CI 1 S # 3? lOS-ANGElj> 5 S S ^ O ^IOS ANGELA . r*i I 1 => J= =3 ! s 3 S ^\\EUNIVER% A\\EUNIVER% ' jcOKMIRKfe ? 4 X~>V ^- S> ^lOSANCElfj^ g C^< ^ ^v/i vru.1 1 v/n/, ^VM tnLin/ii/v, - . V n vim LU tN/^vi fv/r\t &^r- I ^ %13DNV-S01^ "%13AIN(Ht\^ S \\\EUNIVER%. ^lOS-ANCElfiv* ^' 5v . ^f* <2. ^ ^^ ^ >< >l f ^ I1.T'\V \ ^'^ > ^7T~_ I I II % f^r^ d l(fel 1 s , |LCS I * H\ 2 = i^ 11 ^)! FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING AND MAINTAINING. FORMING ONE OF THE TWELVE VOLUMES OF THE REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION OF THE SCIENCE OF RAILWAYS. BY MARSHALL M. KIRKMAN. FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING AND MAINTAINING TREATS OF CAPITALIZATION, LOCATION, BUILDING AND MAINTAINING THE ORGANIZATION AND PROPERTY OF RAILROADS AND THE ECO- NOMIC QUESTIONS SURROUNDING THESE SUBJECTS; THE MAGNITUDE OF THE INTERESTS INVOLVED, THEIR INTRICACY AND VAST IMPORTANCE, AND THE INFLUENCES, PURPOSES, PRINCIPLES AND METHODS THAT GOVERN. REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION OF 1898. '"VOLUME" m. NEW YORK AND CHICAGO: THE WORLD RAILWAY PUBLISHING COMPANY. COPYRIGHT BY THE WORLD RAILWAY PUBLISHING COMPANY, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1898. Also entered at Stationer's Hn.ll, London, England. All rights reserved. J. C. Winshlp Company, Printers, Chicago. T F \A <5 TABLE OF CONTENTS. BOOK I. FINANCING. PAGE CHAPTER I. What constitutes money and the effect of a debased currency upon railways and other property. Its baleful effect upon those who work for wages, ... 7 CHAPTER II. Basis and method of capitalizing railroads, 28 CHAPTER III. Capitalization and management. Methods pursued by different governments, 41 CHAPTER IV. Influences favorable and otherwise on the capitalization of railroads, 53 CHAPTER V. Something about the character of different kinds of securities, 59 CHAPTER VI. So-called "watered stock," 72 CHAPTER VII. Bailway capital investors must not buy without scrutinizing, nor hold without guarding, . . 79 CHAPTER VIII. Different kinds of shares; returns thereon; transfer books, etc.; capital stock and shareholders, . 85 CHAPTER IX. Details of railway bonds, leases, etc., ... 92 CHAPTER X. Particulars of sinking funds, 101 BOOK II. CONSTRUCTING AND MAINTAINING. CHAPTER I. Kailway evolution, 109 CHAPTER II. Eailway construction, 123 CHAPTER III. Methods of construction, 137 CHAPTER IV. Particulars of construction cost, details thereof, etc., 152 CHAPTER V. Elements of construction, 167 CHAPTER VI. Track. Its construction and evolution, . . 174 (MI) 178373 . IV TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGB CHAPTER VII. Construction, maintenance and care of the roadway and track, 206 CHAPTER VIII. Maintenance of track, 272 CHAPTER IX. Track details snow and ice, rails, joints, spikes, splice bars, plates, alignment, premiums and other matters, 301 CHAPTER X. Use of wood by railways its preservatives and substitutes metal ties, etc., 348 CHAPTER XI. Maintenance and operation what cost is dependent upon, 383 CHAPTER XII. Maintenance fixed operating expenses, . 413 CHAPER XIII. Maintenance cost of operating affected by facilities, 427 CHAPTER XIV. Maintenance proper basis of railway tax- ation, 433 CHAPTER XV. Maintenance things that enter into the maintenance of a railroad, 458 APPENDIXES: Appendix A. Methods of capitalization in Great Brit- ain, 487 Appendix B. Relation the various items of track labor bear to each other, 491 Appendix C. Kelation various classes of maintenance bear to total cost of maintenance, 492 Appendix D. Percentage of the total cost of operating due to maintenance of organization and the preven- tion of the destruction of the property from natural causes, ' 493 Appendix E. Gauges of railroads that are or have been in use in different countries, 494 Appendix F. Quantity of material required to lay one mile of railroad track on the basis named, .... 495 INDEX, 496 BOOK I. FINANCING. NOTE. The subjects of which this volume treats are in- separably connected with others relating to the operation of railroads, but only the more salient features are discussed spe- cifically here. They will be found referred to again and again throughout the work in connection with other subjects. In- deed, the student who would understand any particular phase of railway operations must study the subject of railways in all its parts. He may never, indeed, be able to compass an ex- haustive knowledge of every department, but his information will be sufficient to afford the side light which an understanding of any particular department requires. CHAPTER I. WHAT CONSTITUTES MONEY, AND THE EFFECT OF A DEBASED CURRENCY UPON RAILWAYS AND OTHER PROPERTY ITS BALEFUL EFFECT UPON THOSE WHO WORK FOR WAGES. The economic conditions which a government countenances or enforces are all-important to railroads. This is particularly true of matters affecting credits. The financial standing of a nation, the character of its people and their dis- position to conform to common usage in matters of business, are vital matters. The building of railroads and their successful operation are facil- itated or embarrassed, according to the wisdom and patriotism of those who manage the finances of a nation. Thus the citizens of those countries so fortunate as to be blessed with a stable gov- ernment and a sound currency obtain the capital they need on the most favorable terms. Those so unhappy as to have a weak government or a debased or fluctuating currency, on the other hand, are universally shunned by those who have money to lend. And by money is meant that which the great commercial nations concur in designating as such. At this time gold only is thus recognized. At one period in the history of men, cattle constituted the circulating medium; 8 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. the cow was the unit of value. Men did not then speak of dollars or pounds, but of cows. After- ward sheep constituted the circulating medium, then horses, mules, the skins of animals, and so on. As men progressed In wealth and intelligence and became more settled in their mode of life, copper, bronze, iron, tin and lead, and finally, sil- ver and gold, were used for money. The change finally to gold was based on commercial reasons, and in this connection it cannot be too strongly impressed on men's minds, that what shall con- stitute money (the circulating medium of the world) is never a matter of sentiment or tradi- tion, but of present utility. A^e may just as prop- erly mourn over the abandonment of the cow as the unit of value as to mourn over the loss of silver or any other medium of circulation. What shall constitute money is not determined by the interests or prejudices of a particular in- dividual or country. Gold is the standard at the present time because it, more nearly than any other thing, answers the requirements of money as regards present quantity, yearly supply, bulk, quality of metal, stability of value, desirability as property, and cost of production. Money is property in the same sense that a horse or a piece of land is property, and must be intrinsically valuable in itself and, moreover, a thing generally desired. Superabundance or vio- lent fluctuations attending the production or use of a thing render it unfit for money. It was never designed to be used to pay debts; making it a legal WHAT CONSTITUTES MONEY. 9 tender was an afterthought a business device. Its being such does not add to its value. If made a legal tender for more than it is worth as prop- erty, it is made a device to rob one man for the ben- efit of another and, like all tlie devices of rogues, loses its efficacy as soon as known, reacting finally and disastrously upon those who seek to profit by the deceit. It is a universal law, based on supply and demand, that the purchasing power of money- decreases if the quantity in circulation is in- creased disproportionately to the needs of the world. Reversely, its purchasing power is in- creased if the relative quantity is not kept up. It costs less to mine gold now than formerly. Production has also increased greater, relatively, than the needs of the community. In conse- quence it will not buy to-day as much as for- merly, as is evinced in the rise of wages and the decrease in the rate of interest. What constitutes money varies with the changed conditions of men. Arrow heads and beads answer the requirements of savages, and for them constitute the highest possible form of money. But as savages emerge from barbarism something else must be substituted. In this way from time immemorial that which constitutes money has been changing as circumstances and the needs of men have changed. The word money is said to owe its origin to the fact that the first Roman coins were struck in the temple of the goddess Juno Moneta. The 10 FIXAXCIXG, COXSTR UCTING, MAINTAINING . greatest delusions in regard to what constitutes money occur in times of business depression, when men lose heart; when employment is diffi- cult to get, and wages are low and trade dull. Then there spring up in every direction men who demand that the government shall bring back the prosperity of the past by creating money, forgetful that such prosperity is as unreal as a meal made upon the shadows or odors of real food. Money originally passed between man and man by weight. Coinage (authoritatively stamping the value of the coin on its face) was a later device, designed to facilitate easy and rapid in- terchange. But this device has, from the start, been more or less used as a means of defraud- ing the community by putting less metal into the coin than the actual value of the bullion it contains. There is no doubt that if metals passed by weight, many of the misapprehensions which arise from time to time as to what constitutes money would not occur. If, to illustrate, we passed from hand to hand the number of ounces of silver which, as bullion, can be bought for a dollar in gold, men would be cured of the delu- sion that the government stamp makes it worth a given sum, rather than the amount of metal it contains. The stamp adds nothing. It is merely a certification. If the bullion in the token is not worth what the coin is stamped, the public (if the government's credit warrants) may accept it tern- WHAT CONSTITUTES MONEY. 11 porarily for what it claims to represent, in the belief that the government will ultimately make it good. From time immemorial men have also con- founded printed slips of paper (bills) with money. They have accepted the statement of govern- ments or bankers in lieu of the fact. They have forgotten that paper tokens are of value only so long as they are backed up by real money. In connection with money and its uses, there will always be more or less incoherent talk about bimetallism. Men are voluble, and speak without investigation or reflection. Bimetallism means the free coinage and circulation, simultaneously, of two kinds of metal. Such a thing is clearly impossible, either by international agreement or otherwise.* Without free coinage and free circulation and interchange, bimetallism is a misnomer, and it has been clearly established that coins of different metals will not circulate side by side. This fundamental law has never varied in a single instance during the thousand and odd years its operations have been watched. Its workings are based on natural causes, and are inevitable and final. They are thus stated by Sir Thomas Gresham, Chief of the British Mint in the *Bimetallism is defined as "The legal obligation of a national mint to coin both gold and silver at a fixed ratio between the two metals, coupled with a law giving debtors the powef , unless prevented by special contract, to satisfy their creditors by pay- ment in either of the metals thus coined." American Encylo- pedic Dictionary. 12 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. seventeenth century: "When two sorts of coin are current in the same nation, of like denom- ination, but not intrinsically (that is to say, when they have not the same value relatively in the market), that which has the least value will be current; the other will be hoarded, melted down or exported." Thus, we will say, if silver might be coined in unlimited quantities (i. e., if free coinage existed), on the basis of sixteen ounces of silver to one ounce of gold, while thirty-two ounces of silver could be bought for one ounce of gold, it would follow that gold would disappear and silver alone become the circulating medium. No one would pay out a dollar in gold when he could take it and buy silver bullion out of which the government would coin for him, without charge, two silver dollars, each of which was a legal tender. The ratio of silver to gold has con- stantly varied in the experience of the world. At the dawn of history^ silver was more highly esteemed than gold. It is said to have been the case in Arabia; also in primitive Germany. Strabo speaks of gold as being worth twice as much as silver. It is said that silver and gold were of equal value in Japan in the sixteenth century. In the time of Herodotus (400 B. C.) gold was worth thirteen times the value of silver in Greece. The ratio was variable among the Romans from ten to one to twelve to one. It is said to have been nine to one in England in the time of Richard Craur de Leon. In Spain in the thirteenth century, it was seven and a-half to WHAT CONSTITUTES MONEY. 13 one; afterward, at the close of this century, it was changed to ten and three-quarters to one; later on, Portugal being for the moment the governing force in such matters, the ratio was sixteen to one. From this it will be seen that the value of silver has constantly varied, and on the whole greatly decreased. Similar fluctuations in the price of cows foretold in early days their down- fall as money. The great and rapid decline in the value of silver is due to several causes, which will tend to still further cheapen it. Among these causes may be mentioned, (and I name them in the order of their importance), the super- abundant supply of the metal, the ease and cheapness with which it may be mined with the aid of improved machinery, the fact that the supply of gold has been so increased as to meet the wants of commerce, and, finally, its demone- tization by all great nations. However carefully the ratio between gold and silver may be fixed (where free coinage exists), it cannot be maintained except for the moment. The supply of the two metals by the mines will never continue for any length of time to be rela- tively the same. Nor will the demand for them be the same, either for money or for use in con- nection with the fine arts. Because of this the ratio will constantly be disturbed, and as soon as this occurs the metal which has suffered the greater depreciation will be used, and the other hoarded or exported. Bimetallism, so called, is possible only where the less valuable coin, 14 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. relatively, is supported by the other and re- deemed in it.* It is probable that silver will always be used more or less by every nation. But, because of its greater stability, uniformity of production and value, gold has become the basis of circulation of every wisely governed country. It will cease to be so when the conditions which brought it about no longer exist. I speak merely of the present. That is always sufficient. Nor is it material to anyone to inquire why gold became the accepted medium of circulation. The fact is enough. Economists and metallographists may trace the causes and derive pleasure therefrom, but for others the question is too subtle. For such the verdict of the commercial and financial world (all important in such matters) is sufficient and may be accepted unhesitatingly. But sophists will question this and seek to lead astray the ignorant and unthinking, on the plea that there are exceptions to the rule; that while gold may be highly adapted to the selfish interests of a rich nation, it may bear very heavily on a poor country. There is no truth whatever in such statements. A currency good for the rich is doubly good for the poor. Fortune is assured * It was made possible in the United States, first, because the coinage of the baser metal, silver, was restricted; second, by the government's acceptance of silver in payment of all debts due it, and third, by its agreement to maintain the parity and purchasing power of the two metals, so far as coined. These conditions Avere necessary, as the silver coins were not made specifically redeemable in gold. WHAT CONSTITUTES MONEY. 15 to the rich under all conditions, but it is im- possible to the poor except under the most favorable circumstances, among which is a stable currency. A country which uses paper or other medium of circulation not redeemable at sight in the recognized money of the world, is discredited, not by foreigners alone, but by its own people.* Men will not invest money in a community so debauched. It is for this reason that the capital- ists of the world, including those of the United States, avoid investments in discredited countries, although their natural advantages may be equal to the best portions of the world. Venezuela may, for illustration, be cited as an instance in point. Thus, its people had to pay ten and twelve per cent, interest in gold (for the small credit they were able to obtain), while British Guiana, an adjoining country not so rich in natural re- sources, was able to secure all it needed at four per cent. The same misfortune which befell Venezuela before it adopted the gold standard would befall England, the United States, Ger- many or any other country that should disregard the edict of the commercial and financial world in such a matter. When investments are made by foreign capital in a country financially discredited, burdensome * It is as if a merchant, when called upon to pay his debts, should offer sheep pelts at a dollar apiece, in lieu of money, when everybody knew they might be bought in the market for fifty cents. 1 6 FINANCING, CONSTK UCTING, MAIN TAIXIXK. guarantees are exacted. Moreover, the rate of interest must be sufficient to enable the investor to convert the return he receives into gold and still have a margin of profit to cover the wide fluctuations which always attend the use of a debased currency. The fluctuations of silver, no longer generally recognized as money by the world, illustrate this last. Thus three hundred and seventy-one and one-quarter grains of this metal in 1885 were worth about one hundred cents in gold; in 1897 they were only worth forty-eight cents. But sil- ver is only one of many forms of a fluctuating and, therefore, a debased currency. I remember in 1860 the circulating medium of the United States consisted of paper issued by private banks, based on securities such as town bonds, lands, stocks and such other collaterals as the state officials could be induced to accept as a basis of circulation. The bills, not being redeemable in gold, were quoted just as stocks and bonds are now, and carriers were compelled to notify their agents daily, sometimes several times a day, the price at which they should receive bills of the different banks, in payment for tickets, freights and so on; thus the Southern Bank of Tennessee would be accepted to-day at sixty cents, and to-morrow at fifty cents, and so on. Twenty years afterward I found in the vaults of a rail- road company a package two feet square, tied with rope, which was at first thought to contain old papers and accounts, but upon investigation WHAT CONSTITUTES MONEY. 17 was found to consist of one, two, three, five, ten and twenty dollar bills of the banks in question (some two hundred thousand dollars in all) which had remained in the possession of the transporta- tion company when the final collapse came. All this stuff was at one time thought to be real (instead of play) money. The issuance of paper promises bills so-called money "stuff" based on the faith of a nation or other intangible substance, ever has many advo- cates in countries and communities more or less in debt. In the United States such money is known as " fiat " money. It is no more money, however, than a snow-flake or other intangible or worthless substance is money. To write on a piece of paper " This is a dollar" does not make it so. Money is a real thing; a concrete substance; property; something substantial, permanent and . that does not fluctuate. Something that man- kind treasures a-s having intrinsic worth the world over. There is a belief more or less general in such communities as I refer to, that governments may make money just as mills make paper. However, it cannot be too often reiterated that no token can be called money which is not re- deemable in what the world designates as money. To-day this is gold. Another form of so-called money is based on the belief that a government or its citizens may take a certain amount of metal (to be bought in the market for a certain sum) and after running it through the mint stamp it for a larger sum. 2 Vol. 3 18 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. Phantom tokens of this kind pass at par only so long as the government supports them, dollar for dollar, in real money. The practice referred to, however, of buying bullion at one price and, after coining it, issuing it at another, was indulged in by the United States for several years, until it had piled up in its vaults some four hundred and sixty millions of so-called dollars. The peo- ple, because of the high credit of the government, believed these silver tokens would be maintained on a gold basis. They, therefore, accepted them at their purported value. Except for this belief (which would, of course, have been dispelled had free coinage been permitted), the purchasing power of the silver tokens would only have been that of silver bullion.* A remarkable idiosyncracy, oftentimes observ- able in those who advocate a debased form of currency, is a belief that the more there is of such money the more valuable it will become. This notwithstanding the experience of mankind proves the reverse to be the case. It is a delusion and, like all delusions, it is idle to combat it. Experience is lost upon those who give it expres- sion. * I cannot refrain from saying here, in this connection, that whatever the financial and commercial world shall fix upon as the circulating medium, whether it be gold or something else, all other forms of currency must be made redeemable therein, whether they take the shape of paper or other device. If this fact is always borne in mind and insisted upon, men and women can never go astray in their conclusions as to what constitutes money. WHAT CONSTITUTES MONEY. 19 The United States has in its short history sounded all the depths and shoals of financial delusion. Its experience affords illustrations of every form of financial heresy which has afflicted men since they emerged from savagery. Those who are inclined to experiment in such matters, or to accept their unaided judgment in preference to the experience of mankind, cannot do better than study the financial methods of the United States. The subject is rendered doubly interest- ing by the fact that mankind are not yet through experimenting. A currency not redeemable at sight in real money occasions Labor peculiar hardships, for, while wages are fixed at long intervals, the fluctuations of such a currency are of hourly occurrence. Thus the rate of wages agreed upon between employer and employe to-day may lose (indeed is quite likely to lose) a part of its purchasing power before the question can be taken up again. Moreover, in fixing wages em- ployers ever contemplate a rise in the value of such a circulating medium. It is a risk they must provide for. If, therefore, its value decreases rather than increases, their profit is further aug- mented. Such are the vicissitudes of a debased currency. But no matter whether its value goes up or down, the employer is bound to insure himself against loss. He would be unwise not to do so. A discredited nation pays enormous usury for its folly. Benumbed by its isolation and disgrace, 20 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. it quickly becomes an outcast. The busy world avoids it, as men avoid a hospital in which lepers lie. No wise man will associate with a dishonored person. It is the same with nations. That which operates to injure a man, operates similarly with communities. A country which does a thing the world designates as foolish or dishonest, courts the fate of the fool or rogue. It is avoided, and although its citizens may cry to passers-by, " We have something which it is very much to your advantage to invest in," they are ignored and their plea disregarded. For it is the experience of mankind that he who deals with a fool or rogue is an ass who endangers his capital and risks his good name. No inducement of gain is sufficient to overcome the general distrust. Such a country is shunned, and wisely, just as rogues are shunned. A district like Turkestan which was at one period separated from the world by impassable barriers, may, so long as thus separated, adopt any kind of currency it pleases. It has no commerce. But the moment it buys and sells in other countries it must adopt their form of money or suffer the dis- advantages that follow. A country having rela- tions with the outside world must adopt the circulating medium of the world. The discredit which attaches to a country afflicted with a fluctuating currency reacts espe- cially and disastrously, as I have pointed out, on those of its people who work for wages. Both the area of their usefulness and the value of their WHAT CONSTITUTES MOXEY. 21 services are reduced. This, because great busi- ness activity can only be secured when every advantage is present, such as a strong govern- ment, the confidence of the financial world (at home and abroad), abundance of capital and low rates of interest. These are fundamental. Nor do wages increase as the value (purchasing power) of the circulating medium decreases. Directly the reverse. In 1885 the Mexican silver dollar was at par with gold. In 1897 it was only worth about forty-eight cents in gold. Yet the wages paid the laborer were not increased; directly the contrary. But everything that was imported which the laborer used (or once used) doubled in price. A nation which adopts a debased currency multiplies the hardships of its citizens indefi- nitely. Thus, the withdrawal of capital, local and foreign, which the loss of confidence that follows involves, causes industries of all kinds to shrink, prevents the introduction of new enterprises and destroys others which, except for this, would be carried on successfully. The result is a corre- sponding falling off in the demand for labor. This throws many out of employment, and the sharp competition that follows for the work which is left ends in lessening the compensation of those who find something to do. Where a fluctuating currency exists, capital, in order to insure itself against the risk it runs, exacts usurious returns, and in estimating its risks a wide margin is taken. It demands in 22 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. every case special guaranties and exacting con- cessions, if the prospect of enormous gain is not apparent. Enterprise in every direction is bur- dened. The risks investors are willing to take in more favored countries the borrower, under such circumstances, must assume. The lender must be assured that the tokens he is to receive will net such a sum that, when converted into gold, will pay double, perhaps treble, what he would ask if the currency of the country conformed to that of the commercial nations of the world. That is what loose methods of business and loss of credit cost a community. And further, it may be said, to illustrate this thought, railway employes who receive their wages in gold (or its equivalent) could not expect a like amount in value in silver, in the event free coinage of the latter were permitted on a basis disproportionate to gold, so long as the lat- ter is the recognized money of the world. No. A man who got forty dollars a month might for a time not have his wages decreased, further than that the forty dollars would be depreciated dollars instead of good dollars. But this could not be if his wages were to procure for himself or his family what they bought before in gold. But pleas of this kind would avail him nothing. To enable railroad companies to keep up the wages of their employes to the gold standard, they would have to increase correspondingly their business or rates. Thus, if in a change from gold to silver, the latter were worth relatively WHAT CONSTITUTES MONEY. 23 only half its face in gold, either the business or the rates would have to be doubled. But is it likely a community would permit an in- crease of rates? Even if it did, the shrinkage in the business of the country which would fol- low loss of credit in the financial world would so lessen the revenues of railroads as to render it utterly impossible for them to keep up the wages of employes to the former gold standard. This would be equally true of employers in other branches of trade. In nearly every country it is the margin afforded by foreign capital which supplies the means for extending old improvements and developing new ones. Without such capital, the enterprises they foster would not exist, and to the extent that this was so, the construction of railroads, and the opening of manufactories, mines and other sources of industry would lan- guish. And if it should occur that, through unwise legislation or otherwise, the credit of the United States (or indeed of any stable country) should be impaired, the truth of what I say would quickly make itself apparent in the gen- eral falling off in business which would ensue. This shrinkage would throw many out of em- ployment, and in the struggle of the idle to secure work they would, as already intimated, be led through their necessities to underbid those who had employment. Thus wages would be pulled down again and again in the struggle, until they barely sufficed to enable men to live, 24 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. While this would be true in regard to wages, it would not be the same in the case of food and clothing. The market of the world fixes the price of bread products as it does of wool and cotton. If the price of wheat were fifty cents a bushel in gold, it would be twice that in silver, on the basis of the value of silver in 1897. So that the workman who got his flour for two dol- lars and a half in gold would have to pay five dollars for it in silver. The price would advance in the same way for woolen and cotton garments. Thus, while he received in silver only what he might have received, under a stable government, in gold, his necessities would cost him twice as much. This is what cheap or plentiful money, so-called, means to those who work for wages. The picture is the experience of men, the fate which overtakes the poor in every country where a debased currency is permitted. They are grievously misled who believe that a country can ever be benefited by adopting an unstable currency. Those who owe money on farms, homesteads, and other property, not easily and quickly convertible, like wheat, would under such circumstances, instead of finding relief, be glad, in the majority of cases, to let the lender take the property for the amount of his debt. For with departing prosperity would vanish the resources with which the debtor expected to pay. With shrinkage of business and consequent loss of prosperity, the value of farms, homesteads, and all other property of that nature, would WHAT CONSTITUTES MONEY. 25 shrink correspondingly. There would be no sur- plus or speculative capital, and in consequence, demand would fall off so that a property or busi- ness which might be worth two thousand dollars when the credit of a country stood high, might not be worth half that sum in debased money, in a discredited country. Under such conditions, a farmer or land owner who might receive twice as much for his produce in debased money as he would in gold, and might use such money to pay his debts and thereby greatly facilitate such pay- ment, would lose in the end, because everything he had which did not have a world-wide market, like wheat, would be cut in two again and again in value, as the credit of his country sank lower and lower in the estimation of the honest people of the world. It is unavoidable that enormous losses should ever attend a change from a stable to an unstable currency. They will be caused by a variety of reasons. But immediately and directly by the disappearance of real money, by loss of credit at home and abroad, by the withdrawal of local and foreign capital which will follow, by readjustment of values on extreme lines; and finally in new countries, like the United States, by a cessation of emigration, for men will not emigrate to a coun- try which is financially dishonored. Notwith- standing the experience of mankind, however, in this respect, there are, in every country, more or less sincere but misinformed people who believe that in some way they will be benefited by a 26 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. debased currency; that money will be easier under such circumstances. It is enough to say that in such a country there is little call for money of any kind. But to those who believe that borrowers will be benefited by such a state of affairs, it is enough to point out that when money may be freely borrowed in London and Amsterdam at three per cent, on approved securi- ties, from twenty to twenty-five per cent, is asked by the same men for loans placed in discredited countries. In other words, while capitalists gladly lend their money at three per cent, (or cur- rent rates), to those worthy of trust, they charge discredited people from twenty to twenty-five per cent. And furthermore, it is only in exceptional cases, and under peculiar and harassing guaran- ties, be it remembered, that the latter can obtain money at all. Where others have but to ask, they must implore, supplicate, pawn all they have. A debased currency is the most destructive device ever invented by man to oppress those who borrow, as well as those who work for wages. And as all the nations of the world but two or three are borrowers, and all mankind, save a favored few, are workers, the measure of hard- ship such a condition of affairs entails, words can- not depict nor imagination paint. And in the case of railroads (the index of every kind of pros- perity in our day), nothing more effective, it may be said, could be invented for lowering the social .status of employes, or be more effective in prevent- ing the building of new lines, or the improvement WHA T CONSTITUTES MONEY. 27 or extension of old ones, than a debased currency. Let us hope that the unhappy conditions I have pointed out may never arise in the United States, nor indeed in any country where this will be read, but however that may be, their discussion forms a fit corollary of the subject of Railway Finance. CHAPTER II. BASIS AND METHOD OF CAPITALIZING RAILROADS. The risks that attend the investment of capital in new railroads or the improvement of old ones, where the return is doubtful, enforce abnormal rates of interest. The discount suffered will de- pend on the plentifulness of money and the prob- able productiveness of the property, the latter being underestimated rather than overestimated. When money is scarce or the security doubtful, the rate of interest will be high and the price the securities will bring will be low. The influences that affect the capitalization of railways are very imperfectly understood, and the methods that it is necessary to follow in order to secure the money needed in the construction of these enterprises have been severely and un- justly criticised. This criticism, however, is not confined to any particular country. It is the common theme of idealists and ignorant men everywhere. The practical realities of life never conform to the illusions of such people. They approach a business proposition in the spirit that a child does the construction of a blockhouse, or a mathematician anticipates the solution of a problem wherein the processes are preconceived BASIS AND METHOD OF CAPITALIZING. 29 and the result certain. The necessities of busi- ness and the compromises of conflicting interests they know nothing about, and do not therefore regard. Different circumstances and surround- ings are as if they were not; and the peculiarities of men and the requirements of capital cut no figure in their child world. It is their happy for- tune to be always superior to facts. They live in a world quite apart, where men are not led to achieve results because of a love of money, but are animated by a lofty public spirit; a world wherein mankind labor for the public good while their children starve. This class comprises a very large number. It looks upon itself as the public guardian. To it the acquisition of wealth in railroads is, as a rule, treated as a misfortune, not a thing in which the people share. It speaks of railway corporations indifferently as extor- tionists, and of railway managers as robbers. It does not recognize that owners have either wisdom or honesty, and is generally a warm ad- vocate of public interference and supervision. Generally speaking, the capitalization of rail- ways represents their cost; neither more nor less. It includes commissions paid, interest during the period of construction, and discount suffered on the securities sold. If the credit of a company is such as to enable it to sell its securities at a pre- mium, the amount realized goes to reduce capital. Cost per mile varies greatly upon different roads. The extent of a property, it is apparent, depends on the traffic to be handled. Cost is 30 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. especially affected by alignment, grades, labor, equipment, and right of way. Many items are affected by the nearness or remoteness of mar- kets. How far, if at all, a company may issue shares (to its owners) at par to cover construction work, when such shares command a premium, is a subject about which men differ. In some cases the practice is forbidden by law. The increase of capital per mile of road since the inauguration of railways has been much greater in England than elsewhere. This is due partly to outlays for facilities at terminals, and partly to investments in collateral enterprises. The comparatively small increase in the United States is owing, in a measure, to the fact that much of the construction work has been paid for out of earnings not yet capitalized; in other words, profits instead of being divided in full among owners, in the shape of dividends, have been used to make improvements. The basis of capitalization of railways is cost. If America has departed from this rule, it has been on the safe side; on the side of reduced capitalization. Of this there can be no doubt, theories and general impressions to the contrary notwithstanding. In reference to the methods of raising money for the construction of railway properties, they vary greatly. Railways are, however, coming more and more to be built under the supervision of companies already established. These latter are in such cases guarantors. In many instances BASIS AXD METHOD OF CAPITALIZING, 31 they issue their own securities, hypothecating those of the new enterprises. Thus the latter receive the benefit of the credit of the established company. The importance to be attached to estimates of the cost of railroads to be built, and their proba- ble productiveness afterward, depend upon the character and experience of the men making them. It is not an unusual thing for cost to double or treble the estimates. Investors should, therefore, scrutinize the character and practical knowledge of men back of every railway enter- prise. To be of value, estimates of cost must be made by capable engineers. Abundance of time must be taken. Men of different experience are re- quired to forecast the future of properties. Both may be done with reasonable accuracy, but the many instances in which estimates of cost and forecasts of business have proven delusive should teach those having money to invest in enter- prises of this character to exercise care. The value of the securities of prospective rail- ways, unless guaranteed by a stable concern, is always more or less a question of doubt. Such properties are largely speculative, and like all speculative enterprises must be liberally dis- counted. They do not come within the domain of those who cannot risk the loss of a part or the whole of their capital. They afford a field only for capitalists who are able to assume such risks. The risk in the United States may be seen in the 32 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. number and character of railroads which have passed through the hands of receivers. The pro- moters who, by specious arguments and false representations, have induced the people of Eu- rope to invest in worthless railway securities in the United States, can hardly be counted. The result has been highly disastrous to the credit of the country and a great injustice to the people who have placed confidence in their statements. During the early history of railroads little was written about them by practical railroad men. Theorists occupied the field. A few phases of railway operation, such as pools and accidents, they grasped. However, they have never been content to confine themselves to subjects they understand. They believe themselves to be cos- mopolitan each has his theme; each his partic- ular subject. He sees in it, however, the all in all of railway life. One finds it in heightened facilities; another in the abolition of class privi- leges; another in better protection of life; an- other in lower charges; another in more stable tariffs; another in the abolition of all traffic dis- tinctions; another in the abolishment of passes; another in government supervision; another in government ownership; another in the enforce- ment of agreements between railroad companies; another in restricted railway construction; an- other in prevention of fictitious capital; another in securing more adequate returns and accounts; another in better management; another in pre- vention of speculative tendencies on the part of BASIS AND METHOD OF CAPITALIZING. 33 owners; another in greater interest in the wel- fare of railway employes; another in curbing the prejudices and passions of the people; another in preventing hasty and inconsiderate legisla- tion. The subject is an endless one. Each writer pursues his theme with fervor amidst the acclaim of friends and ignorant lookers-on. All these writers are, in the main, honest; all are fully assured of the efficacy of their panacea; each believes it to be the one thing necessary. In the generality of cases the views they express are empirical. They take no account of "natural progress and evolution, or the practical habits and needs of men. Every evil in railway administration contains within itself its own cure. When the cure is thus effected, it is equitable and lasting. Rail- way critics will not, however, await this slow and beneficent process. The capitalization of railway property has always been a favorite theme with writers and speakers. It has not been necessary for them to know anything definitely about the subject. They have had simply to cry injustice, fraud, wrong. Notwithstanding this and the current belief of many, capitalization of railway property in America and elsewhere is based on equitable grounds. The exceptions are few and unworthy of notice. But the methods of owners in regard to capitalization are not uniform, any more than they are uniform in other things. Thus, the 3 Vol. 3 34 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. owners of railroads differ widely in regard to the disposition they make of surplus revenue. In Europe it has been the rule to divide it among the proprietors to the last farthing, every cent spent for construction being capitalized. In the United States it has been a very general custom of railway companies to put a portion of their net earnings into needed additions and improve- ments. In some cases this is capitalized after- ward, but more often not. Such use of a com- pany's surplus is, however, always in the nature of a loa*n. In making it, the owners clearly do not relinquish the right to capitalize it whenever their interests will be benefited thereby. Loose and ignorant writers sweepingly designate in- creases of capital of this kind as watered stock. This is wrong from every point of view, but its immediate effect is to injure the owners of rail- ways in the minds of the public. They are blamed for benefits conferred on the commu- nity. This suggests the need, in the United States, of a self-respecting class which will frown down unwarranted criticism of railroad corpora- tions with the same spirit that they would con- demn efforts to destroy the credit of merchants, manufacturers and banks. The result is equally bad. The era of railway construction has been one of change; of financial evolution; of periods of great prosperity, followed by distressing reverses. It is the same with these properties as with other great interests. Whenever more money is put BASIS AND METHOD OF CAPITALIZING. 35 into them than the community can spare, or it is unwisely placed, reaction follows, as in the case of overinvestment or unproductive outlay else- where. The cost of railway construction in the United States for the twenty-five years from 1870 to 1895, about equals the savings of the people from reduced rates during that period. The added facilities were constructed out of profits saved to the community. "Had the actual quantity of merchandise moved by the railroads in the year 1880 been subjected to the average rate per ton per mile which was charged from 1866 to 1869, inclusive, the difference would have amounted to at least five hundred millions of dollars, and per- haps eight hundred millions of dollars, more than the actual charge of 1880."* Political economists are not agreed as to the ratio the capital of a railway should bear to gross earnings. It has been stated that it should not exceed ten times the yearly receipts.f Estimates of this kind are unprofitable. The cost of operat- ing, quite as much as earnings, determines the * Edward Atkinson, "The Distribution of Products." The reduction in rates in New York for 1883, as compared with the rates of 1870, amounted to $74,549,000, and in Ohio to $89,400,000. It is estimated that the reduction of rates (i. e., the amount saved to the people) in the year 1883 for the country at large amounted to $400,000,000. M. M. K. f "It has been held by high financial authorities that, in order to be a commercial success, a railway should not cost more than ten times the amount of its yearly traffic; or in other words, the annual traffic should be 10 per cent, of its capital cost." J. S. Jeans, "Railway Problems," page 25. 36 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. percentage of profit. So long as it costs in one case fifty per cent, of gross earnings, and in another seventy per cent., to operate a property, it is apparent that no uniform standard of capi- talization based on gross earnings is possible. On the other hand, it is a safe statement to make to say that a property should not be capitalized beyond a moderate return on its business. Cost should be restricted as much as possible consist- ently with the object the property is intended to serve. The excessive cost of operating the English roads consequent upon their prodigal outlay for safety appliances is said to seriously cripple England's internal industries, rates being so high in many cases as to prevent competition with more favored localities. It has been claimed that the low rates of American railways will ultimately drive the interior manufacturers of England out of the market if their carriers do not find a way to reduce rates. America is indebted for her low rates to free railway construction and active competition. England has not been subjected to the stimulat- ing effect of the former. The elaborate safety devices of English roads have added much both to cost of construction and working. The hypothetical safeguards there thrown around life have grievously burdened the country at large; they have made the cost of food and clothing dear in order that the careless mem- bers of the community may not be run over. BASIS AND METHOD OF CAPITALIZING. 37 They have denied the poor many necessities and comforts of life in order that the absent minded, the tramp and the drunkard might be safe. This is an extreme way to state the case, but it is true. It is fashionable to claim that every safety device introduced is a gain a step forward. This is a superficial way of viewing it. Practically every safety device which adds to the cost of doing business (over and above what the device saves) is a perpetual tax on the community, like money sunk in any other enterprise* which does not yield a return. It is in matters of this kind that the practical common sense of business men is a safer guide than the theories of the engineer or publicist. The business man provides only when the urgency is great; when the time is ripe. Others provide wherever necessary to theoretical perfection. In the case of the engineer, perfec- tion is a part of his education and necessary to substantiate his skill and reputation. He is a magnificent idealist. Nor do governments or communities stop to think of such outlays. They simply see that a safeguard is missing. The hard- ships that injudicious expenditures of money in its attainment will entail, the industries it will prevent, the heightened cost of food and clothes it will precipitate, they do not for a moment consider. The disposition to sink money in romantic efforts to save life in connection with railroads, which are not deemed necessary in connection 38 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. with our common highways, has always struck me as the acme of folly. Thus the block system has been made compulsory in many countries. It pleases the idealist but strikes more practical men with a chill, because it greatly increases cost and thereby decreases facilities. It absorbs money needed for more necessary things. Instead of making the roads that are little used conform to the block system, a reduction in speed of trains should have been prescribed and other devices of a simple and practical nature introduced, but uniformity would not have been attained and the dramatic effect governments seek would have been lost. The safety appliances of railroads resolve themselves, like everything else, into a purely practical question, a question of ways and means. Governments will not, however, view the subject in this way. To them a thousand people starv- ing in silence is not so distressing as the dramatic death of a single man at some rail- way crossing. The subject should be stripped of sentiment. The limit of expenditure for safety appliances cannot be fixed, but must be determined for each property apart. It should go as far as circum- stances warrant and no further. In making such expenditures it should be remembered that every dollar saved to the owners of railroads in this direction is a dollar laid away to be used to build and operate railroads and factories, and to the extent this is so employment is given those who BASIS AXD METHOD OF CAPITALIZING. 39 must work; those who must provide bread and clothing for dependent wives and children. Many countries have sought systematically to direct and control capitalization. Thus, England sought through the law to compel two-thirds of the money to be raised by the sale of stock. Only one -third could be raised by bonds or debentures. In the United States, on the other hand, greater discretion has been permitted the projectors of railroads. Differences in practice do not imply wrong or improper methods. It has been necessitated in this case by different conditions. In one case the investment has been practically secure; in the other speculative; in one country money has been plentiful, in the other scarce. Differences in method of capitalization in Eng- land and America are accentuated by differences in cost. The greater cost in the former country is occasioned largely by the high price paid for right of way and the ideal thoroughness with which work is done before roads are thrown open for business. Government aid has been a factor in railway construction on the continent. In Great Britain, however, the government has never in a single instance guaranteed the debt of a railroad. The wealth, courage and commercial enterprise of the people have rendered such a course unnecessary. Guarantees have, however, been freely made in the British colonies. In new countries the aid extended to railroad companies commonly takes 40 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. the form of concessions of land and local assist- ance. This is the form it has taken in the United States, except in the case of the Pacific roads, which the government, for political reasons, aided by guaranties. CHAPTER III. CAPITALIZATION AND MANAGEMENT; METHODS PUR- SUED BY DIFFERENT GOVERNMENTS. Wide fluctuations in the dividends of railroads suggest widely different causes to investors and others. In the case of corporations paying small dividends, or paying no dividends at all, the inquiry suggests itself: Were the roads needed; will they ultimately be productive; were they wisely located; were they properly constructed; are they efficiently managed; are they permitted to base their rates on economic laws (on what traffic will bear), or are they oppressed in this respect by the government? The productiveness (net revenue) of railway property varies greatly in different sections of the same country. Thus the average for the northwestern portion of the United States was for a long time scarcely one-third what it was in the Eastern states, and the agrarian spirit that characterized the section in question seemed likely to still further increase the disparity. Happily, conditions have changed until the capital stock of the roads located in the section referred to stands as high as any in the world. Under normal conditions railway returns should grow steadily better, because the property should 42 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. grow stronger with the development of the country it does so much to build up. Wherever this improvement is lacking, it indicates want of commercial enterprise, or thrift. The English companies very generally paid dividends from the start. No American com- pany did this, and only the higher classes made adequate return on a part of their cost. The wide fluctuations in the securities of the railroads of the United States caused them at one period to be generally distrusted. Their shares were little esteemed by investors. Mortgage bonds were the favorite form of investment. In Eng- land, on the other hand, capital shares were always from the first the popular form of invest- ment. However, with the growing cost of their railroads and increased capitalization, debenture stock (which partakes of the nature of a mort- gage) is becoming a favorite form of investment. The growth of railway mileage and productive- ness has been greater in the United States than in any other country. This result has been achieved without injury to anyone. Improved methods of business have kept pace with in- creased needs, while decrease in rates has been steady and marked. This decrease is fully eighty per cent, of the original charge. Reductions have been made in other countries, but only to a very limited extent compared with those of America. How much further it will be possible to reduce rates in America, it is impossible to tell. Much will depend upon the law-making CAPITALIZATION AND MANAGEMENT. 43 power and the spirit in which the laws are en- forced. Both must conform to the laws of trade and commercial needs. The ability of a railroad company to capitalize its property on favorable terms depends, as I have intimated elsewhere, upon the plentifumess of money and confidence in the ability of the property to earn a return on the investment. The last, it is manifest, depends upon the produc- tiveness of the country, its friendliness, the economy and skill used in construction and, finally, the experience and fidelity of managers. This last may be said to be assured. There is no difference, so far as the injury the public sustains, between improvident manage- ment of private owners and that of the govern- ment. Railroads that cannot pay a return on the capital invested should not be built. The in j ury that a community suffers from the construc- tion of unproductive roads, or those improperly managed, cannot be measured in dollars and cents. Every dollar lost or wasted in railway con- struction or administration impoverishes the com- munity to that extent. If roads do not earn what they might be made to earn, the loss falls on the owners and thus on the community. Railways that cannot earn a return on their capital are like unprofitable manufactories, a curse to a country. In the United States and England, where com- mercial needs have been left free to govern the construction of railroads, only such properties 44 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. as are needed should have been built and, conse- quently, only productive properties (present or prospective) should exist. That the contrary is true is due to excessive enterprise and speculation. Wherever a line is located on other than busi- ness grounds, whether to conserve military or other ends, its maintenance becomes a perpetual tax on the community, just as much as the army or navy of a country is a tax. Nowhere do railroads cost so much per mile as in England. Correspondingly, however, their traffic is larger. The English roads are effectively and honestly constructed and ably and efficiently managed. The return on the capital invested is generally satisfactory. The expense of operating English roads is more per train mile than on the continent, and less than in the United States. The average load is, however, much less than in the United States. On the basis of cost per ton or per passenger per mile the only true basis the expense of maintenance and working is much greater in Great Britain than in America. The relative cost, progressively, per unit of increase of net revenue is also much greater in England than in the United States. In the United States four millions were found sufficient to increase net earnings seventy-two millions ; in England ten millions were needed to increase net earnings six millions.* *For particulars in regard to details of capitalization of English railroads and other matters incident thereto, see Ap- pendix A. CAPITALIZATION AND MANAGEMENT. 45 The difference in cost of railways per mile in the United States as compared with those of Europe, although very large, is not so great as appears from the accounts. The disparity is due in part, as I have noticed elsewhere, to the fact that a great deal of construction work in the United States has been paid for out of net earn- ings. But after allowing for this, the cost of right of Avay and station and yard facilities in the United States has been very much less per mile of road or unit of service than in any other country with which its railway system may prop- erly be compared. The lo\v cost of American roads is, however, in the main due to the fact that the owners of railroads were not held to any hard and fast rule by government officials, but were left free to build according to their judg- ment of what was best. The country thus got the benefit of their prudent and economical methods. Government interference in the United States has come too late to make her railroads costly, but not too late, if ill advised, to make their oper- ations wasteful and injurious to the country. The policy that different governments first adopted in regard to railways, they have gener- ally followed. In some countries ownership by the government was contemplated at the start and the anticipation has borne fruit. Authoriza- tions of railroads have not been the same from year to year, but have been modified as experi- ence or interest suggested. Thus, rights freely accorded early railroads have been grudgingly 4G FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. granted or wholly denied later applicants. But no great hardship has followed. In the United States, railroads are chartered by the various states, sometimes under general laws, sometimes under special acts. The railroads, while amenable to the police regulations of every township through which they pass, are governed by the regulations of the state. Each state has the right to determine the method of capitaliza- tion within its boundaries and fix the amount of taxes. The general government has jurisdiction only over interstate traffic. Both the general government and the various state governments have commissioners to look after their interests, respectively. Their action, however, is subject to revision by the courts. In France the railway system is owned partly by the state and partly by private companies. Government interference, however, is active. It was the original intention that all railways ac- corded guaranties and immunities by the govern- ment should become the property of the state at the expiration of a certain period. In 1883, how- ever, because of the financial troubles of the gov- ernment, and the strong competition of private companies, the government found it necessary to relinquish its right to purchase. In regard to aux- iliary railroads constructed after that date, it has been provided that the constructing company shall bear a part of the burden and the government a part. The builder shall, however, provide all the money in the first instance, the state agreeing to CAPITALIZATION AND MANAGEMENT. 47 make annual payments to it on account of inter- est thereon, and for the further purpose of creat- ing a sinking fund to extinguish the principal by the time the concessions terminate, at which period the road will become the property of the state. The French government designates the territory each railroad shall occupy, and protects it therein. The lines thus have a local monopoly. The bulk of the French lines is owned and oper- ated by private companies, occupying distinct territories. The price paid for the intervention of the French government is greater, in many instances, than would be allowed if the value of independent management of railways was better understood or more fully permitted. Thus, the government requires the free transportation of its mails and a very low rate for its military and civil servants, and, in addition to other enact- ments, levies a duty or income tax amounting to ten per cent, on certain classes of earnings. Governmental interference in France is not such as to suggest imitation elsewhere. It has greatly lessened individual interest, and, through its cumbersome exactions, has materially modi- fied railway enterprise. The French system is said to be extravagant and top-heavy. The gov- ernment, in its zeal to protect everybody, has carried its interference beyond the bounds of conservative action. The supervisory power of the French government is both costly and annoy- ing. Intended originally to protect the people, it has ended by becoming a burden. But this is 48 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, (up to this time) the effect of government man- agement everywhere and under all circumstances. It is not confined to France. Government inter- ference in the case of railroads is more injurious than in other cases, because of the complex char- acter of these properties and their intimate in- fluence on all the affairs of life. No matter how admirable government management may be, it cannot be so wise, so attentive, so alert to the needs of trade as the situation requires. It is not adaptive, and is, moreover, expensive, slow and cumbersome.* The debenture or bond system of capitalization is more favorably viewed by the French people than any other. Stocks, unless guaranteed, are too uncertain for these thrifty and cautious people. They require definite guaranties; a spe- cific agreement as to the extent of the return and date of payment. The French are greatly to be admired. No people are so apprehensive of com- mercial results as they, so quick to take advan- tage of them, or so careful in preserving the fruits of their industry, frugality and foresight. Germany exercises a supervision over its rail- roads such as we might expect from a military government. It requires to be consulted in advance in regard to the route roads propose to traverse, the nature of their construction and equipment, capitalization, sinking funds and *I refer here only incidentally to government control of railroads. The subject is discussed more fully in another book, "Economic Theory of Rates." CAPITALIZATION AND MANAGEMENT. 49 working arrangements. The state has from the start extended more or less aid to railroads, reserving the right to purchase at pleasure, sub- ject to certain conditions as regards time and price. The German government enters with military precision and autocratic power into every detail of railway operation. It scrutinizes with particularity all construction work; fitness, adequacy and handling of equipment; administra- tion of property; expense of operating; details of receipts, and finally, the inspection of trains, sta- tions and other property. Its admirable bureau- cratic system, the result of many years of patient and systematic work under a stable government, in a measure redeems its operations from the cruel hardships that generally characterize gov- ernment management. But notwithstanding this its railroads would be operated with much greater efficiency if they were in the hands of private 'citizens. In Austria the bulk of the railway securities are guaranteed by the government, and the prop- erties, save their equipment, revert to it at the expiration of ninety years. The Austria-Hun- garian government, like that of Germany, has a highly creditable civil service, and performs what it undertakes with more than average efficiency. It is not able, however, to supply the place of private talent, experience and interest. It strives to throw around railway construction and man- agement every needed safeguard. But like the emanations of other governments under similar 4- Vol. 3 50 FINANCING CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING'. circumstances, its regulations are more specious than real. Thus, one of them provides that in the event the profits of a railroad exceed fifteen per cent., the government shall have the right to reduce them to that figure!* In Belgium the government nas interested itself directly and actively in the operation of railroads from the start. It first took upon itself to pro- vide the land they needed. Afterward, its inter- vention extended to the work of construction and management. It practically owns all the railroads in the kingdom. In some cases they are leased to private parties; in others they are man- aged directly by the state. . The Italian railroads were ouiit partly by the government and partly by private parties. State guaranties were, however, important. The gov- ernment exercises a strict supervision over affairs. The railroad system is vested in two great com- panies having leases for sixty years, with the right to relinquish to the government at the end of twenty or forty years. Rental to be paid the government is based on a reciprocal division of receipts. In Holland the railways were constructed by the government with public moneys. The work- ing of the roads is, however, intrusted to private parties, the state participating in the revenues on an agreed scale. * This is one of the reservations governments make that seem so sagacious, but that are really unnecessary, unbusiness- like and absurd. CAPITA LIZA TION AND MAN A GEMENT. 5 1 The number of railways built and managed by private corporations in Russia is greater, rela- tively, it is said, than in any other country on the continent of Europe; but private management, it is thought, will not continue permanently, the nature of the country and the miltary exigencies of the government rendering final possession of the railroads by the government almost a cer- tainty. However, the power of the Czar is such as to give him control tantamount to that of indi- vidual ownership. The bulk of the railroads in Russia have been fostered by governmental aid, conditioned upon the lines reverting to the state under certain conditions. Such is, briefly, a history of the development and capitalization of the railroads of some of the great countries of the world. In comparing the methods that have attended the inception, growth and administration of railroads, the superior wis- dom and sagacity of the government of Great Britain is apparent. It has believed from the start that the greatest good was to be attained by encouraging individuals to take the initiative, and by granting them sole power and responsi- bility of management. It has not reserved to itself powers that could by any possibility em- barrass owners or cripple the capacity of proper- ties. Its intervention has never extended further than to prevent two roads being built where one only was needed. Wisdom such as it has dis- played is rare in the history of mankind, but such as we might expect from a nation of business 52 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. men who, by conservatism, energy and wise administration of affairs, have made that coun- try the greatest the world has ever known. The business men of America are not less wise, not less conservative, not less energetic than their English cousins. The action of the two govern- ments has from the start been based on purely commercial grounds. It has been such as the greatness of the occasion and the exigencies of railway property required. It may well find favor and imitation in other less worldly wise countries. CHAPTER IV. INFLUENCES FAVORABLE AND OTHERWISE ON THE CAPITALIZATION OF RAILROADS. Iii capitalizing railways, care ought always to be exercised, so far as it is practicable, not to issue a form of security which may at some future time make those holding it antagonistic to the permanent interests of the property. That will prevent a conservative course being followed. That may have the effect to trench on necessary reserves, or suggest reckless financiering in other directions. Circumstances, however, sometimes compel such a course; the financial situation of a property may be such as to prevent consider- ation of future contingencies. The vicissitudes of business afford many illustrations of this kind, in private life as well as in corporate experience. While they are to be deplored, they cannot be remedied nor their consequences avoided. Busi- ness men live in a practical world, and provide as best they may for its wants as they occur, leaving it to their successors to do the same. However, an emergency that compels a disregard of the future in corporate existence must be real and pressing; nothing else can excuse it. Such an occasion may justify the issue of an income (53) 54 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. bond or a stock upon which no dividend can be paid until a certain return has been made on a prior security. But such a thing is sure, sooner or later, to create antagonisms between holders. When this occurs, the scales of j ustice cannot be evenly balanced nor properties impartially ad- ministered. Whenever it is in the power of a particular class of holders to take advantage of another class of holders, we may be certain that they will do so. Such struggles, however, teach men wisdom, self-reliance, foresight and prudence, and are not, therefore, unmixed evils. The holders of different kinds of railway secu- rities largely represent different classes of people. Those whose fortunes require a definite and sure income are conservative and invest only in secu- rities of a high class. Many business men and capitalists are attracted only by securities of this kind. Those not so conservative, or to whom present income is not a matter of especial con- cern, take into account'the future possibilities of a property. The speculative classes invest in any- thing they think they may make money out of. They are like the fireflies that glimmer in the dusk of a summer's evening, now here, now there, but affording neither light to guide nor fire to warm. Under normal conditions the price of railway securities is based on present returns, conditioned on future probabilities. Capital is extremely sen- sitive to extraneous influences, such as unfriendly INFLUENCES' ON CAPITALIZATION. 55 legislation, or possible reverses of business. Every influence of this kind is carefully weighed by pru- dent investors and fully discounted in advance. Many securities do not, unfortunately, command a price proportionate to their value, because of not being fully known to those who have money to invest in enterprises of this character. On the other hand, many securities command a much greater price than their relative worth justifies, because of being well known and generally traded in. The holders of railway securities are highly apprehensive. In nothing is their business-like character so quickly and unmistakably evinced as in its condemnation of attempts to bolster up the price of securities by such fictitious aids as the payment of unearned dividends or a division of profits required to be reinvested in the prop- erty. Such action always results eventually in weakening securities. Thus it frequently hap- pens that a dividend will depreciate a stock to a much greater extent than the amount divided. So well is this understood in the United States that conservative men who manage railways will not declare a dividend for a sum greater than the actual financial affairs of the company warrant, erring, if they err at all, on the safe side. In the inception of railways in America it was designed that they should be constructed wholly with the proceeds of capital stock. But the discre- tion such form of security afforded those charged with management (as to time and amount of 56 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. return to be rendered holders) did not satisfy investors. Not that managers were generally un- faithful, but that results did not realize the ex- pectations of owners, and they did not have the control over their property they desired. Hence, while capital stock was not wholly abandoned, mortgage bonds and other forms of security, defi- nite as regards returns, took its place. The wis- dom of this course cannot be doubted. The construction of a railway is attended by an almost infinite variety of influences, as regards available means and probable productiveness of the property. Upon these the amount and nature of its capitalization directly depend. The securi- ties issued, whatever their amount or form, repre- sent the property. They are the axis about which everything revolves; the center of expectation and desire; the tangible evidence of ownership, of accumulated wealth, of hope of income or gain. Their fluctuations in the market are consequently marked by gladness or sorrow, comfort or depri- vation, abundance or want of holders. The uniformity of relation that net income bears to capital over the world is an evidence of the ^wisdom of the capitalistic class. It proves that, notwithstanding the vagaries of govern- ments and peoples, the expectations of capital in all stable countries have been fulfilled. Because of unavoidable limitations, invest- ments in railways cannot exceed, if they equal, rates of interest in other directions. But they should not fall far below, and when they do, it INFLUENCES ON CAPITALIZATION. 57 indicates abnormal conditions which should be remedied. The greatest possible differences exist as to the relation earnings and expenses of railroads bear to each other. The relation, whatever it may be, is generally construed as indicating the relative value of properties, or the wisdom and economy exercised in working them. It varies, however, very much from year to year. Railways generally may be depended upon to show the best results whose organization is the best. Wisdom in organizing precedes skill and fidelity in managing. Only the securities of such companies afford safe investments; only such should be traded in. Others may be stable for a time, but are unsafe. Men differ greatly in opinion in regard to methods of management. From the results achieved, many believe the administration of railroads in the United States to be the best in the world; that no others equal it in ability to achieve great ends with so little friction or at so small a cost. Moreover, it grows each day more effective, each day better, each day more ac- countable. Corporations managed by private owners are the most effective, and the most useful to the community. The percentage of expenses to earn- ings in thecaseof private ownership is considerably less under like conditions than state management. It has been demonstrated, over and over again, that government control is more expensive than 58 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. that of private management, but in considering the difference in cost it should be remembered that the loss to the community is only repre- sented, in part, by the difference in expense of working under government management as com- pared with private ownership. Waste in expenses represents high rates. Economical management, low rates. Under one many industries are impos- sible that may be carried on profitably under the other. Extravagance in the management of rail- ways ever means more to the public than the difference in the amount of the expense account. Of the factors that affect the productiveness of capital invested in railways, cost of maintain- ing and operating are ever quite as important as gross revenue. The cost of operating is being decreased year by year, as we become more expe- rienced and possess better appliances, but the cost of maintenance is not so sensibly affected by these influences. CHAPTER V. SOMETHING ABOUT THE CHARACTER OP DIFFERENT KINDS OF SECURITIES. The capitalization of railways takes on that form which best conserves the interests of the property. Instances where this is not so are ex- ceptions, exceptions to be guarded against, no doubt, but not to be made the occasion of em- barrassing railroads generally. Methods of capitalizing railways are few and simple, and such as investors understand. Men will not place funds in ventures difficult to com- prehend or that they are unused to. If the law takes cognizance at all of methods of capitalizing railways, it should prevent stocks or bonds being issued except for bona fide consid- eration, for new property or improvements. However, as a matter of fact, the intervention of the law-making power is not necessary, except to legalize what is done. Buyer and seller may be safely left to adjust details and arrange prices. Private citizens are able here, as elsewhere, to guard their own interests. Methods and forms arranged by individuals familiar with such mat- ters, and personally concerned, will always be better than those of a perfunctory nature ar- ranged by public officials to fit every occasion. (59) 60 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. It is a purely practical question, to be settled between practical and self-adaptive people. While wrongs have, no doubt attended the capitalization of particular railroads, personal surveillance and self-interest are more powerful to control and keep such matters in check than any other influences. The state has not suffered because of laxity in this respect. On the con- trary, enormous advantages have accrued to it from the successful launching of railways, through individual enterprise, impossible under more com- plex forms. Men who invest money look carefully to the security they get, and may be depended upon to hold in restraint those with whom they deal. If they fail to do so, the experience they gain through their losses is money well invested. Men are thus taught. On the other hand, gov- ernmental interference fosters ignorance and. builds up a dependent instead of a self-reliant people. In all matters of a commercial nature man's covetousness will crop out will lead him to do things he ought not to do and omit to do things he ought to do. It has been so. from the begin- ning and will be to the end. Acquisitiveness is the instinct of trade, and we make a mistake in attaching importance to many of the practices it gives rise to. Railway owners have been singled out for especial animadversion in this respect, while kindred practices on the part of merchants, manufacturers, bankers and others have passed THE CHARACTER OF SECURITIES. 61 unnoticed. Those who own and operate railroads compare favorably with men engaged in other commercial pursuits. Their weaknesses are not on the whole prejudicial to public good; their lapses from virtue not more frequent than those of editors and farmers. When these lapses occur, it is wrong to attribute to them the importance of conditions. They should be treated, if crim- inal, as we treat criminal acts in other walks of life. But the whole railroad community should not be bound over to keep the peace because of them. An extreme instance of deliberate wrong-doing is the case of those who build railroads without reference to their need or earnings power, with a view to making money out of their construction, capitalization or sale. Such transactions may properly be prevented by law, if it can be done without creating in the minds of the people a further desire to interfere through the legislature. 1 A law requiring the projectors of railroads to 'secure the approval in advance of an impartial governmental board of experts would be a good thing, if we could be sure it would be honestly and wisely administered. Concentrating the savings of many in the ownership of railways has been followed by simi- 1 lar concentration elsewhere. The tendency of the times is steadily in the direction of the con- solidation of analogous interests, either in corpo- rations or so-called trusts. We may inveigh against this tendency, but uselessly, because it 62 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. is responsive to the needs of mankind; is the outgrowth of competition of the necessity there is to reduce expenses in order to afford owners of capital a margin of profit. It is said that the capital invested in railroads represents in the neighborhood of a tenth of the wealth of the world and a third of its invested capital. Its relation to other industries is more likely to increase in magnitude than diminish with time. If wisely governed, its growth will be rapid; if unwisely governed, its growth will be slow. Each day adds to our experience and fits us better to cope with the subject. We notice this growing power in the disposition and ability of owners to manage great properties where they formerly found it difficult to manage small ones; in the growing tendency to consoli- date scattering lines into great systems. Within certain bounds concentration is a con- venience to the public and a profit to owners. But it must be attended by enlarged and adapt- ive methods of administration. When a property passes beyond the immediate eye of its manager, when he can no longer watch each man and see what he is doing from hour to hour, responsible, co-operative governmental methods must be instituted. The trouble is that those affected by the change frequently do not know anything about responsible methods of government, or, if they do, will not conform thereto. Such cases call for quick and energetic action wherever it is expected properties will prove productive. THE CHARACTER OF SECURITIES. 63 The benefits of consolidated properties have been added to by the practices of railroads of sending traffic through over connecting lines without retailing or changing cars. Such arrange- ments have, so far as the public is concerned, the advantages of a continuous line. They add to the convenience, comfort and profit of the people, and stimulate their patriotism and broaden their understanding by leading them to undertake distant ventures they would not otherwise at- tempt. In the construction, capitalization and oper- ation of railroads, it is inevitable that unfair advantage should sometimes be taken of owners by their representatives. Such occurrences are, however, a mere incident of the situation, neither frequent nor important. I do not make them a feature of my writings, because such evils are unavoidable and carry within themselves the seeds of correction. The owners of railroads may be safely trusted to apply necessary rem- edies. It is idle to inveigh against such practices or formulate speculative remedies. They can only be reached effectively by the owner. His self-interest will prompt action and quicken his intelligence. The securities of railroads may be safely left to the corporation that sells and to those who buy. Public solicitude here, as elsewhere, is not only injurious, but futile. If men are beguiled into unprofitable trades it teaches them wisdom, and wisdom thus acquired is a part of our 64 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. commercial greatness. Experience cannot be ob- tained in any less practical way. Governments cannot teach it, nor can laws render its posses- sion unnecessary in life. The struggle between those who have something to sell and those who wish to buy is incessant. Injustice is oftentimes done, but it cannot be prevented by statutes or police regulations, and good eventually flows from it. In the purchase of railway securities investors do not always get the security they think they do. Thus, a mortgage should be for a part only of the cost. Those who make loans on real estate only advance a portion of the value. The mortgage bonds of railways should be similarly supported. There would then be fewer roads in the hands of receivers, fewer disappointed bond- holders. The precaution is a reasonable one. When properties are built wholly with the pro- ceeds of bonds, such securities are not as good as capital stock would be under similar circum- stances. Such ventures lack financial elasticity. They cannot adjust themselves to the vicissitudes of business, and because of this are likely at any time to occasion a crisis highly detrimental to owners. Reasonable safety requires that only a portion of the cost of a property should be cov- ered by bonds, or that such securities should be guaranteed by more stable properties. When thus supported, they offer greater attractions than capital stock, and may, therefore, as a rule, be sold to better advantage than, stock THE CHARACTER OF SECURITIES. 65 The English generally divide their capital account^ as between bonds (debentures) and pre- ferred and common stock. The value of this division, and the relation each sustains to the other so as to secure advantageous results (espe- cially in the case of established properties), is thus portrayed by an English writer on the sub- ject.* " The smaller the percentage of bonds the greater the likelihood of some dividend being paid on the shares. Thus the proportion of capi- tal upon which no dividend is paid is twice as great in the United States as in the United Kingdom. A large percentage of bonds has another very important consequence, namely, that it renders the line more susceptible of becom- ing bankrupt or falling into a receiver's hands, or being wound up, as the case may be. A loss of earnings which in the case of a line with twenty- five per cent, of bonds would only involve a diminution of the dividend, might in the case of a line with fifty per cent, of bonds involve the appointment of a receiver. Now the defaults which have occurred on American lines have been one of the causes of the prevalent distrust of American railway securities. Thus a practical means of improving the credit of American rail- ways would be -by raising further capital, when required, by the issue of shares instead of bonds. The difference between English and American railways is marked. In the United Kingdom Hither more than half the share capital consists * Charles Eason, Jr., M. A. 5 Vol. 3 66 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. of guaranteed and preference shares; while in the United States only about thirteen per cent, of the stock is preferred. . . The English compa- nies consider it more beneficial to raise capital by the creation of preferred stock. A too large creation of preferential stock has disadvantages. It renders the ordinary stock more exposed to variations of dividend and the company more liable to the discredit of not paying full dividend on preference shares, and also impairs the control of the line by the ordinary shareholders, who are most interested in its successful management. It is not clear to me why the American lines have created so little preferred stock; for example, the Pennsylvania railway company has no pre- ferred stock. Now, this company would find the same advantages from raising capital by means of preferred stock as are obtained by, say, the London and North- Western. The advantages are (1) as against the issue of bonds it has the advantage of giving additional security to the payment of interest upon existing mortgages, and (2) as against ordinary stock, it has the advantage of not tending to reduce the dividend upon the ordinary stock, which a creation of ordinary stock would have unless the capital expended yielded the full rate of dividend already being paid upon the ordinary shares. Thus, sup- pose five million dollars of capital to be required, the net revenue yielded will in no way be affected by the mode in which the money is raised, whether, let us say, by bonds at three and a half per cent., THE CHARACTER OF SECURITIES. 67 or preferred stock at four per cent., or ordinary stock on which a seven per cent, dividend is being paid. Let us suppose that the expenditure yields a net revenue of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. In case one the debenture interest is in- creased by one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars, there is twenty-five thousand dollars less for division among preferred and ordinary share- holders, and the margin of earnings over interest is diminished to this extent. In case two, the preferred stock requires an additional two hun- dred thousand dollars per annum. Thus the sum available for ordinary shareholders is di- minished by fifty thousand dollars; but on the other hand the margin of earnings over interest is increased' by one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. In case three, the margin over earnings is increased as in case two, but the net revenue is deficient by two hundred thousand dollars of the sum required to pay seven per cent, dividend upon ordinary stock, and the dividend must therefore be diminished. The course to be adopted in any particular case must depend upon the proportions of the capital already existing and the dividends that are being paid. Taking the case of the Pennsylvania railway, a preference stock would be the best, for the proportion of bonds is large enough, and as it is not likely that the new capital will earn eight per cent, the crea- tion of preference stock would tend to maintain the dividend. It is an obvious objection that a new stock might be less marketable on account 68 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. of its novelty, custom having a great deal of influence in such matters; but the essential soundness of the policy would soon be perceived by investors. It is a sine qua non of a sound issue of preference stock that a dividend should have been, for some time, steadily paid upon ordinary stock, otherwise tne preference is one in name only. Fluctuations in receipts render the value of stocks uncertain, and thus fit them for being the subjects of speculation. It is the small proportion of stocks to bonds which enables a small combination of capitalists, or even a single capitalist, to control entire railways and to manipulate them at pleasure. 'The only prac- tical way to mitigate such power is by operating upon the causes which form its basis. It is im- portant to observe how the various circumstances combine to facilitate the acquisition of properties under the circumstances mentioned. First the earnings power of railways is liable to great varia- tions; second, this renders manipulation of the traffic and earnings difficult to detect; third, the small percentage of share capital renders the dividends very sensitive to variations in earnings; and, fourth, this causes a large proportion of lines to pay no dividends or very small dividends; fifth, the value of the shares being depreciated, and standing very much below par, only a small amount relatively is necessary to purchase a majority of the stock, and thus obtain control of a line; sixth, the non-existence of any large quan- tity of preference stock further facilitates such THE CHARACTER OF SECURITIES. 69 operations. Voting power attaches to preference stock, but not to bonds. Hence, a large quantity of preference stock would make it more difficult to get a preponderance of voting power." The matter-of-fact way in which railways were built and capitalized in the United States is characteristic of business men. The scant means at hand to build with, the high rate of interest that prevailed, and the risk that attended such ventures, occupied the people much more than questions of future administration. Construction and capitalization were such as the resources of a versatile people, hardly pressed, suggested. The American method of capitalization was good for America. It resulted in the rapid development of the country and its unexampled growth in wealth. If it had not been generally fair and equitable, this would not have been the case. The peculiar situation in the United States, coupled with the extreme conservatism of those who own our railroads, first suggested the reser- vation of a part of the net earnings for use in improving the property. Many institutions have thus been saved from discredit that would other- wise have met with disaster. It is a simple, homely means, and such as only practical busi- ness men could be induced to adopt. Referring to it, Mr. Eason says: "What are the advantages of carrying forward these balances, and how are they employed? They are required to give ad- ditional security to the bondholders, and are rendered necessary by the excessive proportion 70 FINANCING, CONSTR UCTING, MA IX 7\ I IXIN( , . of interest bearing capital, and consequent in- terest charges. They are employed as capital, but as they do not bear interest, whatever they yield goes to increase the surplus for interest and dividend. The effect is shown in the main- tenance of the earning power of a line and in its power to maintain it in the face of competition of other companies. The value put upon the permanent way in the company's balance sheet is merely nominal. The true measure of value is net revenue that a company can earn. In de- ciding upon the appropriation of net revenue and the method of providing the capital for further expenditure, whether on lines open for traffic, making new lines, or investments in securities of other lines, the important point for consideration is what will be the effect upon the net revenue. If the additional expenditure will yield net reve- nue sufficient to pay the interest upon the sum expended, there is no reason why it should not be provided for by the issue of an additional cap- ital. If it is provided for out of income, the ad- ditional net revenue would become available for payment of dividend upon the existing stock, and the rate of dividend would increase. But it may happen that competition may so reduce rates that the earning power of the capital may diminish, so that the yield on total expenditure may not be increased. In this case, if the expenditure had been provided for by creation of fresh capi- tal, the dividend must diminish, but if provided for out of income the rate of dividend may be THE CHARACTER OF SECURITIES. 71 maintained. ... It may be that the capital expended has added to the earning power of the line, but the net revenue may remain stationary in consequence of a decline in rates, and it may well be that it was recognition of the liability to a loss of profit from this cause which leads a company to devote surplus income to permanent expenditure. The company adopting such a pol- icy has a clear advantage over a rival company which has no surplus income, and has to obtain the funds for construction by the creation of ad- ditional capital. This latter company may be gradually driven into default by competition with a strong company adopting another policy." It is to meet the eventualities of the future that provident owners of railroads are led to in- vest a part of present income in strengthening their properties. The wisdom of their course has been proven too many times to need demon- stration now. CHAPTER VI. SO-CALLED "WATERED" STOCK. Most of the literature in regard to railroads emanates from men unfamiliar with their affairs. It is as a rule severely critical. Men who have filled prominent railroad offices without being railroad men have also favored us. Their views are optimistic and afford food for demagogues only. Railway men have little leisure to devote to abstract thought. Moreover, the labor of cor- recting the misrepresentations of the class re- ferred to is too Herculean a task to be undertaken lightly. Time alone is equal to this. What is needed in discussing railway questions of public concern, is common honesty based on experience and knowledge of economic laws. Faithful portrayal is impossible otherwise. The belief, more or less general, that the stocks of American railroads are generally watered is due to lack of information. The subject has been much harped upon and is a fad. As a pleas- antry it is well enough, but seriously it is wrong, because not true. The securities of American railroads are, as a rule, bona fide. 'Many proper- ties are not fully capitalized. The small average cost per mile is sufficient to prove this. But it is (72) SO-CALLED "WATERED" STOCK. 73 probable that the charge will continue to be made so long as railroads are run and people may attract attention by misrepresenting them. The theme is an endless one for those who seek 'to catch the public ear through its passions and prej- udices. Millions to them are as soap bubbles, and particular instances of wrong have the force of universal custom. If an individual railroad man sins, they fasten his crime, like a blanket, on the whole human race. It straightway be- comes a rallying cry and a means of spreading distrust. Actual instances of wrong-doing are few in number and unimportant. However, they are made the subject of general accusations, and in that form serve to create dissatisfaction be- tween carrier and patron, and employer and employe. Warfare on property takes on many aspects. It is never open and manly; always insidious and covert, always cowardly. Whatever its aspect, its purpose is bad, its aim the aggrandizement of the improvident at the expense of the industrious and saving. It cannot be restricted to railway property. If encouraged, it will ultimately ex- tend to manufactures, newspapers, banks, farms and other industries. It is anarchy. As we sow, so shall we reap. The issuance of railway stocks and bonds in England is jealously guarded by the state. While great laxity in this respect has existed in the United States, the forbearance has as a rule been fully respected. Good business usage has 74 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. governed in this matter, as it must and does in all things where men deal on equal terms with each other. The capital stock of American railways does not bear the authoritative stamp of the govern- ment. This has undoubtedly had its influence in determining owners to use their surplus income in many cases to improve and strengthen their property. It has made them conservative, as responsibility always does. They have sought to make assurance doubly sure. Undoubtedly cases of wrong-doing have occurred and will continue to occur in railway practices, including those of capitalizing these properties. They cannot be prevented. The parties in fault are eventually the greatest sufferers. Sins of this kind react on properties just as sins react on men. Atonement must always be made in the flesh. Many makeshifts are necessary in connection with railway development in a new country that are unknown in older and wealthier communi- ties. Thus, bonuses are offered and discounts suffered that are unnecessary in the latter case. But no honest man thinks of repudiating a note because he has to sell it at a discount. In old and established communities, when money is not forthcoming it is evidence that the field is not ripe for its use. It is different in new countries. It must be sought. Those who study the methods of a railway company become admirers of its adaptability and skill. Thus, the practice of established railway SO-CALLED "WATERED" STOCK. 75 corporations of buying up the stock of other and weaker companies, and issuing their own in lieu thereof (depositing the stock of the purchased company as collateral), while much criticised, is business-like, and has been found eminently useful. It is also a common practice for a com- pany, in extending its lines, to organize a new company, the stock and bonds of the parent com- pany being issued in lieu of those of the new company, the latter being deposited with a trustee. The securities of the older corporation, being known, can be sold to much better advan- tage than the new. Now, while the stock and bonds are technically duplicated, they are not so represented in the market. No one is injured, while everyone is benefited. I cite this particular practice of railroads, which has been somewhat severely criticised, as an illustration of many others that are assailed without reason. In some instances so-called watered stock rep- resents the premium paid for the risk involved. To illustrate, we will suppose that money in British Columbia is worth four per cent, per month; in London it is worth four per cent, per annum. Why the difference? Because money is scarce in British Columbia, and the risk is greater, or not so well known. But the trans- actions that occur in British Columbia are just as equitable as in London, and must be respected the same. And so it is when railroad stocks are sold at a discount, or, indeed, given as a bonus to purchasers to induce them to buy bonds. The 76 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. obligation is as bona fide as if a premium had been received To the failure on the part of American railroad companies to capitalize con- struction expenditures as they arise is due in some part the misunderstanding that exists in regard to our so-called watered stock. The mis- understanding is also due in some part to imper- fect bookkeeping. In other countries the issue of stocks and bonds is co-existent with the im- provement. Both can be seen at a glance, and no one dreams of denying owners this right, or of referring to the securities as fictitious. While we are accustomed to look upon rail- roads in use as finished, they are, as a matter of fact, ever in a state of growth. Sometimes the transformation is so rapid and of such great mag- nitude as to attract attention. Such outlays, it may be, are singled out by the railroad company and embraced in its returns under the head of construction, and capitalized. This, in a general way, is supposed to be the extent of a railway company's rights in this direction. As a matter of fact, however, the great bulk of the additions to a property are made up of myriads of petty improvements, so small as to escape the atten- tion of everyone but the accountant. Tlxe use of two nails where only one was originally charged to construction is an improvement, and affords the basis of further capitalization; but petty items of this nature have been entirely overlooked, be- ing embraced bodily in the operating expense account. SO-CALLED "WATERED" STOCK. 77 No railway is so perfectly constructed in the first instance that it is not improved by the add- ing of new ballast; by adjustment of grade; by widening of cuts and ditches; by better align- ment; by improved bridges and culverts; by greater weight and better quality of rail ; by added office, station and yard facilities; by new machine shops; by filling up of grounds; by ac- cumulation of personal property, and, generally, by the substitution of appliances of modern con- struction for those of an old pattern. Thus prop- erties grow. This growth, however, may not be noted in the returns, the whole being charged up as an operating expense. In such case the own- ers of the property have advanced the money needed to make the improvements, and in doing so have lessened the return available for divi- dends on their capital by just so much. It is in the nature of a loan. Manifestly it is their right and ^privilege, at their pleasure, to require a re- turn of the amount thus loaned. In those cases where the capital of a railroad has been watered, the conservative instincts of subsequent owners generally lead them to make good the amount; to supplement it with expend- itures for construction out of net earnings. The cases are extremely rare where a return is earned on watered values. Such securities are generally worthless so far as income is concerned and are so esteemed. They have no effect on rates what- ever. The competition of markets, not the actual or assumed cost of a property, determines these.* *See " Economic Theory of Kates." 78 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. The bonuses which must be paid for railroads and other improvements in a new and stable country cease when the risks, real or imaginary, that attend such ventures become known. These embarrassments are not known in wealthy coun- tries or in the case of established and productive properties. When net earnings are used for construction purposes, not only is the owner entitled to repre- sentation therefor, but also to interest thereon, as in the case of the original investment. He should be free to capitalize the outlay at his pleasure; whenever, in fact, his interests will be best conserved thereby. It is purely a practical question, and he should be allowed to meet it in his own time and way. We have no more right to deprive him of this privilege than we have to rob him of his watch. So acute, however, has been the feeling on the subject that the most ab- surd laws have been passed in the United States regulating such matters. Thus, one state forbids railroad companies issuing capital stock to cover disbursements for construction, but allows them to issue bonds therefor. This utter inability of the state to deal with an economic question is on a par with the whole batch of laws. CHAPTER VII. RAILWAY CAPITAL INVESTORS MUST NOT BUY WITH- OUT SCRUTINIZING, NOR HOLD WITHOUT GUARD- ING. Property owners are the same tne world over. They have not changed since men emerged from savagery. Their persistent, aggressive effort to achieve fortune is commendable. What one pos- sesses others strive to duplicate. This is called enterprise. Acquisitiveness is the animating cause of commercial activity. Possession of wealth the goal of mankind. If these truths were more generally kept in mind, careless and improvident men would be more wary in making investments, and more painstaking in looking after investments already made. Those who have money to invest in railroad securities should not buy without investigating, nor hold without guarding. Men who own valu- able horses do not leave them unguarded. In- vestors in corporations will be wise if they exercise similar foresight. It is only common business prudence. As long as men buy securities without intelli- gent investigation, so long will they be disap- pointed in their investments. I do not say that securities selling below par or at merely normal 80 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. figures may not be valuable. They may be more desirable than those selling at a premium. It is in judicious selections from such securities that great fortunes are often built up. But wise men will not touch a security without careful investi- gation. Those who do are reckless gamblers and unworthy of sympathy if their ventures turn out unfortunately. Those who have money to invest will also be wise in avoiding a country which does not accord corporate capital the same impartial treatment as other property. A country animated by such a spirit is as unsafe as a powder magazine in which children play. In making investments in railways the prop- erty into which it is proposed to buy should be scanned with reference to its particular merits and demerits. It must be considered generally and specifically: the country it supplies, its reve- s nues, character and amplitude of its construction, nature and extent of its bonds, stocks, leases, floating debt, contracts, agreements, and so on. The character of the management, its adequacy, fitness and trustworthiness, are also all important. A railway with an inadequate or defective gov- ernment is as untrustworthy as a corrupt or weak civil government. All these details must be carefully looked after by investors in every country. Investors resident in new countries are more apt to neglect necessary precautions than in older communities. They lack the wisdom that PRECAUTIONS FOR INVESTORS. 81 comes only with experience. In England share- holders in corporations consider it a duty to be present at meetings, and their sharp criticism is heard in every assembly of this kind. In Amer- ica the owner of railroad stock rarely, if ever, goes to a meeting of shareholders unless he has sufficient holdings to control the board or is a director. To do so is thought intrusive. This feeling is assiduously cultivated by his more robust, aggressive and powerful brothers who have control. The stockholder's absence is grate- ful, his presence irritating. This is natural. Criticism is always offensive. However, stock- holders should not be deterred from doing their duty. No one should ever give a proxy if he can be present personally. It is common sense, sim- ply business prudence not to do so. The practice should not be waived in the case of railways any more than in the case of manufactories, breweries and banks. It is a duty property hold- ers owe to themselves and to the community at large. While men should not buy railway securities without investigation, they should not sell with- out reason. Mere rumor should not disturb them. Stocks and bonds are ever the subjects of manip- ulation. The effort to induce holders to sell, when they ought to hold, never for a moment ceases. Representations conform to these ends and markets are manipulated accordingly. Spec- ulative classes are kept alive by the dupes who believe these misrepresentations. 6 Vol. 3 82 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. Much good advice has been given the English, Dutch and Germans in reference to their invest- ments in other countries, especially America. I do not remember, however, to have noticed any reference to a safeguard of the utmost impor- tance to them, namely, proper representation on the ground. The losses foreigners have suffered in America have not been the result so much of dishonesty or trickery on the part of local own- ers 'and managers, as of the gross stupidity of those who represent foreign holders. These rep- resentatives are generally of the same nationality as their principals, and, as a rule, know nothing about American methods or men, and are not in sympathy with its people. The honorable ex- ceptions to this rule only make it the more noticeable. As a rule the men sent to represent foreign capital know little about the business they are hired to look after, and their avenues of informa- tion are neither influential nor trustworthy; cer- tainly not such as to secure the objects they have in view. Foreigners investing in America or in any country will find it to their interest to select local agents from among reputable, practical business men, and in general those who do not solicit such trusts. Selection should be made if practicable of men already employed in similar work. In order to find fit agents, foreign invest- ors must visit the country and select their repre- sentatives from among those who possess the confidence of the business world. Such men do PRECAUTIONS FOR INVESTORS. 83 not go abroad to solicit trusts. Nor are they to be found in the lobbies of hotels. The same rule must be observed that is followed in selecting a cashier or superintendent. If investors will do this they will not have to complain of being over-reached by local owners and managers. The men that English, German and Dutch investors have sent abroad as agents have not, generally speaking, been such as to justify a reputation for shrewdness or business knowl- edge. Investments will not be wisely placed nor securely held until they change their methods in this respect. In many cases the representatives of foreign holders in America have been the unconscious dupes of those who are not trusted by their own neighbors; foreigners in control of stable com- panies in America have not too often been able to maintain them; when they have controlled weak companies they have lacked the skill to strengthen them. In the majority of cases their purchases have been such as attract the credulous and unwary; of those who look for exorbitant returns; of those who seek a royal road to wealth; those who do not observe the common precau- tions of business men. But if those who represent foreign investors in other countries lack ability, experience, adapta- bility, and oftentimes common honesty, how shall we characterize many Americans who visit Eu- rope to negotiate loans? They are rarely repre- sentative and are not trusted by their owu 84 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. countrymen. Birds of passage, their migratory errands too often indicate a lack of capital at home that does not exist. While many trust- worthy men go upon such errands, many of them are unworthy to be trusted. They sin doubly, first in inducing people to invest, and afterward in representing them. They first fleece the foreigner by misrepresentations and rob him afterward as agents. What are we to think of the acumen of men who have been so systemati- cally imposed upon as the English, Hollanders and Germans have in this respect? Generally speaking, foreigners will exercise a wise discretion if they decline to buy into enter- prises to such an extent as to give the properties the reputation of being controlled by them. Such reputation may prove hurtful. The more unob- trusively foreign investments are made and held, the more likely they are to be satisfactory and the less likely they are to occasion owners anx- iety. Not that there is necessarily any enmity toward foreigners, but patriotic prejudices run high among every people, and wise men do not run counter thereto in business matters if they can avoid it. CHAPTER VIII. DIFFERENT KINDS OF SHARES ' RETURNS THEREON ; TRANSFER BOOKS, ETC. CAPITAL STOCK AND SHAREHOLDERS. As I have pointed out, the practice in England in capitalizing railway property is to sell capital stock (shares) to such an extent as to constitute a substantial investment, and a material security to the holders of debentures. It will be a good rule to follow in America hereafter, in the in- auguration of new companies not backed by old and well established corporations. The practice in the beginning was to pay a nominal sum on the stock, and issue bonds to cover the balance. The custom was a necessity, and, under the cir- cumstances, perfectly proper. I have no criticism to make. Other countries cannot go far wrong under similar circumstances if they follow the practices of America. Its railroads have been admirably managed from the first. A very clever Englishman* has written a book of advice and warning to his countrymen who have investments in America. He might have claimed for it a wider field. It is in the main good. But there is no cut and dried formula that can be followed in capitalizing a property or in making invest- * John Swann, M. A. (85) 86 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. merits in it afterward. I have referred to this phase of the subject very fully in another chapter. The total cost of a company's property, includ- ing the supplies and working fund required in its operation, is the proper basis of its capital- ization. In the United States this is represented largely by mortgage bonds and what is called capital stock. The latter should more properly be called shares capital. The term capital stock in the sense we use it is misleading, because ap- plied to a security that represents only a fraction of the cost. In England they speak of the capital stock of railways. Never of cost. The former at one time implied the latter. Every company should be privileged to cause the cost of its property to be represented either with interest bearing bonds or shares,* any excess of cost over such issues to stand upon the books until such time as the proprietors see proper to give it representation; it is a part of the cap- ital as much as the first dollar paid toward the venture. Whatever a company earns over its oper- ating expenses, taxes, rentals, interest, and other accounts chargeable against income, belongs to the owners of its shares, to be equitably appor- tioned among them. It is called a dividend. This division is in many cases delayed. In some instances it is never made, but withheld for use *The English speak of the obligations of governments as stocks; the securities of railroads as shares. THE DIFVERKXT KIXDS <>!' SHARKS. 87 in improving the property. However, it is in the nature of a loan, and should not be covered up in the accounts nor lost sight of. It is an obliga- tion due to the shareholder, the same as a note of hand, payable when the exigencies of business will permit. A majority of the shares of the capital stock of a property (or a majority of those voting, accord- ing to the by-laws of the company) elect its directors. These control its operations for the period of time for which they are elected. In the event of foreclosure and sale of a property, the shareholders (who are the company) possess the right of redemption, but in the event this right is not exercised, their shares may become invalid. The par value of a share of capital stock in an American railroad is usually one hundred dollars. In some cases the shares are fifty dollars each. Frequently two kinds of shares (preferred and common) are issued. Their printed form is sub- stantially alike.* They have, however, different * Form of certificate of capital stock: No. 980. PKEFEBKED. 100 Shares. Capital Stock. Shares $100 each. MINNEAPOLIS & SOUTH PACIFIC RAILROAD CO. STATE OF MINNESOTA. THIS CERTIFIES that JOHN DOE is the owner of ONE HUNDRED Shares of the Preferred Capital Stock of the Minneapolis & South Pacific Railroad Company, transferable on the books of the Company on surrender of this certificate. WITNESS the signature of the President and Secretary. Dated April 19, 1880. HUGH GRAY, Secretary. C. G. PHILLIPS, President. The certificates for common shares are similar to the above, except that the word Common is substituted for Preferred. 88 FINANCING, CONSTR UCT1XG, MAINTAIXINi i . rights. The higher grade is called preferred stock or preference shares, the subordinate grade, common or ordinary stock. The rights these shares severally enjoy, and the maximum amount of each that may be issued, are set forth in the articles of incorporation, and this limit cannot be exceeded without formal consent of the par- ties in interest. Many companies have more than two classes of shares.* The relation they sustain to each other is determined by the circumstances that necessitated the diversity of interest. When a company in poor credit is compelled to raise money, the best terms it can get are accepted; sometimes mortgage bonds are thus created; sometimes new shares are issued (at a great dis- count, perhaps), which shares, by consent of the holders of existing securities, frequently take pre- cedence of prior issues. There is no fixed value. It is in such ways that different classes of shares and bonds come into existence. The rights en- joyed by holders of preferred and common shares, on different roads, are rarely the same.f * The Grand Trunk Railway Company, of Canada, has five, viz.: Ordinary Stock; Guaranteed Four Per Cent.; First Prefer- ence; Second Preference; and Third Preference. It has, be- sides, various kinds of bonds. f The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Company's preferred shareholders are entitled to an annual dividend of seven per cent, before a dividend can be paid on the common shares. The preferred shares of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rail- way (which amount to only $533,500) are entitled to an annual dividend of ten per cent, on their par value before the ordinary shares can receive any return. No dividend can be paid on the THK DIFFERENT KINDS OF SHARES. 89 When there are two classes of stock, the pre- ference usually extends no further than a division of net earnings. Thus while the holders of pre- ferred stock may be entitled to a certain return before inferior shares can receive anything, still, in the event the property is sold, the surplus, after satisfying the mortgage and other debts, is divided equally among all classes of shareholders. In some instances, however, the rights of the pre- ferred holders extend to a division of the property. Dividends are declared by the board of direct- ors. The meeting at which a dividend is declared must be legally convened and must in all respects conform to the statutes and the company's by- laws. The amount of the contemplated dividend being fixed by the board, it declares .how it shall be paid (whether in cash, in shares or in bonds) and when. It also fixfcs the date when the books in which transfers of stock are recorded shall be closed and when they shall be reopened. Dividends are paid to the order of the persons who appear upon the stock ledger as owners at the time the books are closed. A period averaging from ten to thirty days usually elapses, between the declaration of a divi- dend and the closing of the books. The reason is that there are many shares passing from hand to hand (as they are bought and sold) that have not common shares of the North-Western road during any year, out of the receipts of such year, until seven per cent, has been divided among the holders of preferred shares. Other differ- ences, still more marked, might be cited. 90 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. been transferred on the books. When a certifi- cate is sold by the original holder the power of attorney on the back is signed, in blank, by him.* This enables the holder, whoever he may be, to take it to the office of the registrar at any time he pleases and have it transferred. But shares frequently change hands many times without transfer of ownership appearing on the books. When a dividend is declared, every person who owns a certificate registered in the name of some one else usually (but not necessarily) has it trans- ferred. It is in order to facilitate these transfers that a period of time is allowed between the declaration of a dividend and the closing of the books. While the books are closed details regarding payment, such as the drawing of checks, etc., are performed. Corporations are required by law to give notice of the payment of dividends; also of meetings of stockholders. They are not allowed to close their stock books without giving public notice in advance, specifying the date the books are to be closed, when they will be reopened, and the reason * Form of Transfer and power of attorney printed on back of certificate of stock: For value received do hereby sell, transfer and assign to the within mentioned Shares of.Stock, and do hereby constitute and appoint as Attorney, irrevocably, to transfer said stock on the books of the within named Company, and to make and execute all neces- sary acts of assignment and transfer required by the regulations and by-laws of said Company either in person or by such other Attorney or Attorneys as may appoint or substitute for that purpose. Witness hand and seal this day of 18.... Signed and Delivered in the presence of (Thos. Robinson.) JAMES JONES. THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF SHARES. 91 why they are closed. A period of from thirty to forty days generally elapses between the closing and reopening of the books for a meeting of stock- holders. The stock books are closed preparatory to such meeting in order that a correct list of those legally entitled to vote may be made. Holders of stock are entitled to one vote for each share standing in their names when the books are closed. During the time the stock books are closed no transfer of shares can be made thereon. CHAPTER IX. DETAILS OF RAILWAY BONDS, LEASES, ETC. Bonds issued in the United States for the pur- pose of providing the means to build and equip railroads are called the Funded Debt. They are an absolute lien, and, in the event the. interest or principal is not paid as agreed, the property may be foreclosed and sold to the highest bidder. Bonds are commonly signed by the president and secretary and countersigned by the trustee. The latter is the contingent agent of the holder. Bonds vary in amount from one hundred to one hundred thousand dollars, according to the needs of the occasion. When there is more than one mortgage upon a property, the relation of the mortgages to each other is commonly indicated by their designation, as first, second, third and so on. It frequently occurs that a mortgage \vill be a first lien upon one piece of road and occupy a secondary place elsewhere. Each bond recites upon its face the property it covers and the rights its holders possess. Owners are called bondholders. Sometimes a company sells its bonds directly to investors, but more frequently through brokers. In the latter DETAILS OF RAIL WA Y BONDS, LEASES, ETC. 9$ case a commission is paid. Bonds run for various periods from one year upwards. To enable bondholders the better to protect their interests they are sometimes allowed to vote at meetings the same as stockholders. Such a course insures a very conservative management, as it is the interest of bondholders to divide as little of the surplus as possible among stock- holders, and expend as much as possible in im- proving and building up the property, every dollar thus expended adding so much to the security of the bondholder. The necessities of a company are sometimes such as to compel it to mortgage its income in advance; i. e., the balance that will be left after meeting existing obligations. Such securities are called Income Bonds. Specific articles of prop- erty, such as a building, bridge, engine, car or piece of machinery, are also sometimes sepa- rately mortgaged. Mortgages of this character, as well as those based on income, generally run only for a short period. The extent to which a road may with propri- ety be bonded depends, of course, upon its net receipts. Great conservatism is, so far as pos- sible, exercised. The multitude of properties that have passed into hands of receivers repre- sent risks more or less well understood from the start. There are oftentimes many distinct mortgages upon a piece of property. A fifth mortgage does not seem to be a very valuable security, yet it 94 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. may be preferable to a first mortgage in another case. Its obligations may be promptly met, and it may command a premium in the market, while a first mortgage in another case is discredited. The mortgages on a property usually represent its different stages of progress, and are, as a rule, evidences of prosperity rather than the contrary. The objection to a mortgage on a railway is its lack of flexibility. It makes no distinction between a property of no present or prospective value and one requiring only time to build it up. Many of the mortgages that have been foreclosed and the properties sold at a sacrifice, would have been paid in full, with interest, if the owners had been compelled to wait. For this reason a mort- gage is too exacting. Instead of protecting its holders it may be made the means, under false representations, perhaps, of frightening them into sacrificing their investment. Every mortgage provides for one or more trustees, whose duty it is, if the interest and principal are not paid when due, or within a specified time thereafter, to advertise and sell the property, if called upon by the holders of the bonds. The manner and form of action are pre- scribed. The minimum amount of bonds re- quired to compel action upon the part of the trustee is also indicated. This amount is com- monly made so small as to protect all the hold- ers. In the event of default the trustee may, of his own volition in many cases, go ahead and DETAILS OF RAIL WA Y BONDS, LEASES, ETC. 95 foreclose without being called upon by holders. He is supposed to act always in their interests. Mortgages take precedence according to their dates. Thus, the foreclosure of a third mortgage does not affect those of a prior date. But the foreclosure of a first mortgage invalidates all others. If, however, there remains any surplus over and above the amount required to satisfy such mortgage, it must be divided among the holders of the next succeeding mortgage, and so on until it is exhausted. In the event of the foreclosure of a first mortgage, or of any mort- gage, the holders of the next succeeding mortgage usually redeem the property if its worth justifies such a course, so as to save their interest in the property. In the event the requirements of an inferior mortgage are not satisfied, the holders of such mortgage have, in some cases, the right to compel the holders of prior mortgages to become parties to foreclosure proceedings; thus forcing the holders of such prior bonds to accept pay- ment for the same in advance of the time orig- inally specified. Debenture stock is a favorite form of security in Great Britain. It has a fixed rate of interest and is a positive lien upon the property, but there is no trustee, no definite form of procedure in- volving the whole issue in case of default. A holder can, if his interest is not paid, levy upon the company's property wherever found and place his name upon it, and hold it until his claim is satisfied. Co-operation with other holders is not 96 FltfANCltfG, CONSTRUCTIXG, MAIXTAIXIXd. obligator} 7 , and the sale of the property proceeds no farther than is necessary to reimburse the disaffected holder. In some portions of the United States mort- gages must be recorded upon the books of the recorder of deeds or other designated officer for each county in which the property is located. In other cases it is only necessary to record the mortgage at the state capital. An unrecorded mortgage has no value as against a recorded mortgage or the judgment of a court. Attached to every mortgage bond issued by railroad companies are diminutive notes of hand called coupons of the general form indicated below.* Each installment of interest, whether payable annually, semi-annually, or quarterly, is represented by one of these coupons. Thus the number of coupons attached is sometimes very great. The coupon when due is in the nature of a sight draft (payable to bearer) on the company issuing it. Every bond specifies on its face where the interest and principal are payable and the form of payment. * On the first day of January, A. D THE MINNEAPOLIS & SOUTH PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY Will pay to the bearer hereof THIRTY- FIVE DOLLARS, IN GOLD COIN, at its office or agency, in the city of New York, or, at its option, SEVEN POUNDS STERLING, at the office or agency of the BANK OP MONTREAL, in the city of $35 London, England, being SIX months 1 interest due on J&J that day on its ($1000) First Mortgage Gold Bond, No. 230. Dated JUNE 21st. 1879. L. C. JONES, SECBETAKY. DETAILS OF RAIL WA Y BONDS, LEASES, ETC. 97 Registered bonds are different from coupon bonds. Both the principal and interest are pay- able to order and can only be collected by the person in whose name they are registered upon the books of the corporation. This name is inserted in the body of the instrument. No coupons are attached to a registered bond. When interest matures it is forwarded to the address of the person in whose name the bond is registered. The expense and annoyance of transferring reg- istered bonds when they change hands detract from their market value. They are never issued except upon request. The bonds of railroad companies and those of the government are much alike in form. The manner of paying interest is also much the same. The interest on different kinds of bonds does not fall due at the same time. The convenience of a company is followed in fixing the date for paying interest. In some cases interest is paid quarterly. The general rule, however, is to pay it semi-annually. Interest on bonds constitutes a separate item in the income (profit and loss) account.* It is called, with rentals and guaranteed dividends, a fixed charge. Such are the details connected with mortgage bonds. When properties are leased, the amount paid as rental takes the place of interest on bonds * The returns of the United States government contemplate that the amount shall be entered on the books of a company each month as it accrues. 7 Vol. 3 98 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. in the returns of the lessee. In some cases, how- ever, the interest on the funded debt of the prop- erty leased is assumed by the lessee, in which case it may thus appear in the returns in lieu of rental as part or full payment of rental. The same diversity that is noticeable in other operations of railways characterizes their leases. A description of them is impracticable. Their scope and purpose find expression in the provis- ions that hedge them about. The consideration is never the same in any two cases, because the circumstances under which properties are leased are never the same. The manner of paying rentals also varies. Sometimes a fixed sum is paid, but more frequently the amount is dependent upon the earnings of the property or on the number of passengers or tons of freight transported. Some- times it is based on the earnings per train mile. Whatever it may be, it is clearly defined in the instrument, which also fixes the manner, time and place of payment. As the value of a railroad is dependent upon the fidelity and skill exercised in its operation and maintenance, the obligation of the lessee to manage so as to secure the best re- sults is usually set forth in the instrument at great length.* Arbitrators are, as a rule, provided for * I find the following in reference to this phase of the sub- ject in an old lease : " And the lessee agrees that at all times during the existence of this agreement he will faithfully main- tain and efficiently operate said railroad, and keep the same in good repair and condition, with appurtenances and incidents . . . furnish and supply at all times a sufficient and ample amount of motive power, and passenger and freight and other DETAILS OF RAILWA Y BONDS, LEASES, ETC. 99 in every lease (in the event differences should arise), the manner of their appointment and the rules governing their action being carefully pre- scribed. The lessee usually obligates himself to pay the taxes on the property leased and make full returns of its affairs to the lessor, the latter reserving the right to examine the books and ac- counts of the lessee at pleasure. It is the duty of the lessor, as a rule, to keep up the legal organi- zation of the property.* He is also required to cars, to do advantageously and in a proper manner all the freight and passenger business which may be offered or pro- cured for said road, and which may be secured to the said line . and will in all ways furnish all needful and proper facilities for the increasing business of said line, and the grow- ing demands of the country by its increasing production, or by the extension of said railroad communication; and will further adopt such judicious and efficient measures as may tend to make the said line a main and prosperous line ; the lessee further agrees that during the term hereby granted, he will operate, maintain, and keep in repair the said demised premises, pay all taxes assessed upon it, and indemnify and save harmless the said lessor against and from all costs, expenses and damages growing out of the maintaining, repairing, operating and using the said road." * " And the lessors hereby covenant and agree that they will, during the term in which the provisions of this indenture shall be in force, preserve and continue the legal organization of said leased road ; will hold meetings, keep records, pass votes, and appoint officers, so far as necessary to enable the lessees to carry into full force and effect the objects of this instrument ; and that they will give such further assurances as may be neces- sary therefor, and that they will at any and all times hereafter, when thereunto requested by the lessees, use their corporate powers, and do and perform in their own corporate name, any and all acts and things that may be necessary fully to protect said lessees in the full enjoyment of all the rights and privi- leges herein grunted." Extract from old lease. 100 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. maintain the lessee in peaceable possession and pay all liens or incumbrances on the property not otherwise provided for.* In addition to the practice of leasing of railroads as a whole, many leases are made to cover particular objects, such as the use of tracks, terminals, buildings and docks. In this way two or more companies fre- quently use properties in common. ""And the lessors further covenant and agree, that they will at all times protect the lessees in the quiet possession and enjoyment of the premises and rights hereby granted, or in- tended so to do, on said line of miles, and will assume and pay all liens and incumbrances at any time found to exist thereon, with all costs, damages, and legal charges by reason th of." Old lease. CHAPTER X. PARTICULARS OF SINKING FUNDS. Mankind has only a vague idea of what con- stitutes a sinking fund. Many who are otherwise attentive to what transpires about them refuse to consider the term at all when they meet it in print, but dodge it as they would a weak spot in the ice. They look upon it as an enigma of finance that only a few favored mortals may understand. Webster, defining the .verb "sink," says, "To cause to sink; to put under water; to immerse in water, as to sink a ship; to depress; to make by digging or delving, as to sink a pit or well." This explanation, though lucid, affords no clue to the term used in the vernacular of corpo- rations. A sinking fund is something set apart for a particular purpose. It does not necessarily con- sist of money. We will suppose that a rail- road company has certain bonds that will be- come due at a specified time in the future. To insure the payment of these bonds, a fixed sum is laid aside annually, or semi-annually. The amount thus husbanded can be used for no other purpose whatsoever. It is called a sink- ing fund. (101) 102 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. The custodian of the fund is the trustee. Some- times there are two or more of these officers.* In many cases a trust company acts. The last named practice is growing more and more in favor, and offers many advantages over old practices. The value of a security is dependent somewhat, as may readily be supposed, upon the character of the trustee for its sinking fund. His discre- tion is oftentimes large, and he may rigidly enforce the provisions of the instrument or he may evade them. No penalty usually attaches to him for neglect. In the case, however, of trust companies, they are held to a more rigid respon- sibility than individuals and their duties are better defined. The holders of a security for which a sinking fund is provided may call upon the trustee to ascertain if the requirements of the trust are complied with, but this is rarely, if ever, done. People who think about such things at all take it for granted that the trustee is performing his duty, and so let the matter drop. Another phase of the subject suggests itself. If a sinking fund is payable in cash, as it is in many cases, what is to prevent the trustee, if a private person, from appropriating the amount to his own use? He rarely, if ever, gives a bond. * Provision is usually made in the instrument creating a sinking fund, for the appointment of new trustees in the event those specifically named die or cease to act. PARTICULARS OF SINKING FUNDS. 103 Frequently no provision is made in a mortgage for a sinking fund. In many cases the creation of a sinking fund is esteemed imperative by investors. The object sought is, of course, to strengthen the security; to insure the fulfillment of all the obligations of the mortgage, including the payment of interest and principal when due. The company issuing the mortgage binds itself to place a specified sum at fixed periods in the hands of the trustee of the fund. Sometimes these payments are in cash, sometimes in bonds of the issue for which the fund is created, some- times in other securities. Provision is also made in regard to investing the accretions of the fund, i. e., the interest and premiums that accrue on the amount in the hands of the trustee. In case uncanceled bonds are deposited with the trustee, the provisions of the fund require that the interest on such bonds shallbe collected and added to the fund. Whatever sum the trustee may have on hand when the bonds mature he uses in payment of the mortgage. To prevent improper use of bonds thus de- posited, the fact that they are held in trust should be plainly stamped upon their face. Sinking funds should only be paid in cash when bonds for which the fund is created cannot be purchased and used in lieu thereof. In some cases it is provided that in the event sufficient bonds cannot be purchased at a specified price in the market to satisfy a sinking fund, the trustee may draw by lot the number of bonds 104 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. required, the holders of such bonds being com- pelled to deliver the same at a stipulated rate. This plan is a very good one, but is objectionable to the holders of bonds, as it makes the duration of their investment uncertain. Such provision is, therefore, held in the place of a stable security to be undesirable. Of the various forms of sinking funds, that which requires the keeping alive of the bonds in the hands of the trustee, and the collection of the interest thereon and its re-investment by the trustee, affords the greatest security. But whatever method may be adopted, it is necessary that the trustee should give guarantees for the faithful performance of his duty. Trust companies afford this in their subscribed capital and in the character of their officers and stock- holders. In reference to the treatment of sinking funds in the accounts, they are in the nature of unrep- resented capital. A sinking fund takes the place of obligations that at one time represented cost. It has, therefore, the same rights as the original investment; the right to be represented by bonds or shares. It is not chargeable against income account any more than any other capital expend- iture. The reason why we so often find it in- cluded in the income account is because of the conservatism of proprietors. It is another way they have of strengthening their properties. It is similar in effect to making improvements with net earnings. While the practice appears to PARTICULARS OF SINKING FUNDS. 105 trench on the rights of stockholders, it is not to be hastily condemned. The fact that it is done by sagacious and practical business men is, in itself, sufficient evidence that it is proper. BOOK II. CONSTRUCTING AND MAINTAINING. NOTE. This book, like the series of which it is a part, treats of a subject inseparably interwoven with others relating to the operation of railroads. Only its more salient features are dis- cussed, specifically here. It is referred to again and again in- cidentally (but not less pertinently) throughout the work in connection with other subjects. As I have constantly to re- iterate, the student who would understand any particular phase of railway operations must study the subject in all its parts. He may not, indeed, thus compass fully the technical knowledge of every department, but his information in relation thereto must be sufficiently general and specific to afford the knowledge which an understanding of any particular department requires. CHAPTER I. RAILWAY EVOLUTION. In depicting railways, an account of the con- ditions which lead up to them is interesting, not only in itself, but as affording a better under- standing of the subject. It is that which sug- gested incorporating the volume on the Evolution of Transportation as a part of this work. The origin and growth of property go hand in hand with the birth and development of man. When we describe the condition of one we describe the condition of the other. The two are coexistent. Thus the business principles which we observe to-day were in the main established by the ancients, who were commercially inclined as we are, many hundreds of years ago. In the same way they originated in the main our utensils and methods. We have simply developed their pri- mary thoughts. In legal phraseology there are three kinds of property real, personal and mixed. Railway property partakes of all these characteristics. The privileges it enjoys are such as are accorded it under the limited- knowledge we have of its uses and needs. Its rights are exceptional because of its special duties and responsibilities. Its (109) HO FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. limitations are such as attach to common car- riers. It represents a new departure in industrial effort; a progressive step greatly stimulative of man's efforts. In other respects it presents no distinguishing features. It furnishes, however, another instance, if one were wanting, of the sympathetic tie that connects man's intellectual growth with that which he so greatly prizes, namely, material wealth. The primary purpose of the permanent way of a railroad was to furnish a surface that should be at once hard, smooth and unchanging for wheels to run upon. Railways had their origin in Great Britain in the tramways laid in the mining districts for con- veying coal to the sea from the mines near New- castle-on-Tyne during the seventeenth century. The rails were formed of scantlings of oak, straight and parallel to each other, connected by cross timbers also of oak and pinned together with oak treenails; on these, carts made with four rollers fitting the rails traveled, the carriage being so easy that one horse is said to have been able to draw four or five chaldrons of coal. The benefits derived from this manner of transport- ing coal suggested* to the thinking man the em- ployment of similar means for facilitating the conveyance of passengers and general merchan- dise. A road graveled between the rails was at first provided as a foothold for the horses which drew the cars. The wheels were kept on the rails by RAIL WAY E VOL UTION. 1 1 1 guides, attached either to the wheels or to the rails. As stated, the earliest railroads were con- structed wholly of wood. In comparing the first railroads with the com- mon turnpike road, an early writer says: "A saving is made of seven-eighths of the power, one horse on a railroad producing as much effect as eight horses on a turnpike road. In the effect produced by a given power the railroad is about a mean between the turnpike road and a canal, when the rate is about three miles an hour; but when greater speed is desirable the railroad may equal the canal in effect and even surpass it." There were, at first, three varieties of iron railroads the edge rail, the tram road, and the single rail. In the edge railway the rails were laid with the edge upward, the carriages being kept on them by a flange, or projecting edge, at- tached to the wheels instead of to the rails. The rails were at first about three feet long, and four or five inches deep in the middle. The strength was equalized by curving the outline of the rail on the under side. The tram roads had flat rails, usually made'of cast iron, having an elevated edge or flange on one side to guide the wheels which ran upon them. They, being weaker than the edge rails, were frequently strengthened with ribs on the under side. Ordinary wheel carriages could be used on the tram rails, but unless the wheels were smooth they were injurious to the track. One railroad which used the single rail is thus described: "The rail is about three feet 112 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. above the surface of the ground, and is sup- ported by pillars placed at distances of about nine feet from each other. The carriage con- sists of two receptacles or boxes, suspended one on each side of the rail by an iron frame and having two wheels placed one before the other. The rims of the wheels are concave and n't the convex surface of the rail, and the center of gravity of the carriage, whether loaded or empty, is so far below the upper edge of the rail that the receptacles hang in equilibrium and will bear a considerable inequality of load without inconvenience, owing to the change of fulcrum allowed by the breadth of the rail, which is about four inches. The alleged advantages of the single rail are, that it is more free from lateral friction than the other kinds of railway, and that being higher from the ground it is less liable to be covered with dust and gravel, and, lastly, that it is more economical, the construction of one rail being less expensive than of two." The introduction of railways means much more in the w r ay of convenience and celerity of trans- portation to those countries having poor high- ways than to those more favored in this respect. Again, countries not traversed by canals and nav- igable rivers, open the year through, or lying far from the sea, are more benefited by railways than others. Intercommunication is expensive and RAIL WA Y E VOL UTION. 1 1 3 tedious without railways; their presence renders it expeditious and comparatively cheap. The railway may be said to be a leveler in this respect, that it places all countries on a compara- tive equality. For heavy classes of freight, water carriage is cheaper than that by land, but rail- ways render transportation more certain and expeditious than any other form of carriage. Transportation over them may be calculated to a moment. As regards passenger traffic, rail- ways have no proper substitute. From these con- clusions, it is apparent that where a traffic is sufficient to warrant the construction of a rail- way, no other form of land carriage can compete with it.* In constructing a railroad, the policy of incur- ring the extra cost involved in cutting down grades to the minimum, running tunnels, building * This may be illustrated very simply by the comparative resistance in pounds per ton hauled on highways and railways. Thus, the resistance in pounds per ton on level highways, con- structed of different materials, is stated, approximately: for stone tramway, twenty pounds per ton; for paved roads, thirty- three pounds per ton; for macadamized roads, forty-four to sixty- seven pounds per ton ; for gravel, one hundred and-flf ty pounds per ton; for soft, sandy and gravelly ground, two hundred and ten pounds per ton. On the other hand, the resistance on a straight and level railroad, for trains of ordinary weight and description, such as are in general use, is, for a train having a velocity of ten miles per hour, equal to about eight and one-half pounds per ton; for trains of fifteen miles, about nine and one-fourth pounds per ton; for trains of twenty miles, about ten and one- fourth pounds; for thirty miles, thirteen and one-fourth pounds; for forty miles, seventeen and one-fourth pounds; for iifty miles, twenty-two and one-hull' pounds. 8 Vol. 3 1 1 4 FINANCING, CONSTR UCTING, MAINTAINING. viaducts, and kindred outlays, is governed, not by sentiment or theories regarding what is perfect, but by the saving effected. Will the gain exceed the interest on the extra outlay and the added cost of operating and maintaining? And by gain is meant the increased haul possible and the saving, if any, in cost of working. How- ever, lack of means, quite irrespective of these considerations, oftentimes determines the char- acter of a road. This is so in all new countries; oftentimes in old ones. Steep gradients and sharp curves do not now operate against the working of railways to the extent they did at one time. This is because of changes in locomotives and cars. In Europe, in early days, a curve of less than a mile radius was deemed impracticable, except where trains moved at a low rate of speed. Now, through their adoption of the bogie truck, so long ignored, their lines may be very sharply curved without serious detriment to the speed of trains or the cost of maintenance. The character of railway construction is gov- erned by the business to be done, as regards kind and quantity of traffic. If wholly or largely freight, trains may be run slowly; if the passen- ger business forms an element, the rate of speed must be such as to attract and keep business. Thus, if speed is high, the gradients must, per consequence, be moderate. In old countries the nature of a traffic may be determined in ad- vance. In new countries it can only be surmised, consequently it often falls out that a road must RAIL WA Y EVOL UTlON. \ \ 5 be practically rebuilt when the nature of its traffic has been developed. Those who constructed and operated railways in America in early days were much embarrassed because of a lack of means. As an instance of this, an old chronicle tells how men were " some- times put on the tender with a saw horse to saw and cut the wood to make steam for the trip, because there was no supply on hand, and no money and no credit to buy any." A story is also told of an official who surrendered his gold watch as security for a train seized for debt while en route. In the beginning, railway companies experienced great difficulty in securing reliable locomotive enginemen, and few of the machinists who understood the business cared to enter the service. Some companies found experienced blacksmiths the best source of supply; others took young men who had been trained as farmers. The engineman in those days was expected to make the light repairs that his engine required, as well as operate the machine. In case of derail- ment he more often than otherwise had to set matters right without aid from a wrecking train. The employes of the stage companies suffered more than any other class from loss of employ- ment when railways were introduced. Many of them went into the service of the latter. They were employed as conductors, station agents, baggagemasters, firemen, etc. Their previous 116 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. occupation and training had made them robust and in a measure fitted them for their new work. In some localities, when railways were first con- structed it was thought they should be operated like a chartered turnpike; the company would lay the rails and the public drive their carriages over them, the proprietors having the right to charge toll from the individual owners of the vehicles. It was soon discovered, however, that a railroad could not be operated to the best advantage in this way and so the idea was, little by little, abandoned. However, on one line known as the Portage road, before locomotives were used, individuals and firms furnished their own drivers, horses and cars. The cars were small and had four wheels and a capacity of about seven thousand pounds. Four cars usually constituted a train. The drivers were rough, stubborn fellows whom the officers of the road had neither power to discharge nor discipline. At points where there was only a single track between sidings, a center post was set up half way between the two turnouts. When two drivers met on the single track the one who had passed the center post had the right of way, while the other was compelled to go back to the turn- out he had left. Because of this, it was the prac- tices for drivers to go very slowly when leaving a turnout, but when approaching the center post to drive faster and faster in order to get beyond it if possible, and thus compel any cars which they might meet to go back. This resulted in RAIL WA Y EVOL T7TION. 117 frequent accidents and occasional loss of life caused by cars being driven together, as the road, in many cases, was so crooked that a driver could see but a short distance ahead. These and other attendant difficulties led to the abandon- ment of the practice of operating roads in the manner indicated. The introduction of railways in England was at first strongly opposed in Parliament, as well as elsewhere. Newspapers spoke disparagingly of them, and many pamphlets were written on the subject. The evils which it was supposed they would occasion were vividly portrayed. It was insisted upon that the air would be so poi- soned from the locomotive that birds would be killed as they flew overhead. The noise and con- fusion, it was also maintained, would prevent cows grazing and hens from laying; houses ad- joining the line of railway would be burned by sparks from the engine; the atmosphere would be clouded with smoke; horses would become extinct; oats and hay would be rendered unsala- ble; the boilers of the machines would burst and passengers be blown to atoms; and, finally, trav- eling by the public highway would be rendered dangerous, and country inns ruined. A consol- ing feature, however, was the belief that the weight of the locomotive would prevent its mov- ing, and the railways, therefore, if made, could never be worked by steam power. Many quaint experiences attended the early operation of railroads. Thus, among others, the 1 1 8 FINANCING, CONS TR UCTING, MAINTAINING. means of warning passengers against standing on the platforms of the cars were more or less char- acteristic. On the car doors of one railroad was painted a representation of a newly-made grave, with a tombstone bearing the inscription: "Sacred to the memory of the man who stood on the plat- form when the train was in motion." Upon another line, the watch furnished the conductor was required to be suspended by a chain around his neck and carried in a fob outside of his coat. The engineer was similarly enjoined. At the end of the trip it was required that the watches should be returned to headquarters to be examined and regulated. Conductors were required to com- pare their time with that at the stations as they advanced, and notify agents of any errors. The early methods of railways were the out- growth of the ingenuity of those in charge, and differed according to the financial ability of the companies and the skill of those in charge. In no case, however, did anyone foresee the part which railroads were destined to play in the affairs of the world. In some instances, the car- riage of passengers was alone anticipated; in others, freight. But in no case was it supposed that the interchange of traffic between the cities and towns of a country was in the end to be handled wholly by railway companies i and that stage coaches, freight vans, canals and other means of conveyance were to be banished ex- cept for local purposes. Nothing of this kind was anticipated, and as railroads came to be RAIL WA Y E VOL UTION. 119 more and more operated, it was found that pro- vision had not been made for many exigencies that arose. It is probable that the makeshifts of American builders and managers in early days exceeded all others. This because of lack of capital, and mis- apprehension as to the traffic railroads would be called upon to handle. At first, baggage, express and mail matter were all put into one car in charge of the baggageman. Before express com- panies were organized, the engineer or conductor oftentimes carried the money buyers wished to send to their agents on the line, and it was no unusual thing to find the tool box of the engineer filled with packages of money, which he distrib- uted, as called for, at the little stopping places along the line, where grain, live stock or other produce was being bought. All trains hauled passenger and freight cars in common, the for- mer being attached to the rear end of the train. This was a slow and uncomfortable way of trav- eling, as long stops had to be made at stations, and the bumping and jolting of the train was uncomfortable and sometimes startling to the passengers. At the worst, however, it was not so great as the bumping and jolting of the old- fashioned stage coach. There was, therefore, little fault found. In early practice no night trains were run, and trains stopped whenever and wher- ever people desired to get on or off. Nor were the companies averse to loading freight at coun- try road crossings. Every accommodation, indeed, 120 FINANCIXG, CONSTRUCTING, MAIXTAIXIXG. that could be asked, was offered patrons, and no trouble was thought too great to secure business. Wood was the fuel commonly used on locomotives and for heating cars in America. Later on great difficulty was found in burning coal, though it proved very simple in the end. At first, the most good-natured engineers were put ..on the coal-burning locomotives, as their patience was constantly and greatly tried. Solid metal rails were the ^exception and not the rule. The ordinary roadbed was a strap of iron bolted to a long, square piece of timber, which, in its turn, w r as laid across ties, or, if not laid on ties, was at least held uniformly by cross-bars. The cars w r ere lighted with tallow candles. The locomotive was not at first accepted as being the best means of moving trains. On the London and Blackwall line stationary engines were used. A wire rope thus propelled was attached to the car, a rope being provided for each direction. The electric telegraph was used in connection with the device to enable the engi- neer at the terminus to know when to wind up or let go the wire. The train outward bound consisted of seven carriages. The two first vehicles went through to the end of the line, the others were dropped off at different stations. On the return trip the carriages were attached to the rope at a fixed hour, arriving at the end of the line at intervals. In Ireland atmospheric engines worked some of the railways. A speed of thirty miles and, later on, seventy miles an hour was RAIL WAY E VOL UTION. 121 thus attained. A pneumatic locomotive was constructed in one instance to be driven by com- pressed air stored in reservoirs at a pressure of two thousand pounds to the square inch. It was at first the. impression among railway engineers that the locomotive could not ascend a grade, and that the roadbed must, therefore, be level. In early days passengers as well as trainmen were very careless while riding on the trains. This occasioned many accidents. People thought- lessly jumped off the cars when in motion, men fell out of the windows while pushing and jos- tling each other, and as riding on top of the cars was not absolutely prohibited, passengers were frequently injured by falling therefrom or by coming in contact with overhead bridges. In- stances were also frequent where the cars were set on fire by careless passengers overturning the lamps or igniting the furnishings of the vehicle while lighting their pipes. Among the conceptions of early railroad experi- ences, it was suggested that a feather bed be sus- pended between the cars as a buffer. Another suggestion was that the engine should be a mile or so in advance of the train, connected to it by a strong rope, so as to avoid danger from ex- plosion. In those cases where the engine could not start its load, horses were hitched in front oftentimes to aid in pulling both engine and train. Turntables were also so short that it was neces- sary to disconnect the tender from the locomo- tive. 122 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. Such were some of the incidents of early rail- way practice. They are interesting as illustra- tive of primitive conditions and instructive as foreshadowing the advances that railway men of the present day labor unceasingly to bring about. While our methods seem to be nearly perfect, it is probable they will be looked upon fifty years hence as merely preparatory. Such will surely be the case if we strive intelligently to better them. * CHAPTER II. RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION. That form of railway construction is most to be commended which best answers the commer- cial wants of a community and restricts cost to the narrowest practicable limit. Anything be- yond this is a perpetual burden. It is the dream of idealists that particular kinds of engines or cars should be used; that cars should be lighted or heated in a particular way; that tracks should be straight or level; that bridges and buildings should be of stone or iron; that ballast should consist of a particular kind of material; that rails should be heavy; that ties should conform to a particular pattern; that crossings should be above or below grade; that trains should run fast; that artistic features of construction or landscape gardening should re- ceive greater attention and so on. All these are purely practical questions, however. 'Sentiment has no proper place in the economy of railway construction or management, any more than it has in developing or operating a farm. They are matters of business merely; of good judgment and common sense; of freedom from bias; of making outlay conform to income. (123) 124 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. That the disposition will grow to add costly items of luxury to railroads without reference to their revenue producing qualities, there can be no doubt. Estheticism, sentimentalism and ideal- ism will contribute to bring about such a result, but let us put it off as long as possible. It is not in the interest of the people nor of the railroad companies. Railroads should be constructed and operated solely with a view to handling traffic. Ideal ques- tions should not be considered. At- least not now. Questions of need and practical utility should alone receive attention. In any event, the outlay of railroads should harmonize with their income, the same as with individuals. An extravagance not in accord therewith is paid for with multi- plied usury. Luxuries accompany a plethoric purse, not an empty one. In the case of rail- roads, extravagance in this direction is generally the outgrowth of excessive competition, and may not, therefore, be avoided at will. The wise location, economical construction and efficient management of railroads are all- important. Railway economy acts and reacts on the com- merce of a nation. Railways, if managed effi- ciently and economically, stimulate the commer- cial growth of a people; if mismanaged, retard it. The impossibility of telling in advance of building a road exactly what is needed is appar- ent. It is especially difficult in a new or un- developed country. The most glaring contrasts RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION. 125 everywhere present themselves. Thus, India, with a population equal to twenty thousand peo- ple per mile of railroad, transports less freight per mile than Canada with a population not nearly so great. This discrepancy is due to the fact that the latter is the home of a young, virile, growing, commercial people, while the former is not. The trading capacity of a people is evinced in the use it makes of its railroads. George Stephen- son, speaking of England, said that "the making of the railroads would be the making of the coun- try." The truth of this has been evinced in every land where the industrial thrift of a people has warranted the construction of a railway system. George Stephenson, while he did not invent the first successful locomotive, is, nevertheless, quite generally accredited with being the father of this machine and, therefore, of the railway system. He did much to perfect the locomotive. As I have had occasion to remark elsewhere, his prominence in connection with the opening of the Liverpool & Manchester railway, where for the first time the attention of the world was generally drawn to the railroad question, concen- trated attention upon him, so that it was believed, though erroneously, that he invented the loco- motive and operated the first successful one. The idea of the locomotive originated with Trevithick, as I have also pointed out, in 1803, but it was not a financial success. Afterward, John Blenkinsop accomplished what Trevithick had been unable to do. Blenkinsop had constructed two locomotives 126 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. which answered every requirement, so far as the action of steam and economy of operation were concerned, before Stephenson manufactured his first machine. The locomotive followed naturally the inven- tion of a suitable roadbed, as the wagon and car- riage followed a suitable highway. The railway track, as referred to elsewhere, was first utilized in connection with the handling of coal. The bulk of the latter, and the necessity for cheapening its price, made some simple appliance for transporting it a matter of the greatest possible importance to the people of Great Britain. Horses were at first used, then steam. The cost of transportation over these tramways, or primitive railroads, is said to have been about ten per cent, of that over the common turnpike. The evolution of the rail, with its support and fastenings, is both curious and instructive. Illus- trations tell the story better than words. These will be found elsewhere. They afford a con- nected study of the various forms of rails that have been used, the different kinds of stone, wood and metal supports that have been tried, and the splices, chairs and fastening that have been invented and used from time to time. No single item of construction equals in im- portance the track rail. It is fundamental and has been the subject of study and experiment by chemists, manufacturers and railway man- agers and operatives since railroads were first opened and, while the texture and pattern have RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION. 127 been greatly improved, they are not yet satis- factory, and it is unlikely that they ever will be. Men are too exacting, too progressive for that. No particular form of rail has been adopted that is everywhere recognized as superior to all others. Uniform patterns for different uses are, when practicable, of the greatest importance in railway economy. They cheapen manufacture because they lessen the machinery of manufacturers and render it unnecessary to keep a great variety (and stock) of material on hand. Once a uniform pat- tern has been agreed upon, the manufacturer can carry it in stock the same as other standard material. It furthermore assists those in mak- ing selections who know little about such mat- ters. Rails differ widely in form, texture and weight. The strain they are subjected to is constantly changing. Each year the tendency is to increase the load. The speed of trains also grows greater. There must be harmony throughout. A rail that will answer for light use will not, as is well known, do for great weight or high speed. The adoption of standard rails, while having advantages, would also have disadvantages. Un- less engineers and others fitted for the work should continue their experiments and studies afterward with fidelity and zeal, there would be great danger that progress would be stayed. But if inquiry and experiment could continue unabated, the danger that always attends the 128 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. adoption of standard forms might be measurably avoided. Railway development is influenced by the demand that exists for its product and the treat- ment such properties receive from the public. Unfriendliness on the part of a people affects unfavorably the construction of new lines. Rail- ways are the natural adjuncts of civilization, and their growth is assured wherever protection is accorded them ; wherever they are allowed free scope to prosecute their business within necessary and proper limits. Refusal or neglect to do this will prevent their construction, except in those cases where prospective gain outweighs possible risks. Railways, like other industries, adjust them- selves naturally to the countries they serve; to the instincts and habits of a people. Their con- struction depends upon the demand there is for them, the plentifulness of money, the rate at which it can be obtained and the protection ac- corded such interests. Where wealth is plentiful and a people is accus- tomed to stable, permanent structures, the phys- ical construction of railroads usually conforms thereto. In new and poor countries, makeshifts are the rule. Here the ingenuity and the genius of man is taxed to the utmost to lessen cost, to avoid expense; to be economical oftentimes where his inclinations lead him to be profuse. The rail- way development of the United States demon- strates the truth of this. RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION. 129 Every invention that lessens cost is a gain to a community, as it fosters development by re- leasing just so much capital for use elsewhere. In railway construction it permits the building of roads otherwise impossible. It is noticeable of railways in different coun- tries that the particular patterns or devices they first take on cling to them very tenaciously after- ward. The form of equipment adopted in Great Britain shaped the gradients, curves, bridges and tunnels of its railroads. They cannot now be changed in many important particulars. In the United States, where money was scarce and credit poor, it was necessary to adopt something less costly. The effect was to depart from the English method of construction in order to simplify and cheapen. Our railroads were made to conform to resources, and are different from those of Europe in align- ment and grades, in the protection afforded at stations and crossings, in bridges, culverts and tunnels, and, finally, in the roadbed itself. While Europe built its permanent structures of stone, America built of wood. Here piling took the place of great embankments, and trestles, of arched masonry. While cheaper in the first in- stance, the cost of maintaining was greater. How- ever, such practices nurtured economical habits and the exercise of prudent foresight. Expensive roads were not built where cheap ones were suffi- cient. The roads that were cheaply built were improved out of the earnings of the property or 9 Vol. 3 130 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. by increased capitalization, as circumstances ren- dered desirable. In this way great properties in the United States have been built up. Canada, Mexico and South America are, in many respects, following a similar policy. Particulars of railway construction cannot be described. They are not precisely alike in any two countries. The devices of one differ from those of another. Thus the wooden bridge, so familiar at one time to Americans, has never been known in Europe. The word "permanent," while much used in railway nomenclature, has no proper place; change is the rule. It was suggested in the first instance by the solid wall, coped with smooth cut stone, used to support the rail, in place of the cross-tie that we use to-day. It was called the permanent way. It was as nearly permanent as anything could be. But it lacked elasticity, and so was abandoned. Preliminary construction work, coupled with the investigations that precede the building of a railroad, is both interesting and instructive. An excursion is first made over the proposed line by a competent person or committee, and the topography of the country noted. Necessary inquiries are also made and statistics collected. The route having been determined upon, it is methodically surveyed. Afterward the plans and maps are passed upon, and such alterations made as circumstances suggest. Sometimes repeated surveys are made. When the route is finally RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION. 131 determined upon, the right of way, depot grounds, and other like facilities are obtained. The im- portance of a proper location is supreme. Upon it depends cost of construction, the load that may be hauled, the business that may be secured, and the expense of maintenance and operation. After a line is agreed upon, the next thing in order is to prepare specifications of cost for use of engineers, contractors and others. In many cases the owner himself builds the road, espe- cially in the case of extensions of old lines. But in every instance the duty of supervising the work falls to the engineer. It is his office to stake out the proposed line, make estimates of work done as it progresses and arrange for pay- ments. This is his natural field, and in it he is supreme. His duties are at once laborious and of the highest responsibility. They involve close application, long hours of work, exposure, and the hardships that progress through a country, oftentimes destitute of comforts and conven- iences, entails.* The exact location of a railway, and the wise and economical expenditure of the money used in its construction, depend largely upon the engi- neer. The growth of his office in America has been great and marked. In no other branch of the service was there less conception originally of just needs. Its management was at first too often extravagant, ill-advised and self-sufficient. * The duties and peculiarities of the civil engineer are re- ferred to more fully in the book "Railway Organization." 132 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. This condition of affairs did not long continue. From being an abstractionist, or a creature of formulas merely, the engineer has added to his acquirements adaptability, practical knowledge, financial skill, business training. The status of the engineer in the early history of railroads was, moreover, much misunderstood. He was sup- posed to be wise above his fellows. The con- trary was the case. It followed in America that responsibility for location and, largely, of method, was early taken out of his hands by men who studied the means as well as the ends to be achieved. But as he has grown in worldly wisdom and commercial sense, work has been given back to him and he has gradually taken his natural and proper place. " In its earliest devel- opment, engineering was hardly more than an art, a trade acquired by example and experience progressing slowly by small degrees from prece- dent. . . The dominant spirit to-day is scien- tific; the application of principles without much regard to precedent. Only conclusions derived by logical methods from exact data and applied to conditions which have been fully valued in- spire respect. Experience is also demanded, that experience in the application of forces and ma- terials which gives practical skill and confidence, but not in the nature of that precedent, which is too often a handicap under different conditions. The profession is losing its transient character. Tenure of position is more secure and work on many lines is done throughout wide sections by RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION. 133 engineers from a central office or headquarters. The engineer is assuming more the position of counselor, is more the executive factor in the con- duct of large operations, is retained more as an adviser on the staff of industrial enterprises. All this gives stability, material rewards and inde- pendence; gives the engineer a fixed abiding place and makes him a factor in the community in which he lives; enables him to develop the social qualities he needs and leads to that pre- eminence enjoyed by our profession in older lands."* In locating railways, the nearer level they are, or can be made, the cheaper, relatively, it is to operate them; the greater the load they can haul and the greater their ability to stand the strain of competition. This last every company, to a greater or less extent, sustains. If rightly antic- ipated, it may be met with less embarrassment. Every obstacle that will impede traffic or the continued and rapid movement of trains is, so far as practicable, to be avoided. The speed of trains, directness of route, the load that may be hauled, and cost of maintaining and operating, are ever determining factors. These the engineer keeps constantly in mind. Under all well established and stable govern- ments, save ours, no railroad is allowed to be built to compete with others; that does not an- swer an actual need; that does not open up a new field; that will not presumably have sufficient * L. E. Cooley, C. E. 134 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. income to pay cost of maintenance, operation and fixed charges. The exception is the case of roads built to meet military or political aims. In America, however, from the start railway con- struction was free. Whoever could raise the means might build.* In our age the location of railways determines the center of communities, just as the highways of the past did. An animated contest was waged by railways with the water courses of the world from the start. At first it was for supremacy; afterward for revenue; later, so far as rivers and canals were concerned, it was a fight on the part of the latter for existence. The construction and operation of railways have invited speculation, and been the occasion of many financial crises. Such evils, however, carry their own cure. Legislation can do nothing. The very uncertainty in regard to the business of a new railroad invites speculation. Within cer- tain limits it is not harmful. Except for this speculative spirit no great enterprise, attended with uncertainty, could be earned out. We owe the early development of railroads to men who are willing to take certain risks because of the prospect of large gains. " Speculation is a neces- sity of modern life. Modern business involves large risks. ... It rests with individuals to learn the lessons of each crisis, and protect them- selves as best they can from a recurrence of the "This phase of the subject is referred to in the book " Eco- nomic Theory of Rates." RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION. 135 same evils. ... A new permanent invest- ment is almost necessarily speculative."* Each year that a railroad exists it becomes more and more a permanent geographical feature. In time it will become like a navigable river or inland sea, which supplies a particular territory or affords intercommunication between far dis- tant places. It can rarely, if ever, be considered distinctively a local enterprise, but whatever complexion it may take on, % the property inter- ests of those who own it can never be safely disregarded by the government. The original interests which fostered its inception and growth must also be remembered. The political importance of railways cannot be estimated. In the easy intercommunication they afford between widely separated peoples, all pre- vious ideas of local environment or national exclusiveness vanish. Their effect on exchanges and the habits of mankind is marked and pro- gressive. Their tendency is to foster great enter- prises, to swell the volume of business, to increase the importance of trade, to obliterate political lines and create new social conditions. The means of intercommunication they afford and the common markets they create will tend to make the commercial world a unit. In the inception of railways ' expectation ran high as to the probable speed trains would attain. These expectations have not been fully realized. On the other hand rates are lower than it was *Arthur T. Hadley on " Railroad Transportation." 136 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. supposed they could be. Growth of traffic has contributed to this. Rates depend much upon the amount of business; a maximum traffic makes possible a low rate. Favorable rates are also in a measure depend- ent upon cheap appliances and good management. Under the stimulus of railway life the impos- sible has become possible. Isolated and struggling villages, otherwise unimportant, have become great cities, and primitive continents, in a decade, became settled and civilized. In the location of railroads in Great Britain and America their military value has been little regarded. This featurfe has, however, been a de- termining factor in many cases on the continent of Europe. In all countries railways will here- after afford the lines upon which the battles of the future will be fought. In the early history of railroads, especially in the United States, legislation concerned itself wholly with fostering their growth. Afterward it turned its attention to their control, to an at- tempt to regulate their business, to prescribe their methods, to say what they should do and what they should not do. Wherever these efforts did not conform to economic laws they were hurtful, both to the owners of railroads and the people. Mistakes in this direction are exceed- ingly difficult of correction and greatly retard the material interests and happiness of a country. CHAPTER III. METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION. The term construction has a well understood meaning in railway parlance. It embraces the original or first cost. of a property, including all disbursements, expenses, costs, commissions, sal- aries and debts incurred in connection therewith or incident thereto. It also includes all interest that accrues while the property is in course of construction and before it has been opened for business; all disbursements and losses suffered in the sale or disposal of bonds, shares, securities or assets, the proceeds of which are used for con- struction; also all expenditures on account of rights, franchises and appurtenances. These con- stitute the first cost of the property its construc- tion expenditures in fact."* Many of the differ- ences noticeable in railway construction are in- herent; others, again, are of method merely. The loam ballast, for instance, used largely upon the upland roads of Colorado, will not do at all in * Construction accounts and classification are treated of in the book " Disbursements of Railways." Construction is also referred to more or less extensively in connection with "Main- tenance." The two subjects are so inseparably intertwined that a description of the maintenance of railroads incidentally involves a description of many important features of con- struction. (137) 138 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. India, where rains are heavy and prolonged. Such differences are inherent. On the other hand, the use of wood or metal are largely dif- ferences of method or expediency, although it is true that the rapid destruction of wood in hot, humid climates renders the use of something less destructible highly desirable.* The practice of one engineer to lay rails with broken joints and to anathematize all who do differently is an in- stance of method; method wrongly directed, it might be. Again, one engineer will advocate sup- ported joints for rails, while another will not; both may be right. On one railroad fish plates forty-six inches long will be used ; on another eighteen inches is esteemed sufficient. Both practices may be right, taking into account road- bed, speed and weight of trains, shape of rail, plate and so on. Variations in construction that are not neces- sary entail added cost and should be avoided. They usually arise from lack of experience and study. They are oftentimes the result of preju- dice or indisposition to learn. Ignorance is al- ways arrogant, supercilious and self-sufficient. I remember once spending three months writing rules and regulations governing a particular phase of railway business. Afterward an officer of a neighboring road adopted the method they contemplated, but said he had not adopted the * It is noticeable in railway operations that the wooden tie each year costs more and more. Limitation of supply occa- sioned by the destruction of forests accounts in part for this. METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION. 139 rules and regulations, indeed had not read them, because he wished to adopt something original. This spirit too often animates corporate officers. It is the result of arbitrary exercise 1 of power without financial risk, of overweaning egotism, or jealousy and narrow mindedness. As the rail- way service fills up with men of education, they will esteem their own wisdom less and will avail themselves of the knowledge of others more. That is where educated men have the advan- tage of the uneducated. It is, in the main, useless to attempt to teach an ignorant man, as he is superior to books and cannot appreciate how superficial his knowledge is, or how much we may be benefited by study and comparison. He is all-sufficient. Uniformity in railway construction and method, while desirable, cannot be enforced arbitrarily. That would stifle interest, put a stop to inven- tion and retard advancement. That is the objec- tion to standard forms and methods of all kinds. Wherever introduced they must be attended by continued inquiries and experiments and system- atic provision must be made therefor. Unless such a course is followed, interest will die out and, with it, further advancement. In constructing a road much depends upon the topography and business of the proposed line, and much upon the financial ability of the company. Necessary things are oftentimes long delayed for lack of funds. After the opening of a line fur- ther work is undertaken only after searching 140 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. inquiry. When passed upon by local officials, it is referred to the board of management for author- ization, unless the expenditure is an unimportant one. The circumstances attending the expenditure of money for new construction work are substan- tially the same in different countries, except that the scrutiny of the directory will be more minute in some instances than in others. English di- rectors are noticeably alert in this respect, and require to be kept advised of everything. English- men possess an especial aptitude for working in committees. Their political wisdom and adap- tability is evinced in a marked manner in the government of private corporations. Their prac- tices in regard to improvements and additions to railways are thus described by one skilled in such matters:* "Recommendations for increased ac- commodation at stations and depots undergo a very searching examination before any effect is given to them. We will suppose, for example, that a goods [freight] agent conceives it to be necessary for an additional siding to be laid at a station. He makes a report to that effect to the manager of the district; the latter inquires into the facts on the spot, and, if he concurs with the necessity, reports his recommendation to the general manager. The latter consults, in the first instance, the chief goods manager or the super- intendent of the line, as the case may be, and, if his report be favorable, authorizes the engineer to * Colonel George Findlay. METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION. 141 prepare a plan and estimate. The plan, when ready, is subjected to the criticism of the district officer, the chief officer, and of the general man- ager, and if all are satisfied the directors are next asked to authorize the necessary outlay. But even this is not all, for, finally, the plan has to be signed by the chairman of the company be- fore the engineer commences operations, and that gentleman, who keeps a watchful guard over the company's purse strings, has to be convinced that the expenditure is not only desirable, but actually unavoidable, before his signature is ob- tained." This is substantially the practice of rail- way corporations everywhere. Improvements are not undertaken except after careful inquiry. The managers of American properties have no superiors in the world in constructing and oper- erating railroads. America differs from Great Britain in many ways. The roads of the latter are, however, uniformly well built and effi- ciently managed. So far as faithfulness in the discharge of trusts reposed is concerned, it is probable the owners of English railroads had less cause to complain of their agents in the early history of these enterprises, than owners in other countries where business methods were not so well systematized, and fiduciary responsibility not so well enforced. Cases are very rare in England where the servants of railroads laid themselves open to the suspicion of having taken advantage of their position to enrich themselves at the ex- pense of their employers. 142 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. Rates are dependent on cost to the extent that, if not remunerative, no more roads are built. 'A remunerative railroad means multiplied con- struction; an unremunerative railroad means comparative cessation of work. In respect to low capitalization America has the advantage of Europe: first cost was less, while subsequent charges to construction have been more discriminative. The owners of Euro- pean railroads generally charged every improve- ment to construction, capitalizing the amount from year to year. America, on the other hand, has used a portion of its surplus to improve and strengthen its properties, charging the amount to operating. Abroad, the surplus has been divided as dividends, resulting in the fact that capital ac- count has increased until many railroads are una- ble to make an adequate return thereon, while the resources of others have been greatly strained. Under the American system of constructing par- allel railroads not needed, competition, in many cases, prevented maintenance of rates or the pay- ment of dividends, to the great injury of the com- munity. The monopoly the railroads of other countries possessed enabled them to pay interest on cost from the start. They may be able to con- tinue this; it is to be hoped they will. The situ- ation is, however, such as to excite apprehension in the minds of many familiar with the subject. "On a survey of the whole matter, there would appear to be too much reason to believe that the financial position and prospects of English METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION. 143 railways are going from bad to worse. Our rail- way boards have not as yet adequately realized this great fact, and have consequently done little or nothing to stem the tide of insolvency that threatens to overtake them."* In the building of railways America had the advantage over Europe in this, that she was not wedded to any particular kind of work, and had no theoretical standard to attain. Her aim was to make cost conform to means in hand. The result is a comparatively cheap railway system. In order to accomplish this, however, owners found it necessary to avail themselves of cheap appliances, wooden bridges, wooden culverts, wooden piling, trestles, cheap buildings, light rails, scant ballast, and so on. This necessitated slow trains, but trains quite on a par with their earnings ability. - The engineers of Europe could not, if they would, have constructed such a rail- road. It was too flimsy, too repugnant to ideas acquired by hundreds of years of stable construc- tion work. Nevertheless, the American system is the proper one, where doubt exists as to the pro- ductiveness of a property. First cost should be adapted to possible income, and improvements made afterward as events justify. Another means of lessening outlay was the construction of narrow gauge roads. Whether this device was, on the whole, a ^ood one or not, is doubtful. In many cases it was not. Where * J. S. Jeans. 144 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. there is a prospect of through business requiring a standard road, a narrow gauge will, in many instances, prove an expensive device. Whenever practicable, railways should be com- pleted before being opened, and it goes without saying that they should be built to accommodate the work they are expected to do, the speed trains are expected to make, the loads they are expected to haul. The extra expense that at- tends the wear anil tear of track and machinery on a poorly constructed road required to run fast or heavy trains is out of all proportion to the saving in interest on the added cost needed to put it in proper condition in the first place. In new countries men are satisfied to get through to-day safely. To-morrow is left to take care of itself. It is necessary oftentimes to dis- regard permanent interests to save present outlay. Thus, temporary structures are built and rebuilt over and over again at an expense so near what it would cost to construct first class edifices in the first place, that inability to build durably at the start is paid for many times over, with usurious interest. Such makeshifts are not nec- essary in old countries; practices there tend to the other extreme; to wasteful extravagance too often. In constructing a railroad there is no fixed ratio of cost to gross earnings which it is safe to follow, even if we could tell in advance what a road would earn. It has been stated as a safe guide, however, by those who profess to be versed METHODS OP CONSTRUCTION. 145 in such matters, that cost should be limited to ten times the annual earning power of a property, and that equipment outlay should be limited to the amount of the annual gross receipts. The conditions that attend traffic in the United Kingdom are directly the reverse of those in the United States hi many respects; thus, the speed of its freight trains is great, while the paying load is small. In America the speed is moderate, while the paying load is great.* The cost of maintaining an English railroad is, in some particulars, much less than an American road. This is because it is better built. The English companies pay lower wages than Amer- ican, but the number of employes per unit of traffic handled is greater. Economy in railway construction and opera- tion has been greatly facilitated in America by the use of what is called the bogie truck. This device adjusts itself easily and naturally to the track, rendering shorter curves possible and pro- ducing much less friction than the rigid wheel base formerly in general use abroad. The cost of operating English railways is in- creased by the exclusiveness of passengers. Also by the retail business they carry on; the small * " The average English freight car carries a load of about eight tons, and weighs five tons, being 1.6 to 1; the American box freight car carries fifty thousand pounds and weighs twenty- three thousand pounds, being 2. 13 to 1." Edward Bates Dorsey. The tendency in America is all in the direction of a heavier load; of cars that will hold more and tracks that will sustain greater weight and speed. 10 Vol. 3 146 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. carrying capacity of their cars, and the practice of allowing shippers to partially load vehicles, is a burden that American companies are happily exempt from. The wide differences that exist in cost of oper- ating railways in different countries will, in many respects, grow less and less marked as they are able to adopt the best appliances of each other. But no two systems will ever be exactly alike. Differences in construction and environment will prevent this. But so far as inherent differences will permit, the good points of each system will be finally adopted by all. Business men are not tenacious of their methods when the effect is to deprive them of income. The difficulty in the way will not, however, be with the business man, the owner, but with his agents. The latter will be more or less stubborn, more or less firm in the belief that^their systems are the best, more or less intent upon devising something Original. It is a necessity that rates should be low in America in order to move traffic over the vast distances to be traversed. This has been realized from the start and has resulted in lessening cost of operating and in adding in every way to the carrying (earning) capacity of railroads. The re- sult is that cost of operating in America, taking everything into consideration, is very low. Car- riers have met falling rates by increased loads and better appliances. The limit of low rates, however, is determinable. Beyond that point further reductions involve the bankruptcy of METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION. 147 railroad companies and the demoralization of the business of a country generally. While competition increases expenses in some directions and lessens earnings in particular in- stances, it is not without advantages. To its stimulating effect we owe all the substantial ad- vances that have been made since railways were first opened. Had there been no competition, had not men been incited to invent and adopt better appliances to secure the favor of the public and lessen cost, there can be no doubt but that we should be using substantially the same appli- ances that were adopted in the first instance. Men progress, not because they love to progress, but because of strife and friction; because of rivalry; of a desire to secure advantages, to dis- tance neighbors; to acquire and retain property. Comparison of the equipment of England with that of America is interesting: " Stephenson and his colleagues mounted the old stage coach body on car wheels, which became the type of passenger cars; the coal wagons that were then in use in the collieries were put on the railroad, and became the type of freight cars; and before the conservative English character thought that they ought to be improved, and should be changed, the trunk lines had been built, adapted to this narrow and low type of rolling stock. To have made it wider and higher later would have required the removing and reconstruction of the masonry platforms, the raising and widening of bridges and tunnels in fact, almost a reconstruction of the road. This 148 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. will prevent the use of high and wide cars. It is not fair to blame the modern English engineer for continuing the use of this description of cars, which he cannot change at any justifiable ex- pense. . . The English railroads have cost per mile more than three times as much as the Amer- ican. . . One of the principal items of the greater cost is the necessity of having much straighter alignment or easier curves, so that it can be safely operated by the rigid and long wheel base rolling stock in use there.* The Bal- timore & Ohio Railroad is a sample of what can be done with the American rolling stock. This road is built through a very difficult and rugged country, which compelled a very poor alignment, with nearly one-half of the entire length in cur- vature, which curves run up to six hundred feet radii, and long grades running up to one hundred and twenty feet per mile. The country affords no natural advantages whatever. Yet, with all these drawbacks, this road does a very large and profitable business and operates its passenger trains safely at very high speed. All this is done on a road that could not be operated with rolling stock built on the English system. The * It has been estimated that the long, rigid Avheel base of the English equipment makes the cost of maintenance of way, locomotive power and repairs and renewals of cars double what it is on American roads for like service. There is, how- ever, a marked tendency to adopt more facile methods in Great Britain. The railway managers of that country are not less alert than those of other lands to improve their methods, so that the conditions referred to are likely to be overcome ill the near future. M. M. K. METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION. 149 extra cost of enlarging these curves to adapt them to English rolling stock would be so great as to be commercially impracticable. It is not difficult to appreciate the great difference in cost of con- struction, in an extremely rough country, of a railroad with curves six hundred feet, or twenty- six hundred and forty feet radii. Unquestion- ably the American system of construction is the best for new countries, or where cheapness of construction is desirable. The American rolling stock, with the bogie truck, will run safely and rapidly over roads of inferior construction, or sharp curves that would be impossible for rolling stock constructed on the English type of long and rigid wheel base. The American type is espe- cially adapted for military purposes Through an ordinary rough country, a railroad to be operated with the American type of rolling stock could be constructed in one-fourth of the time and for one-fourth of the money that one suitable for the English rolling stock could be built."* America, in the construction of her railways, was happily free from many prejudices and hab- its that operated to the disadvantage of older countries. Its railways were made to conform to practical needs. If a road was not expected to do a large business, its cost was made to con-! form thereto. If it was not expected to require more than one train a day, it was built to accom- modate one train. This adjustment of outlay to * Edward Bates Dorsey. 150 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. income, however, has been seriously threatened in some instances. Thus, local authorities have 'assumed, though not generally, to fix arbitrarily the number of trains that shall be run; to make a political tribunal, in fact, the judge of the com- mercial situation; actual needs, paying loads, profits, precedent, all counted for nothing. Cap- italists might not, if this spirit prevailed, hope to build railroads based on traffic, but rather on the peculiarities, passions and ambitions of politicians and parties. However, they need not make in- vestments under such circumstances, and that the action I have referred to tended to keep them from making investments in the localities mentioned there can be no doubt. But where this spirit does not prevail, capital will seek invest- ment in railways So far as traffic needs warrant and money can be profitably placed. Supply and demand will go hand in hand. The intensely practical spirit of railway man- agement in America is generally remarked by foreigners. Expenditures are made to conform to income. There is no straining after theoretical objects in any direction; estheticism is allowed to lie on the shelf; trains are run to accommo- date traffic and conform to its profitableness. In older countries railway operation has had to con- form more or less to firmly fixed habits and pre- conceived ideas of what was needed. Thus, in constructing railways very little distinction has been made between productive and nonproduct- ive property. Everything, must be stable and of METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION. 151 the first class. W. H. Booth, referring to this aspect of the case, says that unless it be in lighter rails, there is, in England, practically no difference observable in nature of construction between a short branch line, on which a small train runs to and fro three or four times daily, and the main line carrying numerous fast ex- presses. There are the same substantial bridges over and under mere country cart tracks, and the usual culverts, fences and station buildings. Ex- pensive brick freight sheds are found at many stations where the traffic is almost nil. These cannot possibly be paid for by the volume of traffic they serve and must go very far to eat up the returns from the larger towns. Extravagances like these are the penalties men pay in business affairs for permitting prejudices or preconceived notions to govern practical needs. CHAPTER IV. PARTICULARS OF CONSTRUCTION, COST, DETAILS THEREOF, ETC. The cost of constructing railways has been lessened by the cheapening of appliances and the introduction of better methods and implements. To enumerate these would involve a history of railway evolution, because every article has been changed, bettered and cheapened. The result of changes has been to lessen cost, save work, ex- pedite business and to render it generally more satisfactory. Every device that the ingenuity of man could suggest has been brought into requisition to lessen cost of constructing and operating. Man- kind have ever been in accord in devising ways to reduce the number of men engaged in building railroads, and in substituting therefor mechanical devices. But such has not been the case every- where. Men may be cheaper than machines or horses. This is the case in India in many local- ities. There, myriads of men, women and chil- dren take the place of steam dredges, shovels and other devices for preparing the roadbed. The work is carried on by hand, a common hoe and wicker basket being used. The natives work in families, the head of the family digging the earth (152) PARTICULARS OF CONSTRUCTION. 153 and filling the basket, while the wife and children carry it away. Two or three thousand people may thus be engaged on a mile of track. Labor is plentiful and cheap and progress rapid, un- less food fails or an epidemic breaks out. The latter not infrequently happens on account of the lax habits of the natives. The embankments of the Indian railways are allowed to settle during the rainy season before use; they sink one to two inches per foot, according to the quality of soil. Wooden bridges and cast-iron girders are never used. The bridges are built with stone or brick abutments and wrought-iron girders. The waterway allowed is very large, because heavy rainfalls and floods are frequent at certain sea- sons, when little streams become wide rivers in a few hours. Stone ballast is generally used. Sandstone, slate and other soft ballast becomes useless within a few years, but burnt clay has been used successfully. Steel rails are generally laid, the best roads using thirty-feet rails of the double-headed type; the weight varies from sev- enty-two to eighty-two pounds a yard. Steel or iron ties are very generally used, as wood is scarce and high priced. No oak is used for this purpose; the best wood is a native timber called sal, but it is scarce. Creosoted fir from Norway has been successfully used, but as the price con- tinually advances recourse is being had more and more to metal ties. Especial care has to be taken to provide for the expansion and contraction of the rails in track, owing to extreme changes 154 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTIXC1, ^^^IXTMXfX<;. of temperature, and devices for rail joints are adapted to this end. Suspended joints opposite each other are the rule. The money to build railroads seldom comes from the localities where the properties are situ- ated. Local interests, however, gather the rich fruits that follow the construction of a railroad. They feel the stimulus of increased population, of new industries, of general appreciation of values, including land. They are the principal beneficiaries. And this without any risk or the expenditure of a cent.* As the capital of railroads is raised outside of the immediate community where they are lo- cated, it follows that it adds so much to the wealth of the community in which it is disbursed. This accession of wealth, with the new enterprises that follow in its train, including increase of popula- tion and general enhancement of values, the com- munity receives in consideration of certain rights, of no particular value to it, which it gives or sells * In reference to the enhancement of values consequent upon the introduction of railways in Great Britain, Sir Rowland Hill says (Royal Com. p. cviii.) : " The possessors of land and other fixed property in all districts traversed by railways have been enriched by the increased value of their possessions, to the extent, probably, in many instances of four fold." While the increase in the British Isles may not have exceeded Sir Row- land's estimates, it falls much below the appreciation realized by property owners in America; this difference, it is hardly necessary, perhaps, to state, is occasioned by the greater extent of country, its comparative newness, and the meager facilities it enjoyed for intercommunication previous to the introduction of railways. PARTICULARS OF CONSTRUCTION. 155 in exchange. The most important of these is the right of eminent domain. This right is made much of by railway critics and superficial writers on railway subjects. It is not a gift. Those who exercise it pay for everything they get. Nor is it an exclusive privilege, where railway construc- tion is free. Moreover, its exercise by railroads is much more valuable to the community than to those upon whom it is conferred. It is like widening or deepening the channel of a river be- fore unnavigable, or opening a passage through a mountain previously impassable. Its exercise creates new sources of supply, new markets, new lines of travel, new means of intercourse, new sources of wealth. Those who provide the capi- tal for constructing the railroad by which these results are brought about derive no other benefit, as a rule, than a reasonable (oftentimes meager) return on their investment. Their gain is slight indeed compared to that the community at large receives. While the first cost of a road is in the nature of new capital brought into a community, the ex- pense of operating, taxes, improvements and addi- tions also adds annually a large sum. Practically nothing is taken away. What is not disbursed for expenses is reinvested. Thus a community is benefited in every way. These simple and suggestive facts occur forci- bly to those who study the railway subject in the light of condemnation which so often assails these properties. However apparent they may 156 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. be to students, they do not receive from a large class of the community the consideration they merit. In considering the disbursements of railroads, those relating to the cost of the property are naturally the first to receive attention. The ex- penditures on this account embrace several dis- tinct objects, all subservient, however, to the main purpose. Let us consider them in their order; and first we may note the cost of the char- ter or permit to build, the outlay for legal advice, notarial expenses, the company's seal and other items of a like character. These disbursements vary greatly with different companies. In some of the states of the Union it is required that a company shall procure a charter from the legis- lature. This charter is the substance or embodi- ment of a law specifying the duties and preroga- tives of the company and the territory it may occupy. This is the manner of procedure followed in the United Kingdom. There the authoriza- tion of Parliament must be secured in every case. It is, as a rule, both expensive and tedious. In some of the states of the Union railways are built under a general statute. There is no limit to the number that may be organized in such cases. It only requires a permit involving the expenditure of a few dollars. The cost is much greater for a charter than a permit. Where a special charter is required, the expense varies in proportion to the necessity for the proposed road, the fidelity and skill with which the matter is pressed upon PARTICULARS OF CONSTRUCTION. 157 the legislature, and finally the industry, intelli- gence and good intention of the latter body. A law must be drafted in any event, and men skilled in the arts of legislative practice employed to press it. It requires time and more or less outlay. When railroads are organized under a general law, the process is comparatively simple. The incorporates must perfect arrangements in con- formity therewith and file the papers required. In return it receives a permit to build. A certain percentage of the capital stock is usually required to be paid up before a railroad company can go ahead to construct. After the procurement of a charter or permit, the amount necessary to be disbursed to perfect the organization is very small. However, it forms a part of the cost of the property and is placed to its debit with other items of greater consequence. Preparatory to the location of a line, one or more preliminary surveys are made, as I have pointed out elsewhere. It is sometimes neces- sary to explore several routes before it is possi- ble to decide intelligently which has the greater advantages or, perhaps, which is the least objec- tionable. This labor requires time and skill and frequently involves the expenditure of a large sum of money. Under the most favorable cir- cumstances the work of locating a property, if conducted intelligently and with a view to ulti- mate outlay and income, requires the exercise of patience and good judgment. Not only must the 158 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. engineer prepare a general description, or profile, of the different routes, but must determine the approximate cost of the various structures, em- bankments, cuts, tunnels, bridges and culverts; the amount and quality of the earth that must be moved, and the distance it must be moved; the cost of track and other supplies, including bal- last; and, finally, the maximum load that may be hauled in either direction over the whole line and over its different sections. In connection with the cost of each route surveyed, traffic ad- vantages have also to be carefully studied. Expenditures for surveys involve disbursements for implements, wages of men, clerical and super- visory force at headquarters, and the incidental expenses of the men in the field. The outlay be- longs to the engineering department. While the surveying parties are still engaged, or preliminary thereto, the capital outlay inci- dent to the construction of the proposed road must be considered by its projectors. There are two ways of raising money, namely, by the sale of mortgage bonds and capital stock.* Both are usually employed in America, but not in equal degrees. Expenditures incident to the prepara- tion of mortgage bonds and shares capital and the placing of the same on the market, vary greatly. Among them may be embraced print- ing, engraving, registering, commissions, ex- change, and expenses connected with the sale * These methods are frequently supplemented by a large floating debt before the road is opened. PARTICULARS OF CONSTRUCTION. 159 and delivery of the securities. The discount suf- fered in the sale of securities forms, in many cases, a very large item in the construction ac- count. It is chargeable to cost of property. Ability to dispose of the securities of a corpo- ration upon favorable terms depends upon the probable value of the proposed road, familiarity with the subject by capitalists, the condition of the money market, and the character of the men in charge. Political considerations also enter into the subject. A community known to be dishonest in paying its debts, or in not paying them, cannot borrow as cheaply as honest people. An important item, chargeable to construction, is interest on capital while the road is being built. It varies greatly, but is considerable in every instance. Up to this point, it is apparent, nothing of a tangible value has been secured, although the disbursements have been large and continuous. We now come to the outlay for real estate, for roadway, station houses, supply depots, shops, yards, sidings, docks and offices. In the procure- ment of its realty a company requires agents possessing especial aptitude and men withal of approved integrity and discretion, as the success- ful and honorable fulfillment of their duties re- quires patience, tact, skill and fidelity. Except in isolated cases it is the experience of every company that the price put upon the land w T hich it buys or condemns is excessive. The price is based upon neighborly accommodation, 160 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. interest and thrift; rarely, if ever, upon bona fide sales to private parties.* Railways never strive to acquire land at less than its value. All their efforts are directed to escaping the payment of grossly fictitious sums. The expense of procuring the realty a company requires, aside from the cost of the realty itself, varies greatly. In new or sparsely settled dis- tricts the number of transactions is comparatively small, and the general desire of the community to have the roads constructed renders the hold- ers of land tractable. Where the population is dense, the outlay to which a company is put for land and the expenses of juries, commissions, * This is the case in every country where railways are built except where the appraisement is made by disinterested and capable officers of the government. The disposition to exag- gerate the value of property required by railway companies has been the subject of frequent complaint in Great Britain. Sir Kowland Hill, in a report made by him, says: " In the purchase of land for railway purposes the amount actually paid is, as already stated, often several times the antecedent value." Mr. A. Sinclair, C. E., in his interesting notes on British railways says, in reference to the excessive demands made upon the Eng- lish companies for the land they require and for land damages: "In the cost of British railways, right of way has proved an expensive item. As the land is mostly divided up into large estates, a company negotiating for right of way has not a mul- titude of property holders to contend with. But if- the land owners are few, they are perfect Trojans to fight for compensa- tion. There is a curious laxity of principle among a great many people in their dealings with railway corporations. Noblemen who are popularly credited with the possession of sentiments as elevated as their titles, clergymen with reputa- tion spotless as their neckties, have been known to swear that a railway going throxigh their grounds would inflict an amount of damage exceeding the market value of their whole estates." PARTICULARS OF CONSTRUCTION. 161 arbitrators, experts, witnesses, and other court costs, is a severe tax on the wealthiest corpora- tion. To avoid imposition as far as possible, railway companies do not, when they can avoid it, defi- nitely locate their lines until the realty they require has been contracted for. Those who procure the right of way must be allowed wide discretion to enable them to secure the most advantageous terms possible. It will be the policy of these agents, as it is of the company employing them, to represent that the location of the line is dependent (as it should be) upon the facilities afforded, and the amount the company is required to pay for right of way, depot grounds and yards; also upon the general friendliness and fairness of the people. Under a method so dis- creet, property owners will perceive that the benefits they hope to derive from the contem- plated enterprise will not be realized if they are unreasonable in their demands. Public sym- pathy and interest will also be excited, and thus the more rapacious of the community will be held in check. Disbursements for notaries, reg- isters, attorneys, clerks, abstracts, deeds, and kindred items connected with the procurement of land, swell the cost of a company's property. Aside from these are the salaries and expenses of the agents engaged. This outlay may be deter- mined approximately in advance, but it will vary with different localities, periods and cir- cumstances. 11 Vol. 3 162 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. Matters relating to the lands of a company are rarely, if ever, fully closed at the time of the opening of its line. Years sometimes elapse before court proceedings and private negotia- tions are brought to a close, and requisite deeds passed. Whenever a company finds it impossible to come to an amicable arrangement with the owners of property, proceedings of condemnation are instituted and the work of building pushed on, leaving the matter of compensation to be determined afterward by the courts or boards of arbitration. Disbursements for construction increase in vol- ume as work progresses. At first small and infre- quent, they grow in number and magnitude with the lapse of time, just as a storm oftentimes pro- gresses from a few preparatory drops to a blind- ing tempest. With the active inauguration of the work of construction, those who provide the capital must meet the cost of grading and ditching; perfecting the roadbed; building bridges; constructing culverts; boring tunnels; excavat- ing cuts; raising embankments; clearing away obstructing objects; constructing dikes; laying ties 'and rails, and, finally, ballasting and sur- facing. Concurrent with these expenditures, or following them, the work of constructing fences, telegraph lines, depots, warehouses, platforms, sidings, engine houses, workshops and machinery and supply depots progresses with more or less activity. Finally, the vast panorama is closed for the time being by the purchase of necessary PARTICULARS OF CONSTRUCTION. 163 furniture and fixtures for offices and buildings, and the procurement of needed equipment and supplies. All the expenditures enumerated, or incident to them, form a part of the cost of a property, and appear in the returns as construction. In some cases the road is built directly by the com- pany, but more often by contractors. At one time it was the custom to let railway work in small contracts, but this has given place more or less to the practice of letting the work to one contractor of large experience and means. It is thought the work is thus simplified, cheapened and expedited. The cost of railroads per mile varies greatly in different localities and under different circum- stances, as I have had frequent occasion to ex- plain. It is affected by climate, the character of the soil, the cost of labor and supplies, nature of the traffic to be provided for, profile of country and kindred causes.* The great cost of many European railroads is occasioned by the outlay they were subjected to * Great expenditures are frequently necessary after the com- pletion of a road. This feature is illustrated in the report of S. S. Montague, chief engineer of the Central Pacific Kailroad: " Changes are taking place in the regimen of many of the streams crossed by your lines, notably the Yuba Kiver at Marysville. The channel of this stream has been filled to a depth of twenty or more feet in many places, and at the point of crossing by the railroad it has shifted its position several hundred feet since the construction of the bridge, the main channel being now near the northern or Marysville bank. Two additional spans were constructed last year to provide for this channel, and it is probable that u further extension will be required," 164 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. for right of way and station and shop grounds. They found the land occupied, and the great bulk of it highly improved. In new countries vast tracts were still but sparsely inhabited when railroads were first introduced, while prices in the most densely settled localities were compara- tively low. European roads were moreover con- structed in a more permanent manner and with greater reference to the possible wants of the future than the financial condition or judgment of owners warranted elsewhere. Difference in cost is further heightened by differences in book- keeping. In one instance everything is scrupu- lously charged to construction and capitalization, while in the other a large part is charged to operating expenses. The extent of the latter practice has been very great. I cannot better describe it than by quoting what the railroad commissioners of Connecticut have said in regard to the additions and improvements made by the railroads of that state, the money being taken from current earnings. "A comparison of the present with the former condition of the railroads of the state enables us to realize the extent and importance of the improvements being made from year to year. Take, for instance, the size, appearance, cost and convenience of the station buildings in most of the important business cen- ters as compared with those which preceded them. The old structures still remaining in vari- ous parts of the state emphasize this contrast. Still more striking is the contrast between the PARTICULARS OF CONSTRUCTION. 165 strong, permanent stone and iron bridges which now span most of our large waterways, and the wooden structures which were displaced by them. Even the long pieces of pile bridging, which must necessarily remain for a long time to come, are gradually being floored and guarded in such a manner as to increase their strength and safety in case of derailment. Heavier steel rails than those formerly used are being laid upon those doing the largest amount of business. The amount of stone ballast is yearly increasing. In no one particular is the progress being made so apparent as in the character of the passenger equipment now being brought into use upon our important roads. This is made forcibly evident when it becomes necessary, on some special occasion, to bring out and use the equipment which was in use many years ago. The amount expended by the various companies during the past year for repairs of roadbed, track, bridges, buildings and for new equipment, indicates that substantial progress has been made in each of these departments. The increased weight of the locomotives and other equipment used and the increased tonnage of freight cars require a more solid roadbed, heavier rails and bridges of larger safe carrying capacity than were formerly needed, and the companies are realizing and meeting these requirements."* What was done in Connecticut has been done in every state of the Union. * Report, 1888. 166 FINANCE,', COXSTftrf'TlXH, MAINTAINING, The total disbursements of a railroad for con- struction purposes can never be accurately deter- mined. Upon the books of no company, probably, is cost fully set forth. There are difficulties of accounting that prevent it, even in those cases where there is a desire to ascertain and make known the amount. Figures, therefore, that pro- fess to give these facts are incomplete. In every expenditure a railway company makes for construction purposes, no matter how charged on the books, no matter whether capitalized or not, the community is interested. All classes are favorably affected by it, from the man who digs coal to the dealer in pins; from the common laborer to the banker; from the manufacturer of scientific instruments to the farmer who plows his ground or tends his flock; and, as a railroad is never completed, the community's interest in its disbursements for construction never ceases; it is always growing. New wants are constantly suggested by the needs of business and the dis- covery of cheaper and better appliances. These involve further outlay, and will do so as long as men continue to invent or railroads continue to grow.* * In this connection I beg to refer the reader to the book " Disbursements of Kailways," forming a part of this series. It treats of a subject that affects construction, and several of its chapters are devoted wholly to construction work. CHAPTER V. ELEMENTS OF CONSTRUCTION. Cost of construction is dependent, as I have already pointed out with more or less particu- larity, upon the character of the road, the nature of the country, the season of the year, the dis- tance from source of supplies, the kind of mate- rial used, the amount and kind of business to be accommodated, the relative cost of labor, the ability and experience of the engineer and, finally, the skill and fidelity exercised in procuring the real and personal property. A road built during a period of inflated prices will cost, it is apparent, a greater sum than one constructed at a more opportune time. Certain portions of the year are also more propitious for work of this character than others. Moreover, the work done then is more satisfactory and the cost of operating afterward, less. Circumstances concerning the soil and profile of a country gov- ern cost. A road that may be built for a few thousand dollars per mile on the sandy plains of western Nebraska would cost many times the sum in the Sierra Madre Mountains. Character also governs. A broad gauge road is not only more costly than a narrow gauge line, but its machinery and equipment are, correspondingly, (167) 168 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. more expensive. A road constructed to accom- modate a large traffic has more elaborate and expensive facilities than a property built to ac- commodate a light business. The traffic that must be hauled to market over heavy grades requires larger and more costly engines than a line where there are no grades. The cost of constructing the road proper is also much greater. Roads are oftentimes built to handle a particular kind of business. Its nature may be discerned in the character of the equipment and the nature of the facilities provided. The appliances of railroads are unique and ex- haustive. Equipment must be adapted to traffic. The supply from which to choose is large and va- ried. The measure of profit a company reaps is ever largely dependent upon the adaptability of its equipment. If the load is light, a light loco- motive is employed. It costs less in the first in- stance, consumes less fuel and lubricants, is less destructive to the track, and less expensive to keep in order than a heavy machine. If the load is great, the locomotive must correspond to the need. The roadbed, superstructure and rails of a line doing a small business may also be much lighter, and, therefore, cheaper than where the traffic is large. Facilities are never the same in kind, quantity or cost. Thus, a company handling ores uses dif- ferent cars from one handling merchandise. The necessities of a passenger road are different from those of a freight road. Upon such a line ELEMENTS OF CONSTRUCTION. 169 expenditure for freight will be comparatively light, while the outlay for passengers will be rel- atively great. Upon another line these peculiar- ities will be reversed. The products of a country and the character of its people fix the status of a property. "A densely populated district, occu- pied by a manufacturing or a mining population, has far different wants from those of an agricul- tural population. The mountain districts of Scotland or the sparsely inhabited portions of Ireland could be supplied with railway commu- nication suited to their wants by means of a very different mode of construction from that neces- sary for South Staffordshire or the metropolis."* Many lines are constructed wholly with a view to through business. Local wants receive little or no consideration. Again, the traffic may be wholly local. If the traffic of a line is of a varied character, it is discernible in the arrangement of station and yard facilities, in the character of the cars and the adaptability of locomotives. A glance is sufficient to distinguish a prosper- ous company from a poor one. It appears, first, in the nature of the construction work, and after- ward in its condition. One will be well kept, the other will be lean; one will be vigorous and ani- mated, the other feeble and lacking in purpose. The roadbed of one will be generous in proportion and of durable character, the rails will be heavy and well preserved, the cross ties broad and well together, the bridges admirably proportioned and * Koyal Commission on Railways, Report, p. xliii. 170 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. of durable material, the culverts constructed of stone or iron and ample to meet the contingen- cies of tempest and flood, the buildings will be large and well arranged, and the equipment ex- tensive and well adapted for the work. The other will be pinched and circumscribed, with a con- tracted roadbed, more or less overgrown with weeds, with light rails, ties wide apart, buildings mean in appearance, and fences, bridges and cul- verts needing repair. The equipment of a com- pany, more than anything else, perhaps, indicates want of care and renewals. If an unproductive line does not present the outward appearance I have indicated, it is because the owner pays more than his share of the losses its operation entails. This is frequently the case, especially where it forms a part of a lucrative property. Many short roads are required to be built from year to year to accommodate local wants. They constitute a class. Their wants are few and the accommodations should be limited and simple. They ought, however, to be built of durable mate- rial, according to approved plans, by men versed in such matters. Otherwise the work is not likely to be such as to facilitate economical operations afterward. However, this applies to all railroads. The opportunity for making money through construction contracts and otherwise suggested the building of lines, in many instances, that otherwise would not have been thought of. The community was, at one time, much harassed by ELEMENTS OF CONSTRUCTION. 171 enterprises of this character in the United States, and investors suffered great hardships therefrom. Neighboring enterprises were also crippled, for the moment, by their introduction. The con- struction of these speculative enterprises occa- sioned temporary activity, quasi prosperity, in the community, followed by corresponding de- pression. A railroad that is not needed absorbs the resources of a country without rendering a return, and until the amount has been restored by savings, stringency and attendant hardship ensue. A country is never the richer for rail- roads that parallel existing lines. This inci- dental benefit, however, is derived: It intensifies competition; stimulates men to do their best; to invent new and. better appliances; to be more attentive, more circumspect, more anxious to please their customers; to do more and better work than they otherwise would. These bene- fits, in a slight way, compensate for the ills entailed. A railroad built by speculators is not usually well constructed. Little attention is paid to the needs of the traffic it is to accommodate. It is built to sell, and the slight interest of its projec- tors in its future leads them to do many things they would not under different circumstances. The securities of such properties are generally jlaced in the hands of agents and brokers to dis- pose of, at figures that would destroy their credit if known. Inferior material is used and the work slighted wherever possible. Large profits are 172 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. also made in the construction of these specu- lative properties by collusion with those who furnish construction supplies. The equipment furnished is, as a rule, superabundant and poor. The full extent of the profligacy of the builders is never apparent, however, until after the prop- erty is completed and the cost of operating it compared, year by year, with gross receipts and the expenses of neighboring lines. Then de- fects are realized, and the full amount of the wrong becomes apparent. At one time, in the heyday of railway enthusiasm, the construction of speculative railroads was a common thing. With lapse of time, and greater knowledge, how- ever, they have been rendered less frequent be- cause of inability to dispose of their securities. The lesson was a severe one to the community, but will not, on the whole, prove unprofitable. The intelligence and experience of agents are evinced in the purchase of the real estate and other property corporations require from time to time. Generally speaking, it is of a suitable character and bought at the lowest figure. When not, the fault does not necessarily imply action purposely inimical to the owners. It may arise from lack of experience, or too much haste. As a rule, the agents of railroad corpora- tions are men of keen appreciation and good judgment, acting only after mature reflection, and then wisely and well. Nor can they be ac- cused of being too sanguine or too precipitate. They fear the accusation of extravagance too ELEMENTS OF CONSTRUCTION. 173 much for that. They are extremely cautious, and, because of this, opportunity is sometimes allowed to pass before action is taken. More frequently than otherwise, however, in such cases the own- ers and not the agents are to blame. Timidity or ignorance oftentimes leads the former to place undue restrictions on their representatives. The productiveness of properties is in this way often- times seriously crippled. In many cases lack of money or credit render it impossible to do neces- sary work. In such cases there is nothing to do but to wait. Leaving out of consideration the exceptional cases, the amount of a company's outlay for con- struction is governed by just needs and the char- acter, extent and profitableness of the business to be accommodated. If for any reason property is acquired in excess of just wants, such disposition is made of it as the case permits. CHAPTER VI. TRACK ITS CONSTRUCTION AND EVOLUTION. The cuts contained in this book are designed to illustrate the evolution of track appliances. They depict the successes and failures of inventors, and to those who would understand the subject thor- oughly, details in regard to the latter are almost as necessary as particulars in regard to the former. If we know that a thing has been tried unsuc- cessfully, we are saved making experiments on our own account. It is this phase of the subject that makes the failures of life valuable. The illustrations portray the growth of the track of railways. Many of the physical affairs of a rail- road cannot be successfully understood from a printed account. We must have the thing illus- trated in order to understand it. Thus equipped we may in a short time acquire information that could not be gleaned in practical railway life in many years. However, in order to make the information their own, the students must study it not idly and disconnectedly, but consecutively and laboriously, as men study at our universities. The track and, more particularly, the rail, next to the motive power, represent the central idea (174) TEA CK CONSTR UCTION AND EVOL UTION. \ 75 of a railroad. Progress here keeps pace with im- provements in other branches of the service. A full description of the devices of the track that have been introduced, some of which have been abandoned while others have remained to be per- fected, would fill a volume. Such of them as I have thought necessary to a clear elucidation of the subject, I embrace in the accompanying illus- trations. Each one speaks for itself. From these pictures the reader may, without weariness, trace the steps by which the track of a railroad has reached its present high standard. I am indebted for many of my illustrations of early appliances to the courtesy of officials connected with the United States National Museum, and wish here to. thank them for their kindness. When in the beginning men began to use vehicles, it quickly became apparent that a load could be hauled with greater ease on a road with a hard surface than on one that was poor and yielding. This brought about improvements. Similarly, when the needs of carriage became great, as they did in the eighteenth century, in connection with the hauling of coal from the mines, something better than a common highway was called for. The slabs or strips of compara- tively smooth stone, as devised and used origi- nally by the Romans, were not found to be good enough. The result was the invention of a per- fectly smooth track, made of wooden rails or 176 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. stringers laid parallel with each other, the whole held in place by cross ties or other devices. Afterward these rails were covered with sheets of iron in order to make them more durable. This was called the " strap " rail. Rails were first cast; afterward, early in the nineteenth century, they were rolled. In 1767 the first iron rail was cast at Colebrookdale, Eng- land. This was a great stride forward. It was three feet long, four inches wide at the top, and three inches high. This progressive step pre- pared the way for the locomotive when it should be evolved. However, the rail thus cast proved to be too light, but the difficulty was overcome by making the carts or wagons smaller and coup- ling a number of them together instead of having one big vehicle. Thus the train came into being. Shortly afterward it was found possible to cast a rail six feet long; in 1815 it had grown to fif- teen feet; still later to thirty feet. The modern form of " T " rail, with its support- ing base, was, it is said, devised by Robert L. Stevens, of the Camden & Amboy Railroad, in 1830. The especial value of his rail consisted in the fact that it rendered the use of cheap wooden ties practicable. It also obviated the necessity of the expensive chair and other devices then in use. Inability to pay for these appliances in America necessitated adopting something where- by the expense might be avoided. However, notwithstanding its wide base, the rail is found to cut more or less into the tie. With the TRACK CONSTRUCTION AND EVOLUTION, 177 constantly increasing weight of equipment and load this defect is accentuated. One of the means of overcoming it is the use of a " chair," or metal plate, placed between the rail and its support. Another, the use of a metal tie. Jessop's Cast-iron Fish-bellied Rail, A. D. l?89.-[NoTE: The attention of the reader is particularly called to the fact that in the accompanying illustra- tions notonly the form of the rail is shown, but also the fastenings, splice >ars, chairs, ties and other details of interest connected with the track.] In 1789 William Jessop first introduced a rail with a smooth, level top, substituting a wheel with a flange for the old-fashioned form. This simple, yet ingenious, device at once revolution- ized previous practices. Before, a flange or something of the kind had formed a part of the rail in order to keep the wheel on the track. This not only added to the cost of the rail, but rendered it less strong and more easily worn out. The flanged wheel cleared the sky. In 1797 Jes- sop also contributed to the development of rail- roads by inventing the iron chair, which he 4 The First Rail Chair. Newcastle-on-Tyne, A. D. 1797 12 Vol. 3 178 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. inserted between the rail and the tie. Rails at this time were very light, and the load and speed were made to correspond. In 1825 the rail used weighed twenty-eight pounds per yard. In 1830 it had been increased to thirty-five pounds; shortly afterward to fifty pounds, then to sixty- five pounds and so on according to the need.* Up to the time the locomotive was rendered practicable, railroads were used mainly for haul- ing coal and were called tramways. The inven- tion of the iron rail was what suggested the name of railway. Wrought-iron rails were not *In illustration of this, the standard of the Eastern Railway of France we are told was, in 1897, eighty-eight pounds. The rails rested on strips of tarred felt placed on the ties. The rails on the Belgian state railways were spliced with two angle bars twenty-eight and three-fourths inches long, each weighing forty-seven pounds. Metal tie plates were used on every tie on tangents and curves, except the joint ties on which rested the broad flanges of the splice bars. Maintenance on similar lines with heavy and fast traffic is said to have cost about three hundred and fifty dollars per mile per year for labor. The track must approximately be renewed once in fifteen years, costing on an average nine hundred and seventy dollars per mile for material. The standard track of the East Indian Eailway at the time mentioned above was laid with eighty-five pound bull- head rails, spliced by twenty-two inch bars and four bolts. The ties were of creosoted pine or sal. The approximate cost of maintenance of way is said to have been six hundred and twenty-five dollars per mile per year. The Great Indian Peninsular Eailway was laid with double-headed rails (laid in chairs on teak and creosoted pine ties) weighing sixty-nine and eighty-six pounds per yard. The ties were ten by five inches, ten feet long, their life varying from twelve to fifteen years. One-third of the track of the Great Northern Eailway of Ireland was laid with eighty-five pound bull-head rails and two-thirds with eighty-pound T or flange rails. The ties were creosoted, and would last from twelve to eighteen years. TRACK CONSTRUCTION AND EVOLUTION. 179 manufactured until about 1805. They were two feet long, but never came into general use. At first the cross tie was used only at the ends of the rails. There the two were fastened together, as the illustrations suggest.* In many cases ties were not used at all, but stationary blocks or piling instead. The usual way was to support the rail midway with stone blocks. Al 1 things being new, every kind of experiment was tried. Among other things, the need of elasticity A Railway of A.D.ISOO. in a track was not known, and hence great pains were oftentimes taken to lay the rails on the solid rock or on a concrete base. It was, however, soon discov- ered that such lack of elasticity quickly destroyed the superstructure as well as the locomotives and cars. Something else had therefore, to be tried. The stone blocks used to support the rails were found to be nearly as bad as the solid base. Re- lief was not found until the ballasted wooden tie was adopted. These experiments, with many others of a similar nature, went hand in hand * While the cross tie is generally used by railroads through- out the world, the Great Western Railway of England uses a longitudinal support for its rails. Such support was quite common in the early days of railroading, but has, as a rule, been abandoned. 180 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. with the continued betterment of the rail that occurred previous to the introduction of the locomotive, the moderate speed attained on the tramways had not rendered the solid roadbed particularly objectionable, and so its destructive features were not noticed. In the beginning, when attention was called to the wooden tie it was lightly regarded as not being sufficiently durable. However, its great availability was quickly discovered and hence- forward it was fully utilized. The English, with LeCann'B Tram Rail, requiring neither bolts nor spikes. Wales, A. IX 1801. the provident habits peculiar to them, quickly discovered that by the process of creosoting, the durability of the tie or stringer could be greatly prolonged. At first it was deemed necessary to strengthen the rail between the supports upon which it rested. Thus the top and bottom of the rail were not parallel. The object sought was attained, so far as possible, in various ways, but the fish-bel- lied form of rail, shown elsewhere, was thought to accomplish the purpose more effectively than any other. Afterward, however, upon careful experiments being made, it was found that a rail TRA CKCOXS TR UCTION AND E VOL UTION. \ 8 1 with a straight top and bottom (the lines running parallel with each other), supported by cross ties, was better than any other form. This was about the time the Liverpool & Manchester Railway was opened, in 1830. No rigid connection between the ends of the rails laid in a track was made until 1847. Prior to that time they were placed one against the other in a chair, especially designed for the pur- pose, called a joint chair. The ends of the rails were not held securely in this chair, but could slide past each other and were quickly ruined by Wyatt's Hexagonal Rail, North Wales, A. D. 1802. the wheels jolting over the uneven surface. In 1847 fish plates for uniting the ends of the rails were introduced, and Ihe device has since been generally adopted. By this means the rails are firmly held together, affording an even surface at the top. The fish plate, a strip of iron about an inch thick, was placed on either side of, but not touching, the web of the rail, the edges of the plate being made to perfectly fit the sloping sides of the head and foot of the rail. The fish plate is held in place by bolts, called fish bolts, which pass through the rail and the two fish plates (one on either side of the rails), drawing 182 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. the plates together and tightening their edges against the rail. The rail was further strength- ened at the fish joint by the cross ties being laid nearer each other there than in other portions of the track. The efficiency of the fish joint de- pends upon the plates being kept securely in their place. They require to be frequently looked after and the bolts screwed up, as they are liable to work loose with the jar of the trains passing over them. Various styles of fish plates and fastenings have been introduced, the object being to find some way for holding the bolt and nut firm after being screwed into place, so they cannot work loose. The custom prevails of imbedding the ties in ballast, so as to deaden noise and lessen the jar and vibration, and for other good reasons. It is recommended as a practice in England to raise the ballast to the level of the top of the rail in switching yards as a protection to switchmen in going in and out between the cars. The ballast of a railroatl necessarily conforms to the material which the company is able to secure for this purpose. Because of this, and because of lack of unanimity as to what is best, the kind of ballast used and the method of apply- ing it upon different roads vary. Speed of trains and the traffic of a road are important factors in determining the kind of ballast and the quantity required. However, cheap and inadequate mate- rial is often used because of the inability of .- company to pay for anything better. TRA CKCONSTR UCTION AND EVOL UTION. \ 83 The manner of applying ballast, while more generally understood than formerly, is still more or less a question of experiment and personal opinion. Thus, the ballast of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway is composed of a bottom course of stone pitching nine inches deep, three inches of ashes and a top ballast of cinders. On the Eastern Railway of France it is of broken stone, gravel and furnace slag. On the Great Northern Railway of Ireland the ties are laid in six inches of broken stone ballast above a six-inch paved or telford foundation. The ballast of the Belgian Tram Rail, Surrey Railway, A. D. 1803. state railways is of broken stone basalt, por- phyry and sandstone. The standard ballast of the Pennsylvania Railroad consists of stone ten inches deep under the center of the cross tie. The stone is broken to a size not larger than a cube that will pass through a two and one-half inch ring, and is cleaned from dust by passing over a screen. The smaller stones are used for dressing and sur- facing.* Gravel is the standard ballast of the Chicago & North- Western Railway, twelve inches (deep beneath the ties. The center of the roadbed * See diagrams of Pennsylvania track herein, 184 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. between the ties is filled in even with the top of the ties. Stone ballast is also used, the stone being broken to a size that will pass through a three-inch ring.* Shingle from the ocean beach is sometimes used on coast lines and forms an excellent ballast when free from shells, which latter, when they become crushed, make dirt. The railways of the United States differ from those of European countries in this, that the latter were built for an existing population. Their con- BOTTOM V/EW Woodhouse's patent Concave Rail for wagons, A. D, 1803. struction was, therefore, in a measure, adapted to known traffic. In the United States they were generally built in advance of the population. They were, consequently, of lighter construction. Moreover, money with which to build was scarce, and the anticipated revenues did not warrant great outlay in construction. As business increased, improvements have been made. Various conditions enter iato the relation between track and traffic. Safety and economy are important factors. A light track which * See diagram pf Chicago. & North-western track herein. TRACK CONSTRUCTION AND EVOLUTION. 185 would answer every purpose on a level and straight line of road may be dangerous and expensive on steep grades and sharp curves. The speed of trains and the frequency with which they are run must be considered in connection with the strength of a track. The question of maintenance also enters into the subject. New and heavy rails put into service on a poor road- way, with insufficient ballast, loose spikes and worn or decayed ties, could not be expected to make a good track, nor to last. The whole struc- ture should correspond with the uses to which it is to be put. The track of a railway should not be allowed to deteriorate beyond a certain point; otherwise, the expense of maintenance and renewals is very heavy and frequently results, practically, in a reconstruction of the track. A noticeable feature of American railways, in contradistinction to those of other countries, is the enormous traffic hauled in great trains by heavy engines over a light track. It is claimed by authorities on the subject that railway en- gineers have been less energetic in asserting the needs of the track than the master car builders and superintendents of motive power have been in asserting the needs of equipment; in other words, the track of American railways has not been kept up to so high a standard, relatively, as the rolling stock. The engineer, it is asserted, is not fully in touch with the equipment and oper- ating departments. If loads are increased and more powerful engines used, the track should be 186 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. Tram Rail with stone supports, upon which Trevithick's first locomotive ran. kept in harmony with these conditions. The following, it has been stated, are among the important points to be considered in improving the track to conform to the requirements of traffic : TRA CK CONS TR UCTION AND E VOL UTION. \ 87 Weight, age, character of wear, quality and price of rails. Kind of joints, their condition, life of angle bars, size of bolts, and amount of maintenance work expended. Expenses for maintenance and renewals of rail fastenings. Kind, price and life of ties. Number of switches and frogs in use, amount of reduction possible without affecting the move- ment of trains, and their relation to the wheels. Quality and quantity of ballast, efficiency of drainage, and cost of replacing gravel with stone ballast. Cost of intelligent and efficient foremen and section men. Cost of changing lines (when necessary) to obviate the necessity of curves and grades, proper arrangement of yards, and proper equipment of track with automatic signals. Weight of locomotives, number in use, fre- quency of runs, wheel base, and condition of tires. Weight and capacity of cars, and condition of wheels. Number of cars per train, average load each way, number of trains, speed and weight. In passing around a curved track, the centrif- ugal force of the train has a tendency to make the flanges of the wheels on the outside of the 188 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. curve press against the rail with a force depend- ent on the weight of the load, the size of the curve and the speed of the train. This is coun- teracted by elevating the outer rail above the inner one, the amount of such elevation being determined by a consideration of the maximum speed at which trains will travel round the curve. In the early history of railways in America the construction of tunnels was little understood, and because of this the work was improperly per- formed, resulting in great waste of resources and Carlisle's Wrought (rolled) Iron Rail, A. D. 1811. embarrassment in the operation of the roads. However, with experience and acquired knowl- edge, the difficulties of the situation have become familiar to us and so have been overcome. An engineer of experience, in speaking of the con- struction of tunnels, points out the desirability of their being straight whenever possible, in order to afford the engineer a view of the entire length when his train enters a tunnel. Provision is also to be made for ventilation. This is some- times accomplished by means of a fan operated by a stationary engine in a shaft in the center of the tunnel. If a double track is laid, ventilation may be aided by constructing a middle partition . TRACK CONSTRUCTION AND EVOLUTION. 189 (or brattice) lengthwise of the tunnel between the tracks, so the currents of air created by trains passing through in opposite directions will not become mixed. If the tunnel is not too long, the currents thus raised will be strong enough to move the air throughout its entire length unless they are impeded by conflicting currents. When such a partition is built, the tunnel must be wider than would otherwise be necessary, as the space between the two tracks should be at least eight feet in width. In making a tunnel through the Lost & Stephenson's Edge Rail, Stockton & Darlington Railroad, A. D. 1816. side of a hill where the pressure on the two sides is not equal, special care should be exercised lest the sides of the tunnel be damaged by the un- equal pressure and the hillside rendered unstable. Recesses should be made in the sides of tunnels, into which trackmen may retire while trains are passing, and in which they may place their tools.* The term "permanent way" represents the ma- terials used in constructing the road on which vehicles are to run, as distinguished from those used by contractors temporarily in constructing a line for conveying material from place to place, making embankments, etc. By permanent way * Mr. Johu Wolfe Barry. 190 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. is meant ballast, ties, rails, chairs, fastenings, fish plates, switches, crossings, etc. ; in fact, the whole structure complete. The track formed of two rails laid parallel to each other, upon which locomotives and cars run, is technically known as the "line of way." The distance between the two rails is called the "gauge of the line." The gauge generally accepted and known as the standard is four feet eight and one-half inches. An interesting feature in connection with the development of the track has been the question as to what was the best gauge to adopt as the Birkeushaw's Wrought-Iron Rail, A. D. 1820. standard. When the nomadic tribes of primi- tive days used their vehicles for habitations, the width between the wheels was much broader than now. Their purposes were facilitated by a broad gauge. However, when wagons were built for use simply as vehicles, the gauge was reduced until about what it is to-day. Utility decided what was best. When railway vehicles were introduced, lack of practical information, coupled with the disposition of man to experiment, led to the adoption of many different gauges. The variations in the United States, it is probable, exceeded those of any other country. Our lines were more scattered. TRACK CONSTRUCTION AND EVOLUTION. 191 The advocates of the broad gauge, notably led by the Great Western Company of England, believed they had discovered what was best. On the other hand, gauges even narrower than what is now recognized as the standard (four feet eight and one-half inches) had many advocates. The very narrow gauge roads, however, were more often necessitated by a slender purse than a belief that they were the best. Hence it has fol- lowed naturally that, as their owners have acquired capital, the gauge has been changed to conform to the standard. HETTON RAIL 1824 The widest gauge ever used was that adopted by Brunei for the Great Western of England seven feet. He claimed it was the safest, steadiest and most comfortable and, moreover, that better time could be made on such a track. His claims were proven not to be well founded, while his gauge necessitated a much greater outlay than the other, as the engines and cars had to be larger and stronger and the track much heavier than a more moderate gauge. A gauge of ten inches is 192 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. said to be the narrowest ever devised. Such a road was built by a railway contractor named Mansfield for his own use in 1874. The battle of the gauges was among the first and most bitter of the railway contests. It occurred in England. The contest ended in the first instance by the adoption nominally of two standards, viz.: seven feet and four feet eight and one-hdf inches, respectively. The latter is now An early Frog pattern. the standard, the former having become obsolete with its final abandonment by the Great Western Railway in 1892. The necessity of traffic, how- ever, resulted at an early day in laying a third (standard) rail in many instances on the broad gauge lines. In India the government adopted a gauge of five feet six inches, impelled to such conclusion, it is said, by considerations of the advantage such a gauge afforded for the con- venient arrangement ' of the machinery of the locomotive. TRACK CONSTRUCTION AND EVOLUTION. 193 On the continent of Europe, where the govern- ment has exercised more or less supervision from the start, uniformity has been required in gauges. If the roads were broad gauge, the dimensions conformed to that style, and if narrow, then to that pattern. So there have, practically, been but two gauges. In this respect government supervision has been beneficial. The adoption of a gauge of four feet eight and one-half inches in the first place (prior to the intro- Frogs, Colliery Railroads of England, A. D. 1825. duction of the locomotive), was accidental rather than calculated. It, however, led to its use by other tramways modeled upon it. When the locomotive was introduced, this gauge, more gen- erally in use than any other, was accepted for that reason, and, as neighboring lines were con- structed, the convenience growing out of uni- formity led to its recommendation by George Stephenson. The first railroad or wooden way having a four foot eight and one-half inch gauge was built, in 13 Vol. 3 i 94 FINANCING, CONSTR UCTING, MAINTAINING. 1630, in Newcastle-on-Tyne. Originally the gauge was measured, not from the inside, but from the outside of the rails. In this way the first railroad had a gauge of five feet, but after subtracting the width of the two rails the inside measurement was found to be four feet eight and -one-half inches. This gauge is compulsory in England, Belgium, France, Italy and Ger- many. It is also in use on the greater part of the mileage of Europe. Spain, however, has a Switches in Colliery Railroads, England, A. D. 1825. gauge of five feet six inches, while Russia has one of five feet. In the United States, while nar- row guage railroads are sometimes constructed, for financial or other reasons, there is practically a standard gauge throughout. In Ireland the gauge was settled by Parliament, in 1846, at five feet three inches. In the operation of connecting lines, where the gauges are different, it is the practice, in some instances, to lift the train bodily from the trucks of one gauge to those of another. In such TRA CK CONS TR UCTION AXD E VOL UTION. 195 cases, of course, the cars are fitted with suitable machinery. In the appendix attached to this volume will be found a table, more or less complete, showing the gauges of railways in use, at one time or an- other, in different countries of the world.* It is important that every portion of the per- manent way shauld be sufficiently strong to bear the weight of the heaviest load to be transported over the line, as the strain to which a line is sub- jected is determined by the greatest load carried on any one pair of wheels. The; heaviest load carried is on the driving wheels of the locomotive. The power of the en- gine, as applied to the hauling of a train, is through the adhesion due to the insistent weight of the drivers upon the rails. This weight is very destructive to the permanent way, and efforts have been made to distribute it by adding more driving wheels, coupled together, without losing any portion of the tractive force of the locomo- tive. It is claimed, however, that an engine with one pair of drivers travels easier and with less friction than a coupled engine. When means are devised for applying the tractive force of the locomotive through the various wheels of the ve- hicles in the train, the strain on the permanent way will be materially lessened and the expense of operating greatly reduced. In constructing a railway capable of carrying heavy loads, the following general principles are * Appendix E. 196 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. laid down by those versed in such matters: The surface of the ties resting on the ballast should be large enough to keep them from settling un- der the pressure brought upon them; the bearing surface of the rails or chairs (if the latter are used) should be sufficient to prevent their crush- ing or settling into the ties; the rail should be of sufficient strength not to deviate either sideways or vertically, except within the proper limits of its elasticity; the two rails constituting a track should be kept from spreading apart by secure fastenings; the ends of the rails should be con- George Stephenson's Fish-Belly Rail, Manchester & Liverpool Railway, A. D. 1829. nected in such a way that the joints will, as nearly as possible, be as strong as the rest of the line; the rails should be made of material that will resist intense strain, great pressure and the wear and tear caused by the sliding of wheels; the whole track structure must possess a certain degree of elasticity when trains pass over it. In laying rails the expansion and contraction of the metal, caused by changes in temperature, must be taken into consideration and allowance made therefor by having the holes in the rails larger than the bolts to be used, or of a different shape. TRACKCONSTRUCTION AND EVOLUTION. 197 The rails (or chairs, in case the latter are used) are fastened to the ties by spikes, treenails, wood screws, or fang bolts. A spike is a cylindrical iron bar with a head, and is driven into a hole in the tie which has been bored a little smaller than the spike in order that the latter may be held more firmly. The shrinking of the timber, however, is liable to loosen the spikes in a short time. The spikes should exactly fit the holes in the chairs. Treenails are wooden spikes which have been compressed by machinery and all moisture driven out of them before be- ing used in the track. When placed in the track they are held firmly in their place by absorbing moisture and swelling. Treenails af- ford a good fastening while in perfect condi- tion, but the liability of their becoming ineffi- cient because of decay had led to the general use of iron spikes in connection In some bination of spike and treenail has been employed, the treenail consisting of a hollow cylinder of compressed wood into which an iron spike is driven after the treenail has been inserted into the tie. Rail designed by Robert L. Stevens, A. D. 1830; adopted by American rail- roads. Shaded section shows rail as originally designed, 1830. Section not shaded shows rail as rolled, 1631. This rail was fastened to stone blocks with hook headed spikes; at the joints were Cases a COm- iron tongues fastened to the stem of the rail, put on hot. 198 FfXAXrrxG, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. Rectangular spikes, sometimes called " dog spikes," having a projecting head which extends about half an inch over the upper surface of the foot of the rail, are a common means of fastening the flat bottomed rail to the tie. Fang bolts are said to be the most satisfactory fastenings employed in England. The bolts are long enough to pass through the ties and have a screw on the end which fits a large flat nut. A fang or short spike is on each corner of the nut. These fangs imbed themselves into the under side of the tie and prevent the nut from turning, the bolt being screwed into the nut by turning the head. The rail, or chair, is firmly drawn down on to the tie and elasticity of the wood tightly holds the bolt. A disadvantage in connection with the use of the fang bolt is that it becomes set by rusting and cannot be turned around. The latter is frequently necessary, especially in hot climates where the ties become shrunken by the hot sun. Another English device for fastening rails is known as the wedge spike. The spike is split at the bottom for receiving a wedge, which expands the two halves of the spike and makes it assume a dovetail shape. A hole is bored through the tie and an iron plate used to hold up the wedge while the split spike is driven on to the latter. The spike cannot be removed from the tie until the wedge has been with- drawn, this being done by a lever made for that purpose. TRACK CONSTRUCTION AND EVOLUTION. 199 The accompanying illustrations of the rail show, incidentally, the evolution of its acces- sories. Thus, at first the rail was laid directly on a block of stone, to which it was attached. Later on we notice, in England, the introduction of a support or chair; then came the splice bars, with bolts, wedges and other devices, such as the particular form required. One improvement fol- lowed close upon another. The era was one of invention. Man's ingenuity was stimulated to Stone Block, Rail and Joint Tongue laid on Camden & Amboy Railroad. A. D. 1831. the utmost. In this way the appliances of the first-class track of to-day were evolved. Each year adds something new and better, but sub- stantially the first twenty years of active railway operation saw the track fairly perfected. Dif- ferences have existed and do exist, and abvays will exist, it is probable, as to what particular or technical form a device shall take. It may be a form which is the best' in one instance may not be in another. In some cases, ignorance and 200 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. . prejudice undoubtedly intervene. Thus, while the splice bar is everywhere recognized as indis- pensible, the particular manner of applying it differs. How far these differences are necessi- tated by different conditions is a question which I shall not pretend to answer here. The use of different patterns involves, it is apparent, loss (temporary at least) to the companies that do not select the best. Nevertheless, railroads are, on the whole, benefited by the experiments they involve, because out of them is finally ascertained what is best. These experiments are not at an end, in regard to any particular device connected with the track, but will continue to animate those interested in railroads as long as they are operated. The double headed rail was designed for revers- ing when the top became worn, instead of re- placing it with a new rail. When this form of rail is used, a chair is necessary to keep the rail from cutting into the tie, and also to protect the lower part of the rail from becoming worn. It is held in place in the chair by a wooden block. The bridge rail was intended for use with the longitudinal tie. It has in some instances, how- ever, been laid on cross ties, although not per- fectly adapted to this use. The flat-bottomed rail (called the " Vignoles " rail in Europe, the "Stevens" rail in America), does not require the use of a chair, except, pos- sibly, at switches, as it is wide enough at the bottom to resist the pressure of the wheels upon TRACK CONSTRUCTION AND EVOLUTION. 201 it. It is the common form in use on American railways. The upper surface of a rail should correspond as nearly as possible to the shape of the tread of the wheels which are to pass over it, in order to afford the wheels the largest possible amount of supporting surface. Rails are worn much more rapidly by the sliding of wheels upon them than by their rolling over them. Staple iron used as a makeshift for a Frog, Camden & Amboy Kailroad, A. D. 1881. A noticeable thing in connection with railroads, and one that has excited as much attention as the form of the rail, is the support or tie on which the rail rests. Longitudinal ties, or sleepers, as they are called, are in some cases used in England. These pieces of timber (about twelve inches by six inches) give the rails continuous support by lying under and parallel to them. The timbers are connected by cross bars notched into them and fastened with iron bolts. When soft wood is used, a thin strip of hard wood is laid between 202 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. the rail and the tie so the grain of the wood is at right angles to the rail. Longitudinal sleepers permit the use of lighter rails than when cross ties are laid. They are also safer in the event the trucks of railway vehicles leave the rails, as they afford a comparatively smooth surface for the wheels to run on, while i the case of cross ties the wheels bump from one tie to another in a manner which is disastrous to the couplings, springs and other portions of the train. The advantages in favor of longitudinal over cross ties, however, are offset by numerous disadvan- tages. Thus, the timber required for the former must be larger and, therefore, more expensive. When a longitudinal tie becomes defective it can be removed and replaced only by taking up the rail and, as a result, stopping traffic for the time required for this work, while if a cross tie is unfit for further service it may be replaced without disturbing the rail or any other tie and without sensible interruption to traffic. While engineers have, in the main, been re- stricted to a wood tie, they have not been satis- fied with it. It decays too quickly. This discontent early found expression in the inven- tion of metal ties of different forms. Many of these I illustrate herein. This form of tie is per- fectly practicable, and in many cases, more eco- nomical to use, it is probable, than any other; but until railway managers become entirely familiar with its merits, it will receive only cursory notice. Up to this time, the first outlay TRACK CONSTRUCTION AND EVOLUTION. 203 it necessitates has been thought to be too great for many companies. The so-called metal pot tie is sometimes used on European railways. It is made of cast or wrought iron, dome-shaped. The chair is a part of the tie and the rail is fastened to the chair with a key. In laying this form of tie, the ballast English BMsh-belly Rail, New Jersey Railroad, A. D. 1832. is made into little piles or heaps where the ties are to be put in the track. The bowl of the tie is placed over the pile and packed by forcing fine ballast through the holes in the upper part of the bowl. The rails are kept parallel by tie rods ex- tending crosswise, which are attached to the pot ties. 204 FIXAXCIXG, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. The forms of metal ties invented are exceed- ingly varied and will repay the most .careful investigation. Experiments in this direction are, however, not at an end, any more than they are in connection with other features of the track. Indeed, the rail itself, upon which so much thought and experimental action have been de- voted, and which is apparently so perfect, will take on still other and better forms as use demon- strates its present imperfections. It is notice- joint Chair and Wedge, Old Portage Railroad, A. D. 1832. able, however, that very early in the operation of railroads the rail began to shape itself 011 present lines, and this not without due thought and ex- periment, for it is hardly possible to conceive of a shape the rail has not assumed under the deft hands of different engineers and manufacturers. Nothing in connection with the evolution of rail- roads is more interesting than this feature of their development, but while almost every con- ceivable form has been made and tried, it is TRA CK CONSTR UCTION AND E VOL UTION. 205 noticeable that only those have survived which conform generally to the present pattern, and as I have copiously illustrated this I shall not at- tempt to describe it further here. And so in regard to some other features of the track: they can be better understood by carefully studying the cuts illustrating them than by the most lucid explanations. I, therefore, refer the reader, for further and more technical information in regard to the track and its evolution, to these illustrations. CHAPTER VII. CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE AND CARE OF THE ROADWAY AND TRACK. [NOTE An effective and thorough system of track accounts is necessary to a proper understanding of track maintenance and its due and economical enforcement. Such a system will be found in the book " Disbursements of Railways."] As this is the salient feature of a railway, it naturally excites greater interest and speculation among managers than any other part of the property. Upon it our lives and the safety of our property depend. Other structures connected with a railway are the work of architects, ma- chinists, plumbers, carpenters with their acces- sories; we use the same agents in building and repairing our houses, and consequently possess more or less knowledge of their methods. The track of a railway, on the other hand, is a thing apart, something special and unknown. A good track is commonly an indication of a solvent company, a wise manager, a skillful staff and careful and trustworthy employes. Much might be written about it of a theoretical nature. The subject is such as to excite the imagination. I shall, however, lay before my readers only that which is of practical use. I have given the subject much thought, but feel I (206) CONSTRUCTING AND MAINTAINING TRACK. 207 cannot say anything so pertinent as those prac- tically familiar with the subject. I beg the reader's indulgence, therefore, if I avail myself largely of what has been written by those wise in such matters.* Let us take up the subject at the point where the roadbed is ready for laying the ties and rails. We will assume that the contractors have finished the work of grading; that the culverts and bridges have been constructed; that the ties have been bought and are piled at con- venient places along the road; that the surfaces of the ties have so far as possible been prepared ready for the rail, and that they have been seasoned for at least one year; that Roiled Ran, oid the timber for switches is conven- o iently placed and similarly seasoned, and that the rails and splices are ready for de- livery as required.! At this point there will, it is probable, be several places at which it may be possible to commence laying track. The first thing to be done is to organize one or more gangs * The authorities I particularly refer to are Mr. Andrew Mor- rison and Mr. H. W. Keed. The free use that I make of the geimis and experience of others in this respect involves, as the reader will notice, more or less repetition. It will be, however, more apparent than real. In any event, the sidelight thrown upon the subject will be found to warrant it. This is true, not only here, but elsewhere throughout the work in connection with the subject about which I write. M. M. K. fSee Appendix F for approximate quantities of material required to lay one mile of track on the basis named therein. 208 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. of tracklayers; also a construction train for each gang, and surfacers for each gang. It will usually be necessary to prepare the roadbed for the track before putting these gangs to work. This pre- paratory work is commonly known as TRIMMING. This is work which contractors are very likely to do imperfectly or neglect entirely. Thus a most important part of their work is left for the track depart- ment to do, if a company is desirous of having a good track so as to save expense in later years. The roadbed in cuts should be prepared with great care, especially Stone Stringer and Strap Rail, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, A. D., 1833. This was a favorite American device. in regard to drainage. The center of the bed should be eight inches higher than the ditches for single track, and eleven inches higher for double track. The roadbed for double track should have its summit of drainage at the center of each track. This provides efficient drainage between these points, but not for the space between the track centers. This is why longitudinal drains with cross branches to the ditches are often necessary to drain the inner two halves of the track. The roadbed for double track should slope from the summit of drain- age, at the rate of one-half inch to the foot, until it CONSTRUCTING AND MAINTAINING TRACK. 209 reaches the extreme outer ends of the ties, from which it should slope to form the ditch, six inches below this point ; the bottom of the ditch should be six and a half or seven feet distant from the near rail of each track. Single track should be in proportion. All holes should be tilled solid, uniform with the surface of the bed. When this is completed gangs can be put to work. CONSTRUCTION TRAIN. The number of construction trainmen and foremen will depend upon circumstances. It is their duty to load and unload material. Work can be economized by using as few engines as possible. One engine can be made to do the w r ork of two by placing the cars for loading and unloading material while it attends to other work. If, however, the haul is too great to admit of this, an extra engine is necessary. TRACK LAYING. A track laying gang should consist of as many men as can be worked conveniently. Small gangs can be worked more economically than large ones. The best men should be kept at the front. If one man in each sub-gang is paid five or ten cents a day more than the others, he will encourage his fellows to greater exertion than a foreman can. The foreman of a track laying gang should be smart and ingenious. The following is about the force required to lay the track of a new road under normal conditions : nine men to load construction material on the truck, eight men to unload the truck, one man with a horse to haul mate- rial, four men to lay out rope for lining and spacing ties, six men to put on splices, and a proper number of spikers. A track laying gang will lay on an average one mile in two days. Sometimes less, sometimes more. Portable turntables are used for the convenience of loaders and unloaders. When a truck is unloaded, and the horse has hauled back the empty truck, the driver will put the turntable on the track and haul the empty truck off on two cross ties ; he will then hitch on to the loaded truck and haul ahead to be in turn unloaded ; the loaders will then run the returned empty truck back to its position for reloading. Should the un- loaders have their truck unloaded before the driver 14 Vol. 3 210 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. arrives with the next load, they will put the turn- table on the track and run it off when the next loaded truck is hauled to position. Should the driver reach the unloaders before their truck is empty, it will be his duty to place the turntable. The object to be kept in view is the keeping of unloaders constantly sup- plied with material. An ordinary truck load is six rails and sufficient cross ties to lay that number of rails, with a supply of splices, bolts, nut locks and spikes. It is better and cheaper to lay ties complete than to lay them for joints and quarters only, allowing the inter- mediate ties to be unloaded afterward and pulled beneath the rails. It requires the track to be raised in order to accomplish this, and it is injurious to the rails and roadbed to run a train on such a track. As fast as the Frog, Old Portage Railroad, A. D. 1835. ties are laid sufficient for each half rail length, the rail is laid down, partly spliced and spiked and the truck then moved ahead. The splicers and spikers do the principal part of their work behind the truck. The spacers will locate the places for the joint ties, using a pole of the proper length, and laying the rails with broken joint. On curves, the rope is first laid in posi- tion the same distance from engineers' stakes as on tangents ; then put to curve by measuring off the middle and intermediate ordinates from the straight line first given by the rope. The rope is placed on the proper side for lining ties, namely, on tangents of double track, the right-hand side in the direction the trains run ; and on the inner side of curves. The splicers will space the rails by tightening up the rear bolt, and then inserting CONSTRUCTING AND MAINTAINING TRACK. 21 1 the round end of their wrench in the forward hole of the splice and rail, which will give sufficient leverage to move the rail. They should be provided with a suitable rail spacer. When they have adjusted the joint and bolted it up, the spiking may be done. GAUGING AND SPIKING. Joints and centers should be gauged and spiked first, so as to bring the rails to their proper position on the ties. This facilitates intermedi- ate spiking. Each tie should be gauged as it is spiked. Curves of three degrees and over should have their gauge widened, so that the longest rigid wheel based engine can pass around the curve without crowding or spreading the track ; this will vary from one-eighth of an inch on a three- degree curve to one and one-fourth inches on a twenty- degree curve. The widening of the gauge should begin back on the tangent and be full gauge at the beginning of the curve and continue all the way around to the beginning of the tangent, being then run off on the tangent as before. Slot holes in flanges of splices should be spiked to prevent creeping of track. All spikes should be driven plumb and snug to the rail ; they should not be struck laterally, as they are thereby bent and consequently fit improperly against the rail. Striking the rail should be prohibited ; it is the result of carelessness and is injurious to the rail. A fracture on the base of a rail, caused by striking, is liable to result in a broken rail. ' This is due to the fact that in the manufacture of rails the base cools faster than the head, and as the head contracts in cooling the base is forced to form the outer ring of a circle ; to overcome this tendency it is curved in the opposite direction when red hot hence the strain on the base when cooled. LAYING TIES. Those who unload the ties should select those for joints. These should be as near a ten- inch face as possible, and not over that width. No in- termediate tie should have a face of less than seven inches. Ties should be spaced with a maximum distance of fourteen inches and a minimum distance of twelve inches between them. The butt end of the tie should be placed on the inside of curves. 212 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. SPECIFICATIONS FOR CROSS TIES. Hewed ties require to be adzed level for the rails, and scribed for the outer side of rail bases. This facilitates track laying. The end which is to be placed on the lining side of the track should be indicated by adzing off a small corner, care being taken to select the butt end of the ties for the lining of curves and to pile them separately. Ties should be of young and thrifty timber (usually the second growth) which pos- sesses the greatest tough- ness and elasticity. Trees should be felled during the winter months, when the Cross Tie, split quarter log. Sap is down. Ties tllUS made are less liable to im- mediate attacks of fungi. The bark should be removed from all such trees to facilitate the seasoning of the wood and prevent the bad effect of bark upon ties when in the track. TIES FOR TRACK. Ties for main track curves should be of the highest grade. Those for tangents may be of the second order. No tie with a face less than seven inches, or more than ten, should be used in the main track. Ties should be of a uniform thickness of seven inches. They should approximate in length double the gauge, so that the rail may be equally distant from the end and center of the tie. This will, in a measure, ob- viate the track becoming center bound, and secure greater bearing surface on the roadbed. Ties should be spaced so that the maximum distance from face to face will be fourteen and the minimum tw_elve inches. The object sought is to distribute the weight of trains uniformly on the roadbed. Ties which are furthest apart have the greatest weight to sustain, and will be the first to show a weak point in the surface. Second- class or "cull" ties may be used in sidings and yard tracks. Hard wood should be used on curves. Soft wood may be used on tangents. Ties when received CONSTRUCTING AND MAINTAINING TRACK. 213 should be piled so as to allow free circulation of air around each tie and shed as much water as possible. Two old ties should be used as a foundation for each pile. Ties that meet the requirements of main track use are white or rock oak, chestnut and yellow pine. The oak ties should be used exclusively on curves and the others on tangents only. It is better, however, to use oak in tangents, instead of soft wood ties, as the spike has greater adhesion in an oak tie. Chestnut or yellow pine ties are altogether too soft to use on curves. TIE PLATES. By using tie plates on chestnut and yel- low pine ties, they can be made to take the place of oak ties on curves. The plates must be of suf- licient strength to overcome the turning up tendency they pos- sess. They increase the lateral resistance of the spike. It is a Cross Tie 6plit question whether it will pay to use tie plates on tangents, as the tendency of the rails to cut into the ties is slight in comparison with that on curves. As soon as a low place is found on a curve, it should be tamped to surface ; such places on tangents may usually remain till it is convenient to repair them. Tie plates used on tangents are liable to rattle and are in the way when blocking or shimming is to be done. Track on tangents is apt to heave more than on curves, because the latter are dug out and usually well drained and ballasted, whereas on tangents this work is not so necessary for safe and fast running. DAMAGE TO CROSS TIES BY SPIKING. Experiments show that driving the spike, without previously boring for the same, lessens the adhesion of the spike and in- jures the wood. When a spike is so driven in an oak tie, the woody fibers are driven downward with the spike, extending around the same for about half an inch, and inclining, on an average, at an angle of about forty-five degrees. By removing the spike and splitting 214 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. the tie through the spike hole, it will be found that the fibers have sprung back until the hole is nearly half closed ; they will also be found to be perfectly pliable, having lost almost all power of adhesion ; they are thus in good condi- tion to receive moisture, which engenders decay. To obviate this, a hole, one- sixteenth of an inch less in diameter than the thickness of the spike, ""** "I should be bored the full CrosB Tie, while log, hewn both sides. depth that the spike will be driven in the wood. This prevents injury to the fibers and increases adhesion, which latter is the principal point gained by boring holes. A spike with a diamond point will give better satisfaction than the or- dinary chisel pointed spike. The ordinary spike, on account of its sharp edges, has a tendency to drift from the direction of the hole. The diamond pointed spike will go straight home. The spike should have a short point commencing half an inch from the end and taper- ing uniformly on its four sides. The holes should be made in ties before they are put in track. INSPECTING BAILS. Bails should be inspected with a view to their composition, length, flaws, line and sur- face. Each end of the rail should be filed underneath the head and top base to remove projecting sharp edges caused by sawing, so as to allow the splices to fit snugly. CURVING BAILS. Bails for curves of over five degrees should be curved with a rail bender, but an allowance of curvature equal to that due to a curve of five degrees should be made to allow the lining of track to spring the rails that amount. This amount of spring in the rails is not injurious and will take out kinks made in curving. A kinked rail in a curve soon forces the track into the natural position of the rail, resulting in a bad riding track and continual expense, as rails frequently CONSTRUCTING AND MAINTAINING TRACK. 215 require to be removed from this cause. The rail bender, while the best means of curving rails, is imperfect, because the curving is a series of small bends, while it should be a perfect curve. The simplest manner of testing the curving of rails is to stretch a string from one end to the other of the rail and mark the rail off into quarters ; from the string to the rail at the center mark will be the middle ordinate and at the quarter marks the intermediate ordinates, these ordinates being calculated according to the degree of curve.* SPLICES. Splices should be carefully inspected as to quality of material and make, care being taken to reject all that are bent or twisted in any manner. Only straight splices should be used. A splice bent laterally will prevent the track from lining, and bent vertically will prevent the joint from surfacing and be liable to break. Turned up corners on the ends of splice bear- ings should be filed level with the surface. SUPPORTED AND SUSPENDED JOINTS. This subject, for obvious reasons, cannot be given here the consideration it deserves. The miter j ointed rail, where used, has gone far to settle the controversy. The square jointed rail leaves more or less of an opening for wheels to fall into. In time this depression beeomes greater by the rail ends flattening and the joints becoming low, so that the break in the line of rail offers an opportunity for each wheel to strike a blow proportionate to the opening weight exerted and speed of travel. The miter jointed rail practi- cally overcomes this blow. With its use the splice acts as its name suggests and makes the joint as strong as the unbroken part of the rail, while furnishing slot holes to enable the track to be spiked without injuring the base of the rail by punching slot holes. The splice should have sufficient bolts to overcome the tendency of rails to pass each other and form a lip. It is claimed by * One of the simplest methods of calculating the middle ordinate is to square half the length of the rail and divide the result by twice the radius of the curve, thus: Mid. ord. ' M ^ ) - The intermediate ordinate is three-fourths of the middle ordi- uate. 216 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. some that the supported splice joint has all these require- ments and, in preference to the suspended joint, allows of an additional tie under the rail ends or center of splice, thereby securing the aid of this tie to act in resistance to the rail's running, as well as furnishing greater bearing surface at this weak point of the rail. But there are objections to these points, namely, the punching of slot holes so near the center of the splice renders the splice liable to break at its weakest point, and, in the case of square cut rails, the placing of a tie underneath the rail ends prevents, to a certain extent, the free, elastic action of the splice, thereby increasing the blow and weight to be sustained at that point. Further, this center tie cannot remain at good surface, as it receives the blows exerted by the wheels directly and must necessarily soon get low. When the tie recedes below the surface, it ceases to be a support and acts as a suspended joint. The same is true of the miter jointed rail, though to a less extent. KAISING TRACK. The gang for surfacing will vary in number according to the kind of ballast used. Track should be raised to grade in two lifts. In surfacing track, both rails should be raised and .tamped at the same time to obviate unevenness. TAMPING TRACK WITH BARS. This work should be done several days after surfacing, so as to allow the track to be partially consoli- dated. When square cut rails are used, the inside and out- side of the ioint Standard Track of Camden & Amboy Railroad, , J A. D. 1837, tl CONSTRUCTING AND MAINTAINING TRACK. 217 tamped and surfaced slightly high ; the outside of the intermediate ties should be well tamped and the inside lightly a distance of twelve inches from the rail. Ballast should be simply packed around the center of ties so as to prevent the track becoming center bound. CENTER BOUND TRACK. This is due to settling of the ends of ties caused by their elasticity and the unevenly distributed weight passing over them; this weight is more on the ends of the ties than the centers. The track thus becomes more solid at the center than at the ends. Center bound track shows itself by the oozing of mud or water from the ends of the ties in wet weather and the rising of dust in dry weather. Sometimes a track becomes so center bound that the ends of the ties will depress from two to three inches. This is a drag on motive power, destructive to machinery and expensive in every way. Each depression forms a grade to be overcome. Time spent in repairing such a track is use- less. It must be raised from its old bed. LINING TRACK. This is very important. All curves should have spiral ends to allow trains to enter and leave them gradually, and also allow a proper elevation, since the elevation should increase with the spiral. Curves on new roads should be laid with spiral ends, because it entails great expense to relieve an old track in this manner, requiring the purchase of additional right of way, perfecting cuts and fills and the building of new bridges, etc. The great defect of the trackman in correcting engineer's stakes by throwing in the points of curves is, that while he lightens the curve points he increases the curvature further in on the curve, thereby transferring the swing of the cars toward the center of the curve ; but as the greatest centrifugal force to overcome is at the point of curve, he has removed the objectionable lining to a point requiring less lateral resistance, which is, however, a move in the right direc- tion. A good practice in correcting engineer's stakes when dealing with old track, or even new track, is to examine the nearer obstructions along the inside of the curve and determine how far it can be thrown toward 2 1 8 FINANCING, CONS TR UC TING, MA IN TAIN ING . its center without interference with such obstructions ; then set stakes or measure the required distance from the engineer's stakes (if such have been given) the dis- tance it can be moved ; throw the track to these stakes all around the curve, except the last hundred feet or so (according to the distance thrown), and line with the eye the ends of the curve so as to run out on the tan- gent about the same distance from the point of curve as the point first started to line from is ahead of the orig- inal point of curve. This is simply throwing the curve points put instead of in, thereby lightening instead of increasing them. The lining up of a curve should be done by sighting on the outer rail ; better work can be done by bending down to bring the eye near to the rail than by standing. This is more necessary on curves than on tangents, because it is necessary to be nearer the bars on the former than on the latter. Curves on old tracks should be lined with a sixty-two feet line, first obtaining the average ordinate by trying each joint around the curve, then going around again and taking out all its irregularities ; this is the only true and easy manner of testing curves, as the eye is deceiving in lining as well as in leveling. A sixty-two feet line should be used, because with a curve of that length each inch of the middle ordinate represents that num- be of degrees of the curve. Stakes should be set for all tangents, as it is impossible to get them correct otherwise. ELEVATION OF CUKVES. The outer rail of curves should be elevated according to the degree of curve and the speed of traffic, taking the slow trains, however, also into consideration, as well as the grade of track, as grade and curvature usually determine speed. The outer rail at point of curves should have the full eleva- tion carried back on the tangents at about the rate of fifty feet per degree of curve (if the tangent is sufficiently long for the purpose), and should decrease at this rate for curves beyond six degrees. It often occurs that the engineer has left tangents of one hundred or one hundred and fifty feet between the points .of curves as a matt CONSTRUCTING AND MAINTAINING TRACK. 219 of economy in construction, and as for a length of a pas- senger car at least the track should be level between the two elevations of outer rails, the trackman discovers that he will require to make the elevation very suddenly, and can only give half the required elevation at the point of curve instead of full shortening the run off on the tan- gent in consequence. Should such a case occur on double track, the elevation on the run off end should be reduced considerably further back on the curve, thereby termi- nating its elevation nearer to its point ; this will allow more room for the elevation to enter the next curve on the run on end, which is vastly more important. Should the two Track of Camden Triangular Stringer capped with iron. Details concerning the track are infinite. In another volume* will be found particular instruc- tions relating to the duties of trackmen in con- nection with the operation of trains. In addition to such rules, and supplementary to those already given, the following suggest themselves; * Train Service. 266 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. Laborers will be arranged in gangs of such number and force as the roadmaster may direct ; to each gang there must be a foreman, who must work constantly with his gang, and will be held responsible for the faith- ful and efficient execution of the work under his care.* The safety of life and property requires that section- men should be especially vigilant in foggy weather and during and after storms, t They must see that all obstructions upon the track, or likely to fall thereon so as to endanger the safety of trains, are promptly removed. In no case, except in the most absolute necessity, is a rail to be displaced or any other work to be performed by which an obstruction may be made to the passage of trains during a fog or snow storm ; the times for effecting repairs which involve the stopping of trains must, as far as practicable, be so selected as to interfere as little 73-pound Rail, under head &S possible with the passage of planed for splice. traffic. I Gravel or ballast unloaded along the line must be promptly spread upon the track, so as not to endanger * " In each gang of platelayers, or men repairing the perma- nent way, there shall be a foreman or ganger." English Stand- ard. f " They must see that after all heavy winds, rains and other storms, and during the same, the men are out on the road ready to render such assistance as maybe required, and to give proper warning to the trains, and to repair such damages and remove such obstructions as are necessary. In foggy weather, when a train cannot be seen at three hundred yards, all the foremen and laborers must leave their ordinary work, and the foreman must range them along his portion of the line, over which they must walk up and down, driving such spikes and keys, or doing such other work as needs attention, and be ready to give notice of danger to the signalmen or the trains.." 1854. | " In all cases, before taking out a rail, the platelayer must have at the spot a perfect ratlin readiness to replace it." Eng- lish Standard. CONSTRUCTING AND MAINTAINING TRACK. 267 the safety of trains.* In lifting the permanent way, no lift must be greater than three inches at once, and then it must be effected in a length of at least twenty yards, in such a manner as not to occasion any sudden change of gradient. Both rails must be raised equally and at the same time, and the ascent must be made in the direction in which the trains run.f Trackmen must keep the fences in good order at crossings and at each side of the track ; they must see that all breaks are repaired without delay ; I that cattle guards are kept in repair ; that all gates that are found open are closed, and that all bars found down are put in proper condition. || When watchmen are employed, they must walk over the track and carefully inspect the same at intervals between the passage of trains. It is the duty of watch- * " No ballast must be thrown up to a higher level between the rails than three inches, and it must be thrown as much as possible on the outside of each line, and between the two lines, and be replaced as soon as possible. The rails must be kept clear of gravel, ballast or any other material." English Stand- ard. f English Standard. \ " Surely, it is far better to stop a hand car and repair a fence than to subject a company to damages for killing stock, Avith the additional expense, occasionally, of a wrecked train. In a word, men, when passing over a road with a hand car, should be prompt to remedy every defect they discover. It should be a rule never to postpone any work of repairs that can be done on the instant." The Roadmasters' Assistant, page 118. || " Gangers must close and fasten all gates they find open, and report the circumstances, in order that the persons who are required to keep such gates closed and fastened may be charged with the proper penalties. The gangers must take care to main- tain proper scotches on all sidings requiring them." English Standard. " Whenever any person has occasion to walk on the railway he must not walk on either line of rails, but on the right-hand side of the line, off the ballast, clear of passing engines or trains." Great Northern Railway of England. " Gangers must order off the railway all persons trespassing within the fences, and must do their best to obtain the trespasser's name and address. If any trespasser persists in remaining, they must take him to the nearest station and give him in charge of the stationrnaster or police there; or (if any police constable be 268 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. men (and switchmen and agents as well) to signal trains that disregard the regulations prescribing the time and distance that must elapse between trains that are fol- lowing each other.* Erie Rail with ends stamped for Adams' Cast-Iron Bracket Splice, A.D. 1857. Foremen are required, in the event of storms or floods, to examine carefully the action of the water nearer than the nearest station) gangers must give the tres- passer in charge of such constable, and report at once having done so to the nearest station." Great Western Railway of England. * " The foreman and other men of the squads must look at every passing train, and if they see a train running on the same track, within ten minutes of another train, or anything wrong, they must signal the engineman with a red signal, and they must report to the trackmaster when an engineman does not obey the signals." 1854. " Where the line is not worked under the block telegraph regulations, if a passenger train approach within ten minutes of a goods, cattle, mineral or bal- last train, or light engine, the men repairing the line must give the engine driver of such passenger train a signal to go slowly." English Standard. CONSTRUCTING AND MAINTAINING TRACK. 269 Double Splice liar. through the culverts and bridges on their length of line ; and should they see any cause to apprehend danger to the works, they must immediately exhibit the proper signals for the trains to proceed cautiously, or to stop, as neces- sity may require, and inform the inspector thereof ; and, until the inspector arrives, they must take all the precautionary meas- ures necessary for securing the stability of the line.* They must see that water courses under the bridges and culverts are not allowed to become clogged or obstructed.! In wet weather, and during and after snow storms, they must use every effort to prevent delay or accident to trains. 1 Track foremen must carefully walk over and inspect every portion of the section under their charge at least once each day. * Great Western Kailway of England. f " They will be particular not to allow standing water upon any part of their line, but keep the ditches open and free at all times, and keep floodwood away from the culverts, bridges and water courses." 1853. % " Their whole time will be devoted to their duties in the service of the company, and generally their services are more urgently required in bad, inclement weather than at any other time. In winter it is as much their duty to keep the track clear from snow and ice, as far as it is possible, as to keep it in repair. At this season every possible effort should be made to keep the road open and insure the regularity of trains." 1853. $ " Each ganger must walk over his length of the line every morning and evening on week days (except where the engi- neers consider once each day sufficient, and have laid down such instructions in writing) and where passenger trains are run, once on Sundays, and tighten up all keys and other fasten- ings that may be loose; and he must examine the line, level and gauge of the road, and the state of the joints, marking, and if necessary repairing, such us are defective." Great Western Railway of England. 270 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. Each foreman must, when going over iu&sjength of line, to examine the keys and fastenings of ibe rails, have with him a keying hammer and spanners or nut keys, and be prepared promptly to supply keys, nuts, packings, fastenings, or other parts of the permanent way that may be required.* No wagon or other vehicle employed in the permanent way department must be left in any siding without the wheels nearest to the entrance into the main line being properly blocked and secured. t Old and unused material of every kind upon the line of the road, or at stations or shops, must be carefully collected and preserved. I All luggage, goods or articles found on the line must immediately be taken to the nearest station, and a report made containing the best information that can be obtained respecting the train from which they may have f alien. Trackmen working in a tunnel, when trains are approaching in both direc- tions, must, if unable to reach any recess Bull-Beaded Rail ^ n ^ ne wa H s > I* 6 down either in the space between the two lines of rails, or be- tween the line and the side of the tunnel, until the trains have passed. The width of the space depends on the construction of the tunnel, with which every man must make himself acquainted in order that he may select the place which affords the greatest safety. || * Great Western Railway of England. f English Standard. J " They will protect the materials or property of the com- pany (whether new or old) upon their line from depredation, loss or injury, and keep it properly and neatly piled up, ready for use or removal." 1853. English Standard. " Anything which may have been lost from a passing train, such as a casting, nut, screw or bolt, or any piece of machinery, piece of freight, baggage, or other matter, they will pick up and carry to a regular station and deliver to the station agent." Old Rule. I English Koad. fOXS Tit Uf TING AND MA INT A INING TRA CK. 271 Trackmen must desist from work upon a train ap- proaching, and must not cross over to the other lines, but move 'to the side of the road, clear of all the lines, to secure themselves from the risk of accident by trains running in opposite directions. of any fire taking place upon or near Bull-Headed Rail. the line, employes must take immediate measures for putting it OUT;* - Bridges and culverts should be care- .--' *'- fully inspected after the passage of each train; but where this is impos- sible they must be examined daily, or oftener, if sectionmen have occasion to pass over them. All defects should be promptly remedied, and in the event sparks, burning waste, fuel or fire of any kind is observed, it should be put out.t Before removing any traveling crane, the person in charge of it must see that the jib is properly lowered and secured, and so fixed that it will pass under the gauge, and, when it has to be removed by train, it must, when practicable, be so placed that the jib will point toward the rear of the train. * "Careless firemen frequently throw overboard handfuls of dirty waste, which at any time may be ignited by a spark from a passing locomotive. Fire may be carried thence into the dry grass by the roadside, afterward into the fence, and so on to haystacks, buildings, woodpiles, etc." The Roadmasters' As- sistant, page 116. f "When a gang of trackmen engaged at work discover smoke on a line, they should at once attend to it. It should be a rule at all times never to neglect the least indication that a fire has caught on the line. On more than one occasion expensive bridges have been destroyed owing to a neglect to stop the hand car and remove a live coal of fire dropped by a locomotive, or to put out a fire caused by a spark from a smokestack lodging in a decayed spot of timber. Some of the worst wrecks on rec- ord have been taken out of culverts where a stringer has been nearly burned through." Ibid, pages 116-117. CHAPTER VIII. MAINTENANCE OF TRACK. In the maintenance of railways the track is the source of the greatest single expense. This we may divide under several heads.* These relations will, of course, vary in differ- ent localities, according to natural advantages, such as nature of soil, climate, proximity to sources of supply, etc. And, first, in regard to rails. Natural deterio- ration of this kind of material arises from rust. Other classes of material suffer from more acute causes. But in the case of iron, oxidation is the great enemy to contend with. Deterioration from this cause is much greater, in some locali- ties, than in others. The damage, for instance, is greater near salt water than elsewhere. f Ability of rails to resist the effects of climatic influences depends upon location. We have, * These heads and the relation they severally bear to each other may be stated, approximately, as follows: PER CENT. New Rails (less value of old) 10.13 Handling Rails (i. e., laying the new and taking up the old) 2.34 Ties ' 13.97 Handling-Ties 6.18 Miscellaneous (general) Repairs, Roadway and Track 62.38 100.00 f It is also great in tunnels. The durability of ties is also less in tunnels than elsewhere. (272) MAINTENANCE OF TRACK. 273 unfortunately, no accurate data as to percentage of deterioration from climatic causes. It is a ques- tion about which metallurgists have collected little definite information. Steel is less able to resist rust than iron. The deterioration of metal from oxidation is not uniform, but proceeds Avith increased mo- mentum as the cause of decay deep- ens and spreads, each new inroad affording an additional storehouse in which the destructive elements multiply and extend themselves. The increase in the destructive power of rust may be likened unto the cumulative malignancy of a cancer. As it grows wider and deeper it destroys the fiber and ab- sorbs the tissues of the body, in- creasing in intensity with what it feeds upon, until the object at- tacked is no longer able to with- stand the slightest strain. Oxidation is obviated by the exclusion of damp- ness. This would not be necessary if the article could be preserved free from abrasion or contact with surrounding objects; for while dampness is the propelling or primary cause of rust, it is not operative except in case of abrasion of the metal, or its contact with some particle of matter. Either of these precipitates vapor by rendering condensation of moisture possible, thus inducing oxidation. Wherever there is a scratch upon a 18 Vol. 3 Bull-Headed Rail. 274 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. piece of metal, or wherever a particle of dust (however invisible to the naked eye) adheres to it, there moisture collects, evaporation ensues and rust is engendered. An abrasion, or particle, affords a vantage ground for the retention of moisture. From this vapor arises, precipitating the conditions described. It is believed that rails in actual use suffer less from rust than those not in use. The fric- tion of the wheel polishes the surface of the rail, while the vibration of passing trains pre- vents the retention of moisture. Pro- fessor Carhart, in answering a ques- tion in regard to the destructive tendency of rust and the length of time a rail will resist its effects, says: "It is well known that a polished iron or steel surface does not rust so soon as a rough surface when exposed to the same conditions.- Rough lines and sharp points appear to serve as nuclei, about which water condenses. Moist air when expanded sud- denly precipitates its vapor as a cloud, if dust is present to furnish centers of condensation. Frost crystals form first along scratches on glass. So moisture appears to condense more quickly and freely on a rough surface of iron than on a clean polished one. Rusting takes place only in the Box Rail. MAINTENANCE OF TRACK. 275 Stevens Rail, Great Western Railway of Eng- land (Longitudinal System), A.D. 1858. presence of mois- ture. A clean plate in dry air never rusts. Mixtures of explosive gases do not explode when the electric spark passes, unless va- por of water is present. When a metal surface is once covered with rust, the rusting proceeds much more rapidly than at first, because the rust is hydroscopic ; moisture is taken up and conducted inward to- ward the metal ; hydratic oxides of iron are thus formed, and fresh metal underneath is attacked because of the presence of moisture or of the hydratic oxides on the outside. A coat of iron rust hastens the rusting process except when the metal is coated with the black oxide of iron. It can then be exposed to any weather without rusting. But the black oxide is formed only at # high temperature. The scales that fall from the rails as they come from the rolls are largely black oxide of iron." In a climate such as we are treating of, it is probable that fifty years of exposure would ren- der a rail unsafe for use. If this is so, the deteri- oration from natural causes is two per cent, annually. With a moderate traffic the average period of usefulness of a Bessemer steel rail is 276 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. fourteen and six-tenths years. It is probable (for the reasons we have already specified) that a rail will last longer under mild usage than if not used at all, provided its strength is commensu- rate with the load. Wood's Rail Frog, New Jersey, A. D. Under ordinary usage, the rapid deterioration of rails is occasioned by the speed of trains. Speed not only intensifies the friction, but in- creases the weight through its centrifugal force. MAINTENANCE OF TRACK. 277 Inquiries in regard to the percentage of decay of rails from natural causes elicit extraordinary differences of opinion. They serve to show how little attention the subject has received from practical men. In some cases deterioration is ascribed wholly to traffic. The highest rate ascribed by anyone to climatic causes was fifty per cent. In considering the deterioration of rails from natural causes, the damage would not, as already stated, be the same relatively for rail- roads doing a great business that it would in the case of those doing a small business. When a rail is worn out quickly, relative deterioration from rust is not nearly so great, though it is undoubtedly weakened from this cause, especially where defects of any kind exist as receptacles for moisture. Herein, undoubtedly, lies the secret of the sudden and inexplicable collapse of rails that, according to the law of averages, should last many years. Just what the difference of deterioration from climatic causes between a rail in use and a rail not in use is, is not known. In answer to in- quiries on this subject one writer says: "I do not know how long rails would be effective for fast running trains if laid down and not used, but will allow a hundred years; a track that is used would last about ten years." Another writer says: "The expense of maintaining rails is almost exclusively dependent on the traffic. If entirely idle, the loss by rust would be con- siderable in rails by weakening the fiber of the 278 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAIN I. \ '<. metal, and causing rapid wear and breakage when again brought in use. Under ordinary con- ditions ninety-five per cent, is due to traffic." Another writer says: "There would be a slow destruction of rails from rust, which might take off three or four per cent, of the expense charge- able to traffic." Another writer says: "If no trains were run there would be no wear of rails, except such as might be incident to the action of the elements. A rail laid in track twenty-four Wooden Joint Block, New Jersey Railroad, A. D. 1860. years would deteriorate from rust to such an ex- tent as to necessitate renewal in order to put the track in first-class condition." An authority upon the subject says: "The average life of sixty-four rails we are studying, on the supposition that they are worn out when they have lost eight pounds per yard, and that the yearly tonnage is eight million tons, is thirteen years. If we are able to obtain steel rails as good in quality as thirty-two slower wearing rails we have under test, the average life would be almost twenty MAINTENANCE OF TRACK. 279 years." The roadmasters, in their meeting of 1884, state that " The average life of a steel rail may be taken at nine years." The source of in- formation is not stated, but the duration of the rail, it will be noticed, is very much less than is generally given and is too small except for roads doing an unusually heavy business. From numerous inquiries extending over a large area of country, and addressed to practical men actively engaged in the care and main- tenance of track, I find that they estimate the average deterioration of rails from natural causes in the lake region of the United States at about seven and a half per cent. ; at in- terior points less, not exceed- ing two per cent. One piece of rail that has been in use thirty years was submitted to an expert in such mat- ters.* He says: "The rough- ness of the surface indicates that some inroads have been made upon its integrity. The fracture recently made reveals a highly fibrous texture of the iron. I do not detect much evidence of granular or crystalline structure. The iron left, therefore, is in good physical, or perhaps molecular, condition to do service." The metals used by a railway outside of its track suffer from the same general causes as iron and steel rails. * Professor Carhart. 280 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. Next in order, in connection with the fixed expenses of maintaining the track of a railroad, we may consider the question of ties. The cost of this item is great and exceptional. No class of material used by railroads suffers so greatly from the action of the elements. No matter how favorably placed, as regards quality of ballast, deterioration is noticeable and rapid. The kind of wood and how seasoned influence perceptibly its duration and usefulness. Quality and arrange- ment of ballast have much to do with the preser- vation of the tie from decay. But ballast is intended to serve several other necessary pur- poses besides acting as a filter to protect the tie from dampness. It serves to increase the bearing surface of the tie, strengthen the roadbed, increase the elasticity of the latter and render it more uniform. Broken stone and slag are the kinds of mate- rial most useful for preventing the decay of ties. Next in order are cinders, gravel and sand. The ex- pense of handling ties (i. e., replacing) is much greater where slag or broken stone is used, on account of the difficulty of removal, in- cluding labor of readjust- ment. This disadvantage is, however, more than compensated by the great advantages of such mate- MAINTENANCE OF TRACK. 281 rial. Where soil or clay is used, the interior of the tie oftentimes rots before it is injured by the weight of the traffic. Where the business of a line is heavy, ties receive material harm from respiking and resetting of rails, and if of inferior wood are frequently cut down and split by the rail. Ties, if properly ballasted, receive little detriment from the wear and tear of light traffic, except upon curves. The natural duration of a tie is dependent upon the kind of wood of which it is made, how it is seasoned, nature of climate, and quality of the ballast in which it is laid. All these must be considered in arriving at a result. The most serviceable tie that we have for all conditions of use is white oak. It is able to sustain a great load, and affords very satis- factory resistance to the elements. Results of inquiries made of practical men in refer- ence to the duration and value of ties, while exceed- ingly interesting, are not altogether satisfactory, for the reason that the premises upon which they base their conclusions are nowhere A.D. isee. the same. This difficulty, however, besets the student at every turn in attempting to arrive at general conclusions from isolated instances. One writer I- 282 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. says: "A tie will last about seven years. With- out traffic, it would probably last ten years. Cedar ties would not last as long with traffic as oak, but without traffic, would last longer. The life of a hemlock tie would not be as long with or without traffic." Another writer says: " Thirty per cent, should be charged to traffic account for damage by rails cutting into the tie and injury arising from driving and pulling of spikes, rendered nec- essary in changing rails and regauging the track." The greatest ignorance exists here, as elsewhere, among so-called experts. Thus, one writer says: "A tie will last just as long in a track that is operated as it will in a track that is not operated." Another writer of unusual intelligence says: "Natural decay of ties ballasted with the best material, such as broken stone, gravel or cinders, would be much less than where poor ballast was used. I should think twenty-five per cent, less, as a tie would lie perfectly undisturbed and dry, and would not be cut into by the rail. In poor ballast, such as soil and clay, the middle of the tie would decay before its surface was damaged." The relative deterioration of ties from natural causes and from wear and tear is dependent upon so many contingencies that estimates for particular properties would not apply generally. A. a lees. However, it is probable that MAINTENANCE OF TRACK. 283 the expense of maintenance for ties in a tem- perate climate cannot be far from seventy per cent., leaving thirty per cent, as chargeable to wear and tear of traffic. The greatest differ- ence of opinion exists among practical men as to the damage arising from decay and wear and tear, respectively, one writer insisting that no portion of cost of maintenance should be charged to traffic, while another not only insists that the tie is injured by the weight of passing trains and changing of spikes, but that the movement of passing trains loosens the soil enveloping the tie, thus greatly hastening its decay. I have not attempted in the foregoing to dis- cuss the question of railway ties except in its simpler aspects. The various questions as to the best and most economical tie are referred to elsewhere herein. The subject grows each year more and more important to railways and to the public. The great cost of wood ties, the destruc- tion of timber their use engenders, the ever increasing difficulty of procuring those of a suit- able nature, render it more and more important each year that their durability should be increased or that a substitute should be found to take their place. To those who are interested in the sub- ject and all who are interested in economic subjects are thus interested I beg to refer to what is said elsewhere in regard to the timber supply and its preservation, the qualities of wood best adapted for ties, how the duration of wood ties may be prolonged by preservative processes, 284 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. and the experiments that have been made with metal ties. The cost of repairs and renewals of roadway and track, outside of the cost of rails and ties, is made up largely of labor. In the appendix hereto will be found a table of expenses, clas- sified under appropriate headings.* This classi- fication was the result of many years of care- fully collated statistics upon many hundred miles of railways, cov- ering many millions of dollars. It is, so far as it goes, conclusive for the great lake region of America. The general repairs of roadway and track em- brace all classes of material used in connection with the track, save rails and ties, including ballast, and the tools and supplies of trackmen. The * Appendix B. While the matter is, perhaps, not strictly germane, it is proper to refer the reader here to the classifica- tion of track material and labor embraced in the book " Dis- bursements of Railways." The track accounts of railways are the most difficult of all to keep, because of the limited facilities possessed by those who have charge of such work. Detailed information in reference to track expenditures is, upon many roads, very meager. Yet an effective system of track accounts is necessary to economical and effective management. It plays a most important and necessary part, I do not pretend to say that the system of accounts referred to is the best; it is, how- ever, simple, economical, easily kept, and affords a graphic account of the divisions of track expenses. MAINTENANCE OF TRACK. 285 material embraced under this head is quite as quickly and vitally affected by wear and tear as rails or ties. Bolts, spikes, splicebars and nuts receive marked and rapid deterioration from both climate and traffic, while the tools used by track- men (and they comprise a considerable list) are quickly consumed. The account known as gen- eral repairs of roadway and track embraces Joint Fixture used on Western railroads, A. D. 1869. various classes of material, and includes cost of surfacing track, ditching, drainage, freshet re- pairs, track watchmen, clearing track of snow, and removing weeds, brush and grass. An examination of the different expenses of roadway and track elicits the fact that a large proportion of . them is directly chargeable to traffic. The expense is increased, moreover, by 286 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAIXTAIXIXO. the fact that the traffic of a line greatly inter- feres with repairs and renewals. The necessity of the work being carried on without reference to weather or the accommodation of business adds greatly to cost. The added expense on this account is much greater than those not familiar with the work would suppose. Safety regards neither convenience nor economy. An occasion arises and it must be met, no matter how great the waste involved. The significance of this is startling, even to railway men. Work is carried on upon the track in every instance at a disad- vantage, and in many cases involves large expense over what would be necessary if it could be pur- sued with reference to the economical use of labor and material. The most surprising diversity of opi nion exists I find, among trackmen as to the proportion that is chargeable to fixed ex- penses of maintenance of roadway and track. This is due in part to the peculiar circumstances that attend such expenditures. It arises also from differences in con- ditions and cost in different localities. The superintend- ent or roadmaster whose track is well ballasted with broken stone or slag, if asked as to the cost of its maintenance, or the relative wear and tear of ties, or the duration of the ballast, will return an answer entirely MAINTENANCE OF TRACK. 287 different from that of the official whose road is bal- lasted with sand or common soil. The effect of this local coloring must be kept in mind in any attempt to arrive at general conclusions about railroads. People speak of things, not as they are commonly, but as they see them from day to day. No one is superior to influences of this nature, and but few, even among the most thoughtful, rise wholly above them. As already stated, the relation of fixed expenses for maintenance to traffic expenses is governed largely by the amount of business. Wear and tear increases with use, but expenses arising from decay are not materially heightened on this account, except in the case of rolling stock. I do not wish to be understood as saying that while wear and tear increase with business, the cost of repairing increases in a like ratio. On the contrary, it is relatively cheaper to maintain a track with the maximum amount of business than with the minimum amount, for the reason that it permits concentration of work within narrower limits. In the operation of prop- erties, deterioration is oftentimes due largely to traffic; in other cases, almost wholly to natural causes. The intervening gradations are infinite in detail and complexity. In classif y i ng expenses for 288 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. ditching, freshet repairs, and removing snow, weeds, brush and grass, however, we are not beset by any difficulties. The movement of traffic has nothing to do with the filling up of ditches or the growth of vegetation. The move- ment of trains does not materially affect the cost of ditching or removing snow, weeds, brush and grass. In some cases it increases the cost, in other cases the work is assisted thereby. However, the cost of repairing damages by freshets is greatly increased by movement of trains, because of the urgency of the work and the inconvenience attending it. The expense of keeping a track free from snow and ice under normal conditions is lessened by the movement of trains. Except for such fortuitous help, cuts would in many cases soon fill up with snow, which, through the alterna- tion of heat and cold, would turn to ice, rendering re- moval both expensive and tedious. The movement of trains, with slight assist- ance from trackmen, as a rule, keeps these cuts open. The movement of trains from day to day also less- A. D. i87o. ens the expense of keeping a track free from weeds, brush and grass; except for the continual passage of trains and track MAINTENANCE OF TRACK. 289 forces, these obstructions would quickly block the road.* Another important item of track expense is the cost of watchmen. This is, however, wholly chargeable to traffic, for, while they perform an important and necessary duty, they would not be necessary except for the passage of trains. In the inquiries I have had occasion to make in regard to expenses connected with the mainte- nance of track, the marked intelligence of those in charge of work of this kind, and the purely speculative knowledge they have evinced in con- nection with it, have been apparent. Thus, in connection with the expenses connected with snow, one writer says: " To keep an idle road in condition so that business might be done at any time, would require that a snowplow should be used. The clearing off of snow also causes the track to heave, and makes shim- ming necessary." Another writer says : "A road would not be in first-class shape (if temporarily closed to busi- ness), buried under six feet of snow, and yet the snow could not be kept off at ordinary expense unless was a regular train service." Another Plain Splice Bar. there * I remember going over a piece of road in the eastern part of Dakota in 1874 that had been abandoned for some time. The train consisted of an engine and two cars, and three days were 19 Vol. 3 290 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. roadmaster says: "Climatic cause is the largest source of expense, as we should have to keep the track free from snow by special means in the absence of regular trains." While there is no great divergence of opinion in regard to the deterioration of roadway and track, there is the greatest diversity of opinion among practical men as to the proportion charge- able to climatic causes and traffic, respectively. With more reflection, they will be able to har- monize their differences. Men experience diffi- culty in forming an opinion as to the relation natural expenses bear to traffic expenses, because of the fact that the whole is primarily due to traffic. Every expense must, of course, be borne by the revenue of a prop- erty, but that fact does not make the ascertainment of the source of the ex- pense any less interesting or less valuable to its pos- sessor. The confounding of forms with principles, however, always occasions more or less confusion in required to travel eighty miles. The weeds and grass were from six inches to six feet in height. Everywhere the roadbed was tunneled with the burrows of jack rabbits and squirrels. The weeds and grass rendered the track so slippery that it was necessary for laborers to place sand and gravel on the rails as we proceeded. Water was procured with the aid of syphons from ponds along the road, and the trestles and bridges swayed MAINTENANCE OF TRACK. 291 the minds of inquirers and renders them liable to decide questions according to preconceived notions. It is in consequence of this that in many instances those especially familiar with the operations of track ascribe an undue proportion of expense to traffic. In attempting to arrive at the truth, the testimony of extremists of this kind, it is apparent, must be eliminated. After doing this, I find that the differences of opinion among practical men are not great. According to their estimates fifty-seven per cent, of the expenses of roadway and track, excluding rails and ties, is con- sidered to be due in a temperate climate to climatic causes, and forty-three per cent, to traffic. If a railroad were, therefore, to cease to do business, it would reduce its expenses for miscel- STAN MUD og 1375, laneous track material and tools and track labor forty-three per cent., unless the suspension were permanent, or likely to extend over a period of a year or more. Fifty-seven per cent, would be required to main- tain the track in a condition to resume business at any time. The result arrived at would be more trustworthy if we knew the expense for track tools separately from miscellaneous track mate- rial, but with this knowledge we would still be under the weight of the train like trees in a tempest. When eventually this particular piece of track was opened for busi- ness, it was found necessary to rebuild it entirely, although the abandonment had only extended over a period of five years. 292 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. unable to determine what proportion of deteri- oration of tools was due to natural and traffic expenses, respectively. One obstacle in the way of a separation of nat- ural and traffic expenses is the difficulty of deter- mining the proportion of the expense of ballasting, surfacing, tamping, etc., due to the weight and movement of trains apart from the damage occa- sioned by natural causes. Next in order comes the cost of maintenance of bridges, culverts and cattle guards. In con- nection with these, it is apparent that expendi- ture is largely dependent on the nature of the structure and the quality of material used. Man- ifestly a wooden bridge will decay much more rapidly than one of stone or steel. A large per- centage of the expense of renewing wooden bridges is due to climatic causes. Decay is accelerated by the opening of the fissures in the material and the straining of the fiber of the wood caused by the ^ weight of passing trains. To this extent damage is chargeable to traffic. Repairs and renewals oc- casioned by the wear and tear of traffic are, gen- erally speaking, proportionate to the business done. This truth finds illustration in the expe- rience of every bridge builder. He quickly dis- covers that expenses for repairs where traffic is MAINTENANCE OF TRACK. 293 great are much larger than where traffic is small. This is so marked as to be a constant subject of notice. Where business is small great economy is possible, permitting the use of bridges that would not answer at all where traffic was great. The duration of an iron or steel bridge cannot be determined in advance, as the extent to which the strain upon the metal will affect its fiber and weaken its strength cannot be estimated. The accidents arising from the breaking down of iron and steel bridges, apparently stable, make it ap- parent, however, that the material of which they are composed suffers deterioration from the start. The damage that arises from use, what- ever it may be, is, of course, chargeable to traffic. The relation that the track and the bridges and culverts of a line bear to each other, and the dif- ference in degree to which they re- spond to the ac- tion of frost and kindred causes, render their ad- justment a source of constant e x < pense and anxi- ety. Not only is alignment differ- ent, but they do not settle or rise uniformly. The jar and weight of trains affect bridges and culverts so perceptibly as to continually require their readjustment. The expense of preventing Angle Splice Bar. 294 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. the channel under or above these structures from becoming obstructed and damaged by freshets also constitutes a fixed charge for maintenance. Experts place the duration of wooden bridges, under a light traffic, at, approximately, eleven years. The life of an iron or steel structure is much longer. The expense of protecting iron and steel structures is said to be much greater than for wooden bridges. In the case of a stone-arched culvert, the mate- rial of which is of durable quality, properly laid, and of sufficient strength, expense from natural decay is merely nominal. The expense for re- pairs and renewals of bridges and culverts arising from natural causes depends upon the climate, the nature of the structure, the care expended upon it, and the volume of traffic; taking the railway system in its entirety, it is probable that the annual expense occasioned by natural causes is in the neighborhood of seventy-five per cent. My investigation in re- gard to these structures has extended over many miles of road. There is little difference of opinion as to the relative expense for maintenance from natural causes and traffic. The percentage I give is that of experts. However, whatever the percentage of expense due to climatic influences is, it will MAINTENANCE OF TRACK. 295 grow less relatively in every instance with in- creaie of traffic and improvement in quality of structure. Some of the communications I have received on this subject are exceedingly interest- ing. Thus, one writer says: "A bridge will lie still all summer, but as soon as winter sets in it is all out of shape. It heaves by frost up and down and sideways and out of line, causing it to be cut down, shimmed and respiked. Wooden bridges are very short lived, their life being ten or twelve years. Traffic affects them a little by shaking." Another writer says: "The relative expense depends upon whether the bridges are built of iron or wood; whether heavy or light structures, if of wood. If light, they will dete- riorate more rapidly under moving trains because the timber will spring, disturbing the fiber and opening the grain for the admission of water, thereby causing decay." Another writer says: "I notice that the cost is much greater upon some lines than upon others. It is partly attributable to the difference in traffic. The bridges that we use where the traffic is light and that we derive good service from would not answer at all where the business was great." Of the multitudinous details incident to the construction and maintenance of railroads, no phase of the subject interests the inquirer more than that connected with bridges. The feat of car- rying a track safely and economically across the streams, canons and valleys that beset its course is ever a matter of interest. The maintenance of 296 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. a bridge does not involve special knowledge, but its construction and development have elicited the thought and life labor of many eminent men. Yet, it is probable that in this field, as in others, the great advances made are only precursors of others yet to come. Angle Splice Bar. The technicalities of structures and their main- tenance do not properly find a place in a book of this kind. They are to be sought in the works of engineers. Many volumes have been written on the subject. But while I cannot take it up in detail, I may be pardoned if I quote here what an eminent engineer* has said in regard to the development of the art of bridge construction and the experiences of American railroads in this direction. It falls into line directly with our subject. He says : "In the early history of rail- ways in Europe, substantial viaducts of brick and stone masonry were generally built; and in * John Bogart. MAINTENANCE OF TRACK. 297 this country there are notable instances of such constructions. In this country the wooden bridge has been an important in fact, an essential element in the successful building of our railways. Timber is also used exten- sively in railroad construc- tion in the form of trestles. . . The fundamental idea of a bridge is a simple beam of wood. If metal is substi- tuted, it is still a beam with all superfluous parts cut away. The result is what is called an I beam. When greater loads have to be carried, the I beam is enlarged and built up of metal plates riveted together, and thus becomes a plate girder. These are used for all short rail- way spans. For greater spans the truss must be employed. . . . Except under special circum- stances of location or length of span, the truss bridge is a more economical and suitable struc- ture for railway traffic than a suspension bridge. The advance from the wood truss to the modern steel structure has been through a number of stages. Excellent bridges were built in combina- tions of wood and iron. Then came the use of cast iron for those portions of the truss subject only to compressive strains, wrought iron being used for all members liable to- tension. Many bridges of notable spans were built in this way. The form of this combination truss varied with 298 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. the designs of different engineers, and the spans extended to over three hundred feet. The substi- tution of wrought for cast iron followed. The latest step has been made in the use of steel, at first for special members of a truss and latterly for the whole structure. The art of railway bridge building has thus, in a comparatively few years, passed through its ages of wood, and then of iron, and now rests in the application of steel in all its parts." Angle Splice Bar In connection with the maintenance of bridges and culverts, the necessity of preventing their injury or destruction by floods is an incident of our subject. The expense is a natural one, but none the less real. It frequently happens in practical experience that because of lack of skill upon the part of the engineer, or on account of undue economy, sufficient space is not left underneath the bridge or culvert to carry off the water. In such cases the proper way is to enlarge the channel; but as the necessity for this will not in MAINTENANCE OF TRACK. 299 every case be apparent, or perhaps practicable, the course left for those in charge to pursue is to see that the watercourse is kept free from ob- struction underneath the structure, also above it, so as to prevent the accumulation of rubbish which, by collecting, will choke up the stream, and thus undermine or carry away the structure. Expenses attending the care and maintenance of buildings are analogous, in many respects, to those connected with bridges and culverts. How- ever, these expenses are not uniform upon differ- ent railroads, or even upon the same lines. They are like those of other structures. The wear and tear of machinery, furniture, implements and fix- tures used in and about buildings, is almost wholly chargeable to traffic. The platforms, doors and windows of warehouses and depots are also greatly injured from this cause. Imperceptible wear and tear, and at- tendant accidents and mishaps of business, oc- casion more or less dam- age to every building, as may be readily supposed, but its extent is not uni- form. The nature of a structure has much to do with its ability to resist deterioration from natural causes; but, while brick and stone buildings re- quire, relatively, little or no attention, the doors, 300 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. windows, roofs, floors and other appurtenances of such structures require constant attention, and the cost of maintenance is not materially differ- ent from that of other buildings. In addition to the wear and tear from traffic are the losses from fires chargeable to the same cause. Outlay ren- dered necessary by traffic will depend upon its nature and extent. The -ability of a structure to resist deterioration is largely dependent upon climate, material used in construction, and the care with which the structure is built; but dif- ferences are not so great that we cannot deter- mine, with reasonable accuracy, the proportion chargeable to natural causes. The cost of maintenance of fences, road cross- ings and signs is variable. The damage arising from fires ignited by pass- ing trains and injuries to crossings are about the only expenses connected with this account charge- able to traffic. It is ap- parent, however, that the damage occasioned by fires will be extremely variable. Where fences are built of wire or formed of hedges, the expense is merely nominal. In the case of wooden fences, it is fully twenty-five per cent. As, however, the use of wood is giving place to other material, this estimate possesses no practi- cal value. CHAPTER IX. TRACK DETAILS SNOW AND ICE, RAILS, JOINTS, SPIKES, SPLICE BARS, PLATES, ALIGNMENT, PRE- MIUMS AND OTHER MATTERS. The maintenance of a railway involves many things beside keeping up the property. A proper organization must be maintained. Its super- vision must be looked after, and its legal rights maintained. The efforts of those who would destroy its usefulness or profitableness, whether knowingly or ignorantly, must be warded off. The property must be kept open for business. Nothing must be allowed to interfere with the regular routine of work, neither the march of contending armies, the difficulty of getting sup- plies, nor the complications of labor. It is the duty of managers to look after the property as a whole. How r ever, these phases of railway maintenance are discussed elsewhere. It is designed here to treat more particularly of the physical property of railways. Its maintenance involves a constant struggle with the elements; the frosts of winter, the floods of spring, the storms of summer. Each part of a property has its peculiar risks, breakage, decay, fire, heat, frost, flood, drought, neglect, lack of proper (301) 302 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. understanding, social disorder and so on. Each must be looked after, must be especially con- sidered. It is impossible to describe the vicissi- tudes of railway property particularly. The most that can be done is to take up those that appeal to us as matters of importance. The keeping up of a railroad implies its being kept open. This is not the least of the difficul- ties that beset managers. In the tropics excessive growth of vegetation has to be overcome. In the north frosts and snow be- set the property. Many northern companies have great difficulty in keeping their roads free from snow during many weeks and Bethlehem Iron Company's Rail, ,-, A , "Meat Yard" Pattem,*i884. months or the year. At one time it was not an unusual thing for a road to be closed for many weeks each year because of the impossibility of keeping it free from snow and ice. The difficulty has now been much simplified owing to the use of more effective snowplows, and the construc- tion of snow sheds and fences better adapted to their purpose. The protection of railroads from snow has received much attention from track- men, and I am mainly indebted to them for the information I have on the subject. With a sharp and high wind snow accumulates with astonishing rapidity wherever obstruction TRACK DETAILS. 303 is met with. Under other circumstances it does not drift badly. Protection of the track depends much upon the temperature and the direction and velocity of the wind. In locat- ing snow fences they should be placed at right angles with pre- vailing winds. Trees afford valuable protection where snow sheds are impossible. Of these, wil- lows and similar growths that may be planted compactly are the best. They must, however, be located at a distance from the track. Where it is necessary to de- pend upon fences, as many should be erected as neces- sary, the first one being placed one hundred feet from the track, the next two hundred, and so on. It would be well if each fence were supplemented by a portable fence; when the snow has drifted to the top of the permanent fence, the portable structure should be erected thereon, and so raised higher and higher as the snow accumulates. Angle Splice Bar. 304 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. In constructing a road in an open country it is, of course, desirable to avoid cuts as much as pos- sible. When it is necessary to depress the track, the ground on either side should, if possible, be cut away at least seventy feet, sloping gradually to a foot below the rail. A fence should be eight feet high and so strongly constructed as to with- Steel Tie, London & Northwestern Railway, A.D. 1885. stand the most violent storm. The higher it is the better. With these precautions a company, with the aid of snowplows, will be able to keep its track open under the most trying circumstances. In a mountainous country only snow sheds will answer. Their nature will depend upon the country. On some roads they will have to be built so as to protect the track from avalanches. TRACK DETAILS. 305 They must be strong and so placed as to carry the snow forward and over the track without im- pediment. In the majority of instances, however, simple snow sheds are all that is needed. The question of the protection of a railroad from snow, it will thus be seen, is a great one. Its complete elucidation will be a work of time and experience. In maintaining the property of railways, nat- urally the greatest importance attaches to the track. This is the artery of life, the vital thread. If not effectively maintained, risk and disaster follow as certainly as a weak truss or other defect in a bridge precipitates disaster. Not all rail- ways are maintained at the same standard, nor, of course, do different railways involve similar ex- penditures for maintenance. The routine that is observed upon different roads is substantially the same. Smoothness and stability of track and freedom from accident are never the result of chance, but of far-seeing care and sagacity; of constant in- spection and tests. It is not necessary to wait until a structure breaks down to demon- strate its weakness. The mishap may be averted by timely action. Herein lies the secret of the security of railway travel. If the same care and in- 2O Vol. 3 506 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. telligence were exercised in the maintenance of the highways of the world that railways observe, their cost would not be one-third what it is to-day, while they would be an ever-increasing source of profit and pleasure to mankind. Speaking of track work, an authority on such matters* says that the province of labor is to make the track stable, and to securely fasten and unite its parts so as to prevent independent motion. Elasticity of bearing does not imply loose and shifting parts. Flexibility of material must not be confounded with yielding and inade- quate support. The impact due to low joints, bad surface, poor line and defective gauge greatly augments the destructive effects of increased wheel pressure, and the deterioration of track is much accelerated when deprived of proper care. In nothing do trackmen need to be more fully drilled than in the matter of thorough and conscientious track work, more par- ticularly in tamping so that the track may stand the service to which it is subjected. Thorough track work implies tight joints, the use of track level, true gauge, and conscientious tamping and attention to minor details. As early in the year as settled * Mr. Benj. Keece. TRACK DETAILS. 307 weather will permit, every section gang should be increased to its maximum strength, so that the work of renewals may be completed in time. Every detail connected with the maintenance of a property would be interesting if it could be so generalized as to come within our comprehen- sion. This is not possible, however. The details connected with the maintenance of machinery and equipment are things that only machinists can fully com- prehend. To others the sub- ject is more or less confusing, but they know that renewals must be made promptly and ef- fectively as they are about a house, otherwise the damage is multiplied indefinitely. The same is true of buildings, fences and other parapher- nalia. It is true of the track, except that here the routine is more generally comprehended. An English writer thus describes the maintenance of the track on an English road.* It is not notice- ably different from our methods. " In England * Colonel Geo. Firidluy. 308 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. three men with a foreman form a gang. This gang has charge of the inspection and mainte- nance of about two miles of double line of rail- way. An average of one man to each mile of single line. The exact number depends upon the extent of traffic and consequent wear and tear; also the number of junctions and sidings which have to be maintained.* Eveiy ten or twenty gangs are under the direct supervision of an of- ficer known as an in- spector. Every seven or eight inspectors are under the control of a chief inspector, who has also under him traveling gangs of ballasting men and relayers, who are employed in renewing the per- manent way and carrying out alterations and additions. Each division of road has also a full complement of artificers, joiners, masons, brick- layers, painters and blacksmiths, with their fore- * The length of track allotted different gangs in the United States depends upon the character of the track and the amount of traffic passing over it; also somewhat upon the capacity of the foreman. Four miles is about the maximum, except in the case of single track. A section must not be so long that those in charge cannot inspect it at frequent intervals; cannot quickly reach any point in the event of disaster. M. M. K. Stevens Rail, Chemin de fer du ft ord. France, A. D. 1888. TRACK DETAILS. 309 men and inspectors, whose duty it is to repair the bridges, tunnels, stations and buildings of the company. All these men, with their chiefs and inspectors, are under the direction of a civil engineer of experience, who has a staff of sur- veyors, draughtsmen and clerks, located at the most important center of traffic on his division. The duties of the track force comprise the daily inspection of every portion of the section of line under its charge, and the repairs of the permanent way, fences, drains and roads. Track fore- men are required to report any- thing they may observe to be amiss with telegraph wires, sig- nals or passing trains. This duty is especially imperative during storms, fogs or heavy falls of snow. It is made their duty to furnish inspectors with a state- ment of materials needed, used and on hand. Each official throughout the corps is, in his order, responsible for the work of men under him. The stability of the permanent way and works of a railway is frequently threat- ened. Ceaseless vigilance has, consequently, to be exercised." The efficiency of the track force on the roads of Great Britain has long been remarked by the railway men of other countries. On some French railroads a novel system of maintenance is adopted, which is claimed to Bull-headed Rail. 310 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. Standard rail of Belgian government, A. D. 1889. lessen cost. Instead of making repairs daily, as the neces- sity develops, the whole road is peri- odically gone over and repaired. At such times the bal- 1 a s t is readjusted (new ballast being applied if necessary), ties are tamped, the track cleared of weeds, the rail fast- enings cleaned and inspected, chairs examined, the gauge tested and corrected, rails adjusted, and other defects reme- died. The intervals between these periodical overhaulings vary according to the traffic; thus, main lines, over which, say, more than forty trains pass daily, will be gone over once each year; track over which twenty, and not more than forty, trains run daily will be overhauled every two years, and so on. It is not asserted by those who practice this system that other repairs beside these periodical overhaulings are not required, but it is cJ aimed that under this plan occasional repairs are reduced to the minimum. In the maintenance of the track of a railway, the foremen in charge of gangs of men are greatly trusted, because of their experience and reliability. They are not, however, as a rule, TRACK DETAILS. 311 men of high education. They are practical men, who have entered the service as laborers. The time will come, however, it is probable, when superior officials, including civil engineers, will climb to preferment through positions of this kind. There is no doubt that a civil engineer's efficiency would be greatly enhanced if he had the practical knowledge of track matters that is acquired by the use of the pick and shovel and the actual management of a gang of men. Men may have experience in railway matters and yet Metal "Pot" Tie, Midland Railway of India, A. IX 1889. not be so valuable as those without it, because of lack of knowledge and intelligence, but experi- ence adds to the value of every man's usefulness. A civil engineer in charge of roadway and track, who has come to his position through the various grades of the service, has a better grasp of affairs than one who has not. He is without prejudice and has an enlightened understanding of the possibilities of every position under him. This knowledge cannot be acquired in all its fullness except by experience. Not only would the capa- bility of the civil engineer be increased by his 312 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. filling the various positions under him, but the effi- ciency of other officers, from the Metal track, Queensland, A. D. 1889. , -, track foremen up, would be greatly heightened thereby. If there is any value in education and practical knowl- edge, it would in this way be secured for the lowest offices in the service as well as the highest. In the things that go to make up the physical structure of railroads in Great Britain and Amer- ica* there has been a tendency, from the start, to conform to particular patterns. This tendency has, on the whole, been a healthy one, because based on discussion and experiment. There has been no compulsion about it. Selection has been based on the survival of the fittest. Inhe- rent differences in properties have ever been recognized, and attempts have not Metal track, Midland Railway, A. D. 1889. been made to harmo- nize elements naturally antagonistic. Unifica- tion, so far as it has extended, has been predicated upon these conditions. The theories of doctri- naires have nowhere found expression. * I beg the reader to understand that wherever, throughout this work, I refer to America, I mean the United States and Canada. Most of the Mexican railroads are constructed and operated the same as those of the United States and Canada. M. M. K. TRACK DETAILS. 313 The standard articles used by railroads embrace things that are alike, such as the flange and form of wheel, the tread, the interposition of springs and equalizing bars to relieve the blow, the gauge of tires, driving wheel centers, couplers, gauge of wheels, journals, axles and other items connected with the running gear of locomotives and cars. After patterns have been formally agreed upon, however, they continue to be the subject of ani- Section of English Permanent Way. mated discussion by railway officers and others, so that the service does not remain stationary or deteriorate from lack of continual interest and attention, as it would if devices were introduced and enforced by arbitrary means. The work, it is understood, is only just begun. It is probable that a standard rail section for different kinds and weights of metal will, sooner or later, be adopted. Interest in the matter spreads contin- ually. It is of the greatest possible importance 314 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. Metal track, London & Northwestern, A. D. 1889. in the maintenance of railroads, as the rail forms a preponderating item in the permanent way. And in regard to the permanent way, it is the key of the railway situation and dominates all other interests. The subject is most interesting and practically inexhaustible. The permanent way of a road, as referred to in a previous chapter, consists of the rails, their sup- ports and fasten- ings, and attend- ant switches and frogs; the align- ment of tangents and curves; the superstructure of stone, gravel and dirt, and the bridges and culverts. This mass must be so constructed and blended that trains may pass over it safely and smoothly with the minimum wear and tear to both equipment and permanent way. An interesting writer,* speaking of American railways, says in regard to permanent way matters: "Rails should be curved be- fore laying on any curve that ^ exceeds two degrees; they should be curved with Metal track, Elfcrfeld Railway, Germany, A. D. 1889. ' Wm. F. Ellis. TRACK DETAILS. 315 some form of machine which will not produce sudden concussion on the rail. Angle bar joints should not be over twenty-four inches long, of such weight and shape as not to break, and to give proper support. The ties should not be less than eight feet long, seven inches thick, with face at least seven inches, using at least twenty-eight hundred to the mile. The split switch with the automatic stand, with a flexible tie or switch rod, should be used not only on the main track but on inside track switches where there is any amount of switching done, and at side track switches where a derailment from an open non- safety automatic switch would stop the traffic on the main track. I would also recommend a guard rail to be used at the points of all split switches where s a m e are not trailing switches. A spring rail frog should be used in all cases except where there is nearly the same Metal track - Great ?D t . r i aIlway f Belglum> wear on each wing of the frog, and at yards where the rigid rail frog is used. The best form of guard rails at frogs is the following: Length, twelve to fifteen feet, curved a true curve, with a radius of one hundred and fifty or a hundred and seventy- five feet; center of guard rail set six inches ahead of point of the frog, securely spiked and 316 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. fastened with three braces, one opposite the point of the frog and one on either side. This would be a correct guard rail for rigid rail frogs, but for a spring rail frog the guard rail would have to be parallel to the main rail, with a flangeway of one and three-quarter inches for at least nine feet of its length at center of same and well braced its entire length. Alignment of tangents once in ten years, and especially of the curves once in five years, should be corrected by transit. Elevation should be such as the speed of trains and traffic demand. Ballast should be Metal track, Holland "Post" Tie, A. D. 1889. of broken stone when circumstances permit, or good gravel with proper drainage to same, and at least once in five years in the surfacing of the track, slight raising of the same, where possible to be done. All highway crossings should be carefully cleaned out each year and renewed with fresh ballast. Culverts should be of stone and covered with ballast if possible. Where arches of stone, through cost or location, cannot be used, iron bridges should be. They should be constructed with a view to carry with safety not only the weight of the present rolling stock, but TRACK DETAILS. 317 Metal track, Egyptian Agricultural Railway, A. a proportional increase in the same as the last ten years' prog- ress has indi- cated what it may be, and with these bridges a floor and guard rail should be used, in which the ties should be ten feet long, eight by eight inches square, eight inches apart, secured in place by timber six by six inches square, gained on to each tie near the outer end and bolted firmly, an iron guard of railroad iron on the inside of the track rails and eight inches from them, and approaching the center of the track at about thirty feet from the ends of the bridge and connected together by the old point of a frog; the long bridge ties for the distance of about thirty feet should be put in on the ground at each end of the bridge, and the out- side guard rail should be extended on same, spreading at the ends about three feet outside of the main track rail. To this I would add the use of a rerailing de- vice. The metal used in a track should be such as the speed of Metal track, Vautherin system, France, A. D. 1889. traillS aild ton- nage require. Material should be renewed at the proper time, and when renewed, maintained." 318 FINANCING, CONSTR UCTIXG, MA IX TA IXIXG . While cross ties are very generally used as the support for rails, the use of longitudinal bearings is more or less practiced, especially in Germany and Austria. They have, however, never been generally popular because of peculiar defects and greater cost. But the increase in weight of locomotives and cars, and the possibility that such increase will go on indefinitely, indicate a possible neces- sity for further strengthening the track. Exactly how this will be done cannot be foretold. It has been suggested that the use of longitudinal sup- ports for the rails in connection with the cross tie would meet the situation. The requisites of such a longitudinal system are thus described by Thomas C. Clark, M. Am. Soc. C. E. " First. The longitudinal bearer under the rail must be stiff enough to trans- ^SP in it the load to such a distance, Haarman longitudinal meta^track, Rhine Railway, on each s i deo f the wheel, as will limit the pressure to not much over two tons per square foot of bearing surface, without requir- ing excessive width. Experience has shown that a greater pressure than two tons per square foot will sink ties too deep into the gravel or broken stone. Second. The next thing is to attach the rails and bearers together by a form of fastening strong enough to resist all strains and shocks and yet allow of freedom of the rail to expand and TRACK DETAILS. 319 Metal track, Central Railway, Argentine Re- public, A. D. 1889. contract independently of its bearer. It must also be held to its bearer so that creeping of the rail on the bearer may be prevented, and that without any notching or cutting of the rail that will impair its strength. The rails must break joints with the bearers. The fastenings must be so made that the rails can be quickly removed and replaced by new ones without disturbing the bearers. The fast- enings must be able to hold for a time a broken rail so that it will safely pass the trains, and no system but the longitudi- nal can do this. Third. The bearers and rails should be united firmly together by light metallic gauge ties, placed near enough to properly pre- serve the accuracy of the gauge. Fourth. The bearers and gauge ties should be of such shapes as can easily be tamped with grav- el or broken stone, as will stay in place vertically,laterally and longitudinally, and will allow of drainage to pass between them. Fifth. The system should be so planned that no difficulty of construction can occur at curves, either in alignment or elevation Metal track, Bilbao and Las Arenas, Spain, A. D. 1889. 320 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. of outer rail. Also it should be so made as to easily join to the ordinary form of T rail at turn- outs and switches. Sixth. Besides the obvious advantages which such a construction gives, there are two others: The upper rail can be made of a harder and better worked steel, while the bearer can be made of a softer and tougher quality of metal. Probably basic steel would do for this. Owing to the rails being supported under their entire length by continuous bear- ers they can be made of less depth and sectional area in their flanges than at present. The metal so saved can be put into the head of the rail, where it is most needed. It is believed that rails can be designed for a longitudinal sys- tem with heads three inches wide, and instead of weighing one hundred and Track spike, ten pounds to the yard, they need not weigh over seventy pounds to the yard. This saving of metal can be applied to reducing the cost of the whole system. The wear being con- fined to the upper rail, the amount of metal which goes into the scrap heap is the least pos- sible." The free use of metals in connection with rail- ways has now become so general that the causes that precipitate deterioration in that direction have assumed an importance unknown in earlier days. The wear of metals is understood to be the tearing oft' of minute particles of the substance TRACK DETAILS. 321 by friction. Chemists have for- mulated no theory in regard to the matter. Wear is influenced by the particular conditions under which it takes place, such as lubrication, speed, temperature, pressure, roll- ing, friction, etc. Railways have been handicapped in their experi- ments, and the conclusions drawn the future will quite likely upset. It is believed, however, by experts in such matters that metal having fine granular structure (provided its tensile strength and elongation Action of s P ike i , on Tie. are equal to those of a coarser de- scription) will wear less than the other, for the reason that the particle of metal torn off is smaller and, therefore, less destructive. This conclusion, however, is disputed. Actual tests, meager as they are, it is claimed, show that metal which may be extended (elongated) most without breaking will wear best. Thus rails of mild steel, if properly made, are thought to be less liable to fracture, crushing and dis- integration than harder rails. The fact has been disputed, but preponderance of evi- dence seems to be in favor Action of Ran on Tie. O f the conclusion. The same is claimed to be true of the wear of the tires of driving wheels. When tires taken from wheels of the same locomotive have come into the shops 21 Vol. 3 322 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. for returning it has been noticed that more metal had to be removed from the soft than from the hard tires, thus proving that the wear of the latter was greater. It is also claimed that experiments conducted in alloys used as bearings show that wear is greater with metals which are brittle than with those which are more pliable. The reason for this is thought to lie in the fact that in metals of higher temper the rupture of small particles, because of their brittleness, occurs more easily than in more ductile metals. The more brittle a metal the larger its granular structure. It is the conclusion of many versed in such matters that the greater the elongation of a metal, while still retaining its tensile strength, the less the wear; that high tensile strength, with great elongation and fine structure, give the best results in actual service. On the other hand, tests made on a state railroad of The Netherlands seem to disprove them in some re- spects. These tests demonstrate that a soft rail wears much more rapidly than a hard one. In making the tests a number of experimental rails were placed in both single and double tracks. The point selected was on a level and straight track sufficiently distant from a station to avoid the use and effect of brakes. The rails were care- fully selected, weighed and measured. Their ten- sile strength varied from sixty-seven thousand to one hundred thousand pounds per square inch. At first, effort was made to ascertain wear by means of measurement with a micrometer. These meas- TRACK DETAILS. 323 Track Bolt. urements were not satisfactory, inasmuch as the least inclination of the rail removed the point of wear to one side of the center. The instrument would not, because of this,r3cord the actual wear. A number of the rails were then taken up, and, after being carefully cleaned of dirt and rust with a steel brush, were weighed. The differ- ence between the first and second weighing gave the wear due to the passage of trains and to rust. The conclusions drawn from the data thus obtained showed that the wear of the soft rails had been about twenty-seven per cent, more than that of the hard rails, or inversely to the tensile strength of the rails. From these practical tests it Avould seem that the harder the rail the better the wear; but as the wear of the rails in question was due somewhat to rust, it is claimed that definite conclusions cannot be drawn therefrom. Each year witnesses some improvement in the track of railways; in a decrease in derailment of trains from an unstable roadbed; from the spread- ing of the track; from broken rails and defective switches. These improve- ments are the result of 324 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. experience and added ability on the part of those in charge. In the maintenance of the permanent structures of a company the payment of premiums for manifest excellence has found strenuous advo- cates. They claim it is especially efficacious in securing a good roadbed and in maintaining and improving the track and yards. Awards are made under different systems by different com- panies. One company's schedule of premiums is given below.* Its effect in securing greater interest and intelligence, it is claimed, has been marked. In its practical operation the recipients of a premium are not allowed to compete for lower premiums. The inspections upon which the premiums are based are made yearly. The men for whom the rewards are instituted themselves make the inspections, each for the other. The premiums are awarded under the supervision of the employing company. The system has been found to stimulate the ambition of men and to increase and broaden their understanding. It intensifies their desire to learn instead of relying wholly Upon themselves. *$100 to the roadmaster having the best yard on his division. $100 each to the roadmasters having the best road- master's division on each superintendent's division of 100 miles. $75 to the section foreman having the best section of two and a half miles on his division. $60 to each section foreman hav- ing the best section on his superintendent's division, including yards. $50 to the section foreman having the best section on each roadmaster's division. $100 to the roadmaster having the best line and surface for the whole length of road. $50 to the second best ditto. TRACK DETAILS. 325 The (Jfeestion of paying premiums for superior service is taken up in another volume.* The subject is an interesting one and wherever properly regulated will be found bene- ficial, its advocates believe. Men are differently consti- tuted. Some are more conscientious than others. But the interest of all will be stimulated by prospective re- wards. If this is true of a conscientious man, how much more true it is of those differently constituted, who need the spur of incentive. There can be no doubt that the zeal of everyone who labors for another will be heightened by the hope of special reward for faithful and intelligent service. Wherever the practice has been properly tried it has been found beneficial, especially in regard to the track and train service, its advocates claim. The maintenance of a railroad means, among other things, freedom from risk, from accident, from delay, from unnecessary expense, the adop- tion of due safeguards. One of the greatest sources of anxiety to railroad managers is the care of bridges and culverts, their protection from fires, from the undermining effects of water * "Train Service." 326 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. and frost, from the floods of summer and the ice of winter. The struggle is a never ending one. Each month takes on some new phase. Every structure has its peculiar features. In addition to the dangers that menace bridges and culverts from the streams they cross, their immediate stability is threatened by the trains that pass over them. The risk here is a double one that of destruction of both the bridge and the train, with attendant loss of life. The prevention of this double calamity, it is apparent at a glance, is One of importance. Yet the risk is not so great or immi- nent as to make the questiona vital one. Acci- dents are only occasional and do not, therefore, impress themselves upon the managers or the public. Nevertheless, as railway practice grows older and men have more time to think and car- riers have greater means and leisure to accom- plish results, they will interest themselves more and more in precautionary measures. The TRACK DETAILS. 327 devices adopted will be manifold. A writer* discussing the subject of bridge (track) protec- tion, says: "The device must be so arranged that it cannot in any way cause the derailment of a car. It should, therefore, leave abundant room for the passage of wheels, making allow- ances for the condition of wheels and tires that are badly worn, as well as those that are new. Account must also be taken of the use of cars from other roads. It must not touch the weak points of a derailed car, and must be so arranged as to come in contact with the running gear only. It must direct the wheels of a derailed car back upon the track without violent shocks, either in a horizontal or vertical direction, and must bring them back before they reach the bridge. It must keep on the track during the passage over the structure cars which may have been derailed from any defect. It must be constructed of durable materials, and in such a way that it will not fail when needed. It must have no very heavy pieces, so that its putting in place, repair, etc., can be easily done by an ordinary track gang. It must permit the tamping of ties. It must be cheap to make, to put in place, to keep in order and to renew. In other words, it must be easy to handle, and of small cost." The track of a railway must be sufficient to support the weight and rush of traffic, however great. That it should be well moored and have a strong wall and tenacious fiber goes without * J. W. Post, 328 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. saying. The moorings of a track are its ballast, including the fastenings that hold the rail to the tie.* The devices used for track fastenings have been improved in many respects, nevertheless no device has yet been found that will hold the rail securely to the tie. It may be too much to ex- pect this. The strain is too great. However, if it can be attained it will reduce the wear and Old-fashioned Switch, with " ball " counter weight. tear of the tie, add smoothness to the roadbed and lessen depreciation of track and equipment. The instrument that fastens the rail to the tie has two great purposes to serve; first, to prevent the rail from spreading, and, second, to resist the effort to lift it vertically from its socket. The * " Where there is not sufficient ballast to give elasticity to the track, the rail wears out twice as fast as on level ground or an embankment. A large stone or piece of rock under a tie will soon -show itself by the rail wearing out over it. Clamp a pair of angle plates to the center of a rail where there is 110 joint and in six months the rail will be worn down in a rut directly over the plates, showing clearly that any extra resistance pro- duces extra wear." James Churchward, C. E. TRACK DETAILS. 329 lateral pressure of a train passing over a track would cause the rails to spread apart unless the fastenings prevented it. Again, the effect of the passing train is to depress the rail, and with it the tie. The reaction of the rail and the tie is not coincident. The rail springs back first. The result is to throw the weight of the tie and the surrounding ballast with the added strain on the head of the spike. This explains why, in exam- ining a track, but few spikes are found to press firmly against the rail. Because of this the rail is allowed greater or less freedom of motion in every direction. Among other evils engendered by this is the accumulation of sand and dirt between the rail and the tie, pre- cipitating the destruction of the latter. The difficulties of the situ- TraC k Level. ation are aggravated in winter. Thus, when the ground is frozen it is impossible for the spike to lift the mass in which the tie is imbedded. It consequently gives way. It is possible that a practicable fastening that will hold the rail and tie together, making them one, will be discovered. The value of such a device cannot be overestimated. The common spike, driven perpendicularly into the tie, is the chief fastening used in America, as it has been from the first. While far from perfect, from a theoretical point of view, it nevertheless gives fairly good satisfaction. However, a committee of experts having the matter under consideration condemned it as not the best possible design to 330 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. resist the vertical pull of the rail, due to the theory of wave motion, or elasticity, under the moving train. How much this strain amounted to they were unable to tell, but believed the weight of the train able to resist the reaction. They thought the danger sufficiently great on bridges to recommend an interlocking bolt as a precautionary measure. What is needed is a spike made of steel, that shall be driven vertically on each side of the rail, thus securely interlock- ing the latter; that will resist lateral pressure, or any sud- Track Driii. ^ en derangement of the machinery, whereby extraordinary outward strain is thrown on the rail; that has a strong head; that can be used over and over again; that will cut and compress the fiber of the wood, and not break or mash it; that holds tenaciously to the wood, and is thus prevented from being loosened or withdrawn; a spike that will hold the tie and the rail securely together. Referring to the track spike, a writer says: "A spike possesses adhesive resistance on account of the friction between the sides of the spike and the wood into which it is driven; this friction depends upon the amount of compressive stress exerted by the wood against the spike, and the friction will be greater or less according to the TRACK DETAILS. 331 character of the surfaces in contact. In driving a spike the wood is compressed later- ally. The resil- ience or tendency to spring back again gives the Track Gauge, pressure against the sides of the spike. The greater the compres- sion of the wood the greater will be the com- pressive stress until the wood splits; the limit of adhesive resistance is therefore that which is due to a compression of the fibers which splits the wood. Care must be taken, however, in driving the spike that the fibers are not too abruptly dis- placed. With spikes of large cross section dimen- sions there is a tendency to carry along some of the fibers in front of the blunt point, and leave cavities next the body of the spike instead of solid wood in close contact."* No matter how well a track is ballasted, it will not remain in good surface unless the rails are held securely to the ties. Moreover, a "rail being free allows sand and dirt to accumulate between itself and the tie, so that the movement of the rail from passing trains becomes a gigantic rasp to cut the tie. When it has once com- menced to cut, the rate of disintegration is vastly "James E. Howard. Mr. Howard thinks that if it is required to materially increase the adhesive qualities of the spike, ex- periments should be made in the direction of larger spikes with bored holes to receive them. 332 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. increased. The wood underneath and around the edges of the rail is mashed so that it holds water; incipient rot is the immediate result. To make a tie last its natural life, the first cutting must be prevented."* It is a question whether so much shimming or blocking in winter would be required if rails were perfectly fastened, be- cause the tie being securely fastened to the rail would bring it up to its own level and prevent its freez- ing down in the track. The friction of the tie meantime against the ballast, caused by its moving up and down as trains pass, would Track jack. detach particles of ballast, thus tamping it to a fair surface. "Accidents frequently arise from the rail cutting away the tie underneath the outside flange, causing the rail to roll com- pletely over. This trouble arises from the fact that the inside flange of the rail is not securely held down. Many European roads guard against this by canting their rails inward."* Upon many roads the rail is laid directly on the tie and spiked thereto. The placing of a plate or chair on the tie for the rail to rest on is * James Churchward. C. E. TRACK DETAILS. 333 advocated. It prevents the rail from cutting the tie, gives it steadiness, and compensates for a narrow rail base. " Ties are made more durable by this plate and can be kept in service until rendered useless by decay. The cheapest kinds of wood will wear, except for decay, as long as the most expensive. Wearing away of the tie by the rail is the direct result of the creeping and oscil- lating movement of the rails caused by the im- pact of the weight passing over them. There are also indirect causes which contribute largely to- wards the wear, such as sand or grit between the rail and tie; also water under the base of the rail injected into the tie by the pressure of passing trains, making the wood soft and spongy where it should be hardest. The plate overcomes these diffi- culties. Being fastened to the tie, it receives the wear arising from any movement and friction of the rail, and thus a combination is obtained which furnishes the wearing qualities of an iron or steel tie at a reasonable cost. These plates render pos- sible the use of soft wood for ties cedar, for instance, which makes only a poor tie without the use of a plate or chair; it is very light and soft and is soon ground away un- der the attrition of the rails which imbed Track sa? 334 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. themselves in the timber, weakening the tie, which quickly breaks under the line of the rail. Wear plates prevent this, and thus a cheap tie is rendered as effective as a white oak tie costing much more. The value of the rail plate is becoming more marked daily from the increased weight that passes over the track. The portions of the tie where the strain comes, where the spike more or less injures the fiber and where the crushing by the wheels is most de- structive, these plates perfectly protect from the weather. Under the plate there is no tendency to rot, even when the sun and rain have damaged other portions. Moreover, the weight is better distributed over the surface of the tie, and, as the area under pressure is thus considerably larger, the pressure per square inch on the timber is reduced."* Durability of rails and ties is directly depend- ent upon a proper alignment of the track and upon the preservation of an even and firm sur- face to the rail, especially at the point of junc- ture. Trackmen claim that a proper maintenance of the joint (junction of the rails) is of supreme importance. It is ever an object of solicitude to them. If the joint is inadequately supported, the rail head, will be quickly battered. The seri- ousness of this, as regards the effect on equip- ment and roadway, does not need elaboration. Trackmen are practically a unit in claiming that the joint should be afforded such support as will * James Churclnvard, C. E. TRACK DETAILS. 335 prevent its sinking with the weight of passing trains. This requires, if the joint is not sup- ported by a tie, constant readjustment of the support afforded by the angle bar to meet the ever increasing weight of trains. Upon some well managed roads the joint is not thus placed, but is supported only by a splice bar : a bar fit- ting to the rail on each side, lapping at the point of junction and securely bolted to the rail. Each method has its advocates. The form of the rail and the pattern of the splice bar are factors to be considered in judging the merits of the support to be afforded the joint. Mr. Churchward, whom I have already quoted, says: " Present joints are a failure. The principal way of fastening the ends of the rails is by means of splice bars in some form or other. This is the correct way; they form a bridge or support to uphold the ends of the rails, and, bearing against the head of the rail as well as the flange, keep the rails, where they join, in line and continuity. The objec- tions to any fastening that does not bear against the heads of the rails as well as the base are on curves, as the heads of the rails are in no wise held in continuity, it is a question whether with a heavy engine swerving against a light rail, the engine would not bend the loaded rail slightly over, presenting the face of the receiving rail for the flanges of the wheels to strike, thus causing derailment; and another question is whether the web or b'ase of the rail would not break also, the leverage on it being greatly enhanced. The 336 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. present angle or splice bars are of all shapes and sizes. They wear and crush down underneath the ends of the rails; a cavity thus forms in their center. The fault is not with the plates, but with the rails. The bearing surface under- Automatic Safety Switch Stand. neath the head of the rail for the splice bar (in the present shaped rails) is only about half an inch often less. This half-inch bearing or face has to sustain the blow and weight of great en- gines ever increasing in weight. It is impossible for this face to withstand the blow it -receives. Down it goes, forming first a loose, then a low, TRACK DETAILS. 337 joint. It is impossible to make a suspended joint satisfactory with the present shaped rails and the ordinary shaped splice bars. The only thing that can be done is to make the joint on a tie with the plate underneath the ends of the rails, to help the splice bars withstand the blow and weight of the load. If a suspended joint is used i. e., where the ends of the rails connect be- tween two ties it is absolutely necessary to have a base or auxiliary plate. Initial wear under the rail must be prevented, as tightening of bolts after they have once started cannot make the joint solid again. Each succeeding blow from the wheels, from its lengthened drop, falls heavier than the previous one, making the cavity deeper between the end of the rail and upper bearing of the splice bar. The lower bearing of the angle plate on the flange of the rail never shows the same wear as the head, simply because the lower bearings are wide enough to withstand the blow. We therefore come to the conclusion that it is not practicable to form a perfect joint with angle or splice bars without the aid of an auxiliary base plate. It is yet to be demonstrated which is the best form of plate. It must not be too heavy, otherwise it will present an extra resist- ance to the wheels, the effect of which will be as damaging as low joints.*. If a four-bolted * "What is absolutely required for a perfect joint is a set of plates whose elastic limit shall be at least equal to the same length or span of the rail. These plates should have a bearing under the head or base of the rail sufficiently large to prevent 22 Vol. 3 338. FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. angle plate is examined, it will be found that the wear commences about the second bolt, and increases past the first, obtaining its maximum directly underneath the end of the rail. Many of our roads are increasing their angle plates to nearly double the old length to " prevent the crushing over and in front of the first bolt. What is required is sufficient bearing and strength, not extra length. A splice should never be over twenty inches, and eighteen would be better; but it must have the necessary bearings to with- stand crushing, and an elastic limit equal to the Reinforced Rail Joint. same length of rail. The objection to long joints is, they commence to strengthen what is not weak, and, stopping the elastic wave of the rail, they cause the wheels to jump and ricochet over the joint, thereby turning the even, gliding movement of the wheels into a direct hammer- ing blow on the weakest part of the construction the joint. A false mechanical function has been placed on the plates now in use. They are crushing down under the weight of the maximum load; this bearing to be always kept solid by a sufficiently strong auto- matic power a pow r er that will force the plates to this solid bearing as the scale wears off and retain them there under the maximum load, so that the joint has never any movement inde- pendent of the rail." James Churchward, C. E. TRACK DETAILS, 339 slotted or punched to receive the spikes to pre- vent the rail from creeping. Originally they were only intended to keep the ends of the rails up and in line. This is enough. They are now clamped to the rail and spiked to the tie in such a position that with every passing wheel the rails and plates are antagonized and all repose de- stroyed. The spiked angle plate resists creeping; with every passing wheel the rails are pushed forward and again brought back with the plates. Every movement involves friction between the two surfaces. Metal is displaced by each opera- tion. If the loss is infinitesimal, multiply the atoms by the wheels passing over the joint and it will be plainly seen why the joint is so quickly ruined. How is creeping to be stopped? By putting a separate fastening on the receiving tie, so that the rail is fastened to this tie. There are three or four forms of these fast- enings simple effective and cheap. One cannot find on any road with heavy c ^ 3 traffic a joint that is perfect Tenden c y which the motion at the end of two or three &% toSjSfit crU8h the years' wear. They are all more or less worn and low. Every one of these joints is below the center of the rail, and goes lower every day. No angle plate has yet been constructed that has an equal perpendicular strength as the same length of span in the rail; consequently, when the weight of a passing load 340 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. comes on the ends of the rails, it beiids the plates down and in a short time forms a permanent set in them. Many roads, appreciating this fact, are placing the ends on a tie, to give additional sup- port to the plates. It is but a short time before the ends of the rails, bending the plates, start to dent the wooden tie underneath, so that the evil of a low joint is only partially obviated by plac- ing the joint on a tie. When the tie has been The Split Switch. dented down, and the loaded rail can sink below the receiving rail, it strikes the latter with a heavy blow in taking it, which batters and burrs out the end, and finally ruins the joint. The tie plate referred to elsewhere prevents this, because the loaded rail cannot crush the tie, consequently the loaded rail is always kept up on a level with the receiving rail. This does away with the blow before mentioned, and extends the life of a joint in a very marked degree." TRACK DETAILS. 341 The effect of depression in the joint of the rail or elsewhere is felt outside of the increased wear and tear involved on roadway and machinery. It involves loss of power and a constant lifting of the vehicle from the declivities or sinkage in the track into which it falls. This loss is propor- tionate to the number and depth of the depres- sions and the velocity of the moving vehicle. Moreover, a weak spot in a rail involves an undue strain on the rail opposite caused by the increased weight it must bear. Barbed Wire Fence. Track fastenings must adjust themselves to the form of rail in vogue. The patterns that answer with one form will not answer with another. Thus, the device used with the form of rail in the United States would be entirely out of place in India, where a different pattern is used. Upon bridges and curves the spike is frequently supplemented by a bolt. The precaution is a wise one. In early use, rail joints were sup- ported by a piece of metal called a " chair." The device was far from satisfactory. It was replaced by the splice bar, The latter added greatly to 342 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. the agreeableness of travel and measurably re- duced the wear and tear of track and machinery. The details connected with the care and main- tenance of track are so infinite that I cannot hope to deal here with anything except vital things. These have been, perhaps, amply no- ticed. Yet I cannot close what I have to say on track joints without quoting what a very inter- esting and intelligent writer* has to say on the American Cattle Guard. subject. He says: "First. The splice bar must hold the two ends of the rail at the same level; not allowing the slightest depression in one end without an equal depression in the other. Sec- ond. The strength to resist a vertical stress or shock downwards at the joint should be fully twenty-five per cent, greater than the strength of the rail to resist a similar stress or shock at any point in its length. Third. When the joint contrivance is tightened securely in all its parts, * F. A. Delano. TRACK DETAILS. 343 in a condition to meet the above requirements, the expansion and contraction of the rails should be absolutely unhindered; otherwise, the rails will be bent while expanding, and the track, in extreme cases, be buckled or spread. Fourth. At the same time the rails must be held so firmly that, with good ties and ballast, the creeping or running of the track will be effectually pre- vented. Fifth. The joint device should not re- quire a form of rail which is uneconomical in the disposition of metal, or which, for any reason, OTTO" UULJUUUUUUUUlJU L Bridge Guard, intended to prevent trains from being precipitated into the stream beneath or over the embankments on either side. is not as well suited as another form. In addi- tion to the foregoing there is also that very im- portant consideration, the ease of manipulation, as governing the convenience and rapidity of laying track. Thus, if a joint is cumbersome, in many parts, and slow to lay track with, such dis- advantages should be taken into account in figur- ing the first cost of the joints. Passing briefly over this list of requirements in order, let us consider the good points and the bad of the com- mon types of joints now on the market. A. The 344 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. fish plate and angle bar type meet the first re- quirement very well while they are new and the bolts are tight; but if, for any cause, the bolts get loose or broken, the two rail ends are not held at the same height, or if the joint is neglected the bar is nicked or bent and loses at once its prin- cipal value, no matter how much attention it has afterward. B. All fish plates and most angle bars are sadly deficient in strength, making the strength at the joint only partly as strong as the body of the rail, whereas it should be twenty- five per cent, stronger than the body of the rail. With rail sections having wide, thin heads, which are now being so widely adopted in this country, it is possible to make the angle bar far stronger than it has been possible to do with rails having deep and narrow heads; but after all the strength of the angle bar is only effective when the bolts hold it tight in its position. C. Every roadmaster knows that fish plates and angle bars, when tightly bolted up, do not meet the third requirement, and it is well known that if the track bolts are too tight in summer the angle bars clutch the rail with so much fierce- ness that the track is liable to be kinked or buckled sooner than let the rails take up the full space which has been left for expansion. Know- ing that this is the case with angle bars twenty- six inches long with four bolts, it seems to me poor wisdom to make the bar forty-four to forty- eight inches long with six bolts. Indeed, it seems to me that this question of expansion and con- TRACK DETAILS. 345 traction in rails is too little regarded in the con- sideration of rail joints, and many of the patented devices which aim at curing the faults in the angle bar type of joint tumble into the fault of making no provision for the unhindered expan- sion and contraction. D. One much heard of and advertised device, while containing many good features, allowing free expansion and contrac- tion, places no limit on the distance apart that the rails might be. In this respect the angle bar is good and pre- vents creeping, especially if an- chored to three ties. Some of the patent devices attempt to hold the rail from creeping by notching it in the flange, which is, of course, a bad practice, as it makes the rail very liable to break through the notch. E. Angle bar and fish plate joints are at fault in respect to the fifth requirement inasmuch as such a type of joint requires flat finishing angles (the more nearly horizontal the better), small internal fillets, so as to reduce the area of support as little as possible, and small corner fillets, to increase this area of support as much as possible. To make a rail for the angle bar involves a sacrifice A. D. 1897. 346 FINAXCIXG, COXSTR UCTIXti, M. 1 IXT. 1 IXIXG. unquestionably, and while I am not prepared to say that the sacrifice is not worth making, I do think it is one w r hich should be admitted, arid its value in money, as nearly as it can be estimated, added to the cost of the joint when considering it in comparison with other devices. F. Lastly, to take up the question of the ease of manipulation, etc., probably nothing will ever be made which surpasses the angle bar or fish-plate joint for convenience in rapid laying, and un- doubtedly the extra time and labor incident to laying rail with other devices should be charged as part of the first cost of the joint." Mr. Delano thinks that the perfect rail joint has yet to be devised. "A good track joint depends a great deal on the man who x4....Ai-...^r^v l a y s the steel and the LL mm ... \ J) man w h takes care of it. Rails w h i c h are laid one-quarter of an inch apart in mid-sum- Chicago & North-Western Railway -,^1-., -J-V./-.TT oV./~n-i"M Standard 80-lb. Rail,A.D. 1897. HlCl* Wiien tney SnOUKl be close together can- not give the best results, no matter how good the subsequent maintenance may be. However, irre- spective of the care which joints may get, they have a tendency to get low. Firstly, because there is a blow at the opening between the rails to cause this, and secondly, because the rolling of the wheels tends to lengthen the head, while the base remains the same, thus TRACK DETAILS. 347 arching the rail to the detriment of the joint. The first difficulty cannot be wholly avoided, but possibly the second might be partly overcome by making the rails a little low in the center. I do not mean by this that the rail should show this hollow when in the track, but simply that when on supports fifteen feet apart, and seven and one- half feet from each end, the rail should be hol- lowed enough to be one-quarter to one-half an inch lower at the center than at the ends." It is thought possible that rails will ultimately be welded together in the track by electricity, thus making them continuous. If necessary to repair any defect, the same power will be used to sever the rail and reattach its ends afterward. CHAPTER X. USE OF WOOD BY RAILWAYS ITS PRESERVATIVES AND SUBSTITUTES, METAL TIES, ETC. The kind of material used by railways depends very much on circumstances. Where wood is the most economical, it is used. Where it is not, iron and steel will take its place in the construc- tion of cars, buildings and other structures. The practices of one country are not followed by other countries any further than economy dic- tates. It is this that makes comparisons difficult. In their early experience American railways were constant and large consumers of timber, but with improved processes, for making iron and steel, these latter have more and more taken its place. Coal for fuel has very gen- erally become a substitute for wood. These changes are fortunate, as no country could long withstand so great a drain on its forestry. We have seen many illustrations of this. Lands once possessing great agricultural resources, and the centers of a vast population, are to-day barren and desolate because of it. This is so of Palestine and many parts of Northern Africa and Central Asia. Uniformity of rainfall and an equable climate depend upon a moist atmosphere. This (318) USE OF WOOD BY RAILWAYS. 349 in turn depends upon the verdure of a country, except in the immediate vicinity of large bodies of water. In North and South America and in Africa, systematic effort has not been made to preserve the forests, nor economize in the use of wood. Pre- servatives of wood are also largely dis- regarded. The SUb- Bumping Post. ject invites atten- tion and interest. Economy in the use of wood is the first thing to be considered in seeking to remedy the evil. This is to be attained by the substitution of other material whenever possible, and by increasing the durability of such timber as is used. Much thought has been given the subject of the preservation of wood against the vicissitudes of weather, the teredo, and other destructive agents. But preservatives will not be used, how- ever much we may deplore the fact, except when it is clearly for the selfish interests of the con- sumer to do so. Moreover, effort will not be put forth to preserve wood, because of supposed extra cost, in many cases when it would clearly be economy to do so. Practical men who use wood must study the subject. Those interested in forestry have done so, and the measures of econ- omy they suggest cover not only preservatives, but more careful use of wood. 350 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. The kinds of wood used vary, of course, with every country. The different kinds of wood used in the United States for ties approximate the fol- lowing proportions: Oak, sixty-two per cent.; chestnut, five per cent.; pine, seventeen per cent.; cedar (red, white and California), seven per cent.; hemlock and tamarack, three per cent.; cypress, two per cent.; redwood, three per cent.; other kinds, one per cent. Truss Bridge. The number of ties per mile of track averages two thousand seven hundred. The average dura- tion of a tie when no preservative is used is in the neighborhood of eight years. The reader can estimate for himself the number of ties required annually; the mass is enormous, and the inroad it makes upon the forests alarming in the ex- treme. Those, therefore, who have suggestions to make as to how the life of a tie may be pro- longed, we listen to gratefully. Mr. B. E. Fernow, of the Forestry Division of the United States Department of Agriculture, gives these directions: "Use only the most durable timbers; give proper attention to the cutting and piling of ties before they are used; pay attention to the drainage and USE OF WOOD BY RAILWAYS. 351 ballast material of the roadbed; replace ties in the roadbed which have rotted from the attack of a specific fungus by ties of a kind not liable to attack by the same fungus, so as to avoid its spread; bore spike holes and fill the old ones when respiking, and use more permanent rail fastenings; use tie plates in order to reduce flange cutting; use preserving processes to lengthen the life of the timber; cut ties at the right season of the year; increase weight of rail; maintain care- ful drainage; and, finally, exercise care in laying ties." Snow Shed in the Sierra Nevadas. Numerous methods are advocated for the pres- ervation of wood. Creosote, chloride of zinc and sulphate of copper are the preservatives gener- ally used. In Europe creosoting is practiced more than any other method. Ties thus treated are stated to have an average life of about twenty-five years. Experience proves that a tie prepared in a particular manner, while satisfac- tory in one locality, oftentimes fails in another 352 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. locality. Different kinds of wood also require different kinds of treatment.* Creosoting will not be as beneficial in America as in Europe, unless we make use of tie plates. (Jreosoting softens the fiber of wood, and ties thus treated are quickly injured by the increased cutting of the rail flange when plates are not used. Some method, therefore, which will harden the wood while preventing disintegration is necessary where the tie plate is not used. Metallic salts have been found to give good results in this direction. The devices which railways profitably use to prolong the life of a tie are supplemented by them, in other directions, with good results. Thus, at one time fences in the United States were constructed wholly of wood. To-day wire with, in many instances, metal posts, has taken its place. Hedges have also been introduced in some districts, but, unfortunately, our climate is not favorable to this form of fence. In England, on the other hand, hedges are common and, hap- pily, answer the double purpose of beautifying the landscape and lessening the outlay of the railroad company. * Wood preservatives do not act alike in all countries. Thus in India, owing to sudden changes in temperature and other climatic influences, creosoting does not preserve wood. The timber under the rail decays so that the duration of ties does not exceed ten years, except in the case of certain kinds of wood indigenous to that country. The difficulty of preserving wood in India has led to the extensive introduction of metal ties. These latter are destined to grow steadily in popularity. USE OF WOOD BY RAILWAYS. 353 Section of the Chicago & North- Western Railway gravel ballast This com- pany also uses stone ballast, as will be seen by the description below. The standard of this company is as follows: Thickness of tie, six inches; surface bearing face, if sawed, eight inches; if hewed, six inches; length, eight feet; distance between ties, twenty-one inches from center to center; kind of wood, oak. The roadbed is finished off for a width of ten feet on each side of the center line one and one-half feet below the grade line, and sloped uniformly each way from the center line at the rate of five-tenths of a foot in ten feet. Gravel ballast is oue foot in depth from the bottom of the tie to the roadbed, filled in between the ties even with the top of the tie at the center of the track, find sloping uniformly from the center of the track to a point one and one-half feet outside of the end of the tie, at which point it is two incher below the level of the base of the rail. From this point to the surface of the roadbed the slope is at the rate of one and one-half to one. When broken stone is used, the size is such as will pass through a three-inch ring. The ballast is one foot in depth from the bottom of the tie to the roadbed, filled in between the ties even with the top of the tie for its full length to a point one and one- half feet outside of the end of the tie, from which point the surface of the roadbed is sloped at the rate of one to one. 23 Vol. 3 354 FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, MAINTAINING. In the use of wood for telegraph poles little foresight has been practiced in America. Under- ground lines were not popular, and but little effort was made to introduce tubular poles. The postal authorities, who have charge of the tele- graph in Great Britain, recommend that the wires be placed underground, and it is probable that this will be done, in the main, throughout the island. In America, bridges of steel, iron and stone are replacing those of wood. However, wood will be used, more or less, so long as it is cheap. In the Section of double track, New South Wales. Top ballast broken blue stone 2%-inch gauge; bottom ballast broken stone, 4-inch gauge, hand packed. construction of buildings, steel, brick and stone are being more and more generally used. A large amount of wood is used in the construction of the rolling stock of railways. The tendency, however, is to substitute metal therefor. Such are, briefly, the ways in w r hich wood is used and the means whereby its durability is prolonged and its consumption reduced. The subject is one that invites the attention of the owners and managers of railroads, and the pub- lic generally. The following description, by an English engi- neer, of the creosoting process, as practiced in tko USE OF WOOD B F RAILWAYS. 355 United Kingdom, is interesting and instructive: "Creosoting has both a chemical and a mechan- ical aspect. Chemically, it may be looked upon as a process which renders wood fiber distasteful to fungoid growth or boring worms and insects, the material being fatal to such types of vitality. Mechanically, certain forms of creosote act like so much wax or paint, filling up the pores of the wood and thereby preventing the access of water or air. Clearly, the mechanical effect can only endure while the creosote continues in the pores. When the mechanical process has been only half carried out, the wood is protected upon its exte- rior surface and to a depth inward of half an inch and upward, according to the extent to which the process has been carried. The process of creosoting is one requiring care in the selec- tion of a chemically proper creosote and in the mechanical process by which such creosote is put into the timber. . . . Timber can only be said to be properly treated when it is pene- trated by the creosote to its very center. Where complete saturation has not been effected, it is only a matter of time for cracks to develop and fungi to grow upon the untreated portions thus exposed."* * In France we are told ties as delivered are piled and sea- soned in the open air. They are then adzed and bored by a special machine, loaded on trucks and run into a drying oven, where they remain twenty-four hours or more. After drying at a, temperature of about 176 degrees Fahr., they are run into a metal cylinder six feet three inches in diameter and thirty-six feet long, which is hermetically closed. The air is then 356 FINANCING, CONS TR UC TING , MA I XT A IXIXt ; . Mr. H. W. Reed, in an interesting treatise on the maintenance of timber, thus discourses on wood preservatives: "The destruction of \^j\^ jf ^K^fi^t'^ i ^^ j.^ timber by decay is ^^-^/8, 145, 423 " " Effect of Traffic on 475 " Upon What Dependent 383-412, 482 Effect of the Rigid Wheel Base on 148 Fixed Expenses of 466 Influences Affecting 458-483 of Bridges, Cost of 292 " Cattle Guards, Cost of 292 " Culverts, Cost of 292 " Ties 280-284 " Track. . . 20C, 238-300 512 INDEX. PAGE Maintenance Meaning of the Term 388 Railway Things Involved in 481, 482 Relation of Various Classes of To Total Cost of. 492 Management, Discretion of 414 Effect of on Rates 57, 58 Improvident 43 Methods of 57 " " in Different Countries 41-52 Railway.. 249, 250, 405 Managers, Functions of 418 ^ Need of 418 Railway 429 " American 141 in Great Britain 148 " Their Incentive to Foster Business 425, 426 Wages of 418 Mansfield, Gauge Adopted by ; 192 Market, of the World 24 Maryland, Railway Taxation in 452 Masonry, Arched 1 29 Material, Cost of 385, 396, 397 " Substituting Old for New 396 Influence of on Cost of Maintenance 383 Quantity of Required to Lay One Mile of Track.. 495 Track Preparing for Sunday Work 241 " Used in Repairs and Renewals of Roadway and Track 284, 285 Medicines, Expenditures for 398 Medium, Circulating 7, 8, 14 " Paper as 16 Metal, Deterioration of from Oxidation 273 u up ot ,, Tie Midland Railway of India A. D. 1889 Illustration 311 " Ties 203 Ties 202-204, 3-18, 365-369 Advantages of 366 Construction of 367, 368 Corrosion of How Prevented 368 Cost of 369 Durability of 378 Fastenings for 368 Requirements of 381, 382 Use of 177, 365-369 in Austria 378, 379 " Belgium 377 " England 376 " France .. 376 " Germany 377, 378 "Holland 377 " Hungary 378, 379 INDEX. 513 Metal Ties, Use of in Italy . ."79 " Portugal .379 " Spain 379 Switzerland 379 Track, A. D. 1889 Illustrations 314-319 Advantages of 380 " Midland Railway, A. D. 1889 Illustration 312 " Queensland, A. D. 18b9 Illustration 312 Metals. Use of by Railways 320-322 Metallic Salts, Use of 352 Metallographists 14 Method of Capitalization 28-40 " Construction 137-161 Michigan, Railway Taxation in 436, 438 Mileage, Railway Growth of 42 Mineral Salts, Use of 361 Minnesota, Railway Taxation in 439 Mint, British 11 Mississippi, Railway Taxation in 451, 456 Money, as Property 8 Free Circulation of 11 " Coinage of 11 " Fiat " 17 Influences Affecting 8, 9 MaterialsUsed for 7, 8 of Savages 9 Origin of the Word.. . 9, 10 Paper 11 Plentifulness of 28, 43 Purchasing Power of 9 Requirements of 8 Scarcity of 28 the Standard 8 Transportation of in Early Days 119 Weighing 10 What Constitutes it 7 " is Meant by 7 Mo ague, S. S 163 Mo ison, Andrew. 207 Mo gage Bonds 42,64,80,88,92-100, 158 Foreclosures 95 Trustees 94 Mortgages 92-100, 103 Recording 96 Movable Points 236, 237 Narrow Gauge Roads H3 Nation, Effect of a Debased Currency on a 21 Newcastle-on-Tyne 110, 194 33 Vol. 3 514 INDEX. PAGE Notarial Expenses, Cost of 156 Notices, Posting 425 Nurses, Expenditures for 398 Nuts 285 Oak Ties 350 Offices, Filling Petty 417 Officers, Railway Effect of Education on 139 Officials, Minor Wages of 418 Skill of 468 " Supervisory Qualifications Required in 416, 417 Ohio, Railway Taxation in 449 Oil, Wood Creosote 358 Operating, Accounts 404 Cost of 35, 36, 44, 58, 404 " Affected by Facilities 427-432 " " How Lessened 152 " " In America 146 " England 145, 146 Differences in Cost of In Different Countries.. . 146 Expenses, Fixed 413-426 Percentage of Total Cost of Due to Maintenance of Organization and the Prevention of Destruc- tion of Property from Natural Causes 493 Operation, Cost of Effect on Rates 466 " u Upon what Dependent 383-412 " Influence of Facilities on 427-432 Organization, Changes in Personnel of 416 Cost of 468 u " Maintaining 464 Expenditures 414 Expenses of 425 Fixed Expenses of : 469, 470 of Roadway Department 258-260 Preservation of Nucleus of 464 Organizations, Elasticity of .420, 421 Origin of Railways 110 Owners 34,38, 45 Characteristics of 79 Conservatism of 77 Grievances of 472-475 " Private Management of Corporations by 57, 58 Railway 60,61,63,429 Relation of To Employes 472-475 Their Incentive to Foster Business 425, 426 Ownership, Government 45 " In France 46, 47 Oxidation, Effect of 272-279 Prevention of 273, 274 INDEX. 51 5 PAGE Paints 481, 482 Paper, as Circulating Medium 16 Money H Promises, Issuance of 17 Paris, Lyons & Mediterranean Railway 362, 364 Particulars of Construction 152-166 Passenger Cars, English ; 147 Traffic 113 Pasteur 356 Pear-Headed Kail, A. D. 1853 Illustration 242 " Buffalo, Corning & New York Railroad, A. D. 1855 Illustration 251 " New York Central Railroad, A. D. 1855 Illustration 248 " New York & Erie Railroad, A. D. 1855 Illustration 249 " " " Saratoga & Schenectady Railroad, A. D. 1855 Illustration , 250 Pennsylvania Railroad 183 Permanent Way 314-317 " English Section of Illustration 313 Meaning of the Term 130 " Primary Purpose of 110 " Strength of : 195 " What It Represents 189, 190 Piling 129 Pine Ties 350 Pipe Culvert Illustration 368 Plates 301 " Tie 213 " Use of 332,333, 352 Platforms, Influence of On Cost of Maintenance 383 Plows, Snow Use of 302-305 Pneumatic Locomotive 120 Points, Movable 236,237 Poles, Telegraph 354 Population, Effect of On Cost of Operation 394 Portugal, Comparative Value of Silver and Gold in 13 Use of Metal Ties in 379 Post, Bumping Illustration 349 Post,J.W 327 Posts, Clearance 238 "Pot" Tie, Metal Midland Railway of India A. D. 1889 Illustration 311 " Ties,Metal 203 Power, Hauling Of a Locomotive 195 Preference Shares 88 Preferred Stock 65-69, 88 Preliminary Construction Work 130 516 INDEX. Premium, Paid for Risk . 75 " System 249 Premiums , 301 Payment of 324, 325 Preservatives, Wood 349-375 Printing 158 Promises, Paper Issuance of 17 Property, Damages to Liability of State for 463 " Disintegration of From Natural Causes 466 Effect of Climate on 477, 478 Influence of On Cost of Maintenance 383 Kinds of 109 Losses and Damages to 398 Money as 8 Origin and Growth of 109 Ownership of 475 Productiveness of '. 28 Railway Characteristics of 109 44 Deterioration of 460 " Effect of Idleness on 460 Guarding 462, 463 " How Strengthened 71 Its Similarity to other Property 462 Limitations of 110 Maintenance of 301-347 Natural Decay of 467, 468 Privileges of 109 Preservation of 463 Productiveness of 41 Rights of 109 Safety of ... 463 Real and Personal A Basis for Taxation 446, 447 Status of How Fixed 169 Warfare on 73 Proprietors, Grievances of 472-475 Relation of to Employes 472-475 Prosperity '. 10 Proxies, Giving 81 Pump Inspectors 259 Bail, Action of on Tie Illustration 321 " and Joint Tongue, Laid on Camden & Amboy Railroad, A. D. 1831 Illustration 199 " Ashbel Welch A. D. 1866 Illustrations 279, 280, 281 44 Barlow's "Saddle Back" A. D. 1856 Illustration 264 " Birkenshaw's Wrought Iron A. D. 1820 Illustration. 190 44 Boston & Worcester Railroad A. D. 1850 Illustra- tion... .. 238 INDEX. 517 FAGB Rail, Box A. D. 1855 Illustration 258 " " A. D. 1858 Illustration 374 " Bridge 200 Buffalo, Corning & New York Railroad A. D. 1855 Illustration 251 " Bull-headedLondon & Northwestern Railway A. D. 1889 Illustration 309 " Camden & Amboy Railroad A. D. 1848 Illustration. . 237 Carlisle's Wrought Iron A. D. 1811 Illustration 188 " Chair, Invention of 177 " " the First New-Castle-on-Tyne, A. D. 1797 Illustration 177 " Chairs 332, 341 " Use of 374 " Compound New York Central Railroad, A. D. 1855 Illustrations 252, 253, 255 " Troy Union Railroad, A. D. 1855 Illus- trations 254, 257 " Designed by Robert L. Stevens A. D. 1830 Illus- tration 197 u DoubleHeaded 200 " Early Methods of Strengthening the 180-182 " English Fish-BellyNew Jersey Railroad, A. D. 1832 Illustration 203 " Erie A. D. 1 857 Illustration 268 " Evolution of the 126, 175-178, 204 " Fastenings 197, 198 " First Rolled in America Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Illustration 233 Flat-bottomed 200 u Frog, Wood's New Jersey A. D. 1859 Illustration. 276 " Great Western Railway A. D. 1857 Illustration 265 Hetton 1824 Illustration 191 " Importance of 126, 127 " Jessop's Cast Iron Fish-bellied A. D. 1789 Illustra. tion 177 " Joint, A. D. 1888 Illustration 307 " Reinforced Illustration 338 " Showing Action of the Wheel on Illustration.. 339 " Joints 334-347 " Effect of Depressions in ... 341 u Latrobe's Compound Baltimore & Ohio Railroad A. D. 1841 Illustra tion 231 " LeCann's Tram Wales, A. D. 1801 Illustration 180 " Lehigh Valley Railroad A. D. 1890 Illustration 326 Long Island Railroad A. D. 1855 Illustration 247 Losh & Stephenson's Stockton & Darliagton Railroad A. D. 1816 Illustration 189 " " Meat Yard " Pattern A. D. 1884 Illustration 302 "' New York Central Railroad A. D. 1855 Illustration. 248 518 INDEX. Rail, New York & Erie Railroad A. D. 1855 Illustration ,. . 249 " Pear-headed A. D. 1853 Illustration 242 " Pennsylvania Railroad A. D. 1857 Illustration 266 " Proposed by D. Chanute A. D. 1874 Illustration 290 " Rectangular A. D. 1838 Illustration 224 " Saratoga & Schenectady Railroad A. D. 1855 Illus- tration 250 " Standard A. D. 1868 Illustrations 282, 284 A. D. 1870 Illustrations 286, 287, 288, 289 A. D. 1875 Illustrations 291, 292, 293 A. D. 1879 Illustration 294, 297 A. D. 1880 Illus trations 298. 299 A. D. 1881 Illustration 300 A. D. 1885 Illustrations 303 " A. D. 1886 Illustration 305 " A. D. 1887 Illustration 306 " Of Belgium Government A. D. 1889 Illus. tration . . 310 A. D. 1890 Ulust rations 323, 324, 325 A. D. 1897 Illustrations 345,346 " "Stevens" 200 " A. D. 1854 Illustration 244 France, A. D. 1888 Illustration 308 Great Western Railway of England A. D. 1858 Illustration 275 Supported by Cast-iron Chair A. D. 1837 Illustration 220 Vicksburg & Jackson Railroad A. D. 1 841 Illustration 227 Western Railway of France A. D. 1855 Illustration 259 " Stephenson's Fish-belly Manchester & Liverpool Rail- wayA. D. 1829 Illustration ; . 196 " Strap Albany & Schenectady Railroad A. D. 1837 Illustration 223 " Baltimore & Ohio Railroad A. D. 1833 Illus- tration 208 " the First Iron 176 u Tram Surrey Railway, A. D. 1803 Illustration 183 " Upon Which Trevithick's First Locomotive Ran Il- lustration 186 u "Vignoles" 200 " AVoodhouse's Patent Concave for Wagons, A. D. 1803. Illustration 184 " Wyatt's Hexagonal North Wales, A. D. 1802 Illus- tration 181 Rails . . 301 " Cast 176 " Changing 241 * Cost of Keeping in Order 423 519 Rails, Creeping of : 333, &$ Curving 214,215 Cutting of Ties by 332 Deterioration of 272-279, 467 Differences in 127 Durability of 334, 398 Duration of 424 Early Methods of Laying 190 Effect of Ballast on .328 " Climate on 272-277, 467 " Friction of Wheels on 274 " Passing Trains on 329, 331 ;i Rust on 277, 278 " Speed on 276 " Traffic on 278 " " Wheels on 201 " Filing 242, 243 Frog Guard 232, 233 Gang for Changing On Sunday 243 Guard For Bridges . . .' 223, 224 " Hardness of Its Effect on Wear 322,323 Inferior Use of 398, 399 Influence of On Cost of Maintenance 383 " Inspecting 214 " Jointing 243 " Laying 196, 197. 332, 333 " Lifeof .278,279 " Loose 331 " Maintenance of 277, 278 " Rolled 176 Securing to Ties 331,332 " Spiking 332 Standard Adoption of 127 "Strap".. 176 " Supports for 179 " theFirst 110 Uniform Patterns of 127 " Unloading 241,242 rt Unused Life of 275-277 u Used Life of 275-277 " WeakSpotsin 341 " Weight of 178 u Worn 430 " Wooden 175, 176 " Wrought-Iron 178, 179 Railroad, Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 361 Baltimore & Ohio 148 Camden & Ambov 176 Central of New Jersey. . 363 " Central Pacific. .. 163 520 INDEX. PAGE Railroad, Chicago, Bock Island & Pacific 360 " Pennsylvania 183 Railway Accidents in Early Days 121 " A. D. 1800 Illustration 179 " Administration, Cure of Faults in 33 Bonds, Details of 92-100 Capital, Precautions to investors in 79-84 Capitalization 28-105 Carts, the First 110 Central Idea of a 174, 175 Chicago & Northwestern 89, 183, 184 Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 88 Construction (See also ' Construction ") 123-136 Cost of 35 Era of 34 Disbursements for 156-166 Influences Attending 56 " Governing 114, 115 Particulars of , 130 Principles Governing 195, 196 Upon What Dependent 138" Development How Influenced 128 Disbursements How Influenced 388, 389 East Indian 178 Eastern Of France 178, 183 Equipment, of Great Britain 129 Evolution 109-122 Grand Trunk of Canada 88 Great Indian Peninsular 178 " Northern Of England 267-270 u Ireland 178, 183 Western Of England 179, 191, 192 Lancashire & Yorkshire 183 Leases, Details of 92-100 Legislation 136 Liverpool & Manchester 125, 181 Maintenance, Things. Involved in 481, 482 Managers 429 " American 141 in Great Britain 148 Men as Writers 32, 72 Mileage, Growth of 42 Officers, Effect of Education on 139 Owners 429 Paris, Lyons & Mediterranean 362, 364 Property, Characteristics of 109 " Deterioration of 460 " Effect of Idleness on 460 Guarding 462, 463 " How Strengthened 71 INDEX. 521 Railway Property, Limitations of 110 Maintenance of 301-347 Natural Decay of 467, 468 Preservation of 463 Privileges of 109 Productiveness of 41 Rights of 109 Safety of 463 Similarity of to Other Property 462 Securities 53-55 in America 72, 73 Fluctuations in 42 Precautions to Investors in 79-84 Purchase of 64 Single Rail Ill, 112 Southern Pacific 359 Suggestion of the Name 178 44 Taxation % 433-457 The First 110, 111 Track, First Use of 126 Union Pacific 361 Railways, Acquisition of Land by 160 Adaptability and Skill of 74 Additions to 76, 77 Adjustability of 128 Agents of 172, 173 American Track of 185 Appliances of 168 Authorizations of 45 44 Bankrupt 31 " Belgian 178,183 " Benefits of To Localities 154, 155 44 Building of How Affected 7 " Without Reference to Needs 61 ByWhomBuilt 30 Capitalof 154 44 Invested in 62 Capitalization of : . . .28-105 44 In America 69 44 " England 65-71 u Influences Affecting 53-58 Changes in 384 Cheap 169, 170 Closing 458-462 Concentration of 62 Consolidation of 62 44 Construction of 113, 114 44 In America 143, 149-151 Contest of With Water Courses 134 ' 4 Cost of Estimates of 31 522 INDEX. PAGE Railways, Cost of in America 45 " England 44 " " " Europe 45 " " How Affected 30 " " Per Mile 163 Development of in America 383, 384 Difference Between American and European 184 " English and American 65, 66 Early Construction of. .. 55 " Development of to What Due 134 " History of 32, 136, 296 " in America 115-117, 188 Operation of 117-121 Edge Ill Effect of Remunerative 142 '' " Un remunerative 142 English Cost of 148 tt Safety Devices of 36, 37 European Cost of 163, 164 First Use of 178 Gauges of That Have Been in Use In Different Countries 494 Government Control of in the United States 46 Growth of 76, 77 Improvement in 164, 165 in India 153 Introduction of Effect upon Values 154 " " " on Transportation 112, 113 Iron Kinds of Ill Locating 133,157,161 Location of 131, 134, 136 Loss Cause by Stoppage of . . 469 Maintenance of 44 Management of 249, 250, 405 Methods of Capitalizing 59 " " Raising Money for Construction of . . . 30 Military Value of 136 Narrow Gauge 143 Operation of How Affected 7 Opposition to in England 117 Organization of under Charter 156 " " " General Law 157 Origin of 110 Ownership of in France 46, 47 Owners of 60, 61, 63 Permanent "Way of Primary Purpose of 110 Political Importance of 135 Poor 169, 170 Productiveness of 42 INDEX. 523 Railways, Prosperous 169, 170 Protection of from Snow 302-305 Rights Accorded 45, 46 Safety Devices of 36-38 Securities of 86 Short Construction of. . .* 170 " Speculative Construction of 171, 172 Standard Articles Used by 313 u In Different Countries 178 Status of In Austria 49, 50 " Germany 48-50 " " " Holland 50 " Italy 50 " Russia 61 " the Effect of a Debased Currency Upon 7, 26 Their Effect on the Commercial World 135 Track Accounts of 284 UnnecessaryEffect of 170, 171 Unproductive 31 Construction of 43 Use of Metals by 320-322 " " Wood by 348-382 Rates 135, 136 " Effect of Cost of Operation on 466 44 Management on 57, 68 44 " Terminal Expenses on 411 Freight In England 407 Low In America 36, 146 Reduced Savings from 35 Reductions in 42 Upon What Dependent 136, 142 Ratio, between Silver and Gold 12, 13 44 Of Cost to Gross Earnings 144, 145 Real Estate, Outlay for 159 44 " Procurement of 159, 160 Purchase of 172 Recorder of Deeds 96 Rectangular Rail, Thick A. D. 1838 Illustration 224 Redwood Ties 350 Reece, Benjamin 306 Reed, H. W 207, 356 Reinforced Rail Joint Illustration 338 Registered Bonds 97 Relation between Track and Traffic 184-187 Renewals, Cost of 423 Repairs, Freshet 285 Of Roadway and Track 284, 285 Spring 239 " Winter 247 524 INDEX. PAGE Rentals, Payment of 98 Representatives of Investors 82-84 Reserve Fund 461, 462 Resistance, Comparative on Highways and Railways 113 Returns Railway 41 " Rendering 425 Revenue, Influences Affecting 454 Revetments 254 Rewards 324, 325 Right of Way, Cost of 45 Ring, Joint and Wedge West Jersey Railroad Illustration. 245 "Riprap" 254 Risk, Premium Paid for 75 Rivers, Changes in Channels of 163 Roadbed 250, 251 Chicago & North-Western Railway 353 " " Illustration... 362 Cost of Keeping in Order 422, 423 Drainage of 251-255 Preparation of 208 Road Crossings 256, 257 Effect of on Cost of Operation 394 " Maintenance of 300 u Inspection of . 248, 249 Roadmaster 259 Roadmaster's Division 259 Roads, Tram Ill Roadway and Track, Care of 206-271 " Construction of 206-271 Cost of Repairs and Renewals of 284 Expenses of Due to Climatic Causes. . 291 " " " " Traffic 291 Maintenance of 206-271 " " Material Used in Repairs and Renewals of 284, 285 Department, Organization of 258-260 Rules Governing 260-271 " Superintendent of 259 Rock Cuts 226 Rolling Stock Comparison of English and American 148 " Cost of Keeping in Repair 430, 431, 478, 479 Romans, Ratio of Silver and Gold among the 12 Routes, Surveys of 157 Royal Commission on Railways 169 Report of 154 Russia. Gauge Usod in 194 " Status of Railways in 51 Rust, Effect of 272-279 " Preventionof ..,.273,274 INDEX. 525 Safety Appliances How Looked upon by Governments 38 " Devices 36-38 Salts, Metallic Use of 352 Mineral Use of 361 Sand Ballast 373 Savages, Money of 9 Saw, Track Illustration 333 Seal,Costof 166 Section Gangs. 238 Sections, Length of 238 Securities, Discount on. f 28 Character of Different Kinds of 59-71 Fluctuations of 56 in Stocks 16 Interest on 28 Issuing 53, 54 Land 16 of Prospective Railways 31 Railway Fluctuations in 42 " Holders of 54, 55 " in America 72, 73 " Investments in Worthless 32 11 Precautions to Investors 79-84 " Price of 64 " Purchase of 64 Sale of , 158, 159 Value of Upon What Dependent 102 Services, Legal Expenditures for 398 Shareholders (See Also " Stockholders.") 81, 85 Practice of in America 81 " " " England 81 Redemption by 87 Shares, Classes of 87, 88 Different Kinds of 86 Issue of 66 Issuing 30 Par Value of 87 Preference 88 Sale of 85 Sheds, Snow Use of 302-305 Shimming 247,248,332 Side Tracks, Use of Charges for 407 Signals : 2G2 Signs, Maintenance of 300 Sills, Switch 228 Silver * Bullion 18 Causes of Decline in Value of 13 " Demonetization of J " Fluctuations of 1 526 INDEX. Silver, Ratio of to Gold 12, 13 u Status of in the United States 14 Sinclair, A 160 Sinking Funds, Particulars of 101-105 Slag Ballast 221, 222 Sleepers, Longitudinal 201, 202 Slip Switches 235, 236 Slopes 225 " Drainage of 226 Protection of 254 Springs on 226 Snow, Clearing Track of 285, 289, 301-305 " Fences, Use of 302-305 " Plows, Use of 302-305 " Shed in the Sierra Nevadas Illustration 351 " Sheds, Use of 302-305 Southern Pacific Railway 359 Southwark & Deptford Tramway Company 454 Spain, Comparative Value of Silver and Gold in 13 " Gauge Used in 194 " Use of Metal Ties in 379 Span, Howe Truss Bridge Illustration 373 Specifications for Ties 212, 213 of Cost, for Construction 131 Speculation, in Railway Construction and Operation 134 Speculators, Railways Built by 171, 172 Spike, Action of On Tie Illustration 321 " Track Illustration 320 Spikes 197.285,301, 330, 331 Effect of Passing Trains on 329, 330 " Rectangular 198 " Wedge 198 Spiking 211 Damage to Ties by 213, 214 Splice Bar, Angle A. D. 1875 Illustration 293 " _A. D. 1879 Illustration 296 u " " A. D. 1880 Illustration 298 - _ A. D. 1885 Illustration . ... 303 " Double A. D. 1856 Illustration 262 " " " A. D. 1857 Illustration 269 u Plain A. D. 1870 Illustration 289 " Single A. D. 1855 Illustration 261 Bars 285, 301, 341, 342 " Use of 335-340 Splices 215 Split Switch Illustration 340 " Switches, Three-way 233, 234 Sprinkler, Track A. D. 1851 Illustration 240 Spring Repairs 239 INDEX. 527 PAGE Springs, Cost of 403 " on Slopes 226 Stakes, Engineers' Care of 244 Stamp, Government 10 Standard Rail, A. D. 1868 Illustrations 282, 284 " A. D. 1870 I llustrations 28(5, 287, 288, 289 " A. D. 1875 Illustrations 291, 292, 293 " A. D. 1879 Illustrations 284, 297 A. D. 1880 Illustrations 298, 299 A. D. 1881 Illustration 300 A. D. 1885 Illustrations 303 A. D. 1886 Illustration 305 A. D. 1887 Illustration 306 A. D. 1890 Illustrations 323, 32 4, 325 " A. D. 1897 Illustrations 345, 346 " of Belgian Government, A. D. 1889 Illustra- tion 310 Track of Camden & Amboy Railroad, A. D. 1837 Illustration 216 Staple Iron Used as a Makeshift for a Frog, Camden & Am- boy Railroad A. D. 1831 Illustration 201 Station Facilities 410, 411 " " Cost of , 45 Stationary Engines for Moving Trains 120 Steam Ballast Unloaders 258 " Derrick 258 " Ditchers 258 Steel Tie, London & Northwestern Railway A. D. 1885 Illustration 304 " Ties, Use of in Tropical Countries 365, 366 " Truss Bridge Illustration 372 Stephenson. George 125 Stephenson's Fish-belly Rail, Manchester & Liverpool Rail- wayA. D. 1829 'Illustration 196 " Stevens " Rail 200 " A. D. 1854 Illustration 244 " France A. D. 1888 Illustration 308 u Great Western Railway of England A. D. 1858 Illustration 275 " " Supported by Cast Iron Chair, A. D. 1837 Illustration 220 " Vicksburg & Jackson Railroad A. D. 1841 Illustration 227 u Western Railway of France A. D. 1855 Illustration 259 RobertL 176 Stock Books, Closing 89-91 " Capital 42,80,85-91,158 a Basis for Taxation 446 " " Form of Certificate of 87 528 INDEX. PAGE Stock, Capital Meaning of the Term 86 Classes of 88, 89 Common 65-69, 88 Debenture 42, 95 Duplication of 75 Form of Transfer of 90 Issue of 53-58, 76 " In England ... 73 " the United States 73 Laws Regulating the Issuance of 78 Ledger 89 Preferred 65-69, 88 Rights of Holders 89 Purchase of of Other Companies 75 Rolling Cost of Keeping in Repair 430, 431, 478. 479 Transfers of 89, 90 " Watered " 34, 72-78 Its Effect on Rates 77 What it Represents 75 Stockholders. (See also " Shareholders ") 81 Meetings of 90 Stone Arch Culvert Illustration 369 Ballast 221 " Block, Rail and Joint Tongue Laid on Camden & Am- boy Railroad, A. D. 1831 Illustration 199 Stringer and Strap Rail, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, A. D. 1833 Illustration 208 Use of in Construction 129 Strabo 12 "Strap" Rails 176 Stringer, Triangular, A. D. 1857 Illustration 265 Structures, Temporary Cost of 401, 402 Street Crossings 222, 223 Superintendent of Roadway 259 Supervisors, Track 259 Supplies, Cost of 395, 396 " Purchase of 397, 398 " Inferior Purchase of 398 Supports, Rail 179 Surfacing 285 Surgeons, Fees of 398 Surveys of Routes ' 157 Swann, John 85 Switch, Old-Fashioned with "Ball" Counterweight Illus- tration 328 Switch Sills 228 " Split Illustra tion 340 Stand, Automatic Safety Illustration 336 Switches.. ,..227,228 INDEX. 529 PAGE Switches.Perailing. 237, 238 " In Colliery Railroads, England, A. P. 1825 Illus- tration 194 On Outside of Curves 237 ' Slip : 235, 236 Three-Way Split 233, 234 System, Block 38 Premium 249 Tamarack Ties 350 Tamping 216, 21 7, 254 Tariffs, Promulgation of 425 Taxation, Committee of Railroad Commissioners on 441, 445 Pifferences in Systems of 440, 441 Railway Basis of 433-457 Piscrimination in 436, 444 In Alabama 451 Belgium 433, 434 Pakota 452 Georgia 450, 451 Great Britain 434, 435 Illinois 440 Iowa 439 Kentucky 449, 450 Louisiana 452 Maryland 452 Michigan 436, 438 Minnesota 439 Mississippi 451, 456 Ohio 449 Tennessee 449, 450 the United States 435-453 Vermont - 452 Wisconsin 436, 437, 444 True Method of 447-449 Taxes 46, 47, 476, 477 " Pishursements for 422 " Payment of By Lessees 99 Technical Force 470 Telegraph Poles 354 Tennessee, Railway Taxation in 449 Terminal Charges 408, 409 Expenses 409-411 Facilities, Cost of 409 Three-way Split Switches 233, 234 Through Plate Girder Bridge Illustration 376 Tie, Action of Rail on Illustration 321 " " " Spike on Illustration 321 34 Vol. 3 530 INDEX. PAGE Tie, Cross Whole Log, Hewn Both Sides Illustration 214 " Metal Midland Railway of India A. D. 1889 Illustra- tion 311 Plates 213 " Use of ' 332, 333, 352, 372-374 Steel London & Northwestern Railway A. D. 1885 Illustration 304 T s 255, 256 Burnettized 359, 360 Cause of Wear of 333 Cedar 350 Chestnut 350 Cost of 280, 283 " " Keeping in Order 422, 423 " " Preserving 361-363 Cross 179, 202 " Split Half Log Illustration 213 Quarter Log Illustration 212 Cutting of By Rails 332 Cypress 350 Damage to By Spiking 213, 214 Deterioration of 280-283 Durability of 334, 365 Duration of 281-283, 350 Effect of Ballast on 280-282 " " Passing Trains on 329 " Traffic on 282 Hemlock 350 Inferior Use of 400 Kinds of Wood Used for 350 Laying 211 Life of 282 " " How Prolonged 350, 351 Longitudinal 179, 201. 202 Use of 318-320 Maintenance of 280-284 Metal 202-204, 348,365-369 Advantages of 366 Construction of 367, 368 Corrosion of 368 Cost of 369 Durability of 378 Fastenings for 368 Requirements of 381, 382 Use of 177, 365-369 " " in Austria 378, 379 " " " Belgium- 377 11 " England 376 " " " France 376 " " " Germany 377, 378 INDEX. 531 PAGE Ties, Metal Use of in Holland 377 " " " " Hungary 378, 379 " u " Italy 379 " Portugal 379 " Spain 379 " Switzerland 379 " Number of Per Mile of Track 350 u Oak 350 " Piling 371 1 Pine , 350 " Redwood 350 " Relative Deterioration of 282 " Renewing 239, 240 " Seasoning 371, 372 ' SoftWood 333 " " " Cost of 401 k Specifications for 212, 213 " Steel Use of, in Tropical Countries 365, 366 Tamarack 350 " Treatment of in France 355, 366 " White Oak '. 281 " Wooden 180, 202 Increasing Cost of 138 " Worn-Out 400, 401 Timber, Causes of Decay of 356 " Inspectors 259 Tin 8 Tools, Renewals for 399 of Trackmen 285 Track 257, 258 Town Bonds 16 Track Accounts 206, 284 Alignment of 334 Appliances, Evolution of 174, 199, 200 " Articles Found on 270 * Eo]t, Illustration 323 Camden & Amboy Railroad, A. D. 1837 Illustration. 216 Rails Laid on Piling Through Marshes, A. D. 1837 Illustration 219 " Care of 206-271 " Center Bound 217 Chicago & North- Western Railway Gravel Ballast Illustration 353 Clearing of Snow 285, 289 Construction of 206-238 " Principles Governing 195, 196 Curvature of Its Effect on Cost of Operation 393 " Curved Counteraction of Centrifugal Force on.. .187, 188 " Details 301-347 " Development of the , , , , , 190 532 INDEX. Track Drill Illustration 330 (Dust) Sprinkler, A. D. 1851 Illustration 240 " Effect of on Cost of Maintenance 399, 400 Elasticity of 179 " " How Increased 369 " Employes, Rules Governing 260-271 " Expenses Chargeable to Traffic 285-292 Classification of 287, 288 Items of Their Relation to Total Track Expenses 491 Fastenings 328-334, 341 Foremen 310, 311 Gauge Illustration , 331 Improvements in 323, 324 " Improving Points to Be Considered 186, 187 Inspection of 248, 249 Invention of 175 Its Construction and Evolution 174-205 Jack Illustration 332 Joints 334-347 " Labor, Items of Their Relation to Each Other 491 Laying 207,209-211 " Gangs 209 " Level Illustration 329 " Lining 217, 218 Maintenance of 206, 238-300 " in England 307-309 " in France 309,310 Material Preparing for Sunday Work 241 Metal A. D. 1889 Illustrations 314-319 " Advantages of 380 " Midland Railway, A. D. 1889 Illustration. . . 312 " Queensland, A. D. 1889 Illustration 312 " Moorings of 328 Moving During the Week. 246, 247 " on Sunday 245, 246 Number of Ties Per Mile of 350 u of American Railways 185 Old Moving 244 " Renewing 239, 240 Pennsylvania Railroad Illustrations 356-358, 361 " Preparing for Sunday Work 244, 245 " Protection of From Snow 302-305 Quantity of Material Required to Lay One Mile of . . . 495 Railway First Use of 126 Raising 216 Relation of to Traffic 184-187 " g aw Illustration 333 Section of New South Wales Illustration 354 Spike Illustration 320 INDEX. 533 Track, Standard of Different Railways 178 " Tamping 216, 217 Tools 1 257, 258 Watchmen 248, 285 Cost of 289 Trackmen. Tools of 285 Trackwalkers 248 Tracks, Side Charges for Use of 407 Traffic, Adaptation of Equipment to 168, 169 " Conditions Attending 145 " Cost of Conducting 383 " Effect of on Bridges 292-295 " " " Rails 278 u Ties 282 Handling Cost of 409, 410 Influence of on Cost of Maintenance 383 " " Operation 405 " Expenses 419-421 " Interstate 46 Items Chargeable to '299, 300 Local 410 Passenger 113 " Relatioa of Construction to 169 " " to Expenditures 413-426 Through 410 " Settlements for 407 " Track Expenses Chargeable to 285-292 T Rail. Boston & Worcester Railroad, A. D. 1850 Illustra- tion 238 T Rail, Long Island Railroad, A. D. 1855 Illustration 247 u " Origin of 176 Train, Construction 209 " Expenses / ". 414, 415 " Force 470 " Originof the 176 Trainmen, Construction 209 Trains. Cost of Movement of 414 " Early Devices for Moving 120,121 " Jar of Effect on Bridges and Culverts 293 Number of 414 Speed of 135 Effect on Rails 276 " Weight of Effect on Bridges and Culverts 293 Tram Rail, Surrey Railway, A. D. 1803 Illustration 183 " with Stone Supports, Upon Which Trevithick's First Locomotive Ran Illustration 186 " Roads 117 Tramways 181 Transfer of Stock, Form of 90 Transportation, Evolution of 109 534 INDEX. PAGE Treenails 197 Trees, Protection of Track by 303 Trespassers 267 Trestles 129 Trevithick 125 Trimming 208, 209 Truck, Bogie .' 145, 149 fi Advantages of 114 Trustees, Mortgage 94 " Remuneration of 425 Sinking Fund 102 Tunnels, Construction of in America 188, 189 Drainageof 226. 227 Effect of on Cost of Operation 394 Ventilation of 188, 189 Turkestan 20 Turn-out Frog Illustration 366 Turnouts 229-232 u on Curves 234 Turntable Illustration 370 Tyndall 356 Union Pacific Railway 361 UnitofValue 8 United States, Experience of in Regard to Money 19 Gauge Used in 194 Government Control of Railways in 46 National Museum. 175 Railway Construction in 129 44 Management in 57 " Taxation in 435-453 Vehicles, Primitive Gauge of 190 Venezuela 15 Varnishes 481, 482 Ventilation, of Tunnels 188, 189 Vermont, Railway Taxation in 45-2 Viaducts, Effect of on Cost of Operation 394 " Vignoles " Rail 200 Vulcanizing 374 Wages 145, 415, 418-420 Effect of the Circulating Medium on 19, 21-23 Warehouses, Use of Charges for ... 406 INDEX. 535 Watchmen, Track 348, 285 u Cost of 289 " Watered" Stock 34, 72-78 Its Effect on Rates 77 What it Represents 75 Waterways 254 Wedge Spikes 198 Weeds, Cutting 240 " Removing 285 Wheel, Action of On Rail Joint Illustration 339 u Base, Rigid Its Effect on Maintenance 148 Wheels, Cost of 403 Defective 430 " Driving Load on 195 Effect of on Rails, 201 " Flanged Introduction of 177 AVinter Repairs 247 Wisconsin Railway Taxation in 436, 437, 444 Wood, Economy in the Use of 349 " Kinds of Used for Ties 350 Preservation of 349-375 " in Europe 351 " India 352 Preservatives 370-375 Screws 197 Substitutes for 365, 369, 370 " Use of by Railways 348-382 " " " in Construction 129 Wooden Joint Block, New Jersey Railroad, A. D. 1860 Illus- tration 278 Stringer and Strap Rail, Albany & Schenectady Rail- road, A. D. 1837 Illustration 223 Ties 202 Woodhouse's Patent Concave Rail for Wagons, A. D. 1803 Illustration. 184 Writers on Railway Subjects 32, 72 Wrought-Iron Rails 178, 179 Wyatt's Hexagonal Rail, North Wales, A. D. 1802 Illustra- tion... 181 Yard Facilities, Cost of 45 Zeal How Heightened 325 Zinc-Tannin Process 361 THE SCIENCE OF RAILWAYS BY MARSHALL M. KIRKMAN. 1 THE SCIENCE OF RAILWAYS " DESCRIBES THE METHODS AND PRINCIPLES CON- NECTED WITH THE ORGANIZATION, LOCATION, CAPITALIZATION, CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE, OPERATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF RAILROADS. IN TWELVE VOLUMES, COMPRISING BOOKS ON Railway Equipment. Fiscal Affairs; Collection of Revenue. Railway Organization. Fiscal Duties of Agents and Con- Financing, Constructing and Main- Principles Governing Collection of Revenue. Train Service. General Fiscal Affairs. Passenger, Baggage, Express and Mail General Fiscal Affairs ant' ota- Service. tistics. Freight Business and Affairs. ^SjSf* 1 ' f Em P loves of Rail - Disbursements of Railways. TrtStmvta-'m offir>p EC Us n e f i Mate P rial haSe ' ^ "^ ^Relief Department of Rail- Fiscal Affairs; Expenditures. Origin and 8 Evolution of Transporta- Economic Theory of Rates; Private tion. versus GovernmeutControl of Rail- General Index or Encyclopedia of Toads. Railways. "Your books dignify our calling and will prove of permanent value to the rank and file of railways." JOHN NEWELL, late President, Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway. "I shall consider the books a valuable addition to my library, covering, as they do, so many of the various branches of railway science from the stand- point of one who has so many years of practical experience in dealing with such questions. . . . There have not been enough of such works by those who have made the railroad business a profession, and are, therefore, able to view the railroad science from a practical standpoint." ROSWELL MILLER, President, Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway. M. L. SYKES, a director and highly trusted and honored executive officer of many great railroad companies, says: " You have done a service to the rail- way world which will long survive you. . . . The whole collection is fine, unique and not comparable in its scope and purpose with any author's writ- ings. . . . The illustrations are object lessons, pictorial examples of the progress of man connected with the evolution of transportation, and the pages, text, pictures and ideas are highly instructive and of great interest." "The books treat in a novel, clear and thorough manner a vast and interesting topic, which, it would seem, has been almost entirely neglected heretofore by scholars and writers. As a concise and educational" production their value is beyond question. 1 ' CHARLES M. HAYS, General Manager, Grand Trunk Railway. "The work contains much useful information set forth in a very interest- ing and attractive manner. I cheerfully recommend it to railroad men of all grades." J. M. GRAHAM, Superintendent, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Newark, Ohio. " It is a remarkable work, full of interest, and of great value not alone to railway men, but to general readers. The title seems to me a misnomer. . . . It is rather the ' Science of Transportation. ' . . . It is systematic and comprehensive, betraying intimate knowledge of every department of the transportation business, and is admirably written. 1 ' MELVILLE E. STONE, Gen- eral Manager of the Associated Press. " A writer of great force and ability, and a recognized authority. "Station Agents' Magazine. " Written with force. The author shows a thorough knowledge of the complex questions involved." Philadelphia Press. "Should be in the hands of every practical railroad man." Buffalo Ex- press. PUBLISHED BY THE WOBLD BAIL-WAY PUBLISHING COMPANY, CHICAGO, ILL. T o r UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 35m-8,'71(P6347s4)-C-120 "1 /*=*JTL 1 i slc^Aig s I s J ?Vr)g^Vr*)! B = 0|Rl ^w^" 11 I A 000303734 I g f 5 WV^ ^ ^vv^=:> ^ ij I I ,, ^OF-CA^O^ 2 ^\tEUNIVER% P^ i I ^ o '/