Democratic Sentinel, Volume 6, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 January 1883 — RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION. [ARTICLE]

RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION.

A Summary of the Work Done In 1882. The Railway Age gives an interesting account of the railway construction in the United States during the year 1882. The following is the Age'* summary of new track actually laid from Jan. 1 to Deb. 1, length of main line only, indicated by distance between termini, being considered, and no account being made of new sidings or additional side-track; No. No. States. Line?. Miles. States. Lines. Miles. Alabama..... 2 39 Missouri.... 12 3UB Ar zona 2 192 Montana.... 2 309 Arkansas .... 7 G 29 Nebraska... S 2io California ... 7 2-6'Nevada 1 41 Colorado 12 600 N. Hampsh’e 1 17 Connecticut. 1 N. Jer-ey... 6 86 Dakota. 16 480 N. Mexico... 3 21 Delaware.... 0 0 N. York 22 732 Florida 6 204 N. Carolina. 10 164 Georgia 6 3A"> Ohio.*. 17 664 Idaho 3 30t Oregon 3 198 Illinois 16 385 Pennsylv’a.. 31 464 Indian Ter.. 1 67 Rhode Isl’d. 0 0 Indiana 9 5.8 8. Carolina. 3 67 lowh ...74 » BTennessee.. 8 133 Kansas 8 217 Texas 19 817 Kentucky.... 3 8S Utah 2 175 Louisiana.... 4 62 Vermont.... 1 8 Male 3 58 Virginia..... 10 228 Maryland.... 2 41 Wash. T.... 0 0 Ma-sach'setts 2 6W st Va.... 3 20 Mb higan .... 13 223 Wisoonsin.. 16 897 Minnesota. ..13 411 Wyoming... 1 25 Mississippi.. 3 87 Totals in 4i States and Ter 316 i0,82t Where, as in several cases, the same line has been built in two or more States, it is oounted but as one line in the grand total so that the footing under the column “No of lines”—3l6—is less by twenty-two than the actual sum of the number of lines taken separately by States and Territories. Thus it appears that track-laying has been in progress during the year in forty-four of the States and Territories, upon 310 different railways, wjith the result of adding no less than 10,821 miles to our railway system, and it is not unlikely that this may be increased to 11,000 miles by the final returns These figures place 1882 far ahead of any other year in respect to railway building, the increase over 1881, hitherto the year of most extraoi dinary construction, being about 1 500 miles, or more than 10 per cent For the purpose of comparison, there is given below the figures of yearly mileage found in “Poor’s Manual,” assuming them to be approximately correct, and adding our figures for 1882; Miles Total Miles Total Year. built, mileage. Year. built, mileage. 1873 4,107 70,278 1878 2,687 81,776 1874 2,105 72, 83 1879 4,721 86,'97 1875 1,712 74,(96 1880 7,174 93,671 1876 2,712 76,8' ft 1881 9,386 104,813 1877 2,231 79,' 89 1882 10,821 115,634 The amount of capital which has been Invested in railways In the last year is almost incredible. Allowing #25,000 per mile as a fair average for the cost of a road equipped and in operation, the 10,800 miles of which we have recorded have cost #270,000,000, to which is to he added the vast and unknown sum expended in preparing road-beds on which track is not yet laid.