Rensselaer Republican, Volume 22, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 August 1890 — THE MONON ROUTE. [ARTICLE]

THE MONON ROUTE.

The L., N. A. & C. R. R. and Its Sew Management. Last Saturday’s Chicago Times contained a lengthy • review of the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago Railroad and-its reorganization, from whicli we make the following extract: One of the most important .of our southern connections is the Louisville, New. Albany & Chicago railroad, now more popularly known as the Monon Route. As originally projected the road made its northern terminus at Michigan City, and its Chicago business was done over the Michigan Central tracks, or by other connections via Lafayette. In 1881 direct connections was made with Chicago from Monon, Ind„ a small station on the main line some thirty miles north of Lafayette. The road is now accommodated for its passenger traffic in the. Dearborn station at Polk street, and has excellent facilities for handling its freight—-busi-ness here. It would have been wise and profitable if a direct Chicago connection had been a part of the original plan, but the wisdom of the fathers was unfortunately clouded with jealousies. State pride dictated that Michigan City should be the northern terminal in Indiana,| just as state pride in Michigan designed a great furture for New Buffalo, and the state pride in Illinois would concede nothing to St. Louis, but preferred Alton instead. However, all that is now past, although it was more or less a costly mistake in every instance. * * * The new board elected Dr. Breyfogle president. Mi,' Postlewaite first vice president and H. W. Hunt second vice-president. William F. Black was at once called to the post of general manager. Mi. Black was superintendent of the Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapolis railroad, and was selected by reason of his peculiar fitness for the position. The new board at once sought for and effected a release of the company’s -ibilities on roads south of tne Ohio river. It refuned its 6 per cent, debt at 5 per cent., and was thereby put in possession of immediate resources for the improvement of the old road-bed and rolling stock. Its made a thorough revision of the working force and the salary list, retaining some of the most efficient of the old officers and employes, and introducing a new system ot division super intendencies. In these four months of the new management under Dr. Breyfogle 500 Dew freight cars, each of 60,000 pounds capacity, furniture cars, and six ten-wheel locomotives have been added to the rolling stock, with additions also to the passenger equipment. The vestibule trains which are now run by this road to Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Louisville, are of Pullman’s best con"parior cars, dining, smoking cars, giving all the comforts of a palace on wheels. The heavy steel frames which are fixtures of the Monen coaches insure perfect safety to the consolidated train. Three hundred thousand new been purchased and more than 60,000 have been put in the track. A large amount of steel rails have been contracted for, to be put down on heavy grades. New bridges have been supplied and all the culverts from Chicago to Monon have been renewed. The road between Chicaga and Indianapolis has received the most attention and is now in fine shape. Friendly relations having been restored with the southern trunklines and the result has been an enormous increase of traffic, taxing the freight department to its utmost As against a loss of $40,000 in the operating expences of the first three monthe of the year under the old management the receipts of the first three months of the new management show a net gain of $60,000, the month of Jane alone showing an increase of $24,640. The new management having cut every cord that in any way tied to the old moorings, the improved condition of things has been phenomenal. An old and prominent railroad man familiar with the matter says: “As president of the road Dr. Breyfogle occupies the position of business manager, assisted by Major Black as general manager, W. H. McDoel as traffic manager, James Barker aa general passenger agent and W. H. Lewis as secretary and treasurer. The heads of departments and the board of directors are all young men in the prime and vigor of life. The employes aie, therefore, naturally enthusiastic over the new management and manifest it in a thousand ways.”