RAILWAYS 



American continent by undue legislative restric- 

 tions. State ownership lias never tx-cii seriously 

 discussed ; land has been cheap 01 free loreeoap** 

 tit in ; the distances to be traversed are great, ami 

 it U small wonder, therefore, tliat the iron road 

 has in most districts preeedeil <ir superseded the 

 ordinary highway. Hofore the date of the cele- 

 brated locomotive triiil which evolved the Rocket,' 

 an engine was run in America called the 'Stonr- 

 bridge Lion,' a machine maile in England, ami ini 

 ported by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Railroad 

 Company. The first railroad in the United States 

 was, however, begun in IS-JS by the Haltimorc and 

 ( thio ('oni|i.-iiiy. a section of 15 miles from Baltimore 

 to Kllicott's Mills being oiiened in May 1830. 

 linr-e-traction was first used on this line. Ameri- 

 can engines are now found competing with English- 

 built machines in many parts of the worm, in- 

 cluding the British Australian colonies. 



It is, however, in the matter of carriage con- 

 st run ion that the American railroad engineer has 

 marked out an indc|>ciidcnt path and obtained the 

 most striking results. For many years European 

 railway carriages adhered closely to the model of 

 the old stage-coach. The longer distances travelled 

 on the American continent, and the republican spirit 

 which objected to the division of classes, led to the 

 adoption across the Atlantic of the long railroad 

 car, with a central passage between the seats. The 

 great size and weight of these structures necessi- 

 tated increased attention to such details as springs, 

 couplings, and brakes, and in the provision of such 

 accessories for comfort and safety American rail- 

 road practice has long been in advance of that in 

 any other part of the world. Republican sim- 

 plicity notwithstanding, the demand for improved 

 accommodation gave rise to drawing-room, sleep- 

 ing, and dining-room cars, and the stock turned 

 out fur these purposes by the Pullman and Wagner 

 companies challenges comparison with the pro- 

 vision made for the travel of royalty in the Old 

 World. The 'Vestibule' trains mnning on most 

 of the trunk-lines for long distances say between 

 New York and Chicago represent the highest 

 ideal yet obtained of luxurious travelling. Rail- 

 way stock of this character is mostly owned by 

 independent companies, whose officials collect the 

 extra fares for the accommodation. 



In the United States, nearly one-half the total 

 mileage was constructed between 18SO (93,526 

 miles) and 1897 ( 184,428 miles i. while previous to 

 1830 the greater portion of the railroads made were 

 in the states Ixirdcring on the Atlantic, and were 

 for the most |>art isolated lines employed for local 

 traffic. A great development to this form of enter- 

 prise was given by the discovery of gold in Call 

 fornia, and lines were rapidly pushed towards the 

 centre of the continent. The great civil war at the 

 coimnenccmenl nf the ne\t decade emphasised the 

 necessity of direct communication with the grow- 

 ing I'acilic states to cement the I'mon, ami govern- 

 ment assistance was freely given both in land- 

 grants and money to the two companies, the t'nioii 

 I'acilic and Central Pacific, which, building respec- 

 tively from the east and the west, met near Salt 

 Lake City in May ISO!), the total length from the 

 Missouri River to San Francisco being 1700 miles. 

 Since that date five transcontinental lines have 

 been completed, including the Canadian Pacific 

 Railway on British territory. The rate of general 

 railroad construction has varied considerably, but 

 the most active period was that between 1880 and 

 1890. In iss-j 11,509 miles were built, and in 1887 

 no less than 12,878. A large extent of this mileage 

 was built in advance of the necessities of the di- 

 tricta traversed, and in othei cases existing lines 

 were paralleled, to the heavy loss of the inter 

 concerned. These periods of over-const ruction and 



resulting coni|>etition, combined with a necessary 

 reduction of mileage rates as the centre of agri- 

 cultural production moved westward across the 

 continent, caused at times much depression in 

 railroad securities. The system of finance under 

 which the coni|ianies borrow money on mortgages 

 with foreclosure powers ( not possessed by owners of 

 llritish railway debentures) has also caused h< 

 loss to investors in American lailroads, many of 

 which have lieen reorganised, with the accompany 

 ing 'assessment' or wipingout of j rtnior securities. 

 The average mileage constructed 1887-97 was :(;,:;:, 



To remedy the effects of over-oontpeUtioo, a 

 system of 'pooling' receipts was adopted by the 

 various trunk-lines, t'nder this plan the receipts 

 from any given description of traffic were made into 

 a common purse, and divided among the companies 

 concerned in an agreed ratio. The state railroad 

 commissions were powerless to deal with traffic 

 originating or passing out of their respective terri- 

 tories ; but in 1888 the Interstate Commerce Com- 

 mission was appointed with federal authority to 

 deal with questions affecting railway trallic. I'ndcr 

 the law appointing the commission, 'iiooling' 

 receipts was made illegal, and the well known 

 'long and short haul' clause, establishing uniform 

 mileage rates, was, contrary to the result, expected 

 to produce disastrous results to railway revenues. 



The outstanding railway capital in the t'mied 

 States in 1897 was $10,635,008,074, of which rather 

 more than half, or 5,364,642,255 consisted of capital 

 stock, while the funded debt amounted to $5,270,- 

 365,819. The cost per mile of completed road wa 

 $59,620. The gross earnings were $1,122,II8!,773, 

 equal to ln-.Vi per cent, on tne investment, and the 

 net earnings $369,565,009, or 3'47 l>er cent, on the 

 outstanding capital ; other sources of income 

 amounted to $125,090,010, and the total income 

 was $494,655,019. The interest on indebtedness 

 was 4'09 per cent., and the average dividends on 

 stocks 1'52 per cent. Passengers to the number 

 of 604,106,525 were carried, with an average dis- 

 tance of 24-78 miles, while 7SS.:i.s.->.-44.s tons of 

 freight were carried an average distance of 124 '15 

 miles. The average receipts j>er passenger per 

 mile were 2~03 cents, and per ton of goods JMT mile 

 0'80 cents, the latter a lower average than in most 

 other countries, the distances hauled being un- 

 usually great. 



Colonial and Foreign Railimys. Canadian rail- 

 ways follow closely in their characteristics the 

 construction and methods of working of the lines 

 across the boundary. The return of 1890 gives 

 a total of about 14,000 miles completed, the 

 greater proportion of the mileage Inniig divided 

 between two companies, the Grand Trunk and the 

 Canadian Pacific. The nominal capital, including 

 advances made and aid granted by the Dominion 

 government, was S7S<i,447,iKH>, or :?.V., 17 t per mile. 

 The earnings were returned at $46,844,000, and the 

 net profits at $13,330,000. Passenger- were carried 

 to the number of 12,821,000, and 20,787,000 tons of 

 freight. 



In Mexico for many years the line from Yera 

 Cniz to the capital, constructed in 1850 at a heavy 

 cost by liritisli capital, was the only railway in 

 existence ; but routes connecting with the systems 

 of the United States were subsequently oust ructed 

 under American auspices. 



Of railways in other Central American slates the 

 Panama line constructed by American capital, a 

 the first transcontinental route, claims chief atten- 

 tion. Other routes between the Atlantic and 

 Pa'-ilic arc under construction, and a great, scheme. 

 traversing the Isthmus from north to south, was 

 discussed and steps taken for the' necessary surveys 

 at a meeting of n-presentatives of the various re- 

 publics held in 1890 at Washington. The project 



