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Railways

Railways image
Parent Issue
Day
10
Month
November
Year
1845
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

The Albany Argus has an article showirg that Raiiways will ultimately supersede Canals. The Argus says: " Railways have one advantage over cannls, even in sunimer, whicti begins to be more noliced, and that is, they nro not afFected by the severest drought. During the present season the streams have been very low, the intense heat abaorbing the springs. Some ofthe Pennsylvania canals have feit that drought, and their navigntion was interrupted, while the railway locomoiive moved on as usunl. Obstruction to the navigation, from tho want of water, is not an uncommon thing, even on the well mnnagpd canals of New York. The floods of the tpring nnd the nutumn likewise affect the one. while they may not disturb the latter; and the ice and the snow of winter stop the one entirely, while the other performs its daily trips. These considerations of certainty, speed, constant use, and independence of fhysical causes, are daily cornmending ihe well constructed railway for the transportation of frieght, more and more lo the favor of the euterprising and improving American." But cheap, wooden raihvays are found to be altogether insufEcient for carrying frieglit. The heavier the iron, the better. Says the Argus, -"In building rnilwnys for freight il is all-important to put down a rcry heavy rail. . Fifty-six pounds per yard is the weight of the rail on the Western Massachuselts raihvay, but this is found to be too light. Seventy pounds is none too heavy, and experience shows such a rail to be the most economical. Iron will be so low in this country in the course of a few years, that new railways can ndopt the very latest improvements either m the shape or the weight of the rail." A writer in the Marshall Expounder saysthal 120 miles of our two Railronds are laid with iron half an inch thick, while the remainder is five-eighths and three-quarters of an inch, weighing fromIwenty to thirty tons per mile. The half inch iron on the road from Ypsilanti to Detroit has been used since February, 1838, and is nearly worn out, and much of it has already been replaced with new. Henee the half inch bars will only last six years. The iron on some freight railroads, where the T rail is laid, weighs 100 tons to the mile. On these roadsthe speed and safety are greatly increased. Were our roads built in this manner, the present high rates of freight and fare could be reduced, and thus the utility of the roads greatly increased. Great numbers of farmers are now dissatisfied because the roads are found insufficient to carry off the annual produce without much delay, ani millers in many places are hiring all the teams they can. Thus teaming is once more becoming a regular business. But the complaint of mismanagement against the conductors of the Central Road ber.ause the Flour and other produce have not been carried to Detroit as fast as offered, we apprehend to be in a great measure without just cause. There arebutseven locomoiiveson the rond, two of which are constantly employed in conveying passengers. If weallow thatthe time the remaining five lie by on account of repairs and accidents, Xo be equal to the time of one locomotive, there will be but four locomolives to draw the produce of a section of country 150 miles in lenglh. This number is insufficient, as a li ule calculation will show. There are about 55 run of mili stones in Washtenaw county, of which we may suppose 47 to be now in operation day and night, manufacturing 1,400 barrels of Flour a day. To carry off this will occupy two locomotives constantly, day and night, making two trips m 24 hours. This would leave but two effective locomotives to do the work of all the remainder of the road - a forcé manifesily inadequate, as they could make but one trip a day, and draw 200 barrels cach time. Henee the accumulalion of Flour, at the present time, on the line of the Central Railroad is unavoidable. But the farmers ask, if the produce cannot be carried off by a Railroad, what is the road good for 1 They say, we might as well not have a Railroad as to have one that will not carry off our produce. The true answer to this, is, that the road is amply sufíkient, if kept in repair, to carry off all the proauce of the conntry, and twenty times as much more. But the machinerrj on the road is not sufficient. Whereas if there were cars and locomotives enough, they might be strung along on the road for miles in succession, and all laden down with produce. But the repairs on a road built like oursare and must ahvays be very expensive. The cost of the annual repairs is estimaled by those well fjualified to judge to be equal to the expense of relaying the superstructure anew, with wood and iron, once in five years. Were the iron much heavier, the amount of repairs would be greatly dimrnished. The following schedule of prices on other Railroads, furnished by the writer abovo mentioned, may be of interest to our readers. " Having examined a few numbers ofthe Railroad Journal, a paper published in the city of New York nnd devotcd to the subject of public works, [ find as follows: - On the Baltirr.ore nnd Ohio road now in operntion as far west as Cumberland, 179 miles, heavy freight pays 25 cents and light freight 35 ets. per 100 lbs. for the whole distnnce. F rom Philndelphia to Baltimore, 90 miles by raiirond, heavy freight is carried 10 cents and light freighl 12 cents per 100, the whole distance. From Albany to Boston 300 miles, flour is carried for 30 cents per barrel or 15 cents per 100 lbs. Other articles with but few exceptions pay 20 cents per 100, and when more than 6000 lbs. of the same article is furnished 20 per cent is deducted, which brings it down to 16 ets. per 100 lbs. Thcre are grades on this road more than doublé the heaviest grades on the Michigan roads. On the new railroad route now in progress from Boston to Ogdensburgh, about 365 miles, the price for carrying flour is estimated at 43 cents per barrel. The Reading railroad, 94 miles long and leading from Philadelphia to the Schuylkill coa! mines, carriescoal which is ns principal business, for one ai.d a quarter cents per ton per mile, the ton being 2240 lbs. At this rate flour should be carried from Marshall to Detroit for 12 è cents per barrel. We now pay 65 cenïs. Our people are however sufficiently acquainted with the rales of toll on the Central road to make comparisons for themselves. Still I contend ihat the differences they wil] find, constitute no groundof complaint ngainst the agents of the State. The reason exisls in the lightness ana insufficiency of the road itzelf. A bad railroad bears about the same relalion to & good one thot a Michigan corduroy road does to a McAdamized turnpike; a comparison which will be readily comprehended."

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Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News