The Typical Railroad Man--On the Road and at Home--Raising the Moral Standard--Characteristics of the Freight Brakeman--His Wit the Result of Meditation--How Slang is Originated--Agreeable Features of his Life in Fine Weather--Hardships in Winter--The Perils of Hand-brakes--Broken Trains--Going back to Flag--Coupling Accidents--At the Spring--Advantages of a Passenger Brakeman--Trials of the Freight Conductor--The Investigation of Accidents--Irregular Hours of Work--The Locomotive Engineer the Hero of the Rail--His Rare Qualities--The Value of Quick Judgment--Calm Fidelity a Necessary Trait--Saving Fuel on a Freight Engine--Making Time on a Passenger Engine--Remarkable Runs--The Spirit of Fraternity among Engineers--Difficult Duties of a Passenger-train Conductor--Tact in Dealing with Many People--Questions to be Answered--How Rough Characters are Dealt with--Heavy Responsibilities--The Work of a Station Agent--Flirtation by Telegraph--The Baggage-master's Hard Task--Eternal Vigilance Necessary in a Switch-tender--Section-men, Train Despatchers, Firemen, and Clerks--Efforts to Make the Railroad Man's Life Easier. STATISTICAL RAILWAY STUDIES 425 ILLUSTRATED WITH THIRTEEN MAPS AND NINETEEN CHARTS. BY FLETCHER W. HEWES, _Author of "Scribner's Statistical Atlas_." Railway Mileage of the World--Railway Mileage of the United States--Annual Mileage and Increase--Mileage Compared with Area--Geographical Location of Railways--Centres of Mileage and of Population--Railway Systems--Trunk Lines Compared: By Mileage; Largest Receipts; Largest Net Results--Freight Traffic--Reduction of Freight Rates--Wheat Rates--The Freight Haul--Empty Freight Trains--Freight Profits--Passenger Traffic--Passenger Rates--Passenger Travel--Passenger Profits--General Considerations--Dividends--Net Earnings per Mile and Railway Building--Ratios of Increase--Construction and Maintenance--Employees and their Wages--Rolling Stock--Capital Invested. _INDEX_ 449 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS. _Title._ _Designer._ _Page_ THE LAST SPAN (Frontispiece) A. B. Frost v ALPINE PASS. AVOIDANCE OF A TUNNEL _From a photograph_ 5 BIG LOOP, GEORGETOWN BRANCH OF THE UNION PACIFIC, COLORADO _From a photograph_ 11 SNOW-SHEDS, SELKIRK MOUNTAINS, CANADIAN PACIFIC J. D. Woodward 19 RAIL MAKING Walter Shirlaw 39 LOOP AND GREAT TRESTLE NEAR HAGERMAN'S, ON THE COLORADO MIDLAND RAILWAY J. D. Woodward 51 PORTAL OF A TUNNEL IN PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTION Otto Stark 65