150 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [FEB. 1, 



Axles bend at each revolution of the wheels, and it is only a 

 question of time when they will become weakened. 



The telegraph is now an absolute essential for the safe move- 

 ment of trains, and on some roads the train despatcher directs 

 the movements of each train on his division. 



A few years since, a sIoav rate of ten to twelve miles per hour 

 was thought to be the most economical for freight trains, but on 

 good tracks of steel rails this is not the case. In 1875-'76, in a 

 series of experiments I made witli my Dynagrapli on the L. S. & 

 M. S. Ry., I found it required less fuel to run tiie stock trains 

 eighteen to twenty miles per hour than it did the freight ten to 

 twelve miles with the same engine. This was a revelation; but 

 the fact was found to repeat itself in different exi)eriments. At 

 the slow speed the locomotive must work harder to control the 

 train over slight ascents; it ejects moi'e coal from the smoke- 

 stack, and it draws in a greater supply of air through the fire- 

 box tlian can be utilized, which, therefore, becomes wasteful by 

 carrying off heat. The speed was afterwards increased by this 

 road, and the increase found more economical in fuel; the carrying 

 capacity was greater with the same equipment; and the hours of 

 hibor for each trip were shortened. Equipping the freight trains 

 with power brakes will lead to higher speed; but the cars should 

 be mounted on better springs than at present, for their almost 

 dead loads are harder on the track than heavier loads on more 

 elastic springs. 



On opposite tracks used by the same locomotives and cars, tlie 

 east bound, on which the loaded cars go, shows more wear than 

 the track over which they return empty or lighter loaded. 



The work of our railways is beyond any real conception. In 

 1884, 3:]4,814,529 passengers were carried, and 390,074, 74'J tons 

 of freight. 



The rates of freight per ton i)er mile on one of the great trunk 

 lines have gradually decreased from $1.88 in 1870, to -{'^^f of a 

 cent in 1885, and the profit above operating expenses from y^^ 

 of a cent to yVfi o^ '^ cent, during the same period. At this low 

 rate one ton of freight must be hauled seven and one-seventh 

 miles to earn one cent. Such low rates are not a benefit to the 

 country, for they are below the actual cost, in the long run, of 

 doing the business, and beyond narrow limits do not increase the 

 volume carried. Some one must pay the cost of transportation, 

 either the patrons or stockholders. When the latter bear the 

 expense it quickly affects the entire business of the country, 

 transportation being so directly connected with most industries. 



Railway officials are just beginning to appreciate how a slight 

 difference in the condition of the track makes a great difference 

 in tiie cost of operating. All roads desire good tracks, and some 



