The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-07-15
RAILROADS IN THE FAR WEST.


Co. from W. Minor Roberts, prominent civil engi-
and one of the ssion sent by Jay Cooke
4 Co. to examine a route for the Northern Pacific
Railroad Company eastward from Puget Sound. In
passing over the Union Pacific Railroad, he makes
the following natterng report;-
SALT LAKE CITY. June Is, 1s69-Messrs jaw Cooke
& Co.-Gentemen:- We arrived here yesterday
morning by stage, twentyeght miles from the rail-
road station "Deseret' changed the day we left
snow mountains, in sight OF which we were nearly
all day of the 10th. The view OF these snOW-Clad
submits, standing at an elevation of eleven or
twelve thousand feet above the sea, is both beautiful
and grand.
The railroad from Omaha to Cheyenne, SIC miles,
is equal in all respects, to the best OF our rst-class
Eastern roads, and superior TO most Of them on ac-
count of its easy grades On this whole distance the
road is remarkably smooth so that IL is easier to
write as the cars are going than on any railroad
know of. Nearly the whole Of it is balasted with
fine gravely material. It is all prairie land and all
branches. At "North Platte" 29i miles from
Omaha, the line takes the valley of the South Platte
and runs the north side OF IL to Julesburg, 37t
miles from Omaha. Thence 1t follows the dodge
pole fork Of the South Platte to "Pine Bluffs 413
es IRON Hep Uo N ma ~ ne IN across an easy
tributary Of the South Platte, and descends to Che
yenBe, $40 miles from Omaha Omaha, the starting
point is $50 feet above the sea; Cheyenne is
1921 feet above the sea; so that the total rise
is 1861 feet in 5l6 miles, an average of clio feet
per mile; the maximum rise for short distances
getting out from Omaha there Is at present a
grade Of 81 feet per mile, which, however, on the
completion of the bridge across the Missouri at
Omaha, now in progress, will be reduced to about 40
feet per mile, and which, occurring at an important
city, is not Of much moment Practically, the rail-
road from Omaha to Cheyenne is straight line for
5l6 miles, with ruling grades below 30 feet per mile,
and averaging about 10 feet per mile This entire
distance is grass country, but most OF the way it
may be cultivated ana produce spring wheat, corn,
potatoes oats, etc At present it is virgin sol,
emigrants. and lattery by the railroad, and now
dotted with railroad villages about every fifteen
miles, these villages as yet depending wholly
the railroad employees and the travel by rail, no
local trade existing along the route till reach
Cheyenne, where the stage road runs to "Denyer"
40 miles of.
AS far as Cheyenne we were honored with the
company Of eX-Secretary Seward and his family At
Cheyenne he welcomed by a crowd and band
of music; and here he bade our party farewell, in
tending to proceed to Denver and afterwards to the
Pacific.
Cheyenne bears somewhat the same relation to the
passage of the Black Hills range of the Rocky Noun
tains that Altoona bears to the Allegheny range on
the PENNSYLVANIA Central Road only however, in
this that at cheyenne the grade increases and con-
tnues gradually increasing to the pass OF the noun
tain at the summit at Sherman; the highest point
attained by the railroad anywhere between the At
lantic and the Pacific Ocean-Sherman being S235
feet above the sea.
But here the resemblance ceases. The ascent of
the Black Hills, from Cheyenne to Sherman dis
tance Of B8 miles is entirely different from that on
the Allegheny SLOPE In the SO miles the rise is 23l4
feet or an average of 20 feet per mile and the
imum at any point S5 feet per mile. But in attaining
this easy ascent there is no heavy crest, no deep
fills, the deepest cuts only about 20 feet and no tun
nes, and on the very top at Sherman, 1t SO haRpens
that there is slight depression, requiring an en-
bankment about four feet high,
watched this portion OF the hne critically all the
way although it was by moonlight, in company with
DIR. ClaXton, looking from the hind platform of the
hinder car, and / was particularly struck with the
fact that there is little more work on these SO miles
| than on the route approaching Cheyenne from the
East, and no appearance Of a mountain ascent. Such
| is this remarkable pass.
In fact it was not necessary that even this summit
should be passed by the railroad, for the Laramie
Fork, well as the main North Fork of the Platte
cuts through the Black Hills, and could have been
followed with regularly ascending grades though on
| more circutous and more costly routes. Where the
line crosses the Laramie west Of the Black Hills
it is 1923 feet above the sea- 1112 feet lower than
| the Sherman summit; and at the crossing of the
North Platte, west of the Black Hills, it is only 64T7
feet above the sea- or 165S feet below Sherman.
These features not generally understood by our
people in the East On the entire distance $50 miles
from Omaha to Sherman, on the highest summit
passed between the two oceans, the work is abso-
uely triing the curves Of the easiest kind and the
grades are as above stated.
From the Sherman summit, descending the slopes
OF the Black Hills the work is heavier and the grades
somewhat undulating the maximum descending
grade being Sc feet per mile for about ten miles into
the valley OF the Laramie. The general range of the
height of grade above the sea, from the Laramie,
crossing 23A miles west Of Sherman to Green river,
is from 1000 to 600O feet in distance of pa miles,
between Laramie and Green river, with no very
heavy work at any point At Green river the grade
is 6112 feet above the sea- and at the Aspen summit
92 miles further west, is 1853 feet Aspen is the
second highest summit on the Union Pacific Road,
and it is 772 feet lower than Sherman, point 939
miles from Omaha. At Deseret or Wirtah now, We
left the cars to go to Salt Lake City, 2S miles
south OF the railroad, 10y stage a toerably good
road, which we passed in little less than six hours
between and O'Clock, on the morning OF Thurs
day, June H.
will not take time to write description of this
curious city, or OF the little incidents attending our
journey and stay here since yesterday morning.
prefer to generalize little in connection with the
Union Pacific Railroad, as far as we have passed
over IL.
1t is a good, well-located and wel-construeted
railroad in most OF the distance from Omaha to
WiHtGh, 1924 miles. From Piedmont west for about
90 miles the track hastily laid during the winter
and at number Of points trestle-work still supplies
the place OF the more permanent bridge structures
which are in process OF erection but it will require
only short time and no large expenditure OF money
to make it as good as the best in the country. We
made very good time over even the worst parts OF
take notes comfortably on the very roughest por-
tions ] can have no doubt, therefore (laVng been
over all excepting 60 miles OF the Union Pacidc that
| the whole 1854 miles WILL in very short time, be
| equal throughout to the best roads in the East
Respecting the business to be done on these one
thonsand and eightyfour miles, it is obvious that it
must be almost wholly through travel and trauspor-
tatlon There can be local trade or travel except
| ing Wnat may come in from Denver, at Cheyenne,
ana from salt Lake City, at Wntah or that vicinity.
Branch railroads will be at once constructed to both
d%1 DenyeT and Salt Lake City At all other points the
| ing OF the road nothing more.
| A After some years the country between Omaha and
| Oheyenhe VIII he settled and cultivated, and thu
create local business; buf beyond Cheyenne the ma
tuIe OF the ground is such that very little settlement
IAN tS TAKE place IN the present age large portion
me 5he distance being sage desert and alkali plains
St SSothesrnlng the through trade and travel am MOI
| yet prepared TO speak.
has As 10 snow my opinion is from the best data
nave been able to gather that the snow didcnItv on
Tniies1 @ @diis and on the Union Pacific line (l0S
The geSneray' mas been greatly exaggerated II
veTv anu tldt II will not prove to be 81
sSISS oUrdaoe Lost winter was however favor
was ess snow Than usual fell, and the railroad
sidered t % IuI several weeks but il Is to be con
it @ olat Ihe track being laid in the dead
re thoSIl l anu that there not time TO perfect al
aLranA -.