AR, R&D 10/1/1863 S

Annual Report of the Richmond & Danville RR
as of October 1, 1863,
Superintendent's Report
 
Superintendent's Report
 
Superintendent's Office R. & D. R. R.
Richmond, December 7th, 1863
 
Lewis E. Harvie, Esq.
President
 
Sir,
   I submit the following report of the operations of the road for the fiscal year ending September 30th, 1863:
Earnings of the Road for the Year
Local passengers $354,293.27
Through     " 70,041.03 424,334.30
Outward local freight 70,541.50
       "    connection  " 14,045.47
Inward local           " 141,599.78
       "   connection   " 12,154.01
Intermediate local   " 61,987.64
        "  connection   " 12,478.81
Coal 78,544.85
Belle Isle 2,174.82 393,526.88
Express 44,322.96
Southern Express 23,282.55
Confederate States Mail 13,902.52 81,508.03
Confederate States Transportation
Passengers 161,602.91
Freight 160,579.61 322,182.52
Transportation for the State of Virginia 1,380.80
Earnings of Telegraph line 10,028.90
Total Earnings $1,232,961.43
Expenditures
Accounts registered from 1st Oct., 1862 to September 30th, 1863 $993,643.26
Deduct inventory October 1st, 1863 239,795.48
Add inventory October 1st, 1862 74,458.52 165,336.96
828,306.30
Deduct cost of work done for Piedmont RR 31,571.20
796,735.10
Salaries 10,539.05
Taxes, insurance, &c. 4,404.10
Decrease in rolling stock 9,316.82
Working expenses for the year 820,995.07
     Nett earnings 411,966.36
Working expenses 66-66 per cent. of gross receipts.
Nett earnings 33-40 per cent. of the gross receipts
Expenditures for the Year
Salaries $10,539.05
Taxes, insurance, &c. 4,404.10

Maintenance of Roadway and Real Estate

Repairs of road 179,062.98
      "       "  bridges and culverts 1,388.77
      "       "  Wells and water stations 2,240.30
      "       "  Buildings 18,582.25 201,274.30

Repairs of Machinery

Shop expenses 50,198.78
Repairs of engines 50,185.59
Repairs of passenger, mail and baggage cars 9,710.04
Repairs of freight cars 30,129.84 140,224.25

Operating

Oil and tallow 74,705.00
Cotton waste 1,993.91
Wood 44,917.35
Train expenses, including pay of conductors, engineers, baggage masters, firemen, brakesmen, cleaners and overhaulers 98,122.55
Depot expenses, including pay of watchmen, agents, and their hands, and stationery, and other supplies for depots 96,060.40
Advertising 1,549.67
Office expenses 11,312.14
Stock killed 1,481.25
Lost and damaged freight 11,411.90
Telegraph expenses 9,346.96
Coalfield incline plane 4,178.64
Miscellaneous expenses 11,289.62 366,369.39

Construction

New buildings 59,493.90
New bridges and culverts 44.00
New passenger, mail and baggage cars 4,704.89

New freight cars

6,678.29
New wells 4,752.13
New machinery 10,695.95
Depot improvements 632.28
Relaying track 969.22
New telegraph instruments 916.50 88,867.16

Decrease in Rolling Stock

Cars destroyed, worn out, or pulled to pieces during the year
Two first class passenger cars 4,000.00
One express car 600.00
Sixteen box cars 14,400.00
One stone car 400.00
One coal car (wood) 600.00
One sand car 400.00
One boarding car 300.00 20,700.00

New Cars Built During the Year 

One first class passenger and one baggage and mail car 4,704.89
Six flats 6,678.29 11,383.18

Decrease in Rolling Stock

9,316.82
$820,995.07
   This year's exhibit shows an increase of $508,531.43 in gross earnings, and of $479,761.23 in working expenses, the nett earnings being but little in excess of those of last year, although the total earnings have nearly doubled. This results from the fact that while the cost of working the road, owing to the advance in price of both material and labor, has increased 140.6 per cent. -- the advance in the rates of charge for the year's business is only 70.2 per cent.
   It will be observed that in working expenses is included an item of $88,867.16 expended in new buildings, new machinery and other improvements, and that if this amount is deducted from the working expenses, they will be reduced to $732,127.91 or 59.4 per cent. of the gross earnings.

Roadway

   The condition of the roadway is unchanged with the exception of the substitution of 5.29 miles of heavy rail, obtained from the Government, for the flat bar between Chula and Amelia Court House and the worn heavy rail immediately above Amelia Court House, which reduces the total length of flat bar track on the main line of the road to 36 1/2 miles, and gives a continuous heavy track from Richmond to Junction, a distance of 53 1/2 miles.
   The iron obtained from the Government is to be paid for with the flat bar, for which it was substituted, and such other scrap iron as the road can furnish (the deficiency, if there is any, being met by a money payment) but the relative value of the T iron and the scrap iron is not yet determined upon.
   The sidings have been slightly reduced during the year, and the total length is now 15.93 miles.
   Sills sufficient to lay 16 miles, and stringers to lay 10.9 miles of track have been used in repairs during the year.
   In addition to the 5.29 miles of iron obtained from the Government on the terms stated above, 0.38 miles of bent heavy rail was obtained in exchange for old heavy rail, and was straightened and used in repairs of that portion of the 1st section which most needed it.
   The bridges and culverts are generally in good order, and their repairs have cost $1,388.77 during the year.

Depots and Buildings

   The depot and buildings have had extensive repairs and additions during the year, and are most of them in good order, though there is still work to be done to put them all in thorough repair.
   The item of new buildings in the statement of working expenses, includes the cost of completing the engine house, building the machine shop, and such work as has been done towards the erection of the carpenter shop at North Side; also the new foundry in Manchester, and the saw mill buildings at Mossingford.

Work Shops

   The Manchester shops have been greatly improved during the year, not by the addition of the foundry alone, but by the purchase of new tools, erection of boiler shed, oil vault, and several convenient arrangements that tend greatly to facilitate the work of repairs and construction -- and as most of this outlay, except that for new foundry, has been included in shop expenses, this item this year will be found to be very large.
   The machine and blacksmith shops at North Side are nearly completed, and have been in use for several months; but the iron castings and carpenter's work at that point are still carried on in temporary frame buildings.

Motive Power

   The condition of engines on the 30th September, 1863, will be found in table marked (G,) and from this it will be seen that the present stock of engines is 21 in number.

Rolling Stock

   The inventory taken October 1st, 1863, shows the Company's stock of cars to be as follows:
11 first class passenger cars
9 second class cars
5 mail and baggage cars
4 conductor's cars
2 express cars
1 wreck car
164 eight-wheel box cars
1 powder car
57 eight-wheel flat cars
26 four-wheel stone cars
12 four-wheel wooden coal cars
1 four-wheel wooden sand cars
54 six-wheel iron coal cars
15 four-wheel gravel cars
8 eight-wheel boarding cars
   The number of cars destroyed and pulled to pieces, and those built during the year, will be found in the detailed statement of expenditures under the head of "Decrease in rolling stock."
   It will be understood that the assumed value of the cars destroyed is exclusive of the iron work and such other parts as were uninjured, and were used in the repair or construction of other cars.

Telegraph

   The exhibit of the working of telegraph line is given in tables marked (L) and (M) as follows:
Gross earnings $10,028.30
Expenditures of working $9,012.46
Nett earnings $1,016.44
Or 10.13 per cent. of the gross earnings, and 12.5 per cent. of the total cost of the line
   Some additions to the line have been found necessary which swell the total cost to $8,072.59.
The gross earnings of the line since its establishment, are $17,329.66
And the working expenses 16,135.88
The nett earnings from the year's work is therefore $1,193.78
   It will be seen that the Company has again this year realized a very fair profit in the working of their telegraph line, and that if the present rate of annual nett earnings continues, they will, in seven years be enabled to pay the entire cost of the line out of the proceeds from working it. It is therefore hardly necessary to repeat that the benefit to the Transportation Department of the road, resulting from the use of the telegraph line, would be a full compensation for the outlay incurred in its construction even if the line produced no revenue. 

Passenger Business

Local passengers going West 57,850
    "            "        coming East 49,640 107,490
Through passengers going West 14,901
       "              "        coming East 8,546 23,477
Government passengers going West 38,369
           "                "        coming East 50,424 88,793
Furlough passengers going West 7,834
        "             "        coming East 7,196 15,030
     Total 234,790
1862 and '63
1861 and '62 1862 and '63 Increase Decrease
Local passengers 103,393 122,520 19,127
Through     " 28,905 23,477 5,428
Government passengers 93,963 88,793 5,170
226,261 234,790 19,127 10,598
     Nett increase 8,529
Total mileage of local passengers 6,187,767
    "         "      of through passengers 1,259,708
    "         "      of Government passengers 4,874,242
    "         "      of furlough              " 1,142,842
    "         "      of all passengers 13,374,559
Average number of miles travelled by local passengers 57.57
       "            "                         "            through     " 53.61
       "            "                         "            Government passengers 53.88
       "            "                         "            furlough              " 76.04
       "            "                         "            all                       " 56.96
Receipts from local passengers $354,293.27
       "         "   through      " 70,041.03
       "         "   Government passengers 161,602.91
     Total receipts for passengers $585,937.21
Average receipts for carrying one local passenger one mile 5.73
Average receipts for carrying one through passenger one mile 5.56
Average receipts for carrying one Government passenger one mile 2.74
Average receipts for carrying one passenger one mile 4.43
   It will be observed that the receipts per passenger mile from local travel, are less that that from through travel, notwithstanding that the charge per mile is the same in each class, and this is explained by the fact that there is no arrangement for sale of through furlough, or half rate tickets, and that therefore all receipts from furlough tickets are included in the local travel.
   It is worthy of remark that the average receipts per passenger per mile this year, owing to the low rates paid by the Government, are not very much in excess of the average rates before the war.
1861-2 1862-3
Mileage for the year 313,267 miles 300,186 miles
Receipts per mile run $2.31 $4.11
Expenses per mile run $1.08 $2.73
Receipts per mile of road $5,156.08 $8,775.52
Expenses per mile of road $2,428.71 $5,843.38
All of which is most respectfully submitted by
Your obedient servant
Chas. G. Talcott
Superintendent

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