Lapas attēli
PDF
ePub

offered, I must lay before the reader certain details which have been used in the construction of the formula. In anticipation of this explanation, however, I may observe that the true cause is, that these circumstances, which disturb the action of the general law, have very little influence compared with the value of the great items which compose the formula. I shall return to this subject again; but at present we may proceed with the determination of the values of the detail of expenses, and leave the slight corrections to be applied in consequence of these irregularities-irregularities chiefly in the prices of labor and materials for the sequel. The reports of the various companies for the current year, will shortly be published; and by introducing the results which it is to be presumed they will exhibit, under an improving system of economy, I hope to be able to make a still closer approximation to the truth. We shall have also, in a few weeks, the results of the year's operations on the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, from which we shall be able to verify experimentally, the influence on the cost attributable to a very large trade conducted under remarkably favorable circumstances.

I propose to consider next

The Cost of Fuel.-It is obvious to every one that the consumption of fuel depends on the construction and power of the engine, the gradients of the road on which it operates, and the load which is conveyed. The cost of fuel really depends, in some measure, on these circumstances, but chiefly, in practice, on the price of wood for in this country the price of a cord of wood is much more variable than any other element which affects the value of fuel, or the value of motive power.

d;

The following table of the distance run by locomotive engines in different parts of the country, together with the annual aggregate expense of fuel, and the reduced expense, per mile run, will serve to exemplify this point.

[blocks in formation]

[NOTE. The expense of fuel on the New York and Erie Road, includes the cost of sawing, and the loading of the tenders. The

50,774 12.8

17,548 14.6

engines on this road, as well as some of those on the Reading and Western Roads, carry very heavy freight trains.]

On inspecting this table we observe that the cost of fuel for each mile traveled by the engines, increases very uniformly as we proceed from south to north. We know, also, that the price of wood like wise likewise increases on the route, though not precisely in the same proportion. Wood is worth, on the average, two and a half times as much in New England as it is in Georgia-but there are roads in New England on which the expenditure for fuel is from three to four times as much as it is on some of those in Georgia. This inference is not wholly attributable to variations in price, but depends, in part, on the size of the engines, and the magnitude of the trains conveyed. The engines on the southern roads, are, in general, not quite so heavy, nor so heavily loaded, as those used on several of the northern lines-a circumstance which somewhat, though not very materially, influences the result. Waiving the influence of this consideration, and regarding the engines as of nearly the same average weight on all these lines, this table will supply us at once with a correction to the formula, which we may apply when we desire to approximate more closely to the actual expenses.

The formula, for computing the aggregate annual expenses of a railroad, is based on an average cost of fuel of 9 cents per mile run.

In making the application, from year to year, we shall find that the results which it supplies will need to be modified, and that this modification will be equal to an addition of 4 cents per mile run for the New England roads, and a reduction of 4 cents per mile run for the Southern roads.*

Wages of Train Hands.-It is the practice of many companies to include the wages of enginemen, firemen, conductors, breakmen, &c. in the item of fuel and salaries; of others to combine them with oil and repairs of engines and cars. Indeed, the heterogeneous mixture of items, which are presented to the public in a lump, cannot but lead sometimes to the conclusion that it is the object of the report to conceal the simple truth. It cannot be supposed that any company mingle such dissimilar items together in their own books; and as it is really easier to copy off the items under their separate heads, than to add them together and present them in a mass, it must be supposed that the object of the condensation of matter is to prevent an intimate acquaintance with their affairs. This inference is strengthened, in my estimation, by the fact that the accounts of those companies which pursue this course, exhibit an annual, and sometimes vast, augmentation of capital. By keeping the items concealed, the public are forbidden from ascertaining what portion of the ordinary current charges go to swell the annual charge to construction, and the deception is thereby practiced longer with impunity. There are certainly some remarkable exceptions which might be named as good models for imitation. The accounts of the Georgia Road are always presented

* I propose to present, in a future number, a more accurate and general formula for the determination of the consumption of fuel.

with clearness and accuracy; and though they might be greatly improved by the addition of the net and gross tonnage, and travel conveyed one mile, they exhibit, in their present state, a much better appreciation of the importance of knowing the precise and detailed condition of their business, than is observable in the statements of other similar institutions.

The report of the Baltimore and Ohio Company, for the current year, also stands out conspicuous amidst the general confusion; and, as ought to be expected, every item of expenditure on that line compares advantageously with the corresponding item on any other road in the country.

The directors of the Norwich and Worcester Road, have published a table which might be made valuable, but it is actually rendered almost useless for want of the amount of the business transacted. The number of tons of goods, and the number of passengers conveyed one mile, ought to have been stated, and the different classes of wages should have been separately given. It is of little use to tell us the exact amount of expenses incurred in the transportation of freight without informing us of the amount of freight transported.

The directors of the Western Road have also produced much valuable detail; but they have failed to present the item of "services" under appropriate heads. No correct judgment can be formed of the economy of the administration of a line on which the salaries of agents and superintendents, president and engineer, train-hands and wood-cutters, clerks and ticket-men, are condensed into one total. The separation of this column-the accurate addition of the number of passengers carried one mile, and the quantities of each sort of fuel consumed-would render the report of this company a most valuable document. I trust that they will not be deterred from continuing this detailed exhibition of their affairs, when their road and machinery begin to manifest some of the effects of time and use.

In consequence of this mingling of items, I am unable to separate, with the desirable precision, the sum paid on many roads for wages to the engine-hands, from that paid to the conductors and breakmen. For this reason I find it convenient to include the wages of all the train hands in the item of locomotive power. This item must, accordingly, be expected to vary with the magnitude of the train, and, somewhat, with the acclivities of the gradients: heavier gradients and the larger trains requiring usually a greater number of breakmen. The variations consequent on this cause, are, however, very small; and we will come exceedingly near the truth by this formula,

[blocks in formation]

for the value of the wages to the train hands, in cents, for each mile traveled by the train-t standing for the average number of tons of freight in each train. The correctness of this approximation will be seen by a glance at the following table.

[merged small][graphic][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed]

The average value of wages, excepting for roads on which the trains are excessively large, may be safely and justly assumed at S cents per mile run.

Oil and Tallow for Engines.-The expense of oil is certainly a very small matter, when compared with the aggregate yearly charges against a railroad company; but it is a very important matter for every company to know exactly what this, and every other item of expense really is, and ought to be, in order to judge of the possible ameliorations of their management. On the Georgia Road, in 1840, the mere greasing of the engines amounted to more than 4 per cent. of the aggregate charges of the company. In 1842, this item was reduced down to less than 1 per cent.

As another example of the effect of the same sort of economy in the detail-in small matters--may be adduced the curious fact, that the sum paid for oil by the Philadelphia and Baltimore Railroad Company, in 1841, amounted to $6,131, and 1842 it was reduced down to $2,151. In the year 1842 it amounted to 33 cents per mile run, and in 1842 it scarcely exceeded 14 cents per mile run by the trains.

The expense of oil is generally included under the head, "fuel, oil, salaries, general and incidental expenses, &c.;" "fuel, oil, salaries, wages, loading merchandize, and miscellaneous expenses;" "wages, fuel, oil, &c." This method of condensing accounts is so general, that out of the reports of more than thirty railroad companies for the year 1842, now on my table, I am able to select but the three following, from which the cost of the oil consumed by the engines, can be obtained separate from other items.

1*

[blocks in formation]

This table would seem to justify the assumption of 9 mills per mile run, for the consumption of oil and cotton waste by the engine and tender alone.

There is to be found a considerable list of reports in which the aggregate consumption of oil by engines, tenders, and cars, may be separated from all other items. I have also some manuscript statements from which these items can be obtained. The following table exhibits the aggregate cost of oil for various lines, and the cost reduced to the mile traveled by the train.

[blocks in formation]

The consumption of oil and tallow may be estimated, in general, at 9 mills per mile run for the engine and tender, and an additional allowance of mill for each ton net conveyed one mile.

I have also the consumption of oil and tallow for some other roads, but as these statements manifest great and censurable extravagance, and cannot be used to show the necessary expenditure on a well conducted work, I have not included them in the preceding list.

Sawing Wood, Pumping Water, and Loading Tenders.-It is not easy to collect facts which will exhibit the actual cost of the items included under the present head for many roads; but it is very easy to estimate their average value by direct calculation. We know that it is worth, on the average, about 40 cents per cord to saw the wood suitably for this purpose: and we know also that a cord of wood is sufficient to supply the consumption of the engine while

« iepriekšējāTurpināt »