Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-04-10
The Northern Pacific Railroad.

Gen. Anderson, Chief Engineer of
the Northern Pacific Railroad, recent
ly told a correspondent at st. Paul
that in Wisconsin the work of clearing
the land for the trackwork from the
Northern Pacific Junction eastward
has already commenced. The Company
expects to build this season to point
not already decided upon, to connect
with the Wisconsin Central. Every
thing is being gotten in readiness to
put the work through with dispatch.
The workmen are beginning to build
the bridge at Bismarck. During the
last fall and winter months work was
steadily pushed on the dyke. AS al
ready published, the truss-bridge is
1900 feet long, which, with the ap-.
proaches, will make an extension one
mile in length, to be finished at a cost
of $500, 600, iron, steel, and stone being
the constituent materials. 1t is to be
finished by August, 1882. What is
known as the Casselton Branch will be
extended north this season thirty to
fifty miles, to some point not yet de-
cided upon. From Fargo the Company
will build this year fifty miles of the
branch called the Fargo and South
western. The survey has been already
made. and the road located about
twenty five or thirty miles. A branch
northwest from Jamestown, d. T., is
contemplated. A survey will be made
toward Fort Buford from some point
near Bismarck during the summer.
Rapid progress will be- made
in the construction of the main
road. 1t is expected that track-laying
will be commenced west of the Mis-
souri, river within a week or ten days.
or as soon as there is settled weather.
Mr.. James Bellows, the contractor,
from Pittsburg, is now in st. Paul,
awaiting the opening Of the Missouri
river, when he will go to the end of
the track and remain all summer,
experimenting the operations of the
1000 or more laborerS i'll his employ.
1t is now calculated that the track
will reach Miles City by July next.
On the Yellowstone work has been
going on all winter, and 1T will be
pushed as fast as men and money can
accomplish anything. In the Rocky
Mountains surveying parties are now
out, having just begun operations to
make a final location across the noun
tains. 1t is the intention to tunnel
the mountains this fall, if it is found
to be necessary to do SO. Coming this
way from Tacoma, on Puget Sound,
surveys are being made across the
Cascade Range. Work in track-lay-
ing will be commenced as soon as pos
sible. During the winter cross-ties
were got out, some 100000 being now
nearly ready. Track-laying this way
from the Columbia river will be done
as fast as possible. Fifty miles are
already made and a big effort will be
made to secure 200 miles more this
year in this direction. The men will
go to grading on Clark's Fork of the
Columbia river this spring. The
company has bought $1,000 tons of
steel rails to be used on various por-
lions of the road. In the matter Of
labor there has been no difficulty in
securing all that has been needed. In
Washington Territory Chinese labor
is employed, chiefly on account of its
reliability. Most of the laborers are
white men, and all are contributing
their share in building up one of the
great works of modern times. The
entire road is to be finished in 1888.