NP, NODC 2/6B/1861

From the New Orleans Daily Crescent
 
February 6, 1861
 
Financial and Commercial Department
New Orleans Money Market
   *****
   The annual report of the President of the New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Railroad, made to the Legislature, is before us. We append. The earnings of the road show a large increase for last year, say 34 pct. over 1859, and 111 pct. over the year 1858.
New Orleans, Dec. 1, 1860
To His Excellency, Thos. O. Moore, Governor of the State of Louisiana

 

Sir,
   The following statement of the affairs of the New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Railroad Company, is respectfully submitted by the President and Directors, in conformity with an act of the Legislature, approved April 28th, 1853, which provides that the President and Directors of any railroad company, in which a State is a stockholder, shall, within one week after the meeting of the Legislature in each year, report to the same, the general condition of said Company, the amount of capital expended, money borrowed, length of road finished and under contract, and a particular statement of its receipts and expenditures; and another act, approved March 15, 1856, which directs that the report shall be made to the Governor of the State, at least ten days previous to the meeting of the Legislature.
   The road has been completed with a single track, together with the necessary side-tracks, depot buildings, and water stations from New Orleans to Canton, Mississippi -- a length of two hundred and six miles -- in a substantial and permanent manner, equal to any road in the United States, with the exception of a portion between the city of New Orleans and the Pass Manchac, which portion is now being filled and raised in such a manner as to prevent any future delays or accidents.
   On that portion above Canton, known as the extension, twenty-six miles have been graded at a cost of $220,000, and an additional section of fourteen miles to the town of Kosciusko, is under contract, and will be completed during the year 1861; another section, extending south from Aberdeen, Miss., to the intersection of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad (length nine miles) is under contract, the graduation of which is nearly completed and ready for the rails, which can be laid in season to take off the next crop, should the receipts of the road equal our sanguine expectations. In addition to the work done on the above nine miles, there has been more or less work done upon about forty miles of the line through Monroe county, above and below Aberdeen, at an expense of about $85,500.
   The amount expended in the construction of the road from New Orleans to Canton, Miss., including the right of way, real estate, depot buildings, station houses, iron rails, wood and water stations and workmanship of all kinds up to date --
Has been $5,519,211.81
For locomotive engines, cars, tools, etc., in the machine shop 1,044,661.20
For graduation, right of way, and real estate, etc., north of Canton 445,600.00
   Total cost of road and rolling stock $7,038,873.01
The amount of indebtedness for money borrowed upon first mortgage bond is $2,645,000.00
Loans from the State of Mississippi 205,000.00
Amount of bills payable 735,335.73
   Total loans and bills payable $3,585,335.73
The earnings of the road from freight and passenger trains from 1st December, 1859, to the 30th of November, 1860, as shown by statement II, was  $1,272,682.87
The amount disbursed for transportation during the same period was $811,517.79
From this must be deducted for expenses, incurred previous to Nov. 30, 1859, and paid during the current year 111,853.51
$695.694.28
Add for amount outstanding and unpaid on 30th Nov., 1860 20,276.25
Actual cost of transportation from Dec., 1859 to November 30, 1860 715,970.53
Leaving the net earnings for the year ending Nov. 30, 1860 $556,712.34
   We have on hand, in complete order, and ready for service:
45 Locomotive Engines 503 Freight Cars
37 Passenger Cars 57 Gravel and Hand Cars
  9 Baggage and Express Cars
   This quantity of rolling stock is sufficient to transport double the amount of freight and passengers which passed over the road during the past year. Of the above, eleven locomotives and eleven first-class passenger cars have never been coupled to a train, and are now in the depot perfectly new and ready for use whenever they may be required for the increasing traffic of the road.
The total earnings of the road, from freight, passengers and mails, for twelve months, ending December 31st, 1857, were $277,008.24
     "            "    December 31st, 1858 were           593,093.69
     "            "    November 30th, 1859 were 964,958.66
     "            "    November 30th, 1860 were 1,272,862.87
   Showing a regular increase of more than $300,000 each year since 1857, notwithstanding the interruptions to the traffic from the extraordinary storms, crevases, and short crops of the two years just passed.
   We may, therefore, estimate the gross earnings of the road during the next current year at not less than $1,600,000, although there is but little doubt that the earnings will be near one million seven hundred thousand dollars, as the extension of the Southern road from Jackson east to the Mobile & Ohio Railroad and the Tennessee & Mississippi road from Memphis to Granada will be completed by February next, which will add largely to the receipts of our road.
   While the receipts of the road, during the last twelve months have been increased over $300,000, the expenses have been reduced more than fifty thousand dollars, and from a careful estimate, based upon the actual expenses during the last seven months (the term which the present Board of Directors have had charge of the road) there can be no doubt that the total expenses for transportation, maintenance and repairs of road, motive power, repairs of cars, together with all other incidental expenses, for the twelve months from this date, will be reduced to the sum of $507,000, namely:
For Conducting Transportation, including agents and clerks, conductors and train hands, stationery and printing, and incidentals, etc. $137,000
For Maintenance of Way, including labor, subsistence and clothing, tools, lumber for bridges, cross ties, incidentals, etc. 163,000
For Motive Power, including repairs to engines, engineers and firemen, fuel and water, oil and tallow 157,000
For Maintenance of Cars, including labor, material, oil, tallow and waste 50,000
   Total as above $507,000
If to the above we add iron rails for new turn outs, lost freights, stock killed, new bridges, say 93,000
The whole expenditure cannot exceed $600,000
Which, deducted from the estimated gross earnings ($1,600,000) will leave one million dollars as the net revenue for the twelve months. The amount of interest and sinking fund being $340,000, there will be left $660,000 to meet the bills payable now outstanding, and other accounts.
   We have contracted for four thousand tons of iron rails (a sufficient quantity to lay fifty miles of single track) deliverable in all the month of January, 1861; of this, however, sixteen hundred tons have already been received, and the remainder (now on shipboard) will be delivered within the time contracted for; the first payment for the iron still to be delivered will not be due until October, 1861.
   The special statements accompany and make a part of this report.
   All of which is respectfully submitted,
H. J Ranney, President

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