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CHAPTER V.

THE RAILROADS OF THE WORLD.

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In the Railroad Gazette (New York) for May 30, 1902, there appeared exhaustive tables, compiled from the Archiv für Eisenbahnwesen of Prussia, of the railroads of world in the year 1900 and in previous years. With the help of these tables the Railroad Gazette, in its issue for June 6, makes the following comparative statements:

The mileage built in each decade has been for the world: Ten years to 1840, 4,772; 1850, 19,198; 1860, 43,160; 1870, 63,255; 1880. 101,081; 1890, 152,179; 1900, 107,421.

The mileage built before 1830, insignificant in amount, is included with the 4,772 miles credited above to the following decade.

Of the total of 491,066 miles completed at the end of the century more than one-half had been built since 1880 and nearly three-fourths since 1870. The total built in the forty years down to 1870 (130.385 miles) was one-seventh less than the construction in the single decade ending with 1890. It is notable, however, that in the last decade of the century 44,758 miles less were built than in the preceding ten years. This is one of the indications that the civilized and productive industrial countries of the world are now generally well equipped with these instruments of transportation. Europe (except Russia) and North America have immediate need of no large additions to their mileage. There is still abundant room for railroads in Asia, Africa and South America, but the slow growth of industries of these continents, two of which are over rather than under populated, but whose population is to a great extent a bar to progress such as Europe and North America have had in the past century, gives no promise of rapid railroad extension.

Nevertheless, the most notable development of the last decade has been the greater activity in Asia and AfriIn Asia, until after 1890, there

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was scarcely any railroad except in British India, a very little in Asia Minor, a beginning in Russia and Japan. But the 20,960 miles in Asia in 1890 had become 37,477 miles in 1900, and the 6,113 miles in Africa, 12,501. The additions, considering the size of the continents, are small; but they are only beginnings, and considerable new additions have been made since 1900, chiefly the Siberian Railroad in Asia and the Uganda in Africa. It is probably not generally known that even in this last decade it is India and not Russia which leads in railroad construction in Asia; India had added 6,982 miles (42 per cent) to the 16,781 it had in 1890, while the additions in Asiatic Russia were but 4,622 miles.

In Europe more railroad was built from 1890 to 1900 than in the previous decade, but less than from 1870 to 1880. The increase in the last decade was wholly due to Russia, where it was 10,659 miles, against 4,413 miles in the previous decade. In the rest of Europe 29,700 miles were built from 1880 to 1890, and only 26,418 in the following decade.

The most notable change in the last decade, however, is the decrease in construction in North America, which was so long the great field for railroad construction. With 2,834 miles built in 1840, the increase in mileage for successive decades has been: 18401850, 9,099; 1850-1860, 23,644; 18601870, 22.887; 1870-1880, 45,629; 18801890, 85,766; 1890-1900, 33,856.

Thus the new construction on this continent in the last decade was 60 per cent less than from 1880 to 1890, and even 20 per cent less than from 1870 to 1880. The decrease in the last decade was common to Canada and Mexico, as well as to the United States. It was altogether healthy. But this country and Canada, at least, are richer to-day than they would have been if they had built as much railroad in the last decade as

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RAILWAYS OF THE WORLD

France, 25,862 miles.

Russia in Europe, 25,357 miles.

Great Britain, 23,534 miles.

British India,

21,543 miles.

Magnitude of the Leading Railroad Lines of the World Represented by Size of Locomotives. 1899.

COMPARED IN THE YEAR

Copyright, 1899, by Munn & Co.

United States,

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in the one preceding it. Fully $2.000,000,000 more than has actually been expended for new railroads would have been required: and the indications are that the capital thus saved has been most profitably employed in productive industries which give the railroads traffic to carry.

South and Central America (including West Indies) do not cut much of a figure in the railroad world, having now altogether only 29,071 miles, or less than Asia. Two-thirds of the South American mileage is in Argentina and Brazil.

Australia also has slackened its pace in railroad construction. It has room for more roads, but not people enough as yet to support them, and it grows slowly. It had 1,097 miles in 1870, added 3,780 by 1880, 6,863 more by 1890, and only 3,185 in the last decade of the century. Australia now has 14,925 miles.

The last annual return from the same source, published in June, 1903, shows the world's railroad mileage at the end of 1901.

Europe, 181,760 miles. Mileage of

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France.

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One blast of the whistle means "stop at once, or what is known as "down brakes"; two blasts of the whistle mean "off brakes"; three blasts of the whistle mean "back up"; a continuous blast means "danger." A semaphore signal at right angles to the post indicates danger; when the semaphore drops to an angle it is a signal to proceed. A red lantern indicates danger, as does a red flag; a green lantern or a green flag indicates "caution." Lanterns which are swung at right angles across the tracks mean "stop"; a lantern raised and lowered means "start"; when lanterns are swung in a circle it means "back the train."

THE RAILROAD SYSTEM OF THE UNITED STATES.*

If one were called upon to name the field of engineering in which the vast scale upon which things are done in this country is most strikingly shown, he would be safe in pointing to the colossal railroad system of the United States. In respect of the total length of track, the total number of locomotives and cars, the veritable army of employees, and the gross value of capital invested, our railway system is so huge that it stands absolutely in a class by itself among the railroad systems of the world. It is equally true that in respect of the character of its track, rolling stock, its general equipment, and methods of operation, it is marked by national characteristics which distinguish it far more sharply from the great European and Asiatic roads, than they are distinguished from each other.

In attempting to impress upon the mind the magnitude of the properties and the operations represented by the statistics of such huge interests as the railroads of the United States, where the figures run into the millions and billions, it is necessary to translate these figures into concrete terms and refer them to some widely known standard of measurement, whether of distance, weight, or bulk. On the following pages, our artist has endeavored -and we think very successfully-to transform the statistics of our railroads into concrete form by taking as a unit of measurement the greatest single constructive work of man, the great Pyramid of Egypt, with whose dimensions every Voting American citizen is perfectly familiar, or, if he is not, ought to be. From time immemorial the great Pyramid, being one of the original seven wonders of the world, has been a favorite standard of comparison with other great constructive works. It measures some 756 feet on the base by 481 feet in height, and contains about 912 million cubic feet. Now, before we can use even this wellknown standard and be sure that it will convey its full impression to the average reader, we must compare the Pyramid itself with some big and wellknown structure, and for this purpose our artist has drawn the Capitol of Washington at the side of the Pyramid, both on the same scale. If it were possible to take a shell of the Pyramid, composed merely of the outer

layer of stone, and place it over the Capitol, it would practically shut it out from view, and the apex of the Pyramid would extend 200 feet above the highest point of the Capitol dome.

The total length of the railroads in operation in the United States at the close of the fiscal year 1901 was 195,887 miles, this total not including track in sidings, etc. If these railroads could be stretched out in one continuous line, they would be sufficient to girdle the earth at the equator more than eight times; or, if started from the earth and stretched outward into space, they would reach fourfifths of the distance from the earth to the moon.

Steel Rails.-Now, to arrive at an estimate of what it has taken in material to build this length of railroad, let us assume that a fair average size of rail is one weighing 75 pounds to the yard. Much of the track in the Eastern States weighs 80, 90 and 100 pounds to the yard, while most of the track west of the Mississippi weighs 70, 60 and in some instances as low as 56 pounds to the yard. On this basis it is an easy calculation to determine that the total weight of these rails is over 25,000,000 tons; and if the mass were melted and cast in solid pyramidal form it would contain 105,540,000 cubic feet, and would be over 15 per cent larger than the great Pyramid itself. If the rails were cast in one rectangular block, it would form a mass 436 feet square on the base and equal in height to the Washington Monument, which towers 550 feet above its base.

Railroad Ties.-The railroad ties used in this country vary in size from a tie 8 inches wide, 6 inches deep and 9 feet long to ties as much as 12 inches in width and 8 inches in depth. A fair average would be a tie 10 inches in width and 7 inches in depth and 9 feet long, and a good average spacing would be 24 inches, center to center of the ties, or say 2,600 to the mile. On this basis we find that, could all these ties be gathered together on the Nile desert and piled one upon another into a pyramid of the same proportions as that at Gizeh, it would form a mass twenty-four times as great as the Pyramid of the Pharaohs, measuring 2,200 feet on its base and reaching 1,390 feet into the air.

*Reprinted from the Transportation Number" of the Scientific American, Dec. 13, 1902, therefore the figures and the comparisons are for that year.

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