Democratic Sentinel, Volume 11, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 January 1888 — THIRTEEN THOUSAND. [ARTICLE]

THIRTEEN THOUSAND.

That Is the Number of Miles of Railroad Constructed During the Year. Kansas Leads, with Nebraska and Texas Following—lnteresting Figures. I Chicago special.] The current number of the Railway Aye says that the year 1887 has surpassed all other years in the extent of railway mileage constructed in the United States. When, six months ago, the prediction was made that the total new mileage for the year “ would not be less than 10,000 miles, with the likelihood of surpassing the record of 1882—the year of greatest railway construction in the history of the country,” it was not generally believed. But the figures obtained by careful investigation throughout the year and confirmed by official information, now prove the prediction to have been more than warranted. The returns show that during 1887 no less than 12,724 miles of new main line track were added to the railway system of the United States, no account being taken in this of the hundreds of miles of side track built, nor of the thousands of miles of main track relaid. It is not improbable that some scattering additions may yet be received; so that it is safe to state that during 1887 nearly, if not quite, 13,000 miles of new main-line track were constructed. These are truly astonishing figures. When in 1882, during a period of extraordinary activity, 11,568 miles of new road were built, it was generally believed that these figures would not again be equaled. In the following year, 1883, the new construction fell to 6,741 miles; in 1884 to 3,825, and in 1885 to 3,608 miles. The year 1886 witnessed a considerable revival of activity and 9,000 miles of new road were built —a greater mileage than in any previous year with the exceptions of 1881 and 1882; and now 1887 has witnessed the building of more miles of railway than 1886 and 1885 combined, and not much less than 1885, 1884 and 1883 together. The following summary shows the detailed records of the number of lines and the mileage laid in eacn State and Territory during the year 1887:

No. lines. M’ls. No. lines. M’ls. Maine 2 31 Indiana 0 115 N. Hampshire. 1 23 Illinois 12 328. Vermont . Wisconsin 11 363 Massachusetts 5 Minnesota 9 196 Connecticut Dakota 17 760 Rhode Island lowa 10 352 New York 6 97 Nebraska...... 17 1,101 New Jersey.... 2 15 Wyoming 3 133 Pennsylvania .13 125 Montana ‘7 616 Delaware Kansas 44 2,070 Maryland...... 1. 18 Missouri 16 551 West Virginia, 3 53 Indian Ter.... 5 493 Virginia 4 OljArkansas 8 153 North Carolina 10 184 Texas 19 *1,035 South Carolina 7 104|Colorado 9 818 Georgia 8 231,New Mexico . 1 1 Florida 10 103]Nevada. Alabama 15 515|California 14 338 Mississippi.,.. 5 99,Jdaho ’2 54 Louisiana 4 65 Utah 1 6 Tennessee 10 68 Arizona 2 70 Kentucky 8 168 Oregon 4 48 Ohio li 155 Washington T. 8 105 Michigan...... 13 700 Total in 42 States 304 12,724 recapitulation. No. Lines. Miles. 3 New England States 8 109’ 5 Middle States 25 308 10 Southern States 81 1,691 5 Middle Western States 59 1,651 6 Northwestern States 63 3,153 6 Southwestern States 101 5,143 j 7 Pacific States 27 648 42 of the 47 States—totals 304 12,724 A TWENTY YEARS’ RECORD. For the purpose of comparison we reprint the following summary of track-lay-ing during each of the twenty years preceding 1887; Year. Miles. Year. Mileß. 1567 2,249 1877 2.280. 1868 2,979 1878 4 ‘2;629 1869 4,615 1879 4,746 1870 6,070 1880 6,876 1871 7,379 1881 9,790 1872 5,873 1882 11,568 1873 4,097 1883 6,741 1874. 2,117 1584 3,825 1875 1,711 1885 3.608 1876 2,712 1886 9,0j0 The Railway Age says: Not only is the aggregate mileage thus shown extraordinarily great, but the number of different lines constructed is seen to be surprisingly large, aggregating, after deducting for the > duplicating of roads lying in two or more States, no less than 364 lines. Of course the number of companies building these lines was very much less than this; but these figures show that the new mileage is not made up chiefly by a few long lines, • but consists of main lines and branches ramifying in all directions and supplying facilities for transportation to innumerable communities and to vastly extended regions. What has been the cost of this year’s work? Many of the lines have been built through comparatively level country, requiring but little grading and bridgebuilding; but, on the other hand, many other lines have been most costly ;^for example, those over the Rooky Mountains in Colorado, the Southern Pacific extension in Northern California, the Atchison’s Kansas City and Chicago extension, the Nort iem Pacific’s work in the Cascade Mountains, and others. Moreover, several of the companies have purchased costly terminal facilities in large cities, while nearly all have made extensive purchases of equipment. It is probably fair to assume that the total cost of roadway, bridges, stationbuildings, terminal facilities, and equipment of these new lines averaged $25,000 per mile; at which rate it appears that not far from $325,000,000 have been expended on the lines completed during the year. But even this prodigious sum does not by any means cover all the outlay for new construction, as a large amount of grading and bridge-bnilding has been done on extensions where the track has not vefe been laid.