The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-09-25
Railroad Building In the Great West.

The rapidity with which railraus are beng
built in the great west is one OF the marvels
of the century. Formerly it used to be thought
that countries must be settled and built up
arst and a local commerce created before it
would pay to traverse them with railroads to
the railroad Is the pioneer, pushing out into
countries destitute of population and relying
upon remuneration for the outlay upon Great
ing business that will IN a few years make
the enterprise pay.
This seems particularly to be the plan OF
the Atchlson, Topeka and Santa Fe Company
Says a letter from Santa Fe to the Chicago
Tribune, dated Aug 30th,-
\ little more than year ago, the first mile
of track was laid in New Mexico To day the
Atchison, Topeka IL Santa Fe Company has
in regular operation, this side of the Colorado
line, 2S3 miles of railway, while its sdetracks
from Kansas City to SoCoro are crowded with
freight cars loaded with construction material
destined for its southern and western extern
tensions. Its southern terminus Is now with.
III about ia miles of FL Paso, at which point
it will cross into Old Mexico il the Company
Is SuCCtSsluI III us HCS'lldllDHS WIFI thc NbF-
eminent of that country. Between Socoro and
FL Paso, the main line of the road will be built
in southwesterly direction toward Guaymas,
on the Cult of California, passing south Of the
national boundary through country OF tabled
wealth in minerals and grazing lands. Work
on the western end of this line has already be
gun, and, as | am Informed, several miles off
iron have been laid northeast from Guaymas
At Albuquerque, about seventy-tive miles
south of here, this Company has already begun
grading on It's western line to San Diego and
San Francisco Contracts for this work have
been let for more than 300 miles west. The
Company, having purchased the charter of the
old Atlantic Il Pacific Company, is construct
ing the road under that name. met in Santa
Fe, the other day, Mr. John W. Young, the ia
vorite son OF the Mormon prophet, who has al
contract to build a section of this line across
the Continental divide" about 1919 miles west
of Albuquerque. In Il year, probably, this
Company will be running its trains To Ell PasO |
and across into Old Mexico if it secures the
concessions for which ii is now an applicant
while IN 1889 the line will be open to Quay
mas, and probably west from Albuquerque to
the Colorado River in Arizona. 1t will cross
the Grand Canyon at the height of 1000 feet
above the stream on bridge with single
span of 400 feet.
nc 100 lulitH VI IillIu dtl dlltuOiS CONSTRUCT
cd by the AtChison, Topeka Il Santa Fe Com
pany, IN New Mexico, has not been built
through an easy country, as many may sup
pose from the rapldity with which the work
has been pushed forward. From the Colorado
line to the point where the road enters the Rio !
Grande Valley at San Domingo, and along the
whole of the Santa Fe Branch, the road has
been built through mountainous country
where the obstacles to be overcome were great |
er and the engineering skill demanded has
been OF n higher order than in the construc |
ton of such lines as the Baltimore 4 Ohioi
and the Pennsylvania. Two ranges of noun
tains have been crossed the Ration and the !
Santa Fee, the pass over the former being about
5000 feet high and that over the latter 400 |
To reach these attitudes, the track has been
laid on grade of 1856 feet TO mile, the steep
est that has ever been attained by any standard
guage railroad in the world. The maximum
grade on the Pennsylvania Railroad on the
famous Horseshoe Bend in the Allegheny
Mountains is only ninety-hve feet to a mile,
and that of the most difficult portions of the
Baltimore 4 Ohio Road in crossing the same
range, 116 feet to mile.
And these heavy grades on the AtchisOn. To.
peka Il Santa Fe Railroad have not been ne
cessary at a single point only. They had to
be adopted to reach the top of the Ration Noun
tains from the north, and again in going down
the southern slope, the actual summit
of the pass being even then ayolded by
tunnel about 1900 feet long. The same steepl
grades are again encountered on both sides If
the Santa Fe Mountains, and once more on the
Santa Fe Branch. Between the two ranges
much of the country, while not mountainous,
is traversed by aroyos and depressions which,
though ordinarily dry, carry great streams al
Ter heavy rains and against these fools the