INTERURBAN AND CROSS COUNTRY WORK. 221 
Altogether these items of construction and equipment 
would aggregate $12,000, or $1200 per mile. 
Bringing together the various items reduced to the 
basis of cost per mile, we have for a ten mile road: 
Roadbed and track $3500 
Electrical construction 1000 
Rolling stock 550 
Power station and buildings 650 
  
Total $5700 
An addition of $300, bringing up the total cost to 
#6000 per mile, would provide for all normal contingencies 
of construction. It is safe to say that in most situations a 
good narrow gauge electric line can be built and equipped 
for this sum if right of way can, as would nearly always 
be the case, be obtained along the public road. 
This is a reduction of about $4000 per mile over sim- 
ilarly close figures for a cheap ordinary electric road, a dif- 
ference that would turn the scale from loss to profit.in 
many country localities. 
The cost of operating such a road is correspondingly 
low. The hours of running need not be eighteen or 
twenty as in street railways, but could be so reduced that 
the work could be arranged for a single set of men with- 
out unreasonably long hours. A total force of six men 
could operate the line without difficulty. Of these two, 
the engineer and superintendent who should understand 
the motors and linework well, would probably have to be 
paid $75 per month each; the other four could be obtained 
in most country districts for about $15 per month each. 
Under ordinary circumstances the mechanical output 
at the station would not exceed, say, 250 h. p. hours per 
day. Counting five pounds of coal per horse power hour 
the daily fuel consumption would be a little over half a 
ton of coal per day costing, at $3 per ton, in round numbers 
$600 per year. $400 per year more should cover ordinary 
repairs and incidental expenses at the power station. An- 
other addition of $500 should cover taxes and miscellaneous