The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-04-12
THURSDAY, APRIL II. 1866.
The Poetic Railroad = Condition and Pros
meets of the Work.

Division OF the Union Pacific Railroad, does
not mark the Inauguration of any new enter
prise, but merely the final connection of two
roads which have been for some time in ope-
ration. The Missouri Pacific Railroad runs
from st. Louis to the State line between
Wisconsin and Kansas, at Kansas City, and
has been in operation for some months. The
Union Pacific Railroad, Eastern Division,
commences at Kansas City, at the terminus
of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, crosses the
Kansas river near its mouth, and runs west
wardly along the Kansas valley, through
Lawrence and Topeka, being now completed
to Cross creek, ninety miles from Kansas city,
and three hundred and seventy miles from St.
Louis. The road is expected to be opened
for traffic to Fort Riley, Kansas, early in the
month of June next The "laying of the
last rail" spoken of in recent dispatches refers
merely to the filling of a small gap at Kansas
City, owing to some heavy rock-cutting which
had to be done at that point. With that
exception, the two roadslhave been operated
in connection for nearly six months past.
This Union Pacific Railroad, Eastern Divi-
sion, is one of the terminal eastern branches
of the great Pacific Railroad authorized by
act of Congress. The main line of that road
is to commence at the Tooth meridian of west
longitude, at some point between the valley
Of the Republican river on the south, and
that of the Platte river on the north. The
original act OF Congress provided for several
terminal eastern branches between this initial
point on the Tooth meridian and the Missouri
River. Several of them are now in active
process of construction. First, the Union
Pacific Railroad, Eastern Division, extending
from Kansas City westward up the valley
of the Kansas, and nearly completed to Fort
Riley. Secondly. the branch running west
from Omaha, up the valley of the Platte. This
road is in operation for some distance west OF
Omaha, and is said to be in process OF rapid
construction. Thirdly, there is road run
ming directly west from Atchison, Kansas,
and which will intersect, probably, with the
line running up the Kansas valley. The
Atchison branch is completed some little dis
tance, and is being vigorously prosecuted.
There are thus, at the present time, three
distinct lines of railway in process of construc-
tion from the Missouri river westward towards
the initial point of the Pacific Railroad pro-
per. The most important by far Of these lines
just now is the Union Pacific Railroad, Eastern
Division-not only because it is in advance of
all others in its progress westward but also
from the fact of its connection with The Mis-
souri, Pacific Railroad, and thus with all the
great lines east of the Mississippi 1t is fact
OF no small significance and moment, that we
can get into the cars at Philadelphia, and
proceed by unbroken railroad communica-
ton to the neighborhood of Fort Riley, in
Kansas.
The Omaha branch has no Eastern Railroad
connection, and no prospect of any for some
time to come. There is, indeed, road building
across the State of Iowa, to eventually con-
meet with the Omaha branch but its progress
is not rapid, and under the most favorable
auspices it will be months, and perhaps years,
before it is completed. Meanwhile, the best
trade of the plains and the mountains-from
Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and
Montana-will collect at the rapidly advanc-
ing terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad,
Eastern Division, thence descending the
easy grades of the Kansas valley to
Kansas City, there to take its choice
of water transportation dcwn the Missouri, or
continuing on by rail by way of the Missouri
Pacific to ST. Louis, to be distributed over
the whole country. The Importance of this
road to st, Louis, Cincinnati, Pittsburg, Bal
timore, and Philadelphia-the cities OF the
great central belt-can hardly be overesti-
mated. The commerce which now sprinkles
our western plains with the white canvas of
its swarming trains, is in its merest infancy.
The miner has as yet hardly frightened his
pick in the inexhaustible gold and silver de-
posits of our mountains. Even the work of
exploration and discovery has hardly com
menced. When that of development shall have
been fully inaugurated; when science shall
have superseded the rude processes of the
early miner in the reduction OF rocks and the
saving of the ore; when capital shall have
contributed Of its vast resources in engines
and mills, then will those wonderful regions,
so long kept back from human occupancy,
become the busiest scene OF productive in
dustry that the world has ever gazed upon.
1t will then be found that this great central
line of railroad, stretching for hundred DIS OF
miles up and down the beautiful aud fertile
valley of the Kansas, on an air line almost
from Philadelphia to San Francisco, with easy
grades and moderate curves, will exert most
important, if not controlling, influence upon
the commerce of the country.
Wa NAV talra oooac ciOn In q futT1ra artsoIa 4c