GREAT RAILROAD SYSTEM. EANY IMPORTANT . TRANSPORTATION COMPANIES TERMINATE IN e: NEW~YORK. BILLIONS OF 'iNVESTEp CAPITAL GIVING EM; FLOWS? To A VAST ARMY or PERSONS— ‘ FUILYOINE HUNDRED MILLION PASSEN- .GERS‘I‘YEARLY CARRIED 0N TRAINS- ; ' To AND FROM THE cITYéLMAG- ‘ " ' NIFICENT ssnvrcmFAsr .. FREIGHT TRAINS. ' As a terminal for the‘greatest number of'the‘ Important railroad systems of the country New; York stands unchallenged. The intricate net- WOrk of tracks which stretch out'in all direc- tions finds in this unrivalled seaport a centre of untold commercial value. Each day of the year scores of the most luxurious passenger trains in the world leave' and arrive at the numerous stations, while freight trains bearing the bulk of imports and manufactured articles for which New—York is the distributing point wend their way with an ever-increasing speed and effi- ciency to the great cities and sections of the West and South. ' The capital involved in the railroad properties touching New—York is counted in the billions, and the number of employes would make an army of sufficient size to defeat any of ‘the nations of Europe. The commercial develop- ments of the last two years have worked changes of far-reaching importance in the af- fairs of the trunk lines. The enormous and un- precedented export business in grain has de- manded a carrying capacity on the part of the railroads never before experienced. In this business New-York shared to a large extent,» al- though there is complaint made that the port suffers from the heavy charges made for hand- ling the grain after it has reached here. For this cause other nearby cities have profited at the expense of the metropolis. Increased manu- facture and general business have also played a part in the increased earnings of railroads. The currents of travélvare so strangely er- ratic that it would be impossible to get a tan- gible idea of the hosts which arrive and depart from New-York City on the trains of the vari- ous railroads terminating at this port. Angr- icans are a restless people, much given to travel, and of those who come and go there are many classes. First of all, there is the pleasure- seeker;- then the business man, compelled to travel; the wanderer whose home is anywhere, MARQUISE D’HUMIERES.- ’ Among’the celebrated works of art now on ex- hibition in this city, the portrait of the Marquise d’Humieres, by Francois Dronais, is the sub- Ject of admiring comment. It is the property of Edward Brandus, one of the successful deal- ers of Fifth-ave. Francois Dronais was born in 1727 and died in 1775.. He was a pupil of Van Loo and Boucher. He was received into the Academy in 1758, and later became the court painter of Louis XV, in which position he paint- ed the members. of the royal family and other famous men and women of the time. His por- trait of Madame de-Pompadour is at the Mu- seum in Orleans, while the portraits of Charles , central Station or across the North River, bring ‘size and importance which have been construct— X and Sardinia are at the Louvre. Those of Louis XV and Mme. Du Barry are at Versailles and the bird of passage ‘who seeks his pleasure lGrand Central. Station, in Forty-secOndest” it here, there and everywhere. Thousands of .per- sons with all kinds of aims, ambitions and ideas 'come- and go, and help to make up the great kaleidoscopic. pancrama of life. There is one class of, travellers whose 'r‘novement is as. well ordered and as regular as a clock. These are the suburbanites. Day in ahd day out the sub- urban trains, whether landing in the Grand thbir'sandsmanxioiis to reach their .busin'ess places, and carry them away‘at night to them homes‘in the country. . . CITY AND NEVV—JERSEY STATIONS. New-York is .not- easily adjusted, to terminals, owing .to its situation and the fact that it is surrounded by. water. The only railway station on the, island of Manhattan proper is the Grand Central: The terminals of the majority of the important roads are in Jersey City, and pas- sengers are carried across the river in ferry- boats, and landed safely in the city. The ferry2 boats themselves occasion much comment from those who are not used to them in daily travel. In size they compare favorably with ordinary steamboats, having in many instances double decks. Some have a carrying capacity of over two thousand persons. Of the roads having terminals in Jersey City, the Pennsylvania is the greatest system. At a celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Pennsylvania Rail- road Company some figures were given which suggest the proportion of this property, The company controls 9,000 miles of road, with an aggregate capital of over $800,000,000. It uses 3,400 engines, and has cars enough to rmake a continuous train from New-York to Chicago. It has on its payroll 97,000 men, and in a year’s time it transports from 160,000,000'to 200,000,— 000 tons of freight and nearly a hundred million passengers. The travel on railroads has been revolutionized in the last few years by keen competition. The Pullman and Wagner cars were thought to bewonderf-ul when originally introduced, but there are trains to-day having all. the comforts of a modern hotel. Railroad men were not long in finding out that the addi- tion of a few sleeping-cars to the day coaches and a quicker schedule were ‘not enough to satisfy the travelling public. Hotel accommoda— tions were demanded, and the limited trains to- day contain barber-shops, bathrooms, reading and smoking rooms, dining-rooms, and many of the appointments of a first-class hotel. It would seem impossible that the point of luxury on wheels could go much further. A word in passing in regard to the stations of ed ‘by the leading roads to meet the demand of an ever—increasing traffic. Beginning with the The portrait of the Marquise d’Humieres is three—quarter length, with the hair dressed high, in the style of the Louis XV period. It is espe- cially' attractive for ‘the handling of flesh color. There is a. softness and richness of ' tone pervading the entire painting, and it is considered one of the best examples. of the art product of the eighteenth century of which Dronais and Nattier were the most famous ex- ponents. Mr. Brandus is one of the most prom- inent French citizens in‘this country, and his efforts *in bringing before his patrons the best types of French art have been untiring. His gal- lery is at all times. filled with an interesting col- leCtiOH. which is representative of all the va- rious schools. “ v maybe stated that. with the. improvements which have been made during the year: just missed, it now ranks as one of the mos_t,_com’- mOdio'us in the United States; By reason of‘thetz :1 ' jsio'psand twentyteight slow downs, has been the ,r‘eSult,.of. the aggressive~ policy of the ‘manageé ' 'ment of the New-York 'Central and “Hudson additions and enlargement which itihas under? gone, it is now knownas the New Grand Central; Station. This structure, in its original state, has been. serving the needs of the travelling public sinCe 1871. When it was first completed it was looked upon as nothing short of 3. won- der, and its magnitude‘was proclaimed through- out the length and breadth of the country. Dur% ing the present'year the offices have been in- creased to six stories, and 'a lofty: tower has been built, whiCh closes the vista of Fourth- ‘ ave. Another lofty tower “at the southWestern end of the building forms a point to which all of the sides converge. 0ther‘_ towers appear in the axes of, Forty-third and Forty-fourth ’sts.‘ The New Grand Central is of‘unusual magni- tude, and is really an imposing edifice. The in-' teridr has also been greatly improved, and a continuous line of baggage-rooms fringing along the west front has a subway connection under the tracks with the incoming station. A com- mOn waiting—room for all the roads which use the statiOn occupies ‘the sbuth front. The mag- nificent 'station of the Pennsylvania“ system in Jersey City, a. part of which was destroyed by fire recently, is the largest and most imposing of all the terminals on the Jersey side, and puts St. Pancras Station, over which the British are ac- customed to boast, completely in the shade. All of the roads ending at the Jersey side have pro— vided a high type of building for their traffic, and the tendency is constantly "looking toward added comforts and luxuries. Originally the Grand Central Station was the terminal solely for the New-York Central and Hudson River Railroad, but at the present time it shelters the trains of the New-York, New-Haven and Hart-. ford, the New—York and New—England, the New- York and Putnam and the New-York and Har- lem. The traffic which passes under its roof each day is of immeasurable proportions. Next to the PennsyIVania, the statistical exhibit of the New—Ybrk Central is impressive in the mag- nitude of- its figures. A recent report shows. that it operates 2,395 miles. It owns more than 1,125 locomotiv‘Es, 956 passenger cars. 104 com- posite cars, 347 mail and express cars, and .many other varieties, making up a total of 40,430. It has a floating equipment of 20 propellers and steam tugs, 6 ferryboats, 64 barges and 27 floats. The road employs abOut thirty thousand hands, with an average yearly compensation of $622. A PROUD FINANCIAL RECORD. The capital s.ock of the New-York Central and Hudson River Railroad _is $100,000,000. It éafiie's. annually about 25,000,000 passengers, while the freight traffic of the present year will exceed 25,000,000 tons. The company has never failed to meet an obligation when it came due, and its stock has always been among the gilt-edge secu- rities bought and-Sold on the Stock Exchange. .7 - The Empire State Express, the fastest train‘ in the world. which makes a daily. run .from New-Yolk to Buffalo, ’9. distance of 440 miles; at'the rate 653.33 miles. air-hour,~ including four ‘ ' River Railroad. In the great Empire State this great railroad system finds a heavy and‘profit- . able patronage. Entering many of the great in- ” terior ' cities, such , as Albany. Schenectady,_ Utica, Rome, Syracuse and Rochester, it oh- tains. a business of unusually large propor» tiOns'. ‘ ' ‘ ' ‘ ' « The Wésjt Shore» Railroad, which-isnow 'con- . - trolled by the Vanderbilt's, once. gave promise bf keen competition with the New-York Central. .111 its special field of actiVity,’ since it was ab- ‘sorbed,_it has ‘thrived and prdspered more than might have been expected.' Its terminal is in Weehawken, and from there it runs many fast trains through the richest ‘section of New-York State, stopping at many of the important cities, and terminating at Buffalo. The service which this road offers to travellers going to the Cats- kill Mountains, New-Paltz, Lake Mohonk, Lake Minnewaska and Lake George has been thor- oughly satisfactory"to its army of patrons. It also runs 'trains through to the West which in point of service and speed approach near to. those of the New-York Central. . One of the lines with excellent facilities which aced in the great Vanderbilt system is, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Rail- way. ’It connects with the New-York Central and other lines at Buffalo. and sweeps away to the westward along the «picturesque banks of Lake Erie. The road is peculiarly good for fast running, and owie even stretch along the lake front record! have often been broken. It runs through a rich and fertile country known as the Western Reserve, in the northern part of Ohio, and sends out a net of tracks all through the upper, part of the State. It is an exception- ally important link in the mighty chain of rail.- ways that binds the two coasts, and its business is one of enormous proportions. is embr POPULAR. WITH TOURISTS. The Southern Pacific finds its way intovthe most . beautiful part of Southern CaAifornia, passing along the southern boundaries of the United States. It has one train which probably has no superior in the world. As an up—to-date demon: stration of the resources of a palace-car builder, the Sunset Limited is an example. The road is snot only popular with tourists seeking the gar: den spots of Lower California, and the genial climate-of the. Southern cities of the United States, but does an. extensive business also through a country that is rich in products. One of the great Western roads, identified with the Gould properties is the Missouri Pacific, passing through rich farm lands and having ad— 427/-’/ ’ vs: wag/4v "at' ’6’, 43 BROADWAY THEATRE. The Broadway Theatre, at Broadway and Forty-first-st., Oftentimes called “the home for comic opera in America,” has enjoyed a prosperous career of over ten years. It was con- structed by the Broadway Theatre Company, in which the leading spirits were Frank W. Sanger, Elliott Zborowski and T. Henry French. The important comic opera successes have been made in this playhouse, and here such stars as De Wolf Hopper and Francis Wilson made their debut. The house was opened on March 3, 1888, by Fanny Davenport, in “La Tosca.” It was at the Broadway Theatre that Lawrence Barrett made his last public appearance, When play- ing an engagement with Edwin Booth. made his last appearance in the. metropolis. It was at the Broadway also that Edwin Booth _, In 1896 certain changes in the ofiicers of the company being effected, Andrew A. McCor- mick was elected president, at the same time succeeding T. Henry French as manager of the theatre. Cormick as manager. man.” bypatronizing the piece for five months here. Last year the Broadway Theatre Opera Company was Organized, with Mr. Me- The initial productionwas De Ko'ven & Smith’s opera, “The Highway- Its high standard was immediately recognized, the public showing it§ appreciation In fact, the opera played to the largest re- ceipts of any attraction at the Broadway sinCe its opening. This year the season at the Broadway opened advantageously with Francis Wilson’s new opera, "The Little Corporal,” followed by “The Jolly Musketeer” and “The Highway— man.” Marie 'Corelli’s novel, “The Sorrows of Satan.” the Broadway Theatre Opera Company, the latest Smith—De Koven opera, The production for the Christmas ‘season at the Broadway is a. dramatization of Following this comes the new production of entitled "The Three Dragoons.” Mr. McCormick has several other interesting productions in view, and it is evident that the present season at the Broadway, which opened so auspiciously, will be even more profitable than those‘of former “red—letter" years. , . -. in"! .V . M---1.,.___...._____m_.___._.__.. " ' ' “In-AA-A__-__--_A__M_L__M.L____--h”-.. L;;.Z.L.£-.--..-A_.’.i_.-
Norwalk Chronicler