325.4 Bzi& H * REPORT OF A COMMITTEE OE THE DIRECTORS OF THE BARRE AND WORCESTER RAILROAD COMPANY, SHOWING THE ESTIMATED COST OF THE CONTEMPLATED ROAD, ITS SOURCES OF BUSINESS, AND ADVANTAGES TO THE STOCKHOLDERS AND PUBLIC GENERALLY. BARRE: PATRIOT BOOK AND JOB PRESS. 1847. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/reportofcommitteOObarr 3 % 5 .+ ■&2.1 T BARRE AND WORCESTER RAILROAD. ■<* To the Directors of the Barre and Worcester Railroad Com - pany: Gentlemen : — The Committee selected by the Board of Directors, at its meeting in Worcester, on the 26th ult., to make a Statement and Report of the estimated costs of the contem¬ plated Barre and Worcester Rail Road, and of its sources of business, &c., respectfully submit the following REPORT: The importance of furnishing Railroad accommodations to the large extent of interjacent country in the northern and western sections of Worcester County, and northern and eastern portions of Hampshire and Franklin, lying between the Western Railroad on the south, and the line of the Vermont and Massachusetts Road on the north, embracing an area of over one thousand square miles, or about one seventh of the territory of the State, and a population of more than fifty thousand inhabitants, has not failed to strongly impress itself upon the public mind. Such is the nature and extent of the business of this portion of the Commonwealth, its agricultural, manufactured and natu¬ ral productions, together with its immense unimproved water power and other resources to invite the investment of capital and stimulate the hand of industry in all its various departments, that the justice of its demand for the facilities of Railroad inter¬ communication with Worcester and the great seaboard markets of New’ England is universally admitted, and the only question has been the selection of the line of route which should best answer this demand* ‘ sn 59037 •s r 4 This question has long been agitated by the public. Nume- rous surveys have been made and various routes from Worcester North and West, to different points of intersection with the Ver^ mont and Massachusetts Road, have been petitioned for, and after the most patient investigation by two successive Legisla^ tures, an Act was passed last winter, incorporating the Barre and Worcester Railroad Company, with authority to construct a Railroad from some convenient point on the Nashua and Worcester Railroad in Worcester, through the intermediate towns of Holden, Princeton, Rutland, Pluhbardston and Oak- haul to Barre, and from Princeton through Hubbardston to some convenient point of intersection with the Vermont and Massa¬ chusetts Road in the town of Gardner, with a capital stock not to exceed ten thousand shares, and the assessments on each share not to exceed one hundred dollars. This important question being thus definitely settled, so far at least as legislative action was necessary, the next considera¬ tion of importance that presents itself, is the raising of the necessary funds. As capital will not flow into enterprises of this character without a reasonable prospect of remunerative dividends, incident to this consideration is the extent of Road to be built, its probable cost of construction and equipment, and the amount of business that may safely be relied upon to give it adequate support. The undersigned base their report upon these subjects, upon the surveys and estimates of competent Engineers and the authenticated statistics of the business to be accommodated by the Road, as furnished to the Committee of the Legislature by a Committee selected by the citizens generally, for that purpose, and of which two of the undersigned were members. These statistics were obtained with a view of approximating as near as possible to accuracy, and from our general knowledge of the sec¬ tion of country, its natural and industrial productions, popular tion, trade and business to be accommodated by the Road, and the ample resources for their future growth, the undersigned have no hesitancy in expressing the fullest confidence in the general correctness of the statistics which have been thus care^ fully furnished. In giving the extent, feasibility and cost of the Road, as sur^ veyed, and the statistics generally, we do not deem it necessary to enter into the minutiae of detail. Such general results as have been arrived at from the surveys, estimates, &c., as shall convey to the public a correct understanding of the character of the Road, and of its business prospects, are all that can be required &t this time. EXTENT OF ROAD. From Barre to the point of intersection with the Nashua and Worces^ ter Railroad in Worcester, as surveyed, 25,. 33-100 From Princeton to intersection with the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad in Gardner, 9,65-100 Total length of Road to be built, 34,98-100 Distance from the intersection with the Nashua and Worcester Rail- soad to Worcester, 3,60-100 Total length of Road from Barre and Gardner to Worcester, 38,58 100 Upon a final survey and location, the length of Road to be built, it is believed, may be shortened from two to three miles. The maximum grade is 45 feet, with no objectionable curva¬ tures. Cost of construction of 34 98-100 miles of Road as estimated, $727,274 Cost per mile for construction, $20,791 11 Cost of equipment lor the accommodation of passengers and freight to be carried annually over the Road : 5 Engines a $7000 $35 900 7 Passenger Cars a 1,900 13 300 20 Freight do. a 650 13 OGO Baggage do. a 500 3 000 Snow Ploughs, &c., 2*200 Gravel Cars, &c., 3 900 - 70,400 Total cost of construction and equipment of Road., $797,674 17 towns in Worcester County, not including Worcester, upon the line of the Road and collateral to, and that will be accommodated by it, contain a present population of over 30,00(1 6 towns in Hampshire and Fianklin Counties, 8,000 Total population, 38,000 These towns will furnish annually, to be carried over the Road* as calculated from data presented to the Committee of the Legislature, 107,394 Passengers and 82,035 Tons of Freight. BUSINESS OF THE ROAD AS ESTIMATED BY ENGIJNERS FROM THE ABOVE DATA. PASSENGERS. 18,000"| f 25 cents, $4,500 4.000 | | 48 1,920 19,000 y Way Passengers, a 2 50 “ 0,500 10,000 I 60 “ 6,000 24,200 J ^65 “ 15,730 32,194 Through passengers, a 75 “ 24,145 50 107,394 Passengers yielding $61,795 50 6 9,000*1 4’455 | 17,655 VTons Freight, a 26,317 | 23,708 J FREIGHT. r ,40 $3,960 1 ,80 3,564 { 1,00 17,655 1,25 32,896’25 L 1,50 35,562 82,035 Tons yielding 93,637 25 Total receipts of Road, $155,432 75 Deduct proportion to be paid Nashua and Worcester Railroad for use of 3,6*10 of its Road into Worcester, &c., &c., 1-12 of above, $12,951 89 Total receipts of Road, $142,480 86 COSTS OF TRANSPORTATION, &c., &c. Two passenger, and two and a half freight trains each way. on 6 days in the week, making 98,539 miles run per annum. Taking 70 cents per mile run for the cost of transportation, and ail other expenses, such as repairs, renewals, &c., and the amount of annual expenditures will be $68,977 30 Cost of Construction and Equipment of Road, $797,674. 6 per cent is 47,860 44 Total cost of transportation, &c., and 6 per cent, on capital, 116 837 74 Surplus, $25,643 12 Taking the average cost of transportation in 1844, on eleven Massachusetts Roads, including all the estimates of expense, such as repairs of engines and cars, maintenance of way, &c., the cost would be 68,68-100 cents per mile run, or 1,32-100 cents per mile run less than the above estimate. The following table taken from the Railroad Journal, shows the gross and net income of 6 New England Railroads for the year 1844, with their average, and the proportion does not differ materially from that of the Barre and Worcester Road, accord¬ ing to the foregoing estimates : Length. Gross income. Net income. Portland, Saco and Portsmouth, 50 miles. $131,404 $62,172 Boston and Maine, 56 “ 233,101 86,401 Boston and Lowell, 26 “ 316,909 147,615 Boston and Providence, 41 “ 262,701 156,101 Boston and Worcester, 44 “ 428,437 195,163 Eastern, 54 “ 337,238 227,920 Averages, $288,299 $145,896 Comparing the Barre and Worcester Road in the same man- ner: Length. 34,08-100 Gross income. Net income. Barre and Worcester Road, $142,470 86 $73,493 56 7 Prom the foregoing estimates it appears, that the business of the Road will pay the cost of transportation, &c., 6 per cent, interest on the amount of capital invested, and leave a surplus of $25,633 12, or a trifle over 3 per cent. A liberal allowance being made for over estimates, though it is believed they are as nearly accurate as it is possible to make them, and there would still remain a sufficient income from the business of the Road to pay the running expenses, &c., and 6 per cent, interest on its cost. Had this Road no other resources for business than what is to be derived from the section of country above named and through which it directly passes, we might here close our state¬ ment with the fullest confidence in the success of the enterprise. But such is not the case, and we should fail in our duty to the friends of the Road and to the public, were we to omit to men¬ tion some of the important considerations arising from the con¬ nections which this Road forms with existing and contemplated roads at Worcester and elsewhere . It becomes the grand con¬ necting link in Massachusetts of a chain of Railroad communi¬ cation from Boston, Providence, R. L, and Norwich, Ct., to the northern and western parts of Worcester County ; western part of New Hampshire; southern, western, and northern parts of Vermont, and ultimately over the Ogdensburg Road to Northern New York; Western Canada; the country bordering on the great Lakes, and finally over the great Lakes to the northwest¬ ern United States. The advantages, not only to the town and county of Worces¬ ter, but to the whole State, as also to the States of Rhode Island and Connecticut of having an unbroken inland communi¬ cation by steam power between the north and north-western portions of the country and the south-eastern sea-board, can scarcely be imagined, much less appreciated. The Boston and Worcester, Providence and Worcester and the Norwich and Worcester Roads, will alike become the con¬ tributors both of passengers and merchandise to be transported over this Road to the Vermont and Massachusetts and Cheshire Roads, and thence to their respective destinations in New Hamp¬ shire, Vermont and Western Canada, while those Roads will send back their return of freight to be transported over the Barre and Worcester Road to Worcester, and from that great central point of diverging Roads, to the sea-board and different parts of the country. To estimate with any degree of accuracy the additional amount of business which may be realized to the Barre and 8 Worcester Road from these prolific sources would be impossible. It will be safe to say that it will more than quadruple any defi-‘ ciency of income which can possibly arise from any errors in the preceding estimates of business, which, in view of this long tra¬ vel and freight, may properly be termed the way business of the Road. /With these facts and considerations before us, the under¬ signed are fully satisfied that the stock in the Barreand Worces¬ ter Road will afford as safe and profitable an investment as that of any other Road in the country. They can not, therefore, but regard an/enterprise of so much importance to Worcester and the whole State as this Road will be in the business facilities it will extend to a large portion of its most enterprising citizens in Worcester County, and in the extended avenue it will unlock through which the business of other and more remote regions is to pour its treasures into the “ Heart of the Commonwealth/ 5 as certain of success. JOHN W. LINCOLN, ) JOHN BROOKS, > Committee. J. W. JENKINS, Jk., ) Worcester, June 7, 1847.