TABLE EXHIBITING THE QUANTITY OF WORK DONE IN FIVE YEARS, (1846 to 1850 INCLUSIVE,) ON EACH OF THE FOLLOWING ROADS, EXPRESSED IN PASSENGERS CARRIED ONE MILE AND IN TOns of freight CARRIED ONE MILE; also the GROSS EXPENSES OF EACH ROAD FOR THE SAME PERIOD. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS COMPARISON THE COST OF TRANSPORTING A PASSENGER ONE MILE AND A TON OF FREIGHT ONE MILE IS ASSUMED TO BE THE SAME. The above table, it will be seen, contains a statement of all the work done on all the roads before named in five years, (1846 and 1850 inclusive). It exhibits also the entire cost of doing the work; that is to say, all three classes of expenses are included, being the amount expended of every kind, except interest on capital. The general result furnished by this table is as follows: 759,390,026 passengers or tons of freight were transported one mile on all roads named, during the five years specified, at a gross cost of $10,977,839; and to do this work the trains ran 13,755,550 miles. The table will show that the maximum cost was 1.961 cents per passenger or per ton, carried one mile; that the minimum cost was 1.302 cents; and that the mean or average of the whole was 1.445 cents per mile. In the Western, its figures stand: 213,925,952 passengers or tons carried one mile, at a gross cost of $2,937,593; and the average or mean cost, 1.373 cents per mile. The following table shows the useful effect produced-being the amount of available or paying work done for each mile run by trains in the five years, (1846 to 1850 inclusive,) expressed in passengers or in tons, carried one mile. The general result is this: 13,755,550 miles were run by trains, 759,390,026 passengers or tons of freight were moved one mile, and the average number of passengers or tons of freight carried for each mile run by trains was 54.12. The maximum number was 68.4; the minimum 40.0; mean 54.12. In the case of the Western 3,696,713 miles were run by trains; aggregate of passengers and tons carried, 213,925,952: average number carried for each mile run, 57.9. It will be observed that no allowance has been made to compensate for the 2,000 feet and upward of elevation which the Western road has overcome between Albany and Worcester, nor for the heavy grades by which the principal summits are passed. It is plain to be seen, however, that with grades not exceeding those of the roads with which the comparisons are made, a large increase in the number of tons transported for each mile run would be exhibited in the table. TABLE EXHIBITING THE USEFUL EFFECT, OR WORK DONE, FOR EACH MILE RUN BY TRAINS ON THE FOLLOWING ROADS FROM 1846 TO 1850, INCLUSIVE, EXPRESSED IN PASSENGERS AND TONS OF FREIGHT CARRIED ONE MILE. COST OF RAILROADS IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK, 1851. Long Island.... New York and Erie 95 3,000,000 3,000,000 1,825,148 512,957 7,403 520,361 6 2,339,938 64 464 10,500,000 5,996,200 5,992,289.14,503,868 2,957,376 17,461,245 7 24,028,858 20 4,873,317 76 1,376,000 69,534 1,445,534 7 4,233,909 18 Northern ...... 118 2,000,000 2,000,000 1,529,863 1,602,790 1,081,831 2,684.621 7 4,299,089 35 Oswego and Syracuse. 35 350,000 350,000 350,000 200,000 10,413 210,413 7 588,678 02 Rensselaer and Saratoga 25 610,000 610,000 610,000 25,000 25,000 7 723,565 48 Rochester and Syracuse.. 104 5,549,800 5,549,800 4,170,000 821,000 821,000 6 4,861,361 94 Saratoga and Washington 52 1,350,000 886,200 886,200 596,500 120,000 662,500 7 1,452,635 07 201 650,000 650,000 650,000 73,800 2,654 76,454 7 681,046 86 Syracuse and Utica. Troy and Greenbush. 53 2,400,000 2,400,000 2,400,000 103,000 none. 103,000 7 2,570,981 71 6 275,000 274,400 274,400 3,850 none. 3,850 7 294,731 43 Utica and Schenectady. Watertown and Rome Buffalo and Conhocton Valley. 78 4,500,000 4,500,000 4,124,000 102,500 none. 105,500 7 8,971,155 89 72 1,500,000 890,100 659,715 442,000 53,385 495,885 7 1,133,397 36 .... 1,400,000 1,411,900 230,494 110,000 a274,267 62 1,000,000 791,000 605,926 87,177 87,177 7 6640,696 42 c883,304 11 Chemung 171 380,000 380,000 70,000 none. 70,000 7 d490,000 00 Plattsburg and Montreal. 500,000 78,450 12,460 e10,781 77 Sackett's Harbor and Ellisburg. 175,000 175,000 66,613 none. 6,556 f68,917 81 Rochester, Lockport and Niagara Falls 1,375,600 1,036,800 728,273 none. none. g556,090 62 Saratoga and Schenectady. 22 300,000 300,000 300,000 125,000 none. 125,000 7 h462,131 35 a First report no part in operation. b No part in operation. g Reorganized December, 1850. h Leased to Rensselaer and Saratoga Company. e Operated by Erie Railroad Co. d Leased to ditto. e First report no part in operation. ƒ Second dit to VOL. XXVI-NO. VI. EARNINGS AND EXPENSES OF RAILROADS OF NEW YORK, 1851. gers.......... Earnings from passen Profit per mile run... per mile..... Proft passenger Cost per mile run..... Earned per mile run.. Cost per passenger per mile.... Earned per passenger per mile Expenses of passenger business.. trains....... Miles run by freight Albany and Schenectady. 17 56,763 303,045 5,152,258 90.9 $146,649 $57,089 2.84 1.11 259. 101. 1.73 158. 44,162 Albany & West Stockbr'e. 384 54,824 147,247 4,565,954 83.3 ... ... ... ... 144,637 185,119 Buffalo and Niagara Falls. 22 31,334 150,792 3,028,300 96.6 83,677 Buffalo and Rochester ... 76 194,319 322,985 18,025,158 92.7 366,245 Cayuga and Susquehanna. 35 42,160 27,731 Hudson River 144 Hudson and Berkshire.. 232,346 31 38,500 728,800 17.3 749,124 24,721,092 106.4 45,512 707,889 18.4 19,192 ... ... ... ... ...... L. L. 6,075 15,898 1.2 130. 58,006 86,849 L. L. 5,040 29,44 228. 73. 1.38 155. 134,268 115,750 72. 26. 1.57 46. 19,472 84,870 Amount of dividends. penses..... Total transportat'n ex Total earnings........ gers and freight.... other than passen Earnings from sources Profit per mile run.... Profit per ton per mile Cost per mile run.... Earned per mile run.. EARNINGS AND EXPENSES OF RAILROADS OF NEW YORK IN 1851-CONTINUED. mile............ Earnings per ton per Freight expenses .... Albany and Schenectady Albany and W. Stockbridge, leased 1,564,986 35.4 $87,482 $46,599 5.58 2.98 198. 105. 2.6 6,479,165 44.8 74,844 3,010,730 45. ... ... ... ... 93. 5,765 $239,847 $103,689 $70,000 4.12 ... 1,000 90,743 30,549 21,735 185. 68. 1.45 150. 67. 12,500 469,094 136,383 91,489 118. 1.61 32. 24,399 75,820 34,006 34,790,480 47.4 1,108,138 586,858 3.18 1.68 151. 2,899,435 24.4 156,806 105,777 6.53 4.41 80. 1.5 71. 2,271,673 1,021,649 346,856 159. 107. 2.12 52. 61,483 590,942 348,587 215,542 New York and New Haven not given. 104,664 not giv. ... ... ... ... 28,342 728,507 354,276 174,930 8,319,043 63.8 200,049 120,175 2.40 1.44 154. 93. 0.96 61. 7,558 291,168 163,112 22,682 93,415 45,143 12,250 42,055 25,225 5.64 3.38 237,530 82,916 4.38 1.53 28,697 not giv. 16,263 15,589 4.99 4.78 111,090 61,098 2.97 18,011 8,119 10.19 4.59 ... 2.26 2.85 13,039 189,383 79,884 39,300 22,033 950,512 321,111 ... ... 1.63 191. 105. 1.34 86. 15,221 498,247 212,009 239,435 357. 161. 5.6 196. 2,465 40,181 32,037 Utica and Schenectady. 5,579,150 41.5 251,599 101,319 4.51 1.81 187. 75. 2.7 112. 45,495 857,619 281,303 412,400 Watertown and Rome. 1,062,166 55. 48,132 21,397 4.58 2.01 247. 110. 2.52 137 7,865 93,868 35,561 ..... Freight earnings..... Tons each mile run... ried one mile...... Total tons freight car Name. THE POETRY OF RAILROADS AND CANALS NO FICTION. J. E. BLOOMFIELD, Esq., a gentleman known to the readers of the Merchants' Magazine by his contributions to its pages in years past, says:— It is more than eighty years ago that Darwin wrote: "Soon shall thy power, unconquered Steam! afar a prediction as remarkable as its accomplishment. Joel Barlow wrote his epic poem of the "Vision of Columbus," seventy years ago. In the Paris edition, book ix., from page 253 to 262, he portrays "the future progress of society with respect to Commerce, discoveries, and the opening of canals." From it I make the following extracts. The Erie, Ohio, and Illinois Canals are foretold:— "Now, round the yielding canopy of shade, Again the Guide his heav'nly power display'd. * * * * * * He saw, as widely spread the unchanneled plain, And Hudson join to broad Ohio's wave. From dim Superior, whose unfathom'd sea And towns and empires rise along their side; The prediction of Darwin, relative to railways, is not more singular than the de |