18 



KAILWAY INTELLIGENCE. 



[1854. 



the safe navigation of Georgian Bay and its channels to Lake Huron. 

 The uncertainty in ivhich the City Esplanade works appear to be in- 

 volved, will not permit of permanent wharfage and depots to hie con- 

 structed at Toronto imtil all doubt as to the intentions of other railway 

 companies is removed. The entire cost of the road, up to the 1st July, 

 amoimts to £702,286. Is. 3d., including construction of line, locomo- 

 tive and general rolling stock, way stations, terminal depot, harbour and 

 steamboat services. With reference to the through route, the Chief 

 Engineer, Mr. Cumberland, records the following encouraging opinion 

 of the prospects of the Northern Road: — 



"It has always been urged that the trade of the north-western terri- 

 tory of the United States, as well as of that of the mineral regions of 

 Lake Superior, would find a cheaper, more facile, and rapid outlet to 

 the Atlantic, by your Boad, than by any other possible line of transit, 

 Nothing has yet occurred, or is likely to present itself, to weaken this 

 position." 



The Superintendent's Report is a voluminous and talented exposition 

 of the working cost, expenditure, returns, and, more particularly, the 

 prospects of the line. The traffic exceeds the most sanguine expecta- 

 tions which had been formed of it. Without any through travel the 

 l-eceipts have gradually increased until they now equal the earnings 

 ■per mile of the Montreal and Portland section of the Grand Trunk 

 Railway. From a local traffic alone the road is earning £15 currency 

 per mile per week, and Jlr. Brunei estimates that, by a judicious ma- 

 nagement, a through traffic may be obtained which will yield a gross 

 revenue of £80,000, making, with the local traffic, £135,000 per 

 annum, of which 50 per cent, wilkbe required for cui-rent expenses, 

 leaving £68,000 for net revenue, or 8 per cent, on the entire cost of 

 the Road : which, after paying 6 per cent, interest on the debt, leaves 

 a dividend of 14 per cent on the stock issued. 



With respect to the future prospects of the Road, we subjoin the fol- 

 lowing extracts from the Superintendent's Report — 



" Notwithstanding the severe competition which exists between the 

 various parallel lines of railroads terminating at the Atlantic cities of 

 the United States, it is shown by statistics of the clearest and most 

 satisfactory nature, given by W. J. McAlpine, Esq., in his Report on 

 the Canals of the State of New York, for 1853, that, in the conveyance 

 of freight, railways cannot compete with water carriage on the limited 

 scale afforded bj' the Erie Canal ; how much less, then, can they com- 

 pete with our magnificent lake navigation ! and herein lies the strength 

 of your route as compared with all others, for by connecting the navi- 

 gation of the lakes, by spanning the isthmus of Canada, at the narrow- 

 est point, your road shortens the aggregate distance between Lake 

 Michigan and the Atlantic cities some 300 miles, avoids the tedious 

 navigation of the St. Clair Flats, over which large vessels are usually 

 lighted, and saves the tolls, expenses, and delays incident to the Wel- 

 land Canal, by the introduction of but 93 miles of railway." 



" Nor is your road less favourably situated as regards a passenger 

 business. Your northern terminus on Lake Huron will, on completion 

 of youi' line, be reached in 22 hours from New York, and in 28 hours 

 from Boston. From your terminus the traveller can be conveyed to 

 Milwaukie in 34 hours, through a navigation of which 200 miles is as 

 safely sheltered as the Hudson or St. Lawrence rivers, and through 

 which the scenery is infinitely superior to either ; thus Milwaukie can 

 be reached in 56 hours, by a route so agreeably diversified by changes 

 from steamboat to railroad as to afford every desirable rest and 

 refreshment." 



"Comparing this with the shortest possible route between the same 

 points, we find that the same journey can beperformed by a continuous 

 line of express railway travel, on which no rest or change is afforded, 

 except from one set of cars to another, and by crossing the bridge and 

 ferry at the Niagara and Detroit frontiers, in 46 hours, thus saving, at 

 the expense of all comfort, rest, and convenience, 10 hours ; for which, 

 however, the traveller must pay not less than six dollars in money, 

 and at least one day to recruit himself for business. Nor will the tra- 

 jy.ellej* forChiea.gQ: fair to discover the.greater convenience of ymir roadj 

 for, by tie loss of oaly 16 hours in a journey of one thousand miles, 



which will be spent in the enjoyment of necessary repose, he can reach 

 his destination fresh and ready for business at a less expense than by 

 the shortest railway route, and, if necessary, ready to proceed at once 

 on his further journey into the interior, over any of the numerous 

 railways diverging from Chicago." 



The following statistics of the line are interesting. They are con- 

 tained in the Appendix to the Report- 

 Number of passengers of all classes carried in cars : — 



Adults 106,391 



Children 3,542 



Free, and carried for construction 8,038 



Number of miles travelled by passengers of all classes, or number of 

 passengers carried one mile : — 



Adults 2,875,742 



Children 94,749 



Free, and carried for construction 215,016 



3,184,489 

 It is worthy of note that the traffic on this line has been in the ratio 

 of upwards of three million passengers can-ied one mile in twelve 

 months, without the occun-ence of an accident — a circumstance with- 

 out a parallel, we believe, on this continent, and one which reflects the 

 greatest credit on the superintendence of Mr. Brunei. 



NUMBER OF TONS OF FREIGHT OF 2000ibs. CARRIED. 



Moving. 



1st 

 Class. 



2d 

 Class. 



3d 

 Class. 



Wheat. 



Flour. 



Car 

 Loads, 

 Various. 



Total. 



North 



South 



1191 

 264i 



2462i 

 891 



3320a 

 937J 



8 

 6338 



75181 



790 

 13320 



7772 

 29360 



Total number of Tons 37,132 



Total movement of freight or number of tons carried 1 mile. 1,239,763J 



MUes. 

 Average rate of speed adopted by ordinary Passenger Train (in- 

 cluding stops) per hour 20 



Rate of speed when in motion 25 



Average rate of speed of Express Trains (including stops) per hour 25 



Bate of speed when in motion 30 



Average rate of speed of Freight Trains (including stops) per hour 12 



Rate of speed when in motion 17 



Average weight in Tons of Passenger Trains, exclusive of Engine, 



Passengers, and Baggage... 53 



Average weight in Tons of Freight Trains, exclusive of Engine and 



average Freight, tons (2000 lbs.) 60 



Canada Graud Triulk Railway* 



We have not space to notice at length the Report of the Directors 

 and Engineer of the Grand Trunk Railroad, just published. We shall, 

 however, give copious extracts in the next issue of this Journal. 

 Meanwhile, we quote the opinion of the American Railroad Journal on 

 that portion of this stupendous work which is in active operation : — 



" The road is unquestionably one of the best constructed works of 

 this kind in the country. Though traversing for nearly 100 miles the 

 most mountainous portion of the Eastern States, it has an admirable 

 line, with no grades imposing a serious impediment to a heavy traffic. 

 There is no road in the United States where, to a stranger, there are 

 so many apparent obstacles, but which disappear one after another as 

 they are approached. Just the appropriate kiitd of solution appears 

 to have been resorted to in each emergency, and a psrsoc riding over 



