PRESIDENT'S REPORT.
New Bern, N. C, Sept. 27th, 1900.
To the Stockholders of the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad Go.
Gentlemen:—We beg- to submit for your consideration this, the
46th Annual Report of your Company.
When we assumed control of your property on the 28th day of
September, 1899, just one year ago to-morrow, we were under the
impression, judging- from the amount of traffic there was passing
over its line and the dividends it was paying from what was sup-posed
to be its surplus earnings, that its road-bed, bridges, ware-houses,
etc., while not in first-class order, were in such condition as
to render.the travel and traffic over its track at least safe and to
afford protection from the weather for both goods and Wdres offered
it for transportation. But deeming it the part of wisdom to ascertain
its real state, it was determed to have it thoroughly examined from
one terminus to the other. To that end an engineer was. -._ '^ed
to inspect it.
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A few da3Ts after his report was submitted, wishing- to verify the
same on the of October, in companj' with the Road Waster we
began an 'examination of it in detail, and found that the report, while
showing the Road in poor physical condition had dealt principally
in generalities, and failed, therefore, to furnish much information
that was necessary to a correct understanding of the condition of the
property.
Beginning at Goldsboro we found the warehouse at that point in
very fair order, but needing repairs, and the raising- of its floor and
platforms necessary for the convenient and expeditious handling of
freights. We also found it entirely too small for the present needs
of the Road, and that the business of the place demanded the con-struction
of another, which is now being- built of brick. Its dimen-sions
are 60 ft. wide by 200 ft. long, inside measurement, and 18 ft.
pitch. It is being built by day labor under our own foreman, and
its estimated cost is about $6,500. It will supply a long needed
want, and the wisdom of its construction, will, ,we think, be demon-strated
by increased receipts during the coming year.
At "Spring Bank," a point about five miles from Goldsboro, to
which a large quantity of guano and general farmer's supplies are
shipped, and which is becoming quite a shipping point for truck and
other produce, we found no facilities whatever. A short siding has
since been put in, and a shed and platform are needed.
At Beston, four miles further on, one of the old original station
a point to which 800 to 1,000 tons of guano, besides other supplii
are shipped, and from which, in addition to other produces, a coi
siderable quantity of cotton is shipped, your Company never has an
does ii' it now own a single plank or shingle in the way of warehousi
or other building* The goods, as at Spring Bank, have to remai
in the car-, sometimes as long as two to three weeks, until it sui
the convenience of the consignees. to haul them to their homes, ar
not infrequently;there are as many as eight to ten cars on the sidir
at the same timft. Comment upon such methods is unnecessary.
is the old story of "stopping the spicket and leaking at the bung.
Warehouse facilities are badly needed at this place and will 1
supplied at the earliest moment that your Company is in a positk
to build them.
At La Grange, we found the passenger depot totally inadequat
with but one room for both races, and too near the track. We ha\
added a room for blacks, thereby giving separate accommodatio'.
to the races, and moved the building six feet further from the trac.
making a platform about ten feet in width. We found the warehous'
in bad order, and needing extensive repairs, which, up to this tim
by re -1
i of the more pressing- want of our attention elsewhere, \
have been unable to make. We have, however, tried to relieve tl
situation by the erection of a temporary platform for the more, co
venient loading of cotton, etc., and have also put in a short sidir
near the tobacco warehouse, for the convenience of tobacco dealer
The business at LaGrange has increased to such an extent th
it demands, and 3'our Company will be justified in providing larg
and more convenient facilities for its transaction.
At Fulling Creek, we found a comparatively new passeng
depot, one room of which had been converted into a warehouse. Al
a small platform and a small one room shanty which seemed to 1
used for the storage of cotton seed.
This is another point, with a siding capable of holding fifte<
cars, to which large quantities of guano and other supplies a
shipped and from which your Road transports a considerable qua
tity of cotton and other products, truck, etc., and at which the ca
are used as warehouses until the consignees see fit to haul the
goods to their homes.
The business at this place justifies good warehouse and platfor
facilities, and they should be built as early as practicable.
The passenger depot is dangerously near the track and will 1
moved baok to a safe distance.
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At Kinston, we found a good passenger depot built a few years
since, but located too near the track. We had it moved back to a
safe distance so as to give a large and commodious platform reaching
to the side-walk of Caswell street, and thereby adding greatly to
the convenience of the traveling- public. We found the cotton ware-house
rotten and the adjoining platform in fair condition only. We
also found the brick warehouse in bad order and greatlj' in need of
repairs. We further found that the business at this point had grown
to proportions far beyond the Road's facilities for handling it. In
view of this fact we have torn down the dilapidated house and plat-form
above referred to, and are constructing a brick warehouse upon
their sites 220 ft. long b3' 40 ft. wide and 18 ft. from floor to joist.
This house will give ample accommodation for years to come, and
not only add to the convenience of shippers, but to the receipts of the
Company also. It will be roofed with galvanized iron. We think
the brick warehouse, now used for freight, after being repaired,
should be converted into a passenger depot, telegraph office, etc.
and a part of it might still be used for storage. The present pas-senger
depot we think should be discontinued, and the building re-moved
to one of the smaller stations, of which there are several,
without an3' depot facilities whatever. Upon examination of the site
of the brick warehouse, we found that the wooden structure added to
the original building extended across the side-walk, thereby forcing
pedestrians to walk in the roadway of the street. We suggest, that
as soon as the new warehouse is completed, the part of the building
occup3-ing the sidewalk be removed and the street no longer obstruct-ed.
We also found, for reasons unknown to us, that the Atlantic
Coast Line had been permitted to cross your Road and lay its tracks
to the timber mills located on Neuse River and thereby to obtain the
virtual control of their shipments. As these mills were erected be-fore
the A. C. L. came to Kinston, they were essential^' within the
territory of your Road, and it seems to us, in the absence of any
good reason to -the contrary, that 3*our track should have reached
them long before the Coast Line came, and their traffic thereby
largely secured to your Road. At this point is located the large and
prosperous timber plant of Messrs. Hines & Bro. and many other
large and growing industries, all of which contribute in a greater
or less degree to the revenue of 3'our Road.
At Caswell, a station about four miles east of Kinston, a poiut
to which some guano and other supplies are shipped, and at which
there is quite a little passenger traffic, the only depot and warehouse
accommodations that we found was a small shanty house, with the
entire roof rotten, and several places fallen in. We had the roof
made new, and it is now, as far as its capacity goes, of service to
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the Company. With better accommodations for both freight and
passengers, quite a little traffic could be built up at this place.
At Dover, just five miles east of Caswell, one of the original
stations of the road, and the point at which is located the extensive
and well managed plant of the Goldsboro Lumber Company, we
found a comparatively new passenger and freig-ht depot combined,
built during the administration of Mr. Robert Hancock, but entirely
inadequate for the present traffic, both passenger and freight. Being
only about four feet from the track, we have had it moved back six
feet, so as to give a platform of ten feet in width, and thereby add
to the safety of the people who use it. The roof of the warehouse
proper which then was, and now is in use, we found rotten and a
portion of it gone, rendering it impossible to protect its contents from ,
the weather. We have had it repaired, a new roof put on it, and
while it is too small we are using it, and shall continue to do so,
until we can provide better accommodations.
At Core Creek, the next station, and about seven miles east of
Dover, we found the warehouse while virtually new, badly construct-ed,
and not suitable for either freight or passenger accommodations.
There is considerable business done at this place, which if property
fostered can be increased to the advantage of the Road. It is the
junction point for passengers going to and returning from Trenton,
the county seat of Jones county, and should have better traffic facil-ities.
At the next station, Tuscarora, about eleven miles from New-
Bern, and one of the original stations, the only facilities we found
were a dilapidated platform and shed, the shed being- propped to
keep it from falling. We have replaced the shed with a neat pas-senger
and freight depot, with two waiting rooms, one for each race,
and a warehouse room. The dimensions of the waiting rooms are
12 x IS feet and that of warehouse 25 x 40 feet, roof of galvanized
iron. We think the Road will find its receipts at this place in-creased
during- the coming year.
At Clark's, three miles east of Tuscarora, we found only a very
small platform and shed. At this point there is a small saw-mill,
and recently there has been located there the large brick plant of
Messrs. Abbott & Jones, and within a few hundred yards the exten-sive
brick plant of the Messrs. Hyman, while both east and west of
it and but a short distance therefrom is a log siding from both of
which large quantities of logs are shipped. The interests of the
Road as well as that of its patrons demand that both passenger and
warehouse accommodations should be provided at this point.
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At New Bern, the chief station and headquarters of the Road,
with the exception of the passenger depot and the small office build-ing-,
we found the entire property in a most dilapidated state. The
roof of the round house in which the engines are kept was, and still
is, rotten and worthless, and afforded poor protection from the rain.
The ends of several of the trusses which support it were also rotten.
"We have had the trusses repaired and the roof patched, hoping- that
it could be made serviceable until the coming year, but so rotten is
the tin that it is again full of holes and leaking. The tinner reports
it dangerous for a man to walk on it and that to attempt to repair it
will simply be a waste of mone3'. An entirely new roof is necessary.
The roof of the car shelter is also rotten, and will have to be made
almost entirely new.
The roofs of the machine shops and foundry are covered with
slate and the buildings were originally finished with a parapet wall.
In order to prevent leaking which was thought to be due to that fact,
the parapet wall was, some years ago, taken down, and the roofs
extended so as to cover the space which it occupied. When this ex-tension
was covered, instead of using slate, the material with which
the other portions of the roofs were covered, paper roofing was sub-stituted.
The result has been that those parts of the roofs so covered
have for several years past leaked like riddles, causing the ends of
several of the trusses to rot, and compelling their renewal on more
than one occasion. We have had the wood work of these roofs re-paired,
and the rotten paper torn off and replaced with slate. The
roofs are now in good condition and will remain so for many years
to come.
The machinery in the shops, with the exception of one or two
pieces, we found worn out and worthless. Most of it having been
in constant use for the last forty years, work of inferior quality only
could be done with it, while its cost to the Road was necessarily
greatly in excess of what it should be. With the exception of the
one or two pieces above referred to, this machinery has been taken
out, and replaced at a cost of $5,772.00, with modern and up to date
appliances, rendering the work now done first class and the cost of
it, by reason of the expedition with which it can be turned out, very
materially less. The boiler in the engine room we found .worn out
and capable of carrying but thirty pounds of steam with safety.
That has been taken out and replaced by a new and modern boiler
of eighty horse power.
The carpenter shop, a wooden structure, we found, with the
exception of the trusses which support the roof, rotten, from its top
to its sills. So rotten is its roof and weather-boarding that in dry
weather the sparks from passing engines frequently set it on fire,
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which has rendered necessary the improvising of a fire department
of ladders and water buckets to protect it. It is a veritable fire trap,
and as there are at all times two or more cars in it undergoing re-pairs,
its destruction bj' either fire or storm would entail a heavy
loss upon the Compai^'. It is furthermore too small and totally in-adequate
for the work required, and should be replaced b3' a new
and more commodious building.
The brickwarehouse at pier 1 on Neuse River, the only ware-house
at this place, we also found in bad repair. The transom
lights w.ere broken out and partially replaced with boards to keep
out the rain. The roof of the main building had a hole in it eight
or ten feet long and at some parts of it eight to ten inches wide.
This building was also originally constructed with a parapet wall,
and when the parapet was removed, the roof was extended as in the
case of the roofs of the machine shops and foundry and in like man-ner
covered with paper, and with the same results. We have had
the transom lights replaced and the parts of the roof covered with
paper recovered with slate, so as to make the material of the roof
uniform. It is now in good condition and will remain so for a long
time to come.
The roo'f of the shed leading to the end of the pier and used for
storage of guano and other merchandise we found not only rotten,
but leaking so badly that whenever it rained the goods stored therein
had to be covered to protect them. The underpinning of this shed
was in such a deca}'ed condition that shortly after we assumed con-trol'
of the property, it gave way, and it was with great difficulty
that the precipitation of 3,500 sacks of guano into the river was pre-vented.
We managed, however, to get it out, and for want of ware-house
facilities here, were compelled to haul most of it to Morehead
City, and store it there, entailing upon the Company the expense of
hauling it seventy-two miles and handling it three times. The roof
on this shed and the sub-structure that had given way we replaced
at once, and have done such other work to it as was necessary to
render it safe, but the whole structure needs repairing and many
new piles should be driven.
The roof of the wharf used for loading and unloading steamers
and other craft we found rotten and worthless. We have endeavered,
however, to get along with it as best we could, being compelled to
turn our attention to more needed repairs elsewhere. But it has now
reached such a state that work upon it cannot much longer be de-layed,
and it will have to be replaced with a new roof. Many new
piles also will have to be driven to render the wharf secure.
We found the paint shop abandoned as a paint shop, (the paint-ing
being done in the carpenter shop) and converted into a veritable
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junk shop, where every conceivable small article connected with a
railroad was piled in indiscriminate and chaotic confusion. The
roof and sills and about two feet of the lower ends of the studding
were rotten, and the floor gone. The rest of the frame being good,
and having no store room to take its place, we deemed it to the in-terest
of the Company to repair it. We accordingly cut off the rotten
ends of the studs, put new sills under it, and moved it about 60 feet
to the east side of the yard, where it is of great usefulness for storage
of such articles as will not be materially damaged by exposure. The
frame is worth a new roof and sidings, and should be repaired.
Upon its former site we have built a brick paint shop, 44 x 90 ft.,
which will shortly be ready for use, and will enable the Company
to have its cars properly painted, and otherwise cared for.
We found no place for the storage of oils, the round house being
used for that purpose, where twenty to fifty barrels were usually
kept between the engine tracks. To supply this need we have built
of brick a neat and commodious oil room, adjoining the store room,
where the oils are kept under lock and under the supervision of the
store keeper.
The turn table, constructed forty years ago for the use of twenty-eight
to thirty ton engines, but having in recent years been used to
turn engines of double that weight, we found badly broken and
strapped up with truss rods, etc. Shortly after we took control of
your property it gave way entirely while turning an engine, but for-tunately
did not throw- it into the pit. We have replaced it with a
table built of bridge steel, with a capacity of 110 tons, and apprehend
no further difficult}' on that score. We were without the use of a
table for several months. For the last six months we have been en-deavoring
to clean up the premises. During that time we have dug
up not less than thirty to forty tons of cast iron, and gathered together
a large amount of other kinds of iron.' The cast iron we are using
in the foundry and such portions of the other as we cannot use, we
shall sell. We have hauled out of the yard a sufficient amount of
debris to build a track leading to the Neuse River warehouse three
feet high, ten to twelve feet wide, and one or two hundred feet in
length, and there is still a large quantity of it to be removed. The
house in which the rod and bar iron is kept, is rotten and should be
torn down, and a new one built.
The warehouse facilities at this point being totally inadequate
for the business of the road, we have constructed a warehouse on
Neuse River, principally for the storage of guano, 60 ft. wide by 210
ft. long, and expect it to prove not only a great convenience, but, in
storage receipts a source of revenue to the Company. We have also
constructed on Trent River a warehouse seventy feet wide by two
hundred and fort}7 feet long, on the property purchased from Mr. J.
H. Hackburn for the sum of $10,000. This property is worth greatly
more to your Compan}' than was paid for it, being- absolutely indis-pensable
to the convenient and profitable conduct of its business at
this place. Your passenger depot being cramped in its accommoda-tions
and inconveniently located, should be removed to this property
where ample room can be had and proper conveniences furnished the
traveling public.
This warehouse will be used principally for local business, and
will, it is thought, by reason of the great convenieace it will afford
shippers, add materially to the receipts of the Company at this place.
The second floor of the south end of this warehouse is being fitted
for offices, for the use of the Company, the present offices being too
small for the work, and too far from the business center of the city.
The house on Neuse River is in use, and we hope to begin using
the one on Trent River sometime in October. The cost of these two
houses when completed will be about $19,000.
In conjunction with the authorities of the Atlantic Coast Line, we
have built a belt line connecting the two roads at this place, thereby
supplying a long needed want and greatly facilitating the handling
of the interchangeable traffic of the two lines.
At James City we found a small platform and shed, but the
traffic, both passenger and freight, of no moment. On the James City
land, however, and only a short distance away, are located the ex-tensive
saw mills of the Blades Lumber Co. and of Munger & Bennett,
which, in the shipment of lumber and hauling of logs, contribute
largel}' to the receipts of your property. Had proper transportation
facilities been afforded them, when their mills were first construct-ed
several years ago, a large proportion of the out-put of the Blades
Lumber Co. would probably have gone over your road, but in their
absence, their shipments were bv' water exclusively. During the
administration of President Patrick, a spur was laid to their mills
and since then your road has derived a very satisfactory revenue
from their business.
At Vinson's, a few miles further on, we found no accommodations,
but from representations and our knowledge of the farming interests
of the locality, felt that shipping facilities should be afforded at that
point. We accordingly put in a short siding and erected a platform
and shed of dimensions about 20 x 40. The result has full}' justified
the outlay. Quite a little business has been started and the pros-pect
is that it will be increased during the coming year.
At Thurman, only a mile or two distant, we found a siding and
shed. The business at this_ point is growing, and by proper atten-tion
and encouragement can, in time, be made valuable.
At Riverdale, the only facilities we found, were a diminutive
platform and a shanty room upon it about as large as a good sized
chicken coop. At this place is located a brick plant, and near by,
the saw mill of Messrs. Lokey & Cannon, whose output, which is
valuable, for the want of proper shipping- accommodations at the
time of the erection of their plant, was diverted from your road
to the river, about half a mile distant, and is now transported by
water. Its natural outlet is over the line of your road, and as we
have given them a switch in order to enable them to ship their slabs,
we hope in time, to have them ship some of their lumber by us also.
This place needs and should have better accommodations.
At Croatan we found no shipping facilities whatever—only a
fine well of the best water on the road, over which once stood a water
tank, but which, had, 3'ears ago been removed and the water station
discontinued. At this point—one of the largest logging depots on
your line, and the receiving and distributing center for the supplies
and products of the adjacent farms, we have erected a modern depot
with separate waiting rooms for both races, and a ware-room about
25x40, feeling assured that the local business will be increased there-by.
We also found that the water tank referred to, as having been
removed, is much needed, and have taken steps to have it rebuilt.
At Havelock, a station at which there is considerable passenger
traffic, and some freight, we found very poor and inadequate accom-modations.
We have been enabled, however, to get along with them,
and shall continue to do so until the surplus in 3'our treasury is
greater than it is now, and the wants of stations with no accommo-dations
whatever are attended to. At the same time, we think better
facilities would materially increase the business at that point.
At Newport, we found the depot buildings comparatively new,
in apparent good order, and ample for the business of the place.
The water tank was leaky and in bad order, and will continue so,
the staves having been warped and twisted by the sun, by reason of
the neglect of the various station hands who have had charge of it,
to keep it filled with water. As soon as a tank can be put up at
Croatan it will be discontinued as a water station. The well is of
little value and often a source of trouble, affording in dry weather a
very limited supply.
At Wildwood we found the warehouse, the only building there,
in fair order, but entirely too small to afford the accommodations
required at that place. Better facilities should be given.
At Morehead City we found the platform at the up town station
rotten, and the passenger and freight depot, while in fairly good
condition, entirely too small and out of all proportion to the business.
10
We have recently rebuilt the platform, and hope to build a depot
suitable to the wants of the town at an early day. The fish depot,
the joint property of the Southern Express Company and 3'our Road,
we found to be nothing- more than a dilapidated and unsightly shan-ty,
standing in the street, an eyesore to every passer by, a disgrace
to the corporations owning it and a mortifying annoyance to the
citizens of Morehead. It should be torn down and replaced by a
better and more convenient building.
The large platform in front of the Atlantic Hotel we found rotten
and dangerous. It has been replaced by a new one 200 feet long,
and covered by a shed supported by a single row of posts, and
lighted at night by gas furnished by the owners of the hotel. It is
a great convenience to the traveling public, and presents a hand-some
appearance.
Your Road, from this point to Pier 1, its ocean terminus, runs
upon a narrow tongue of made land, which has, on several occasions,
been badly damaged and portions of it destroyed by the storms that
are prevolent on our coast. It has, time and again, been rip-rapped
with old ties and piles, and bulkheaded with stone, old bricks and
shells, but being simply thrown upon the sand and allowed to settle
themselves they have proved but little protection to the bank which
is always more or less damaged by every storm of any violence.
Your Road is not now able to build it, but we hope the time is not
very far in the future when it will be able to construct a sea wall
along the bank capable of resisting every storm. This is the only
solution of the trouble, and had it been so constructed when the Road
was originally built, the money that has been expended to repair
the damage of the storms, would long since have paid its cost.
At Pier 1, we found the warehouse, built upon iron piles, in
fairly good order and one of the best on your Road. The long plat-form
leading from the warehouse to the land is built upon pine piles,
and greatly in need of repairs, some of which have since been made.
Being unable to make satisfactory arrangements for a water supply
at Morehead City, and the well in use being unreliable, and the
tank virtually of no value and comparatively useless by reason of the
neglect of those in charge of it to keep it filled with water, we have
bored a well at Pier 1, between 200 and 300 feet deep and cased it to
a depth of 167 feet with 6 inch iron pipe. The water obtained is of
good quality and the supply inexhaustable. We have built a foun-dation
for a 30,000 gallon tank and small gasoline engine, which we
have purchased for use at this well and will soon have them in posi-tion.
From this tank, by means of a pipe laid to the end of the pier,
we propose to supply all vessels calling at our warehouse for water
and for which we are informed that one cent per gallon is now paid
11
in the harbor. This should prove a source of revenue sufficient to
meet all expenses incident to supplying- your engines with water and
in time repay the cost of sinking- the well and price of tank and en-gine.
The rails upon your road we found good; the road-bed we found
uneven, rough and in bad order, and much of the timber in it rotten,
so rotten, that in many places it was only necessary to kick the
spikes with your foot in order to loosen them sufficiently to pull them
out with your fingers, and in more than a thousand ties, by actual
count, we found that a spike had never been driven. Comment is
unnecessary. To its air line straightness alone is its freedom from
accident due. The ditches had the appearance of not having been
cleaned out in years. For miles they were filled with water without
an outlet, and a great portion of your road-bed was badly sobbed.
The right of way was grown up with bushes and trees of a size that
demonstrated the fact that it also had been neglected for years past.
In a great measure we have remedied these troubles.
Of your motive power, we found eight engines out of a total of
twelve, good—the others old and of little value. Two of them, the
No. 1 and 2 were the first engines purchased by your company more
than forty years ago; the other two, the 8 and 9, were purchased from
the Federal Government thirt3- -five years ago. We found such rolling
stock as you had in fairly good order, but some of your cars old and
out of date, and not enough of them to do the work. Neither did you
have engines enough by three to perform the service required of them.
We have been thus particular in outlining the state of 3'our road,
for the reason, that after thoroughly examining it, we found it in
such a dilapidated and worn out condition, that we were unwilling
to assume its management unless the Board of Internal Improvement
would, with an expert of their own selection, go over it and thoroughly
examine into its condition for themselves, which at our request they
did, and we here state, without fear of contradiction, that every
member of that board who took part in that examination, will bear
us out as to the correctness of the statements herein made. We have
also been thus particular in laying the condition of your road when
we assumed control of it, before you, for the reason, that when dur-ing
the session of the last Legislature an offer was made by Mr.
Edwards to purchase it, and the statement was made that it was
run down to a point that made it dangerous for travel, and that the
machinery in your shops and most of your motive power were worn
out and worthless, your President was a member of that body, and
believing from the information furnished him that the statement was
not warranted by the facts, denied it before a Committee of the Sen-ate.
His personal examination made thereafter and the examina-
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tion made by the Board of Internal Improvement, at which some of
us were present, have shown us his error and demonstrated the fact
that the statement was true. We furthermore wished you to know
the condition of your property at the time we assumed control of it,
in order that you might be able to judge for yourselves as to whether
it had improved or deteriorated under our management. For infor-mation
more in detail as to the condition of your roadway, ditches,
bridges, culverts, water stations, shops, and foundry work, wood
and timber supplj', etc., etc., etc., you are respectfully referred to
the reports of the Road Master and Master Machanic herewith sub-mitted.
Finding no record of the various pieces of Real Estate owned by
your Company, except an occasional deed in the hands of the Treas-urer
for a piece here and a piece there, and deeming it of essential
importance that 3'our Company should have some evidence of title to
its holdings other than that of mere possession, we decided to have
every piece of your real estate surveyed and platted, and a copy of
the plat entered in a book to be obtained for that purpose, and also
to have the deeds for each piece of property copied in said book, on
the page next to the plat of the same. By this means your Company
would at all times have within easy and convenient reach not only a
record of its titles to its property, but full and complete evidence of
its possession. We also decided to have the lines of your right of
way surveyed and re-established and platted in the same book, and
thereby end the controversies constantly arising with parties claim-ing
the right to use and build thereon. With this end in view we
employed a surveyor and instructed him to survey and plat your
property at New Bern. As the work proceeded, we found, much to
our surprise, that for some of it your Company had no deeds in its
possession, and that none had ever been placed upon record. Under
these circumstances, we were compelled to rely upon the old and ori-ginally
known lines of adjacent property which developed the fact
that new lines had been established by parties unknown to us, fen-ces
erected upon them, encroaching upon your property and em-bracing
as a part of said adjacent property portions of the most val-uable
lots undoubtedly owned by your Company. We also found a
party holding a deed for a lot in the centre of your 3'ard and covered
by your tracks, while your Company held a deed for the adjoining
lot upon which was located his residence. This difficulty will be
adjusted by an exchange of deeds. But how your Company, in the
absence of all documentary evidence of title, is to recover possession
of that portion of its property embraced in and covered for the last
twenty-five years by the arbitrary lines of the adjoining lots, is, to
us, not so clear.
13
We regret to say that further investigation has demonstrated the
fact that New Bern is not the only place in which you own property
for which you have no deeds in your possession and for which no
record of any can be found. We recommend that this matter be
thoroughly investigated, and that your titles to all your property be
re-established and perfected at the earliest moment.
An examination of the methods employed in keeping the accounts
of your Company, has demonstrated the fact that your system of
book-keeping is faulty, cumbersome, and not adapted to Railroad
business, and in the absence of absolute accuracy of distribution in
the accounts rendered by the heads of the various departments is
unreliable and misleading. The system embraces four books, a
general register of earnings, a general register of disbursements,
and a ledger in which are kept the accounts of the agents and our
connections, and a cash book, which is kept as a check upon the
account of the Treasurer. There are no individual accounts with
the various departments, no individual acccounts of disbursements,
no individual accounts of distribution, and no indices to any of the
books except the general ledger, in which, as I have stated above,
are entered the accounts of the agents and our connections only. If
it is desired to ascertain the price of an article or the date of its
purchase, the only way in which it can be done is by examining the
various pages of the General Register, item by item until the entry
of its cost is found, and if its purchase was by partial payments,
the various payments have to be searched for, and picked out from
the hundreds of items upon the Register and made up into a separate
account. The time lost and the labor wasted upon a system like this
are frequently of more value than the article whose value is sought.
No business man of the present day would tolerate it. Such a sys-tem
might have met the wants of a Cross-Roads Grocery store fifty
years ago, when time was not of the essence of the contract, and
accuracy not a factor in accounts, but in this day of rapid movement
and lightening-like calculation it is out of date, and obsolete, and
should be replaced by more modern methods.
It is with regret that we inform you that on the 12th of the present
month, by reason of the breaking of an axle of a greatly overloaded
car, your Road met with the only accident of any moment that has
occurred during our administration. Owing to the fortunately low
rate of speed at which the train was running there was no loss of
life, but the wreck of two old freight cars was complete. One pas-senger
car was damaged, but to a slight extent only. The cost of
the wreck is estimated at $500.00. All circumstances connected with
the occurrence are being thoroughly investigated and the respon-sibility
will be placed where it belongs.
,
14
When on the 28th day of September last we assumed control of
your property, we found in your treasury a credit balance of
$14,060.05. On June 30th, the end of the fiscal year just closed, the
balance was $'654.45, while on the 21st of the present month the
balance on hand, as per report of the Finance Committee, was
$14,364.31. For a more detailed statement of moneys received and
disbursed and on hand, together with the amounts due by our con-nections,
3'ou are referred to the reports of the Finance Committee,
of the Treasurer, and of the Auditor, which are herewith respectfully
submitted.
In order to supply the immediately pressing- and more impera-tive
needs of the Road, we have purchased since the first day of
October last the following' articles and supplies, to- wit:
2 Pittsburg Locomotives, 17 inch cylinders, at a cost of
$8,750 and $8,800, respectively $ 17,550.00
1 Pittsburg Locomotive, 18 inch cylinder at a cost of . . . . 9,920.00
1 Pullman Parlor Car "" " " 4,216.18
2 First Class Passenger Cars "" " " 7,248.00
2 Second Class Passenger Cars "" " " 4,540.00
2 Combinations, Pass., Mail & Baggage Cars " " 4,382.00
10 Box and 10 Flat Cars 8,000.00
10 Box Cars 2,080.00
1 Box " 443.00
1 Flat " ., 267.00
1 Turn table and putting in same 2,035.42
Machinery for shops 5,772.22
Boiler for Engine Room, and putting in same 900.00
60 Pairs New wheels and axles for 15 new flat cars 1,604.27
40 " " " " " " 10 new log cars 1,000.00
60,000 lbs. wrought iron 1,350.00
52 Automatic Couplers 553.00
30 Barrels Oil and Grease 420.44
143,000 Ft. Lumber at $14 1,999.00
Bolts, Castings, etc 370.85
4,272 lbs. new brass for cars 704.88
Paints 358.52
New Rails 9,987.00
Real Estate on Trent River 10,000.00
From this am't is to be deducted am't due upon
Real Estate $2,000.00
Am't due upon Engine 17 2,845.00
Am't due upon Passenger Cars 1.860.00
r
6,705.00
Leaving a total of Cash paid out $88,897.78
15
This amount, however does not represent the sum total which
has been expended for improvements and the further sum of about
$3,000 due upon open account, which aggregate something over one
hundred thousand dollars. For a fuller statement thereof you are
referred to the report of the Auditor.
These items constituting the greater and most prominent portion
of our expenditures, we have laid them and their cost before you in
order that you might see for what the receipts of the Road have
been used, and from the very nature and quantity of the articles
purchased judge for yourselves of the straits in which we found it.
When we took charge of it there was little surplus material of any
kind on hand; no rails, no engine tires, a few sets only of car wheels
and axles, scarcely any castings, and no timber worth speaking of
for the repairing of cars or for any other purpose. In fact, there
was comparatively nothing. It had been stripped and denuded.
Its poverty was pitiable. Everything was conducted upon the hand
to mouth plan. If an hundred feet of plank was needed, a man was
sent to the mill to buy it, and often times to purchase a smaller
quantity. The fact is, your Road was as bare of tools, supplies, and
material absolutely necessary for its operation and maintenance as
it was bankrupt in purse, notwithstanding the fact that for the past
eight or ten years it had been paying an annual dividend of two per
cent. It is not our purpose to indulge in criticism, but in justifica-tion
of the course we have pursued in its management, we feel con-strained
to say that we think it well that some attention has been
paid to its rehabilitation, and that for the present, at least, the pay-ment
of a dividend should not be considered.
As you will perceive from the Auditor's report the earnings of the
Road for the present fiscal year have been $218,165.96, the highest
amount it has ever realized, and an increase in excess of the earnings
of last year of 330,603.73. _ A comparison of the earnings and operat-ing
expenses of the past year with those of the preceding four years
is not unfavorable, and shows that, notwithstanding the large total
of expenditures, the Road has been economically and successfully
managed and earned a handsome surplus.
By some not familiar with its condition and who have not taken
the trouble or cared to imform themselves of its needs, the expendi-tures
have been criticized as excessive, but the great amount of sup-plies
and material, and the employment of the large extra force re-quired
to put the Road in the physical condition necessary to conduct
the traffic which we were satisfied could be obtained for it, if pro-perly
equipped to handle it, made their incurrence a necessity, and
in the result we have not been disappointed.
We have added Sunday trains to your system and inaugurated
16
a double daily mail along- 3'our line which have proved greatly bene-ficial
to our local interests and added not only to the comfort and
pleasure of your patrons but contributed in no small degree to the
receipts of 3
7our treasury. We have established a system of Satur-day
night and Sunday tickets at reduced rates which has been heartily
approved b}' the general public and large^ increased the travel upon
your line. From a close study of conditions now existing we are
satisfied that double daily freight trains, running the entire length
of j'our line should be added to your system. The increased traffic
which we feel assured would result therefrom would become an im-portant
factor in the receipts of 3-our treasury, and if the equipment
of the road was sufficient we would sugg-est that they be put on at
once. Unfortunately, however, the motive power of the road is barely
sufficient to meet its present needs, while to carry out our views,
would require at least two additional engines, which, just at this
time the road is not in a position to purchase. It is hoped, however,
that during the nest few months it will be, and then it is believed
the period of its greatest prosperity will begin. An examination of
its statements for the last few years shows a steady increase of earn-ings,
and we are satisfied that during the next five or six years
with a management characterized by an active, economic and intelli-gent
energy it can be put upon a permanently paying- basis and its
earnings doubled. The conditions necessary to bring about these re-sults
exist, and need only to be developed. The business is within
your reach, and it will be your own fault if you fail to foster it.
But in order to bring- about results so greatly to be desired, you
must equip and put 3
-our road in thorough order and repair. In its
present condition, notwithstanding the outlay of the year just passed,
as large as some, not familiar with its impoverished condition, may
think it, its energies were taxed to the utmost to handle the business
secured for it, and should the increase during the coming- year equal
that of the year just gone the purchase of more exuipment and addi-tional
engines would be a necessity.
At a meeting of your Board of Directors shortly after taking
charge of your propert}', for the purpose of more speedily rehabilita-ting
your road and better fitting it for both traffic and travel, we
were given a credit of $50,000. Of this sum, in furtherance of the
object for which it was granted, we have borrowed and expended,
giving notes of the Company therefor, the sum of $45,000—but such
were the necessities of the road for motive power, new equipment,
new and increased traffic accommodations, and repairs generally,
that when on the 1st of July last your semi-annual interest fell due,
we were compelled to borrow $10,000 to meet it, making the total
amount borrowed and still due $55,000. The repayment of this sum
17
however gives us no concern. The small balance of $6,705.00 yet due
on motive power, equipment, and real estate we will liquidate in
November, and we will then rapidly pay off the sums we have bor-rowed.
The great bane of your road has been the frequent change of its
administration and the custom which has largely governed the ap-pointment
of its employees. By reason of this constant change one
policj' of administration has succeeded the other at such short inter-vals
as to render any plan of continuously practical operation im-possible.
Influence and not fitness has been the controlling force in
the appointment of your officers and too frequently in that of your
operatives. The result has been a want of system, an almost total
absence of discipline, causing carelessness as to obedience to orders,
amounting in some instances virtually to insubornation and their
wilful violation, inattention to duty, apparent indifference to the
interest of the Company and an inefficiency which has rendered the
cost of operating your road greatly in excess of what it would other-wise
have been. The remedy is patent.
The controlling head of your management, regardless of the in-dividual,
should be a man of first class business capacity and ag-gressive
energy; of broad and liberal views as to the wants and
needs of the traveling and commercial public; familiar with the im-proved
methods and appliances in use at the present day, and have
some knowledge of the system upon which the business of modern
railroading is conducted. He should have the exclusive appointment
and dismissal of his employees, and be held to a strict accountability
for the success or failure of his administration. If the business in-terest
of the road is to be paramount, as it should be, all other con-siderations
should be disregarded, and his tenure of office should
depend upon his ability and success as a manager.
Should these suggestions find favor with you, and your road be
put in first class condition, there is not the slightest reason why, in
the near future, it should not become a source of permanent and re-munerative
revenue to its stockholders. But in first class order it
must be put, otherwise these results cannot be obtained.
There has been in the near past some discussion as to the ad-visability,
on your part, of permanently disposing of your property
and a proposition involving its lease, and another, the purchase of
the interest of the State therein, has been submitted, which when the
terms of said propositions are considered, were, in our opinion,
wisely declined.
The conditions affecting your road are peculiar to itself, and
worthy of your thoughtful consideration.
The ports of Morehead City and New Bern, one its ocean termi-
18
nus, the other its chief shipping- point, are the only ports on the At-lantic
Seaboard, south of Norfolk whose business and shipping' are
not dominated, and to a greater or less degree, controlled by one or
more of the great railway systems traversing the Southern States.
This fact alone gives your road a value and a power as a competitor,
of which few, who have not familiarized themselves with the situa-tion,
have any idea. With its water connections with all eastern
points, which, with a very feasible and easily effected change of
condition, [could be made more direct than at present, it is, as a
State road, as far inland as Goldsboro, and would be to any other
inland point to which it might be extended, the key to the railroad
situation of North Carolina, but deprived of the protecting power
incident to the ownership of a portion of its stock by the State, it
would be absolutely at the mercy of the two great systems with which
it connects, and powerless, under any circumstances, to assert its
independence or to demand its rights.
Tapped at its most vital points, Goldsboro, Kinston and New
Bern by rich and greatly more powerful lines, its profitable owner-ship
by a private corporation except by the friendly sufferance of
these lines, would be an impossibility, and, therefore, if at any time
the State should, in an evil moment for the people of the section
which it traverses, see fit to part with its ownership, it matters not
to whom it goes, or what the nature of the stipulations providing
against its acquisition by connecting lines may be, they have it in
their power, by means well understood by those cognizant of the tac-tics
of hostile and rival roads, to destroy its business, drive it into
bankruptcy, and force it to a sale, at which, if they so desired, they
could, easily possess themselves of it. And of this fact no one is
better aware than themselves. There is no sentiment existing be-tween
corporations, none in their composition, and railroad corpora-tions
are not an exception to the rule. The survival of the fittest is
the doctrine of their existence, and interest alone is, necessarily,
the controlling inspiration of their action. And, therefore, if the
State should sell its stock to a private syndicate or corporation, and
it became as it then would, and, in fact, as it already is, the interest
of the corporations referred to to own and merge it into their systems,
no power, known to the law, could prevent it. How easy to create a
mortgage debt! How easy to foreclose the mortgage! How easy to
purchase at a creditor's sale! And in a thousand other ways, how
easy to obtain possession of a property whose business, and value
dependent thereon, we have it in our power to crush and destroy.
The result of such ownership and merging, would, in higher tariffs,
increased rates and arbitrary rulings, be quickly felt by every ship-per
and resident, over and along its entire line.
L
19
Your road is the main artery of the commercial and industrial
life of the section through which it runs. It is the great controlling-force,
which by reason of its facilities for transportion at its water
terminals, over which, if at any time, it should become necessary,
it has the power to exercise an independent control, has prevented
the imposition of excessive rates upon the people in its territory and
enabled them, in the enjoyment of fair and just competition, to reap
the fruits and benefits of their labor and toil. But this mighty force
which has built up this section and brought prosperity and comfort
to many of its people, is but a reflex. With the fostering- arm of the
State withdrawn by the sale of its stock, the road would not only be
unable to aid our people, but powerless to protect itself. Corpora-tions
can fight and destroy each other, but they cannot destroy the
State, nor for any length of time can they successfully fight it.
Continued ownership of its stock by the State means continued pros-perity
to this section. Its sale means the reverse. You might lease
your road and it still could subserve the interests of our people, but
sell it, never—for in that hour in which the State parts with the
ownership of its stock to the possession of another, begins the forg-ing
of the fetters with which to shackle the energies of our people.
There is another circumstance connected with your road, of
which those who advocate the sale of the State's interest therein are
seemingly oblivious, or having considered it, and having-, in one
way or another, been impressed with the idea that their individual
interest would be more remuneratively subserved by reason of a
change of ownership, the fact that it does exist, may, perhaps, be
the reason of their solicitous advocacy.
It should receive your most earnest thought, as it has already
received the careful consideration of those parties, who, although,
standing in the back ground, would in the end, in the event of its
sale, be found to be the real purchasers, while the man or men to
whom the sale was ostensibly made, would probably develop into
men of straw. The circumstance is to be found in the fact that your
road has a large and profitable business, the result of forty years of
labor and struggle, and the growth of population and enterprise
throughout this section. Along its line where forty years ago slum-bered
the giants of the forest, the waving grain and the snowy cotton
now gladden the eye of the husbandman, reward his toil, fill your
cars with the products of the soil and add to the revenues of your
treasury. The lonely and solitary station houses are now floursh-ing
communities. Hamlets have sprung into villages, and villages
have grown into small but enterprising cities. From one end of your
road to the other numerous and profitable industries of almost every
description have been established—ice factories, oil mills, cotton
20
mills, knitting- mills, furniture factories, iron founderies, guano and
other fertilizer plants, canning factories, brick plants, logging plants,
lumber mills, the output of some of which is simply enormous, and
other industries, the entire product of some of which, and greater
or less portions of that of the others, pass over your road. In additin
to the above, the products of the lish, oyster and clam industries of
Morehead City, each in itself of large proportions, pass over your
road, while a large portion of the products of the fish and oyster in-dustries
of New Bern do likewise. And in addition to all this, a
goodly proportion of the yield of the most productive truck belt in the
South, is tributary to its line.
And more, by the possession of your ocean terminus at Morehead
City, you have at 3'our command the land locked harbor of Beaufort,
which with a reasonable expenditure, easily obtainable from the
Government, can speedily be made inferior to none on the Southern
coast, and a depth of water secured sufficient to enable the largest
sea-going steamers, as well as other craft to lie at your piers.
The building by the Government of a harbor of refuge at Cape
Lookout, twelve to fifteen miles distant, now a certainly, upon whose
friendly anchorage hundreds of vessels, caught in stress of weather,
will seek shelter from the storms which spend their fury on our
shores, will necessarily make your port, to a greater degree than
ever before, known to the shipping of the world; and by the estab-lishing
of a coaling station thereat, not only will you divert a part
of the enormous coal traffic now centering at Newport News and
Lambert's Point in the harbor of Norfolk, but add a tonage to your
business equal to that of our present traffic, and eventually create for
yourselves relations with the outer world which will make your
earnings many times their present value, and give to your road a
position and an importance in the consideration of the great systems
of the State, which it has heretofore never possessed. Will you
grasp the opportunities which beseechingly hold out their hands to
you and imploringly beg you to avail yourselves of the advantages
which Nature herself has thrown at your feet, or will you, as in the
past, spurn and ignore them?
As I have said before, it has taken forty years to build up this
business; the citizens of the counties which hold their original stock,
and some others who originally invested their money in theenterprie
and paid par for their stock, have during the lapse of the long period
from 1854 to 1900 patiently waited for its development, relying upon
the State, the controlling stockholder, to protect their interests, and
by remaining a party to the contract, to see that their investments
were never sacrificed. And now at the turning point of its existenc,
with a yearly and pheno'minal increase of its business, for the State
21
to sell its stock, would not only be an act of bad faith toward the
minority stockholders, but suicidal to itself.
Look at the earnings of your road for the last five years:
For the year 1896 $140,656.53.
" " 1897 149,435.56.
" " 1898 174,507.87.
" " 1899 187,562.20.
" " " 1900 218,165.96,
Nearly $78,000 more in 1900 than they were in 1896, or an in-"
crease of more than 50 per cent. Point me to any of the great sys-tems
which during the same period show a greater per certtage of
increase. Where is there a property which holds out greater promise
for the future than this? Why, therefore, part with its ownership?
Had the policy of extension and of building branches urged long
years ago by those who knew the value of feeders and extended ter-ritory,
and who foresaw and predicted the present situation, been
adopted, there would long since have been a branch through the ter-ritory
from New Bern to Jacksonville, now occupied by the Wilming-ton
and New Bern road, and the products of that rich section, in-creased
ten-fold above what they are to-day, would have passed over
your tracks. Another would have gone from Kinston to Greenville,
and further on; another would have reached to Snow Hill and thence
as circumstances might have directed. Another perhaps, ere this,
might have crossed the Neuse and reached out its arms into the rich
fields of Pamlico. The products of these teeming territories would
have taxed 3'our resources to transport them, pouring into your lap a
constant stream of wealth, and the competitor who with power suffi-cient
to take it all, now knocking at your door, and with a spirit of
generosity, demands but a share of that which should have been
yours alone, would have gone in other directions, and your main
stem might, perhaps, have reached far into the interior of the State,
and given you an unbroken and profitable connection with the mar-kets
of the great west.
But instead of the possibilities which I have pictured, and which
were once so easily ours, what are the conditions that surround us?
The rival to whom I have alluded, alive to advantages to which we,
in slothful slumber, have closed our eyes, has seized the opportunities
upon which we have turned our backs, and over routes which, for
years, have held out their hands and besought us to occupy them,
entered our very domicile and crossed our tracks at our every vital
point, and to-day instead of occupying the territory which was right-fully
ours and being as we could have been, one of the great and ex-panding
systems, we find ourselves without a single inch of exten-sion,
without a single branch or feeder, without a single artery
22
through which the commerce of adjacent territory can be drawn, the
same petty local line, with no additions to its track but sidings ren-dered
necessary by the development of its old original territory only,
that we were, the first day of our incorporation, nearly fifty years
ago, with the iron ribbed lines of more enterprising corporations,
like the crushing and mangling folds of a mighty serpent, thrown
around us, and dependent for our existence and freedom from absorp-tion
by our neighbors upon the protecting power of the State alone.
Are we satisfied with such a destiny? If we are, we have only to
continue the policy which has thus far guided our councils. If we
are not, let us listen to the propositions which will be made us to-day
and shape our future accordingly.
Respectfully submitted,
JAMES A. BRYAN,
President.
Atlantic (fe North Carolina R. E. Co.
Statement of Earnings for every four Years from 1881.
From 1881 to 1884 inclusive $251,631.37
" 1885 to 1888 " 542,420.27
" 1SS9 to 1892 " 589,001.94
" 1893 to 1896 " 589,161.46
" 1897 to 1900 " 729,671.62
Total Earnings $2,701,886.66
Comparative Statement of Earnings for Months of July, August, Septem-ber,
October and November for the years 1898, 1899 and 1900.
1898. 1899. 1900.
July $17,040.65 $17,837.77 $19,975.74
August 15,416.72 15,533.64 18,954.36
September 17,385.20 16,661.86 19,349.10
October 15,520.26 18,954.80 22,155.26
November 15,029.68 17,898.54 21,323.40
Total Earnings $80,392.51 $86,886.61 $101,757.86
Statement of Earnings (Gross and Net) for Years 1897 to 1900 Inclusive.
Gross Earnings. Net Earnings.
For the Year of 1897 $149,435.56 $64,089.99
" 1S98 174,507.87 80,316.97
1899 187.562.23 79,040.30
"1900 218,165.96 89,268.38
$729,671.62 $312,715.64
Statement of Earnings (Gross and Net; from October 1st, 1899 to Novem-ber
30th, 1900, Inclusive.
Gross Earnings. Net Earnings.
From Oct. 1, 1899, to Nov. 30, 1900,
(14 months) $269,890.55 $111,288.53
Gross Earnings. Net Earnings.
From July 1, to Nov. 30, 1900, inclu-sive,
(5 months) $101,757.86 $39,971.06
Statement of Gross Receipts for Three Years Ending
December 31st, 1900.
1898. 1899. 1900.
For the month of January . . .$13,328.89 $18,960.22 $21,760.87
" " " " February ... 17,031.51 14,213.26 18,489.06
" " " "March 20.195.45 17,803.43 24,133.30
' " " "April 16.356.16 23,616.45 25,486.83
'' " " "May 14,307.20 16,111.62 19,670.89
" " " "June 12,028.02 15,725.80 17.397.98
" " " "July 17,089.52 19,775.75 23,804.46
" " " "August 18,886.89 21.164.33 21,064.59
" " " "September.. 16.929.49 19.799.40 33,983.52
" " " " October 18,385.93 20,846.20 28,991.18
" " " " November... 16,617.30 25,367.25 28.696.05
" " " " December... 27,193.46 22.984.26 23,110.00
$208,349.82 $241,377.97 $286,588.
Gross Receipts for fifteen months ending- Dec. 31, 1900. . . .$355,786.44
" " " previous fifteen months 287,272.85
Increase $ 68,513.59
Bills Payable,
Total amount notes negotiated 1900 $55,000.00
Of which notes paid 16,000.00
$39,000.00
Material and Labor,
Amount due for material on hand and used
in construction of & labor on new buildings 5,198.36
$44,198.36
Due by Company's Agents $8,477.55
Balance due to connecting Companies 2,910.56 5,566.99
Amount of floating debt ,
.
$ 38,631.37
Amount of bonded debt 325,000.00
Memorandum of Extraordinary Disbursements
From Oct. 1st, 1899 to Nov. 30th, 1900.
Real Estate and Warehouse at New Bern $ 28 266 73
Three Pittsburg Company's Locomotives 27 470 00
First-class coaches, combination cars & parlor car Vance 20 189 46
Box Car and Flat Cars 10 790 00
One Turntable 2 035 42
Machinery and Tools for Shops 5 772 22
Boiler for Engine Room, and placing- same 900 00
Car wheels for log and other cars 2 673 85
Fifty-two Automatic Couplers 553 00
Paints for Buildings 551 72
New Rails 9 287 00
New Pump for Water Station 502 50
Warehouses, Platforms and Station Buildings 8 045 50
New Shops Building, and Paint House at New Bern. ... 8 070 00
125 107 40
Interest
Annual MntnmnnE on Bonds payable Jan. & July, $ 19 500 00
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