Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-12-27
THE NORTHERN PACIFIC.
President Billings Recapitulates Results
and Depicts the Future.

and Depicts the Future.
NEW YORK, Dec. 23-President Bill
ings, of the Northern Pacific railroaS,
said to-day that every preparation is be-
ing made to push building of the road
during the coming year. There is to be
an immediate increase of engineering
and other official force to meet the re-
quirements of the work The plan of
the bridge across the Missouri river at
Bismark has been adopted. George S.
Morrison, engineer of the bridge recent
ly built at PlattsmOuth, has been ap-
pointed engineer of this work, and the
board have directed it to proceed with
Immediately Gen. Anderson, the en-
gineer in chief, has contracted for ties
and timber for two hundred miles of
that division, and his instructions are
to accomplish in the coming
year the largest possible
amount of construction mileage up
the Yellowstone valley, with the view of
closing up the central gap of eight hun
dred and twenty miles and having the
road running through in 1888. This cen
trail gap is from Gleneine, where the
Missouri river ends, on the Y ellowstone
to the eastern end of the Pend d'Oreille
division, which extends two hundred and
nine miles from Ainsworth, on the Co.
lumbia river, west ON Lake Pend d Oreille
The Pend d'Oreille division will be COM
pleted in early spring. 1t is nearly all
graded, the materials are all provided and
on the spot, and the track is now going
down. AS soon as it is completed the
work will be continued without Interrupt
ton eastward, and with vigorous progress
up the Yellowstone going west and
from Lake Pend d,Oreille going cast
The company confidently eX-
pect to close up the cen
trail gap in 1883 In addition to this &C
tivity in the heart of the continent,
work is to be commenced this winter on
the l20 miles across Northern Wisconsin
to the Montreal river, being the extreme
Eastern division of the road, and steadi-
ly carried forward to completion. This
division will form part of the Lake Su-
perior South Shore line, running to the
Sault Ste. Marie, connecting with the
New York Central and Pennsylvania
systems. 1t also makes a new connec-
ton with Milwaukee and Chicago by the
Wisconsin Central. Besides the work
on the central gap and on the Wisconsin
division, the company propose, during
the coming year, to begin the connec-
ton on the western end of the Pend
dOreille division with tidewater. The
company is authorized by its charter to
build line down the Columbia river TO
Puget sonnd, and also over the Cascade
range to the sound. The Cas-
cade range surveys are nearly completed,
and indicate..a favorable route. 1t isprob-
able that the line over the mountains will
first be built. In speaking of the materi-
al for all this contemplated work, Mr.
Billings said that 81 200 tons of rails, 49,
900 of which are steel, have already been
purchased, to be delivered during the
year, with all the fastenings; 1,750 addi-
tional freight cars of different kinds, and
80 locomotives, with new passenger cars,
etc. Twenty thousand tons of the rails
are intended for the Pacific coast, and
shipments will be made at the rate of g.
600 tons per month, beginning in January.
IL is expected that the road will be run
ming from Glendville, where it strikes the
Yellowstone ito which point the track is
laid), up the Yellowstone to Miles City,
next July, distance of 769 miles, Pas
sengers will be carried to the Yellowstone
park i'll July of the succeeding year.