MEMORIAL
WESTEM EAILEOAD COEPOEATION
eelatino to the
APPLICATION OF THE TROY AND GREENFIELD RAILROAD
A STATE LOAN OF TWO MILLIONS
OF DOLLARS.
BOSTON:
PRINTED BY JOHN WILSON & SON,
22, School Street.
1851.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
To ihe Honobable Senate and House of Représentatives,
in General Court assembled.
The Memorial of the undersigned, Directors of
the Western Railroad Corporation, respectfully
represents, —
That, in the year 1848, certain petitions were
presented to the Legislature, asking for authority to
construct a railroad from Greenfield to the State line
of Vermont, there to connect with other railroads
projected from that point to Troy, in the State of
New York. That, inasmuch as this line of railroad,
if constructed between the Connecticut and Hudson
Rivers, would, in connection with the Vermont and
Massachusetts and the Fitchburg Railroads, form a
competing line with the Western Railroad for busi¬
ness, the retention of which was deemed essential to
the prosperity of that road, this Corporation deemed
it to be a duty which they owed to their stockholders
to appear before the Committee having charge of the
4
petitions, and to remonstrate against the grant prayed
for. That, after a very long and careful hearing of
the parties, a majority of the Committee made a
report giving the petitioners " leave to withdraw,"
while a minority of the Committee reported a bill in
pursuance of the prayer of the petitioners, and this
bill passed both branches of the Legislature.
Under the charter thus obtained, the Corporators
have organized, and have located their road from
Greenfield to the State line of Vermont. They have
not yet been able to obtain, by private subscription,
the money necessary to construct their road ; and they
now ask the Legislature to loan to them the credit of
the State to the amount of two millions of dollars, for
the construction of a tunnel four and a half miles long
through the Hoosac Mountain, — this tunnel forming
a part of their located line.
The Senior Committee on Railways and Canals, to
whom were referred the petitions of the Troy and
Greenfield Railroad for State aid, have reported a bill
of the character sought for by the petitioners. In
concluding their report, the Committee remark, " that
the prayer of the petitioners is sustained by thirty-two
petitions in aid thereof, and there is no remonstrance ; "
" thus exhibiting," say the Committee, " a degree of
popular favor toward the measure which is rarely
manifested." In the discussions which have taken
5
place on this bill in one branch of the Legislature,
the fact that the Western Railroad bad not remon¬
strated was again alluded to, and the intimation made,
that, if that Corporation bad objections to the grant,
they should have appeared before the Committee.
Under these circumstances, the undersigned now
deem it to be their duty to state to the Legislature the
reasons why they have not, in behalf of the Corpora¬
tion which they represent, offered a remonstrance;
and also to remove any impression, which, under the
suggestions alluded to, may have been entertained
that this Corporation were at length satisfied that the
construction of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad
would not in fact affect the Western Railroad as
injuriously as it was thought it might in 1848, when
that Corporation opposed the petitioners for the Troy
and Greenfield Railroad in their attempt to obtain a
charter.
The undersigned did not appear as remonstrants
before the Committee at the time of the hearing of the
petitioners for the proposed loan, for the reasop that
they were not notified specially of the pendency of
the petitions, and for the additional reason, that,
having in 1848 fully set forth their reasons for
appearing against the petitioners for a charter, —
which reasons the Legislature then deemed insufii-
cient, — they did not deem it proper for them again
1*
6
to appear as remonstrants, when the same parties
applied for the aid of the Commonwealth to enable
them to fulfil the objects contemplated by their
charter.
The undersigned are unwilling, however, that this
failure on their part to appear as remonstrants should
be construed as any indication of an opinion on their
part that the construction of the Troy and Greenfield
Railroad will not be productive of very serious injury
to the Western Railroad. On the contrary, the
undersigned wish to express their opinion that the
construction of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad
cannot fail to be productive of all the injury to the
Western Railroad suggested in the report of the Com¬
mittee which in 1848 reported against the petitioners
for a charter for that road.
The great, indeed the leading, object of the
Commonwealth and of the private stockholders, in
constructing the Western Railroad between the Con¬
necticut and Hudson Rivers, was to open an avenue
by railroad from Boston to Albany, for the transmis¬
sion each way of through and local freight and
passengers. In 1843, nearly four millions of dollars
had been expended west of Connecticut River, in
opening this line. It was foreseen at the outset, that
the local business of this portion of the line never
could remunerate the stockholders ; but it was
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thought that the through business concentrating at
the termini of the through line might, in the course
of years, justify the construction of the road over the
mountain; and this consideration alone seemed to
warrant the investment.
Eesults have shown the accuracy of these conclu¬
sions. The local business west of Springfield never
has paid the running expenses ; and, in view of the
character of the country and its resources along this
part of the line, no large prospective increase of
this business can reasonably be expected. During
the past year, the local business on the 102 miles
of road west of Springfield was only about one-
fourth the amount of local business between Spring¬
field and Worcester, 54 miles.
The undersigned are convinced, that the through
business in freight and passengers, with that portion
of the local business which would be competed for, is
essential to the support of this portion of the Western
Kailroad. They are also convinced, that the with¬
drawal from that road of this business would render
this part of the road valueless as a source of profit,
and of course could not fail seriously to impair the
value of the entire stock.
That the construction of the Troy and Greenfield
Eailroad would necessarily have the effect to deprive
the Western Railroad of the through business, and of
8
a portion of its local business, cannot be doubted, if
the former has the advantage in distance and in
grades claimed for it. The termini of the two roads
will be substantially the same, Boston and Albany ;
and through freight and passengers between the Hud¬
son River and Boston might as readily take the one
avenue as the other, and would unquestionably flow
into the cheapest and most direct channel.
The ability of the Western Railroad to transact a
local and through business very much larger than has
ever heretofore offered itself, cannot be questioned by
any one at all familiar with the capacity of a railroad
for the transportation of freight and passengers. Your
memorialists have no hesitation in saying, that, in
their opinion, the Western Railroad has the capacity
to transact, in connection with any probable amount
of local business it can ever receive, a through busi¬
ness more than ten times larger in amount than it
has ever been called upon to perform. The Reading
Railroad last year, with its double track, in addition
to its local business, brought over its line to Phila¬
delphia about 1,400,000 tons of coal ; while the
Western Railroad carried only 60,000 tons of through
freight.
Of the very large amount of freight arriving at
tide-water at Albany and Troy, comparatively a small
amount seeks the East by railroad. Thus, of the
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2,300,000 tons arriving at these points last year
through the Erie and Champlain Canals, the Western
Eailroad brought to Boston only the amount before
stated, — 60,000 tons. So far as the capacity of the
road is concerned, it might with ease have supplied
the entire demand for New England consumption.
But the great bulk of this freight always has found,
and always will find, an outlet by the way of the
Hudson Eiver, at a less price than it can be carried
by railroad. It arrives at tide-water during the
season of navigation, on that river and on the canals ;
and, without being unloaded, is towed down to New
York, and from that point is carried by water in large
quantities to the various ports of Long Island Sound
to Boston, to New Hampshire, and Maine; and from
these ports it is carried inland, by railroad or other¬
wise. In this way, the cost to the consumer is very
little enhanced by the charge for freight. The return
freight from Boston, west, is comparatively very
small in amount. A majority of the freight-cars
passing from Boston to Albany return empty.
Of the 133,000 barrels of flour arriving at Boston
during the first quarter of the present year, the West¬
ern Eailroad brought only about 10,000 barrels. Of
the remainder, the Ogdensburgh Eailroad brought,
via Fitchburg, about 28,000 barrels ; and nearly three
times the amount brought by both of these railroads
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came by water. This always has been and always
must be the case, however numerous the railroads
between New England and the Western country.
Your memorialists mention these facts for the pur¬
pose of showing that the impression which seems to
be entertained by some, that the construction of a
railroad with easier grades and a shorter distance of
ten miles than is afforded by the Western Eailroad
between the Hudson Eiver and Boston would largely
increase the business between these points, is an
unfounded impression. The demand is limited to the
wants of the West for Eastern manufactures, and
the wants of the East for Western products. Two
avenues by railroad, via the Western and the Ogdens-
burgh Eailroads, are already opened for the supply of
this demand ; and a third avenue will soon be opened
from the Erie Eailroad, by way of Fishkill, Hartford,
and Providence, to Boston. The Western Eailroad
alone is quite adequate to the present or prospective
demand many times multiplied.
With all its through and its local business, without
competition, the Western Eailroad has not yet been
able to pay its original stockholders five per cent on
their investments.
In conclusion, your memorialists wish to express
the opinion, that the Western Eailroad cannot afford
to lose the business, which it would lose by the con-
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struction of the Troy and Greenfield Eailroad, Since
1845, when the Western Eailroad first paid dividends
to its stockholders, various railroads have been com¬
pleted, and others will soon be completed, which,
from their location, must necessarily be competitors
with the Western Eailroad for the through and the
local business, which since 1845 has enabled that
road to pay dividends. How far this competition
will reduce the future income of the road remains to
be seen. That, however, it will have the effect to
neutralize any increased profits arising from any pro¬
bable increase of through or of local business for
many years to come, your memorialists cannot doubt ;
and, if it does not have a more serious effect on the
income of the road, the expectations of many saga¬
cious business-men will prove to be unfounded.
Your memorialists would not at this time have
appeared before the Legislature, if, from the report of
the Committee and the remarks of speakers in the
Legislature, the imprêssion had not been created, that
the non-appearance of the Corporation which they
represent indicated an opinion on their part that they
had nothing to fear from the construction of the Troy
and Greenfield Eailroad. To remove this unfounded
impression, they deem it to be proper to offer this
memorial. As an enterprise dependent on private
subscription, the Western Eailroad Corporation have
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not deemed the proposed undertaking dangerous to
their interests. They have all along been satisfied,
that the necessarily unsatisfactory character of the
estimates as to the probable time, cost, and business-
results of the proposed road, would for ever preclude
its construction by private enterprise. If, however,
the strong arm of the Commonwealth shall be ex¬
tended in aid of the enterprise, the result, whatever
may be the ultimate cost, cannot be doubtful. The
passage of the biU authorizing the loan cannot fail to
depress the stock of the existing road ; and the ulti¬
mate completion of the Troy and Greenfield Eailroad,
thus made certain, must necessarily be followed by a
ruinous diversion of business from the Western Rail¬
road.
All of which is respectfully submitted by —
W. H. SWIFT,
ROBT. CAADPBELL,
MYRON LAWRENCE,
EDWD. L. KEYES,
JOSIAH STICKNEY,
EDWARD AUSTIN,
GEO. H. KUHN,
Directors of the ■
^ Western Railroad
Corporation.
JOHN S. C. KNOWLTON,
Boston, April 16, 1851.