 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 rely on the stock securities, take the financial bur- 
 den of the railway. The class of stock subscribers 
 relying on the indirect advantages are usually 
 quite small in proportion, and are pretty sure to 
 find their full remuneration. 
 
 The stock proprietors, having usually waited 
 some time for the construction of the work, natu- 
 rally look with anxiety, as soon as the railway is 
 opened for traffic, for the prospects of a dividend 
 on their stock, and it is quite proper the Directors 
 should feel a desire, so far as they may have 
 power, to gratify this reasonable anxiety of the 
 stock proprietors. Few railways have been com- 
 pleted without contracting a debt, with a prior 
 lien on the property, that must be provided for 
 before dividends can be declared, and the first 
 appropriations from the net income on traffic, must 
 satisfy the interest and sinking fund on the funded 
 debt. In the incipient operations of the railway, 
 this funded debt, according to its relative magni- 
 tude, will interfere with dividends to the stock pro- 
 prietors until the net income on the traffic" shall 
 equal the same interest on the whole capital that is 
 paid on the bonded debt, with a surplus over this 
 equal to the sinking fund, and then both classes of 
 proprietors will be equally well paid for the time. 
 For the time that may elapse before this result is 
 
OPERATmtJ FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. 301 
 
 reached, the bond proprietors will be fully paid, 
 while the stock proprietors may receive a small, or 
 perhaps no interest on their outlay ; and can only 
 hope an increasing traffic will eventually afford 
 them an equivalent for the loss of back interest. 
 If the funds were all from stock proprietors, and 
 no bonded debt incurred, the whole net income 
 would be applicable for dividends to stock proprie- 
 tors, and dividends would be earlier expected. 
 This, however, is not often the case; a bonded 
 debt, at least equal to the amount of stock, is more 
 common, and to provide for the interest and sink- 
 ing fund on the former, is on many railways an im- 
 portant, and sometimes in the early operations, a 
 difficult duty in the financial management ; but as 
 the funds obtained for the bonded debt, could only 
 have been obtained on this basis, there is no alter- 
 native, unless, by some evasive repudiation, it is 
 neglected for the benefit of the stock proprietors; 
 a process of cheating that can only be classed with 
 other acts of infidelity, whereby men appropiate 
 the property of others to their own use. 
 
 At the opening of a railway, the net income 
 must be matter of conjecture, and considerable time 
 will be required to ascertain it with reasonable cer- 
 tainty, and thus determine the basis for dividends 
 011 the stock. It usually happens that conjecture 
 
302 RAILWAY PEOPEETY. 
 
 is sanguine, and urgently presses the promise of 
 early and liberal dividends ; and it becomes impor- 
 tant to look carefully at the bearing of this ques- 
 tion on the permanent interests of the proprietors. 
 
 On the opening of a railway, there is, in most 
 cases, a respectable amount of traffic ready for its 
 occupation. This will increase by the well estab- 
 lished laws of trade namely, that improved facili- 
 ties enhance the development of existing traffic, 
 and new items of trade are brought out by the 
 superior cheapness of transport. If the natural 
 resources of the district accommodated by the rail- 
 way are but indifferently occupied, as may be 
 peculiarly the case in a newly settled country, it 
 may be expected that the increase will be large, as 
 compared to that enjoyed at the opening, and 
 though dividends may be small, or even nothing in 
 the commencement of the traffic, they will eventu- 
 ally be remunerating. 
 
 The railway and machinery, if well constructed, 
 being new, the repairs and maintenance for a few 
 years will be comparatively small, and the net 
 profits will, for the time, be larger than will ulti- 
 mately be found an average rate on the traffic. 
 Continued use will impair the track and machinery, 
 and new parts will be required for their efficient 
 maintenance and usefulness, consequently it must 
 
OPERATING FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. 303 
 
 be expected that there will be an increase of cur- 
 rent expenses in the operation of a railway. It is 
 usual to estimate the probable increase in the traffic 
 to be not only sufficient to meet this increase of ex- 
 pense, but to even more than do it, and to justify 
 the expectation of an increasing rate of dividend. 
 The more prudent course would be, to make ade- 
 quate provision by a reserved fund, that may very 
 properly be appropriated to the purchase of new 
 machinery, to meet the growing wants of increasing 
 traffic ; instead of the too common course, of 
 increasing the indebtedness of the Institution for 
 this purpose. The latter course is most likely to be 
 pursued, if there be an influence in the Board of 
 Directors that seeks to elevate the market value of 
 the stock, as it is well understood that dividends 
 are a material element in promoting such a result, 
 without much reference to the sources from whence 
 they are derived. If, on the other hand, the rail- 
 way property is regarded as an investment of funds, 
 and governed on the same business principle as 
 would control an intelligent individual, who would 
 not esteem the payment from one hand to the other 
 as evidence that his property was thereby enhanced 
 in value, the management will be different. All 
 efforts to produce fictitious value, either a rise or 
 fall, can be no benefit to the property; and can 
 
304 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 only be viewed as means of deception, practised on 
 those who may unwittingly repose confidence in 
 unfaithful managers. It is sometimes said in oppo- 
 sition to this view, that the stock proprietors are 
 entitled to all that has been earned, and the mana- 
 gers have no right to appropriate net earnings to 
 purchase new machinery, or for other purposes 
 legitimately belonging to the construction account, 
 and that funds for these should be obtained on loan, 
 or by the issue of new stock shares, even if by 
 these means funds can only be obtained by a consi- 
 derable discount. It is urged, in support of this 
 method, that the stock proprietors cannot afford to 
 do without dividends, to the full measure of net 
 income, and that it is not right to withhold them 
 from them. In carrying out this principle, great 
 skill and liberality is often practised in charging 
 over to construction, for the purpose of showing an 
 apparently small amount of current expenses. And 
 hence the construction account has come to be 
 regarded an abyss, never to be satisfied, constantly 
 swelling the liabilities of the company. Under 
 this mode of proceeding, dividends may be made, 
 provided the managers have credit, or the Institu- 
 tion has credit to borrow funds, until the means of 
 dividend be totally exhausted. The test of this 
 argument, or method of business, will rarely, if 
 
OPERATING FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. 305 
 
 ever, be made bj the stock proprietors, so long as 
 they receive the semi-annual dividends of four or 
 five, or even three and a-half per cent. ; and they 
 will not often inquire as to the source from which 
 the dividend money came. 
 
 Men who have invested their funds in railway 
 property have the right to all the property can 
 earn, and no doubt many have need of early 
 income, and whether they need it or not, are enti- 
 tled to receive it, so far as net income has been pro- 
 duced by the traffic ; but their interest as an Insti- 
 tution certainly will not be promoted by borrowing 
 funds, instead of using their own, to meet expenses 
 that must be incurred to extend or sustain their 
 works. It may not be best to dispense with early 
 dividends, and if affairs have been discreetly man- 
 aged this will not ordinarily be necessary ; but the 
 dividends should be made with a view to provide 
 for depreciation, and the funds reserved for renew- 
 als need not be idle in waiting for depreciation to 
 occur. They can be used, as before stated, in pro- 
 riding new machinery for increasing traffic, instead 
 of funds being borrowed, for such purpose, at a dis- 
 count, and these may be charged to construction, 
 and remain in that shape as a surplus account. 
 
 In order to illustrate the method recommended, 
 let it be supposed, that the strict net income, after 
 
306 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 the payment of expenses, interest and sinking fund, 
 shows a balance of eight per cent, per annum; 
 which may be the case on a comparatively small 
 traffic, on a new and well made railway while 
 expenses are low. Let five per cent, per annum 
 be paid as dividend to stock proprietors, and three 
 per cent, be carried to surplus account. This 
 surplus will probably be needed, for additional 
 machinery, for side tracks, ballasting, or other 
 necessary improvements that may be demanded by 
 an increasing traffic. By this plan the surplus will 
 be safely invested in property required by the wants 
 of the institution. The second year the improving 
 traffic we will suppose adds to the net income one 
 per cent., and if not called for to meet any greater 
 demand than was made the previous year for ex- 
 tensions and improvements in the works, let the 
 dividend be six per cent, per annum for this year, 
 leaving the surplus of three per cent, to be carried 
 forward in the same way as before. After this, as 
 the traffic may warrant, pay six per cent, dividends 
 and no more, until the surplus can no longer be dis- 
 creetly expended for necessary objects of construe 
 tion. If the income continues to improve, as it 
 most probably will, and the net earnings warrant it, 
 let the dividend be raised to seven per cent, pei 
 annum, and so far as the surplus is not wanted to 
 
OPERATING FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. 307 
 
 increase the machinery or improve the works, let it 
 be appropriated to purchase the bonds of the com- 
 pany. "When the bonds and all other indebtedness 
 of the institution is liquidated, it will be proper to 
 convert the surplus account, as circumstances may 
 warrant, into a stock dividend, to be issued to the 
 stock proprietors, who will now be the sole proprie- 
 tors. The railway being now in good condition, 
 with ample machinery for its traffic, and the inte- 
 rest and sinking fund account closed, it will be able 
 to make its regular dividend on a corresponding 
 increase of capital, and the stock proprietor finds 
 his compensation, and though deferred, his invest- 
 ment proves the best in the institution, as it ought, 
 he having taken all the risk of the enterprise. If 
 he has not received the benefit at an earlier day, he 
 finds no serious losses by discounts to obtain funds, 
 and, by a judicious management of the surplus, he 
 finds a property in sound condition as to its works 
 and outfit for its now enlarged traffic. There has 
 been no demoralization of its operations, from insnf- 
 ficient means of prompt payment, and he now gets 
 back the full amount, with interest, of all that was 
 due from net resource. On this method the rate of 
 dividend in the early stage and the advancing pro- 
 gress may vary according to the exigencies of the 
 case, and the profits of the traffic ; but it should 
 
308 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 not be high, and should depend on the wants of the 
 works, and the amount of indebtedness, keeping in 
 view the policy, not only of avoiding new liabilities, 
 but of making as early liquidation of existing 
 indebtedness as may be consistent with giving a 
 small but regular return to the stock proprietors in 
 the form of dividends. Such a system of financial 
 management would be more likely than any other 
 to induce economy and fidelity in conducting the 
 business of the institution. 
 
 Regularity and reasonble certainty in dividends is 
 generally regarded important in this kind of pro- 
 perty, and especially to those who depend on it for 
 means to meet current expenses ; but trade will fluc- 
 tuate, productions will be irregular, and these will 
 cause irregularities in the traffic, and consequently 
 in the net income of the railway. Changes must 
 take place in this branch of business, the same as in 
 all others, and income will necessarily vary; this 
 must be anticipated in all systems of finance. In 
 order to secure regularity in dividends, it is neces- 
 sary to ascertain the average of several years, 
 tvhich will embrace the extremes of fluctuation, 
 and by reserving something as a surplus from the 
 more productive years, be prepared, from this 
 reserve fund, to meet the regular dividend in those 
 years that prove less productive. And if it appear 
 
OPERATING FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. 309 
 
 that a larger reserve has been made than the exi- 
 gencies of the finances require, and especially if 
 there be no debts to pay or provide for, let it be 
 converted into a surplus dividend, and carried 
 where it belongs, to the credit of the stock pro- 
 prietor. This principle of finance is the more im- 
 portant, if the institution is under obligation to 
 provide interest and sinking fund on a bonded 
 debt, or has important renewals or improvements 
 to make in its works. If the railway be mainly, 
 or wholly, a stock property, and the proprietors 
 prefer to do so, it is perfectly proper for them to 
 divide each year, according to the net income ; but 
 they must expect, on this method, to experience 
 more or less of fluctuation in semi-annual divi- 
 dends, and thereby increase the temptation to 
 stock speculation on the part of their managers 
 and officers, who will best know the effect of the 
 dividend on the market value of the property. 
 
 I am well aware that the plan of finance here 
 proposed will be regarded with disfavor by many 
 railway managers ; who prefer more of what they 
 term liberality in dividends, and do not fear to 
 augment and swell the construction account ; a 
 mode of proceeding that has a glittering present, 
 and, as has often proved, a most disastrous future. 
 The great question for the proprietary interest to 
 
310 RAILWAY PROPERTY. ' 
 
 consider is. What shall be the basis of financial 
 management ? Experience has shown that it must 
 be either a speculative or a business basis. The 
 former is a dangerous policy for those of the pro- 
 prietors who may not be of the party in control to 
 reap the benefit. All cannot speculate with profit 
 there must be a portion of the proprietors to be 
 speculated upon, in order to have a basis for suc- 
 cessful speculation, and this class must be the un- 
 suspecting portion of the stock proprietors. To the 
 initiated, there will appear no great difficulty, 
 where there are numerous proprietors in a joint 
 stock property of this kind, for cunning and un- 
 principled men to waste the property, at the same 
 time they are making fair, and perhaps good semi- 
 annual dividends. The first serious check to the 
 course of the speculating party, will appear in their 
 inability to make further loans ; for it usually hap- 
 pens, that the money-lender is more acute in appre- 
 hending the tendency of affairs than the stock pro- 
 prietor, who may be lulled by dividends ; and the 
 cessation of the power to loan is usually followed 
 by a cessation of dividends. This condition of the 
 finances of the institution will most probably be 
 anticipated by the shrewd speculative -manager, 
 who takes care to dispose of his interest to unsus- 
 pecting parties, in time to avoid loss, while the 
 
OPERATING FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. 311 
 
 great mass of proprietors are suddenly roused up, 
 just in time to see their property take wings and 
 fly away. There is another feature of the specula- 
 tive policy very mischievous to the proprietors, 
 namely, the practice of buying and selling the 
 stock of the company on speculation, by which 
 the parties engaged are at one time interested in a 
 rise, and at another in the fall of the market value. 
 In regard to this practice, it may be said, any 
 manager has a right to buy and sell the stock of his 
 company, and that he injures no one by so doing. 
 This is a plausible reason, and is sufficient for all 
 the ordinary transactions of this kind, based on the 
 circumstances and wants of the manager for actual 
 investment. But when the chief officers and in- 
 fluential managers of a company are known to 
 operate largely in a speculative way in the stock, 
 they are strongly tempted to neglect the pro- 
 prietary interests committed to their trust, at any 
 time when their operations in stock will thereby be 
 promoted. And further : The men whose minds 
 are of a speculative turn are liable, and indeed it 
 may be said generally do, devote so large a share 
 of their care and attention to objects and means of 
 speculation, that there is not sufficient time and 
 thought left to manage successfully the affairs of 
 the proprietors, even if they made the best of this 
 
312 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 hastily snatched remainder. No doubt it may be 
 set down as a standing caution, that if a proprietor 
 chance to learn that the President, Treasurer, Secre- 
 tary, or Superintendent, or the more active and in- 
 fluential directors, are engaged in large stock opera- 
 tions, making time sales and corners, it would be 
 wise for him to watch a favorable opportunity to 
 dispose of his interest in the institution. This 
 method of business is only to be adopted by such 
 managers and officers as prefer the chance of spe- 
 culative results, and whose prospects will depend 
 on the number and interest of those who may 
 incautiously be induced to engage, on the suppo- 
 sition that affairs are, and are to be, conducted for 
 the general interest of the proprietors. 
 
 The other -namely, the business basis before 
 mentioned, is predicated on a system of manage- 
 ment that seeks its results in a wise, just and busi- 
 ness-like conduct of affairs. Practising sound econ- 
 omy in all objects of expenditure discarding all 
 traffic that will not pay some net income having 
 no taste for a large gross revenue that is accompa- 
 nied by equally large gross expenses nursing all 
 traffic that can be found to pay a reasonable, or at 
 least some, net income in short, practising the 
 course usually followed by discreet business men in 
 the conduct of their private affairs; regarding the 
 
OPERATING FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. 313 
 
 prosperity of the institution as the controlling ob- 
 ject sought, and pursuing this with singleness of 
 purpose, aiming to exercise the same unremitting 
 attention and sagacity that actuates a discreet indi- 
 vidual in conducting his affairs. So obviously just 
 and proper is this method, both in regard to the 
 construction and the operating of a railway, that 
 the manager, however his individual tendencies 
 may be toward speculations and jobs, will profess 
 to be wholly guided by its rules ; and it may not 
 be easy for the confiding proprietor, or even his co- 
 manager, to always understand, until too late, the 
 unsatisfactory basis of such professions. This lat- 
 ter, however, is an evil incidental to humanity, and 
 no man may be able to penetrate the veil that hides 
 the purpose of the manager ; and perhaps the pur- 
 pose is scarcely formed, or if so, very imperfectly 
 matured ; and yet it will probably be developed ir 
 the ultimate prostration, if not the total ruin, of the 
 institution. That this evil is one of imminent dan- 
 ger, is sadly proved by the history of railways ; and 
 the question naturally arises, How are the proprie- 
 tors to guard against it ? A question more easily 
 asked than answered. 
 
 The stock proprietors, though first to feel the 
 effect of incompetent or unfaithful management, 
 are not the only parties to experience the disastrous 
 
 14 
 
314 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 results. The bond proprietor may also suffer, espe- 
 cially if the bonded debt be a large proportion of 
 the capital of the institution. This class, having no 
 voice in the management, are usually very quiet so 
 long as their interest is punctually paid. It is very 
 natural that they should feel a higher degree of 
 safety than the stock proprietors, who may be 
 wholly sacrificed before the bond-holders feel a loss. 
 Experience, however, has shown that they are not 
 free from the ills and hazards of bad management. 
 It is true the stock must be first sacrificed, and after 
 dividends can no longer be paid to the stock pro- 
 prietors, the interest may be continued for a time 
 on the bonds; but it rarely fails, that the policy 
 which has destroyed the stock, will also destroy, 
 more or less, the security of the bonds. Secured 
 as the bonds usually are by a mortgage of the 
 whole property, it would seem to be in the power 
 of the bondholders, on the failure of the company, 
 to take possession by foreclosure, and enter into the 
 management as sole proprietors ; but there are diffi- 
 culties in the way. In the first place, there is the 
 difficulty of obtaining concert among the bond pro- 
 prietors to act in the premises ; and as more or less 
 of pecuniary responsibility must be incurred, a 
 part do not like to put themselves under engage- 
 ments, without the cooperation of the whole, and 
 
OPERATING FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. 315 
 
 here they find themselves somewhat in the position of 
 stock proprietors, a numerous body, incapable of that 
 cooperation necessary to secure efficiency, and though 
 some are ready and anxious to proceed, others will 
 hold back, to avoid responsibility, while they are 
 quite ready to avail themselves of the benefits that 
 may result from the efforts of their co-bondholders. 
 The second difficulty arises from the unwillingness 
 of the stock proprietors and unsecured creditors to 
 allow the railway to go into the hands of the bond- 
 holders under a foreclosure that will cut off their 
 claims. Though no dividend is paid on the stock, 
 it may be a well founded opinion that good man- 
 agement, and improved prosperity of trade, may 
 show the institution to have some value for the 
 stock proprietor, and this it is natural he should 
 desire to secure. The third difficulty grows out 
 of the floating debt, which is usually large, under 
 such circumstances, and much of it due to laborers 
 for operations on the railway, and for supplies in 
 the operating department, mostly due to persons in 
 the vicinity of the railway. This class of creditors 
 usually threaten to mob and drive off any party 
 that shall attempt to operate the railway without 
 acknowledging their claim to payment. The fourth 
 difficulty is found in the courts, that in some instan- 
 ces either repudiate the power of the bondholders 
 
316 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 to take absolute possession under the mortgage, or 
 BO qualify this power as to make it little more than 
 a nullity ; but if the courts find the terms of the 
 mortgage so explicit that they cannot evade them, 
 they can often aid in protracting the proceedings so 
 as to work much embarrassment to the bondholders. 
 It is not to be inferred that all courts proceed in 
 this way, for there are yet found judges who feel 
 the responsibility and dignity of their position, and 
 may be relied on to maintain the object of their 
 institution, namely, the administration of justice 
 between parties, without regard to the parties. It 
 is indeed unfortunate that the latter class are not 
 more numerous, but they no doubt hold their rela- 
 tive position, according to the degree of our civili- 
 zation, and it must be borne in mind that adjudica- 
 tion between a railway corporation and an individ- 
 ual is a thing that tests the firmness of a court in a 
 high degree. Notwithstanding all the difficulties, 
 as the right of the case is on the side of the bond- 
 holders, they ultimately succeed, if the traffic of the 
 railway is worth it, in securing the payment of 
 principal and interest, though they are sometimes 
 induced to acquire control under stipulation to pay 
 a certain class of operating debts, and after reim- 
 bursing their own interest, to give the stock propri- 
 etors and unsecured creditors 'vhatever may remain, 
 
OPERATING FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. 317 
 
 and which is an equitable result not often com- 
 plained of by the bondholders. Mortgage bonds 
 of a railway corporation, which, from inadequate 
 traffic, or ill-management, does not pay its stock 
 proprietors, are far from being that quiet and relia- 
 ble source of revenue that many have supposed. If 
 the management of a railway is under speculative 
 control, that management will be exerted to sustain 
 the stock or the bond proprietor, as may happen to 
 be the interest of the controlling party. If the 
 stock controls, and the prospect is regarded doubt- 
 ful as to the ultimate strength of the stock, it may 
 lead to movements that will change this interest 
 over to the side of the bondholder, and in the midst 
 of a cloudy and vigorous litigation, the path of right 
 may suddenly appear so well fortified that further 
 resistance will be vain, and matters are brought to 
 an easy solution ; the bondholders must, at least, 
 be provided for, and the stockholders may take 
 what remains. The bond proprietor is not at fault, 
 he had no control in the management that com- 
 pelled this result, and the stock proprietor must 
 bear in mind, that if his property is wasted, it has 
 been wasted by his representative, and though his 
 trust may have been abused and forfeited, it is no 
 fault of the bond proprietor. Instances have oc- 
 curred in which the bondholders have compromised 
 
318 EAILWAY PROPERTY, 
 
 their claims, by delivering up the coupons, for one 
 or more years, either gratuitously or taking therefor 
 new obligations of the company, secured by a 
 younger mortgage. There may be circumstances 
 that render this policy expedient, as from the 
 recent operations of the railway the undeveloped 
 traffic may not afford the means of payment, while 
 the future prospect is favorable for the ultimate 
 ability to pay current interest and sinking fund ; and 
 if there is confidence in the fidelity of the manage- 
 ment, it may be the wisest course for the bond- 
 holders. But if the condition of the company has 
 been reduced by incompetent or unfaithful manage- 
 ment, no good is likely to result from this method, 
 as affairs will not be likely to improve, and when 
 the time comes for payment to be resumed, the 
 finances will be no better, the track and machinery 
 in worse condition, and the bond proprietors no 
 more favorably situated for securing their rights 
 than they were when the coupons were surrendered. 
 As a general rule, it is best for them to proceed to 
 take possession as soon as payment fails ; delay 
 rarely works to their advantage, and promptness 
 and efficiency in action are quite as necessary to 
 secure their rights as those of others. It should be 
 borne in mind, that the same incompetent or un- 
 faithful management that has destroyed the capa- 
 
OPERATING FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. 319 
 
 city to pay dividends to the stock proprietors, will 
 be likely to prey on the bond proprietors as soon as 
 the stock interest is destroyed or paralyzed, and a 
 new administration of affairs is necessary to secure 
 the property. It is well and equitable for tho 
 bondholders to take possession, under stipulation, 
 after providing for their interest and sinking fund, 
 to pay any surplus over to unsecured creditors and 
 stock proprietors, and very likely the latter interest 
 will be best promoted by such change of adminis- 
 tration, in removing from power a set of unprinci- 
 pled speculators, or incompetent managers, who 
 will never advance the interest of either class of 
 proprietors, or their creditors. A railway that can- 
 not pay interest on its bonds must indeed be a very 
 poor project, and the fact that interest is withheld, 
 may be generally regarded as evidence that affairs 
 are not properly conducted, and will not improve 
 by indulgence. It is admitted, as before observed, 
 that there may be exceptions to this rule ; but it 
 calls for careful scrutiny, if the bond proprietors 
 would secure their rights. 
 
320 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXX. 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS 
 
 THE management of a railway must necessarily 
 be a trust committed to men, and the hope of the 
 proprietors must rest on their sagacity in selecting 
 Buch as will prove competent and faithful. In 
 cases where this has been successful, institutions 
 of small original promise have proved remunerat- 
 ing, and in others, where the speculating class have 
 by any means obtained control, the most promising 
 railway enterprises have been so reduced as to 
 greatly deteriorate, if not to utterly ruin, the in- 
 terest of their stock proprietors. 
 
 The first organization of a Board of Directors for 
 the management of a railway is highly important 
 to its ultimate success. Experience has proved 
 that if unfaithful men obtain control in the original 
 organization, it is very difficult to remove them, 
 especially in large and important institutions, hav- 
 ing a great number of proprietors, and those scat- 
 tered widely apart unacquainted with each other 
 and the details of their property. The necessary 
 
GENERAL REMARKS. 321 
 
 combination required for that efficient action which 
 is requisite to effect a change, is hardly practicable, 
 at least until the institution has fallen so low in 
 business and credit, that dividends can no longer be 
 madethe interest on the bonded debt deferred, 
 and an over-shadowing floating debt leaving little 
 for the stock proprietor to hope for. Nor is it 
 necessary to this result that all the Board of Di- 
 rectors are unfaithful to their trust. A clique of 
 three or four out of a dozen directors may so 
 manage that their associates will be kept mainly in 
 the dark, and if any hitherto confiding member 
 should chance to get his eye on some suspicious 
 matter, and venture to press inquiry too close for 
 the ruling party, he is soon branded as an old 
 fogy, quite behind the times, and his unsuspecting 
 colleagues will learn that he is impracticable and 
 cannot comprehend the age, or their business, and 
 if he continue to be troublesome, he must give 
 place at a future election for a successor more easily 
 controlled. On the other hand, if there be three or 
 four good men in a Board of Directors, who take 
 active interest in the affairs at the outset, with a 
 President as the executive head who has the neces- 
 sary capacity and fidelity, they will most likely 
 conduct the management beneficially for the pro- 
 prietary interest. There are usually several inern- 
 14* 
 
322 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 bers in a board of this kind who institute very little 
 scrutiny into business, and generally act without 
 much question on the measures proposed by the 
 ruling party. If these latter are fair men, they 
 will respond to the arguments that aim to promote 
 the interest of the institution ; and under the lead 
 of the President and three or four correct men, who 
 carefully explore affairs, there will usually be little 
 danger to apprehend from a speculating clique, 
 and this organization may practically be equivalent 
 to a good Board of Directors, even if there be 
 several speculating men among them. But it is 
 best to keep clear of the latter class, as their per- 
 sonal schemes will ever require watching, to prevent 
 the indirect waste of the resources of the company. 
 It is moreover hazardous, as competent and upright 
 men who may be elected, perhaps with the sole 
 view of giving character to the institution, do not 
 always expect to give special attention, and may 
 not be aware that the board has members that 
 require watching, and therefore the safe policy is to 
 secure a full board of good men, who will uprightly 
 pursue a policy designed to promote the interest of 
 the institution. 
 
 It is not generally expected that all the members 
 of a Board of Directors will examine with particular 
 care the detail of affairs ; this is left to certain men 
 
GENERAL REMARKS. 323 
 
 who are relied upon to do such duty, and more 
 particularly to the President, who should be the 
 executive head of the company, and on whose 
 fidelity and capacity the prosperity of the institu- 
 tion will in a great measure depend. At the same 
 time it is very important for him to be supported 
 by intelligent and upright associates in the board, 
 or there will be danger that he may be baffled by 
 adverse interests, and though holding a position of 
 ostensible responsibility, his plans may be defeated 
 by various misrepresentations and stratagems, that 
 for a time he may not suspect, nor until their 
 development will it appear that his position is only 
 nominal, and that he does not possess the pow^r to 
 make himself useful to the proprietors. 
 
 If an institution of this kind is so unfortunate as 
 to have in their Board of Managers a clique who 
 aim to make it subservient to their individual rather 
 than the proprietary interest, it is likely that they 
 will contrive to get the finances under their control, 
 and place the various departments of business in 
 the hands of their relatives, or other personal 
 friends, who will understand just how far they 
 may go in carrying out the purpose of the Presi- 
 dent, or party opposed to their proceedings. Mea- 
 sures adverse to the proprietary interest, if there be 
 one or more persons in the Board who aim to be 
 
324 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 faithful to their trust, will not probably be at first 
 manifest. They will proceed gradually, and perhaps 
 quiet some unsuspecting member, that otherwise 
 might not look on with indifference, by a bit of what 
 he may suppose a harmless realization in some 
 projected operation, ostensibly of fair business as- 
 pect ; and it is surprising how many men of fair 
 standing among their neighbors allow in this way 
 an embargo on their actions until too late to remedy 
 the evil, and so the mischief is fastened hopelessly 
 on the interests of the proprietors. 
 
 It has been suggested that men who aim to 
 manage affairs of trust for their individual, rather 
 than the proprietary benefit, are not likely, and 
 indeed are not generally good business managers, 
 and fail to make the business of the institution as 
 profitable as it should be. On this point it may be 
 set down as a rule, that it is not usually their in- 
 terest to have in their service a very scrupulous 
 body of agents ; but rather their personal friends, 
 who will, from affinity and interest, be well dis- 
 posed to carry out their wishes, as more important 
 than a competent and faithful discharge of their 
 respective duties. In this respect, family connec- 
 tions are likely to be sought, as more confidential 
 and reliable for their purpose, and also from a dis- 
 position to pension on the institution members of 
 
GENERAL REMARKS. 325 
 
 the family, who may not be able to otherwise pro- 
 vide for their support. This sort of management is 
 destructive of discipline, of honorable emulation 
 among other employees, and all generous zeal for 
 the interest of the Institution. It is not necessary 
 to be exclusive on this point, for there are, no 
 doubt, cases where a relative may be advantageously 
 placed in position of more or less responsibility ; 
 but it should only be done where there are mani- 
 fest qualifications, namely : a good knowledge of 
 the duties to be performed, practical sound sense, 
 that will fully meet every question of discipline, 
 and vigilant application and fidelity in the dis- 
 charge of every duty. The reverse is the more 
 general result of this application of patronage. 
 Men occupying positions through the influence of 
 friends in power, are likely to depend on such in- 
 fluence rather than on a proper discharge of duty, 
 and are often prone to assume a consequence sub- 
 versive of the discipline, harmony, and efficiency 
 of business. The evils of nepotism have usually 
 been mischievous to railway institutions, and any 
 indulgence in this sort of patronage should be 
 looked to with the most rigid caution, as it is most 
 probable that managers and general officers who 
 adopt it are not particularly scrupulous for the in- 
 terest of the proprietors. 
 
326 RAILWAY PKOrEETY. 
 
 To further schemes of speculation, it is often re- * 
 garded important to show statements of large gross ^ 
 receipts. To effect this, rival lines reduce rates 
 below a compensating tariff, incur large expenses 
 for agencies, many of them of loose and irrespon- 
 sible character, and wear out the rails and ma- 
 chinery to keep up a delusion that can only result 
 in eventual damage to the proprietors, though for a 
 time screened from their view by a free use of that 
 absorbing and ruinous abyss, the construction ac- 
 count. 
 
 Branch lines are expensive means of forming con- 
 nections with other railways, and have often proved 
 very useful to some parties in the management, 
 while they have been more or less injurious to the 
 interest of the proprietors. There are, doubtless, 
 cases where proceedings of this kind have proved 
 beneficial to the interest of the main line ; but ex- 
 perience in this and other countries has shown that 
 local interests, contractors, and jobbing managers 
 are the parties most usually benefited, while pro- 
 bably, in nine cases out of ten, the proprietors of 
 the main line have suffered loss. It should be 
 borne in mind that there are very few branches 
 that can pay, either directly or indirectly, for their 
 cost. It is not to be supposed that operations of 
 this kind are in all cases chargeable to dishonest 
 
GENERAL REMARKS. 327 
 
 management ; they are no doubt entered upon, in 
 some instances, in the honest expectation of pro- 
 moting the prosperity of the institution ; but they 
 are very liable to be the occasion of a different 
 purpose, and therefore, any proposition of the kind 
 should be thoroughly investigated by the directors 
 before they are committed to the expenditure. In 
 this matter they will meet with many plausible 
 representations, both in regard to branches and 
 aid to extending ^.rxes, from parties interested in 
 their advancement. These parties will generally 
 have, or claim to have, ample local information as 
 to facts and estimates, and consequently an advan- 
 tage over others in the argument, and the only 
 safety is in taking full time to consider and scru- 
 tinize all questions involved in the proposition. 
 Delay is generally the prudent course, and the dis- 
 aster that has so generally followed this policy 
 should certainly be sufficient to protect against 
 hasty action, or until after the most careful con- 
 sideration of all the circumstances of the case, that 
 may bear on the interest of the institution. 
 
 It is sometimes very boldly and plausibly urged, 
 that directors should have a large interest in the 
 stock of the company, as an inducement to give close 
 attention to their duties ; and no doubt this is an 
 important consideration. Directors usually receive 
 
328 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 little or no compensation for their services, and if 
 they have but a small proprietary interest, there is 
 not an object of sufficient importance to induce much 
 attention. Some directors, having very little pri- 
 vate occupation, accept a seat in a Board, as a 
 means of social intercourse, or of honorable trust, 
 and do not expect much labor. Others, with more 
 or less of proprietary interest, are men very much 
 absorbed in their private business, and are restless 
 every moment they are occupied in their duties as 
 directors, and do scarcely more than to vote, or 
 approve of whatever is laid before them. With a 
 large pecuniary interest in the institution, it is 
 reasonable to expect a more close attention; but 
 this of itself is not sufficient to protect other stock- 
 holders, and it is indispensable to their safety, that 
 the directors be not only capable, but upright men, 
 who, in looking after their own interest, will do so 
 with strict reference to that of all other proprietors ; 
 and it should not be forgotten, that a director with 
 a large stock interest, may also have other large 
 interests to be affected by the operations of the 
 company, or plans of speculation that intensify his 
 other interests in such a degree, that his proprietary 
 interest in the institution may be quite secondary. 
 
 In many cases it is no doubt a difficult thing for 
 the proprietors, who find their affairs in the hands 
 
GENERAL REMARKS. 329 
 
 of a board of doubtful integrity, to elect a good and 
 reliable board in their stead. Whether this is more 
 difficult now than it was formerly, it is not neces- 
 sary in this place to discuss. It may be stated as a 
 general principle, that the successful management 
 of all joint stock property requires a high degree of 
 civilization ; and this is peculiarly the case in rail- 
 way institutions so situated as to require large 
 capital and numerous proprietors, mostly strangers 
 to each other, and to the detail of their aifairs. It 
 is apparent that the management of their affairs is 
 eminently a matter of trust, affording very little 
 opportunity for an intelligent scrutiny. Adequate 
 capacity for administration and fidelity to so impor- 
 tant a duty, can only be expected to result from a high 
 civilization, in which a conscientious sense of right 
 will constitute enjoyment far outweighing that of any 
 gains secured at the expense of dishonest proceeding. 
 It is a question of grave import, whether our 
 civilization has reached that degree that can give 
 reasonable confidence in this kind of property, espe- 
 cially to small proprietors. No doubt it will be 
 claimed that it has. It can hardly be expected 
 that the now numerous class who occupy these 
 places of trust, will acknowledge any deficiency, 
 and though there are doubtless many upright men 
 in such positions, there is still no room to doubt 
 
330 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 that the railway interest, both in this and other 
 countries, has largely suffered from the low standard 
 of civilization prevailing with both them and us. 
 
 The management of an important railway involves 
 arduous and responsible duties, calling for large 
 business experience and qualifications in judging 
 of men and things, and the most competent and 
 upright directors will find ample scope for the 
 exercise of their best faculties. With the most 
 upright intentions they will probably commit some 
 errors. The first and most important duty is, to 
 select from their number a man to preside over 
 their deliberations, and to take the administrative 
 charge of the executive department of the affairs of 
 the institution. It is the most usual course in the 
 election of a Board of Directors to have in view one 
 of the number for this position. Upon this officer, 
 as before observed, the prosperity of the institution 
 will greatly depend: not, however, as is often 
 supposed, by his vigilance and "attention to mere 
 details though on a short and unimportant railway 
 he may consistently give much attention to details, 
 and perhaps save the duty and expense of some- 
 other agent but on what may be termed important 
 railways, his attention should be directed to the 
 general interest? of the institution, and especially to 
 Bee that ne nas 3ver each department of service 
 
GENERAL REMARKS. 331 
 
 men competent and faithful to carry out in the 
 most efficient manner their respective duties. It is 
 in this last duty that he will find the most important 
 field for his care and vigilance j and all his exam- 
 ination of details should be with reference to know 
 how far he has been successful in this feature of his 
 administration. Here lies the foundation of sound 
 railway management. In the varied and numerous 
 matters involved, it is idle for the chief executive 
 officer to attempt much personal knowledge of de- 
 tails, and in devoting himself to these, except on 
 occasion of special examination in reference to the 
 duties of subordinates, or as they come incidentally, 
 or by complaint to his notice, he will probably 
 neglect his more appropriate and important duties. 
 It is not usual for the President to have an edu- 
 cation which prepares him for his position, and he 
 must be more or less embarrassed in many of his 
 duties, particularly in making his selections of men 
 for the charge of subordinate departments. He 
 will be compelled to depend more or less on the 
 recommendations of others, and these, even though 
 well intended, are often much at fault, and lead to 
 the appointment perhaps of respectable, at the same 
 time unsuitable, men. Desirable as it is that the 
 President should have a good knowledge of what is 
 essential in every branch of the service he superin- 
 
332 RAILWAY PEOPERTT. 
 
 tends, it is not often that this is secured, though 
 high, and sometimes extravagant, compensation is 
 paid to obtain it ; and in this, as in other depart- 
 ments, a liberal salary is sure to obtain an incum- 
 bent, but not always the qualifications essential to 
 the prope^ discharge of the duties required. The 
 man, however, who is well fitted for the station, is 
 cheap for the proprietors at any reasonable salary ; 
 and the unremitting cares that will press upon his 
 attention, insure his bread from the sweat of his 
 brow. His first duty will be to present to his 
 Board for appointment as heads of the several 
 departments, men who have education in the dif- 
 ferent branches of service to be provided for. His 
 talent as a business man will be amply proved in 
 the discharge of this duty. If by indiscretion 
 petty jealousy superficial examination or partiality 
 ior personal friends, he makes bad selections, the 
 proprietary interest must suffer ; and on the other 
 hand, if he proves himself a discreet man, with an 
 eye single to the prosperity of the institution, hav- 
 ing a frank and high-minded sense of duty, well 
 experienced in the affairs he has assumed to manage, 
 and no fear of rivals, rising from superior capacity, 
 among his subordinates, he will gather around him 
 a class of men that will produce order, regularity 
 and efficiency through every department of the 
 
GENERAL EEMARK8. 333 
 
 business of the institution. He may not succeed 
 fully in the outset of his engagement, but he will 
 ultimately produce the most favorable manage- 
 ment. 
 
 Railways must generally be joint stock property, 
 and from the impracticability of conducting the 
 business in any other way, the power of manage- 
 ment must be delegated to a portion of stock pro- 
 prietors. A short railway involving a compara- 
 tively moderate amount of capital may be controlled 
 by a small number of men, who may be residents 
 in the vicinity, familiar with each other, and so 
 situated as to have cognizance of much of its opera- 
 tions, and be able to discuss intelligently its doings 
 and its business ; and by personal attendance at 
 annual meetings, investigate its management, and 
 judge whether their influence and votes should be 
 given to sustain, or to change the directors. Under 
 these circumstances the railway is situated like 
 much other joint stock property, where the limited 
 character of operations renders it practicable to insti- 
 tute scrutiny into the administration of affairs. 
 This will be the case with railways of moderate 
 extent, and with the proprietors mostly residents 
 on or near its line ; but our most important lines 
 are not often under so favorable cognizance, and in 
 many cases the proprietors are so distant from the 
 
034: RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 location and business of ti eir property, and so little 
 acquainted with each other, that they have little 
 opportunity to know the details of their affairs, and 
 scarcely pretend to any personal effort, beyond 
 that of sending their proxy to such party in the 
 management as may solicit it, with envelope 
 stamped and directed for return at the least pos- 
 sible care and expense. It is not, as before 
 observed, until dividends of profits fail, that pro- 
 prietors begin to inquire into the management. 
 If a single proprietor, or a number residing in the 
 same vicinity, obtain the impression that their 
 affairs are not well conducted, they seldom put 
 forth any efficient proceedings for correction. 
 Their comparatively small interest impresses on 
 their minds the impotency of any effort they may 
 make to produce a desired change of administra- 
 tion, and they usually submit to the loss, holding 
 on, in the hope of better prospects, or selling out 
 their interest at whatever the market will give. 
 
 If property in railways was generally held by 
 men of higher wealth, and holding large interest in 
 the property, there would be more practicability in 
 efforts for any needed reform. This, however, is 
 not generally the case ; for the alluring prospects 
 that have been held out by some very prosperous 
 investments of this kind, on railways that, with a 
 
GENERAL REMARKS. 335 
 
 good traffic, have been well conducted, ai^d by 
 insnaring dividends paid by others, have induced 
 many to invest their small means in this kind of 
 property, into which the more wary capitalist has 
 seldom intrusted his funds ; and consequently the 
 proprietors are numerous, and not often able to 
 effect that concert of action so necessary to produce 
 any desirable change. At first blush, it seems 
 very proper and practicable for dissatisfied proprie- 
 tors to make a change that appears necessary to 
 secure their interest; but on reflection it will ap- 
 pear that a concentration sufficient in most cases 
 to accomplish the object, will involve so much 
 time, labor, and expense, that few will be found 
 willing to undertake it ; and as before remarked, 
 the security of good management for this kind of 
 property will, in most cases, be dependent on the 
 election, in the first organization, of a competent 
 and faithful Board of Directors, who will be dis- 
 posed to give the attention required for the faithful 
 and efficient conduct of the affairs of the insti- 
 tution. In the event of bad management, under 
 the circumstances above alluded to, if the property 
 does riot go into the hands of the bond proprietors, 
 it is probable the stock will fall so low that a IV' w 
 capitalists may combine to purchase it, or so much 
 as may enable them to control it, and will have no 
 
336 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 difficulty in controlling the election and conse- 
 quently the management ; and if the railway has 
 merits to induce such purchase, it will be likely 
 to assume a new aspect, and may become a very 
 useful institution for the trade of the district, and 
 very remunerating to the new proprietors, and 
 prove to be the best result for those of the old, who 
 had not parted with their iiuerest. 
 
 The fact is to be deplored, that men appointed to 
 these high and honorable trusts trusts involving 
 the public welfare, and especially the interests of nu- 
 merous confiding proprietors should use the influ- 
 ence and power committed to their fidelity, to ad- 
 vance their personal interests and that of their per- 
 sonal friends. This has not arisen from the want 
 of competent and faithful men in the community, 
 for some institutions of this kind have been faith- 
 fully conducted, and the proprietors and the public 
 have had little reason to complain. It has rather, 
 and in the main, resulted from the opportunity 
 aiforded by a numerous constituency, for improper 
 men to gain the control. That this is a difficulty in 
 this class of property cannot be disputed, and no 
 doubt it has been greatly aggravated by the zeal 
 with which men of moderate means have sought 
 this source of investment, under the impression that 
 they would secure a large rate of income, with 110 
 
GENERAL BEMARKS. 337 
 
 trouble or care to manage the property. But it did 
 not occur to them, that men of fair standing in the 
 business world, might not have the virtue to resist 
 temptation ; and, perhaps with small beginnings, the 
 unfaithful manager goes on from step to step, in a 
 more or less rapid depletion, until the ruin of his 
 property stares the hitherto confiding stockholder 
 in the face. On the other hand, when this class of 
 investers have fallen into good hands, they have, 
 for the most part, according to the productiveness 
 of the traffic of the line, been well cared for, and 
 the income of their small property has been faith- 
 fully handed over, with small care or trouble en 
 their part, and after years have rolled by, they find 
 their property affording unimpaired income. 
 
 Notwithstanding these favorable instances, the 
 railway business, in all its aspects, can hardly be 
 said to be a judicious source of investment for small 
 means, where the individual proprietor must be 
 mainly dependent on his faith, for any views he 
 may have of the interior of his affairs, and quite 
 impotent to effect any correction in the event of 
 mal-administration. Yet, strange as it may appear, 
 of the large amount of capital that has gone into 
 our railways, and especially for those that have 
 turned out bad, a very great proportion has been 
 furnished by small subscribers. The shrewd capi- 
 
 15 
 
338 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 talist has wanted confidence in the strength of the 
 traffic to afford adequate compensation, or he has 
 had doubts as to the capacity or integrity of the 
 men whom he sees in, or likely to be in, the control 
 of affairs ; and therefore holds back on the stock 
 subscription, and waits for the issue of bonds. In 
 the latter he is not so reserved regarding the stock 
 as adequate protection, he considers his security to 
 be good ; though the developments of a few years 
 past have very much shaken the confidence that 
 heretofore existed in this branch of security. 
 
 But whatever may have been the character of 
 the capitalists that have hitherto furnished funds for 
 the railways, there can be little doubt, those that 
 have been broken down by mismanagement, as be- 
 fore observed, will eventually get into the hands of 
 a comparatively small number of proprietors, who, 
 by more faithful and efficient supervision, will be 
 likely to make them subserve the great interest for 
 which they were instituted. Railways of reasona- 
 ble traffic, managed with skill and fidelity, and in 
 gome instances those for a time ill-managed, but 
 having the mass of proprietors in near proximity, 
 and able to cooperate effectively in promoting any 
 desired change, will escape this result, and in some 
 cases improve in productiveness. It cannot, how- 
 ever, be regarded safe for a stock proprietor to sit 
 
GENERA! REMARKS. 339 
 
 down and fold his hands ; he must exercise the 
 same care and watchfulness that is required in the 
 successful management of all property, being cau- 
 tious as to whose hands he commits his trust. 
 
 Our railways are, in the main, good property, 
 though too much multiplied in some localities, and 
 are worth what they have actually cost in cash, the 
 depreciation is principally owing to a want of capa- 
 city and fidelity in their management, and where it 
 may be practicable to correct this evil, they will for 
 the most part be fairly remunerating to the propri- 
 etors, though the losses by the depletion through 
 mal-administration may not be restored. 
 
 In view of the history of railway management, 
 and of the vast importance of this kind of improve- 
 ment, to the commercial, social and political inte- 
 rests of the country, it is humiliating, and deeply 
 to be regretted, that so great a want of high minded 
 fidelity should have been manifested in the admin 
 istration of many of these works ; so depleting the 
 stock interest as in a great measure to destroy con- 
 fidence in investments necessary to any further 
 prosecution of enterprises so eminently characteriz- 
 ing the progress of our age. 
 
 Though it is small consolation to the stock pro- 
 prietor, who has felt the loss of income, that could 
 be ill spared as a means to meet his current neces- 
 
340 RAILWAY PROPERTY. 
 
 si ties, the railways, even those badly managed, 
 have very largely contributed to advance the facili- 
 ties of intercourse, and to increase the general 
 prosperity of the country ; and this much beyond 
 the loss that unprincipled and incompetent admin- 
 istration has wrested from the hard earnings and 
 frugal savings of a great number of small, and of 
 some large proprietors. We can hope for amend- 
 ment, as before intimated, only in the improvement 
 of our civilization, from which men will come to 
 regard the honorable discharge of a trust as more 
 to be esteemed and valued than any mass of ill-got- 
 ten and unjust gains, however the latter may be 
 covered over by cunning craft. "When the commu- 
 nity come to look on the two classes, in the true 
 light of their respective characters, railway pro- 
 perty will be held with more confidence. 
 
 Have I been too severe on unfaithful manage- 
 ment? I hope no upright managers have been 
 wounded by anything I have said, for all of this 
 class I highly appreciate, and have endeavored to 
 keep this distinction clear. But from the nature of 
 the trust the necessity of confidence in councils, 
 and transactions that cannot be seen the great 
 interest of the proprietors and the public in good 
 and faithful managers and the loose degree of 
 morality that has been so developed in many cases, 
 
GENERAL REMARKS. 341 
 
 as manifestly to destroy confidence in a great de- 
 gree, have demanded, that while the evil should be 
 discussed dispassionately, it should be candidly and 
 fully exposed. I do not feel conscious of having 
 done any injustice, and have simply aimed to put 
 proprietors on their guard, in reference to the man- 
 agement of their property, and the circumstances 
 that tend to its destruction. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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14 HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO.'S CATALOGUE. 
 
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HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO.'S CATALOGUE. 15 
 
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HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO.'S CATALOGUE. 17 
 
 &ARKIN. The Practical Brass and Iron Founder's Guide; 
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 their Alloys, etc.; to which are added Recent Improvements in the 
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 CHARLES LEROUX, Mechanical Engineer and Superintendent of a 
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 Lockwood's Dictionary of Terms : 
 
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t8 HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO.'S CATALOGUE. 
 
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 MAIN and BROWN. The Marine Steam-Engine. 
 
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HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO.'S CATALOGUE. 19 
 
 MOORE. The Universal Assistant and the Complete Me- 
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 MORTON. The System of Calculating Diameter, Circumfer- 
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 NAPIER. A System of Chemistry Applied to Dyeing. 
 
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 NEVILLE. Hydraulic Tables, Coefficients, and Formulae, for 
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 Third Edition, with Additions, consisting of New Formulae for the 
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CO HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO.'S CATALOGUE. 
 
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 NYSTROM. On Technological Education and the Construc- 
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 ORTON. Underground Treasures-. 
 
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HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO.'S CATALOGUE. 
 
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 OSBORN. A Practical Manual of Minerals, Mines and Min- 
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 Comprising the Physical Properties, Geologic Positions, Local Occur- 
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 OVERMAN. The Manufacture of Steel : 
 
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22 HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO.'S CATALOGUE. 
 
 PERCY. The Manufacture of Russian Sheet-Iron. 
 
 By JOHN PERCY, M. D., F. R. S., Lecturer on Metallurgy at the 
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 Practical Treatise on Gas and Ventilation. With Special Relation 
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 PROCTOR. A Pocket-Book of Useful Tables and Formula 
 
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HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO.'S CATALOGUE. 23 
 
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24 HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO.'S CATALOGUE. 
 
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HENRY CAREY BAIRD Sr CO.'S CATALOGUE. 29 
 
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HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO.'S CATALOGUE. 31 
 
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