MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 49 



all the tracks of main road and branches owned by the Company, not includ- 

 ing those of other companies, would make a single track road 755 miles long. 

 It is not easy to state the cost of the road track separate from the rolling 

 stock and other property of the road, but there are single miles that cost to 

 grade and get ready for the iron no less than $170,000 per mile ; and there is 

 one bridge, that over the Starucca Creek, near the village of Susquehanna, 

 which is built upon 17 stone arches, the highest of which is 100 feet, and the 

 entire length of the bridge is 1,600 feet, and the cost $320,000. In the 

 same vicinity there is another bridge across a mountain gorge, only 276 

 feet in length, but 180 feet in height. The most expensive part of the 

 grading for any considerable distance was that along the Delaware river 

 where the bed of the road is sometimes constructed upon a ledge formed by 

 blasting off a portion of the almost perpendicular mountain side, or cutting 

 away the hard rocky points that project into the river to such an extent that 

 it seems almost incredible to those who know the character of the country 

 and the extent of the obstructions, that a roadway could be foiined by any 

 practical amount of expenditure. The distance from Jersey City to Dunkirk 

 is 459 miles, and this is run by the morning and evening express trains in 16 

 hours. Besides the express trains there is a through train carrying the mail, 

 leaving at 8 A. M., and stopping over night at Owego, and an emigrant train 

 that leaves every evening. Besides these there are accommodation trains, 

 way trains, milk trains, stock trains, and freight trains enough to confuse one 

 to think of, yet all work with regularity. 



To enable our readers to form some opinion of the magnitude of railroad 

 operations, we have been at some pains to ascertain the number of engines 

 and cars on the Erie road, and have coupled them all in one train, in imagin- 

 ation, which we think will surprise every one in its extent. The following is 

 the number now in use, as near as it can be ascertained, as slight changes are 

 made every day. The power consists of the almost incredible number of 203 

 locomotives. About one third of these are employed to move passenger trains. 



First-class passenger cars, 102 



Second-class passenger cars, 28 



Baggage, mail, and express, 43 



Box freight-cars, 1,222 



Platform freight-cars, 1,180 



Cattle freight-cars, 290 



Trucks for lumber, etc., 100 



Total number of locomotives and cars of all kinds, 3,168 



" If these were coupled together in one train, it would reach a distance of 

 21 miles, and would be able to seat 7,8*00 passengers, and also to carry a load 

 of freight that may be imagined to contain the following articles, if the cars 

 were all loaded equally : 



Barrels of flour, 33,488 



Bushels of wheat, 93,186 



Bushels of oats and corn, 129,785 



Gallons of milk, 658,000 



Number of beef cattle (averaging 15 head to a car), 4,186 



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