RAILWAY COACHES IN AMERICA.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1483, 15 February 1887, Page 2

RAILWAY COACHES IN AMERICA.

There are often-times, down at the Van Buren stre&t depot of the Book Island and Lake Shore Railroads, as many as five speoial railroad oars under the roof, and Idle. I have Been President John Newell's raagnifioent epeoial oar "Stella," and President R R Cable's still more magnificent private vehicle " No. COS." and two or more other aplendid private coaches, all drawn ap m line long enough, to make a good-siz -d train. These special coaches oome cheap at 20 OOOdola apiece. The little Rook island has two of them, the Lake Shore three, the North- Western has three or fonr, the St Paul four or five, the Illinois Central three, the 0. B. and Q. four, the Michigan Central three, the Grand Trunk fonr, and Niokel-Piate two or three. In short, without enumerating >oads, the briefer way is to say that every road on the continent has a apacial rail* road car for 1U president ; a speoial oar for its general manager; a speoial oar usually for its general superintendent ; often timea • speoial car for its ohlef en* gineer; and, as m the cases of most of the trunk roads, a speoial oar for its directors. These cars are built by Pullman. They have plate glass windows from jkhe roof to the floor, and are divided into one or two Bleeping rooms, a bath-room, parlor, dining-room, bathroom, and kttdhen. They are as long as the ordinary Pullmnn coach, and cost from 200 OOOdola to 30,000d015. One of the moot elegant is that which belongs to the president of the, Rock Island. Fine speoial oars are one of the extravagances of American railroads, and not a small extravagance either. Of the twenty or thirty Western and North.Western roads each one has from 60,000 dols to 100,000 doll invested m palace o-rs. If these oars lasted forever there would be atill from 2,000,000 dols to 3,000,000 dole invested m palaces on wheels, whioh did tha stockholders no cood, which drew no interest, but which did cost nv>ney to maintain. Take all the; roads on this continent, and it wou'd prpbably be found that there was 5 000,000 dols on wheels for the sols delectation of their general officers, and a study of the books of these roads would probably ■how that the 6,000,000 dols worth of magnifioent rolling etock needed to be renewed every ten yeara,— Chicago MaiL