| Annual Report of the Virginia &
Tennessee RR |
| as of July 1, 1861, |
| Superintendent's Report |
| |
| General Superintendent's Report |
| General Superintendent's Office, Virginia
& Tennessee Railroad |
| Lynchburg, July 1st, 1861 |
| |
| Robert L. Owens, Esq. |
| Pres. Va. & Tenn. Railroad Co. |
|
|
|
Dear Sir,
|
| I respectfully submit the
following report of the operations of the road during the fiscal year,
which terminated on yesterday: |
|
Receipts or Earnings
|
| From transportation of freight |
$284,592.48 |
|
| From transportation of passengers |
446,979.95 |
|
| From express freight |
16,032.03 |
|
| From mails |
40,786.49 |
|
| From rents on trains and fruit stand |
353.67 |
|
| From rents |
535.00 |
|
| From sales of old iron and from other sources |
9,648.98 |
|
| Sum total of receipts |
|
798,928.60 |
| Running Expenses |
|
|
| Repairs of road bed |
$38,156.09 |
|
| Repairs of the superstructure of road |
38,250.63 |
|
| Repairs of iron superstructure of road |
18,201.71 |
|
| Repairs of bridges |
14,685.98 |
|
| Repairs of locomotive engines |
46,571.74 |
|
| Repairs of passenger, mail and baggage cars |
22,369.90 |
|
| Repairs of freight, cattle and service cars |
21,039.76 |
|
| Repairs of depots and wood and water stations |
5,556.86 |
|
| Repairs of section-houses, machine-shops,
engine-houses, car-houses and shop tools and machinery |
3,614.23 |
|
| Passenger train expenses |
43,948.08 |
|
| Freight train expenses |
28,776.86 |
|
| Oil, grease and tallow |
8,837.41 |
|
| Fuel, including a quantity lost by fire |
44,517.43 |
|
| Cotton waste |
957.53 |
|
| Depot expenses |
33,084.88 |
|
| Office expenses |
2,515.50 |
|
| Salaries |
11,880.00 |
|
| Taxes |
12,616.39 |
|
| Insurance |
3,138.53 |
|
| Lost and damaged goods and baggage and injuries
to persons and property |
695.15 |
|
| Sum total of expenses |
|
399,414.66 |
| Leaving a net balance of receipts of |
|
$399,513.94 |
|
|
Being a little over fifty per cent.
|
|
The extraordinary expenses during the year, and which are
not embraced in the running expenses are as follows:
|
| The rebuilding embankments washed away by fresh
in October last, and excavating a new channel for Peak Creek
at Martin's, and removing heavy slides from Clarks' and other
deep cuts |
$10,000.00 |
| Ballasting and laying new iron |
6,935.28 |
| Rebuilding bridges washed away by fresh in
October |
5,000.00 |
| Building telegraph |
1,836.20 |
| Excess of oil and grease on hand |
1,000.00 |
| For new passenger, mail and freight cars |
2,643.75 |
| For building depot at Seven Mile Ford and
rebuilding depot at Marion, destroyed by fire |
1,647.00 |
| Sum total of extraordinary expenses |
$29,062.23 |
|
|
The average receipts per mile run amount to $2.04, and
the receipts per mile of road are $3,690.16.
|
|
There is an increase of $58,441.72 in the receipts, and
an increase of $6,885.32 in the running expenses, compared with those
of the preceding year. For a statement in detail of the expenses, I
refer you to table marked No. 9.
|
|
Salt Works Branch
|
|
The business of the Salt Works Branch is included in the
foregoing statement, and is as follows:
|
| 4,405 tons of salt transported ten miles |
$4,405.00 |
| 2,273 tons of plaster transported ten miles |
909.21 |
| 5,991 tons of other freight transported ten
miles |
7,189.20 |
| Upon the above mentioned freight there was
collected upon the main stem |
11,092.32 |
| Making the sum total collected on freight of all
descriptions from and to the Salt Works |
$23,595.73 |
| Being $1,231.75 less than the amount collected
last year. |
|
| Tonnage |
|
| The number of tons of freight carried West |
24,858 |
| The number of tons transported East amount to |
35,732 |
| Total tonnage |
60,590 |
|
|
Being a decrease of 7,426 tons. The total movement of freight, or
number of tons transported one mile is 6,550,577, which is 642,922
less than last year.
|
|
Passengers
|
|
The number of passengers transported amounts to 129,789,
which is an increase of 20,400 over the preceding year. There were
49,012 carried West, and 80,777 carried East, and 34,000 troops have
been transported. The number of passengers transported one mile
amounts to 15,377,8356.
|
|
Taking into consideration the fact that the Company has
had, during the past year, to counter the evils of war, pestilence,
(small pox) flood, and a very severe falling off i the grain crop, the
business of the road, as recounted in the foregoing statement, may be
regarded as exceedingly flattering.
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The Road
|
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The road was severely damaged by the constant heavy rains
of last autumn, and the repairs of the damaged places were greatly
retarded by the deep snows of the past winter. On Reed and Peak Creeks
twelve bridges were washed away or greatly injured by a fresh in those
streams on the 29th of October, which, also, washed away the track in
several places; and the heavy rains in November and December, together
with the melting of the snow, caused heavy slides in Clark's and other
deep cuts.
|
|
The bridges on Reed and Peak Creeks were repaired in a
temporary manner, by a portion of the Company's regular force drawn
from other parts of the road, aided by a few mechanics; and the trains
resumed their regular trips on the 12th of November, having been
stopped two weeks between Wytheville and Dublin, during which period
the mails and passengers were transported in stages.
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|
The bridges are now being rebuilt in a permanent manner,
and will be completed by the coming winter; the channel of Peak Creek
at Martin's has been altered by the removal of the mill dam and the
deepening of the channel, which will render the track at that point
less liable to injury hereafter.
|
|
The withdrawal of the Company's force from the sections
to repair the injury caused by the fresh, and to remove the slides
from the deep cuts, retarded the repairs of other portions of the
road, and it was late in the Spring before the track could be got in
ordinary good condition.
|
|
In November last orders were given to the different
Section Masters to place broken stone or ballast beneath the joint
ties, (as suggested by you) in order to give a firm bed to the ties,
and permanence to the track. Since then 45,000 ties have been
ballasted.
|
|
A switch has been put in at Kent's Mill, west of Max
Meadows, and the switch at Vickers' (at which place a depot has been
built) has been lengthened, and upwards of 68,000 new cross-ties and
about five miles of new iron have been laid during the year.
|
|
It will be necessary to provide about five miles of new
rails and 90,000 new cross ties to be used during the ensuing year.
|
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For full details relative to the road, which is now in
good condition, I refer you to the report of Capt. J. H. Buford,
Resident Engineer.
|
|
The cost of the repairs of the road and bridges amounts
to $109,294.41, or $511.91 per mile, or twenty-five cents per mile run
of all the engines.
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Buildings
|
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For the accommodation of the freight and passengers in
the vicinity of that place, a depot has been erected by the Company at
Seven Mile Ford, and the depot at Marion, which was destroyed by fire
in February last, has been rebuilt.
|
|
Several new tanks and water-wheels have been erected
along the road, and the roofs of several of the wood and water
stations, which were injured by the pressure of the deep snow last
winter, have been repaired.
|
|
The repairs of the buildings amount to $8,306.93, or 1
9/10 cents per mile run of trains.
|
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Locomotive Engines
|
|
Twenty-one of the engines are in good order; ten are in
running order, and eight are laid up for repairs. The number of miles
run by the engines is as follows:
|
| With passenger trains |
245,268 |
| With freight trains |
145,080 |
| With wood and gravel trains |
44,694 |
| Total number of miles |
435,042 |
|
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The cost of repairs of the engines per mile run is 10
7/10 cents.
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The machine shops are under the direction of Mr. R. U.
Anderson, assisted at the Central Shops by Mr. W. B. Ransom. Mr.
Joseph Hall is Master Blacksmith. For further informations relative to
the engines, I refer you to tables marked No. 8, 9 and 10.
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Cars
|
|
The Company now have 18 first class, 9 second class, and
14 mail and baggage cars, all in running order; and 290 freight and
cattle cars, and 75 platform cars, with a full supply of hand, dirt
and pole cars, for the use of Section Masters, all in running order.
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|
The mileage of the passenger cars amounts to 876,352
miles, and of the mail and baggage cars to 353,122 miles, and of the
freight and cattle cars, and platform cars to 1,188,954 miles. The
repairs of the passenger, mail and baggage cars amount to $22,369.90,
or 1 81/100 cents per mile run, and of the freight and cattle and
platform cars to $21,039.76, or 1 77/100 cents per mile run of cars.
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The repairs of the cars and buildings are under the
direction of Mr. T. V. Strange, Master Carpenter.
|
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Accidents Resulting in the Loss of Life or Limbs
|
|
September 3d, 1860 -- The down mail train, near
Buford's, ran over and killed a negro man named Ned, belonging to Mrs.
Martha Lane; he was asleep on the track, and supposed to have been
intoxicated, and was not seen by the Engineer as the night was dark
and stormy.
|
|
October 19 -- Mr. J. M. Henderson in getting off
the mail train at night, in a heavy rain at Christiansburg depot,
slipped and got beneath the cars, and the lower portion of his body
crushed. He survived the accident but a few hours and died during the
night.
|
|
May 17 -- Bob, a brakeman owned by Mr. M. H.
Crump, fell from the freight train near Glade Spring, and broke one of
his legs and died in a few days afterwards.
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|
Inventory and Estimated Value of the Rolling Stock, Machinery, Shop
and Road Tools, July 1st, 1861
|
| 39 locomotive engines |
$274,000.00 |
| 18 first class passenger cars |
26,000.00 |
| 9 second class passenger cars |
23,500 |
| 14 mail and baggage cars |
14,000.00 |
| 291 box and cattle cars |
170,000.00 |
| 75 platform cars |
28,000.00 |
| Hand, pole and dirt cars |
7,500.000 |
| Machinery and tools, Lynchburg shops |
14,000.00 |
| Machinery and tools, Central shops |
8,000.00 |
| Tools on the road |
2,000.00 |
| Total estimated value |
$567,000.00 |
|
|
Materials on Hand
|
| Lumber at Lynchburg |
$2,500.00 |
| Iron, steel, brass and castings at Lynchburg and
Central shops |
20,000.00 |
| Stock in store-house |
20,000.00 |
| Oil, tallow and waste |
3,000.00 |
| 21,320 cords of wood at $1.60 |
34,080.00 |
| Old rails |
4,000.00 |
| Cross ties |
3,000.00 |
| Spikes and chairs |
850.00 |
| Lumber on the road |
4,000.00 |
| Provisions |
5,000.00 |
| Sum total |
$96,430.00 |
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For a list of the officers, agents and employees of the
Company, I refer you to table marked No. 56.
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In closing this report, I take occasion to remark, that
the duties devolved upon the officers and employees of the Company
during the past inclement winter, and during the last two months, in
transporting troops and munitions of war, have been exceedingly
laborious, and it affords me great pleasure to bear testimony to the
very cheerful and satisfactory manner in which they have been
performed.
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Respectfully submitted,
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|
E. H. Gill, Gen. Supt.
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