The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-08-17
TRANSCONTINENTAL Rail-
ROADS.
Progress of the Southern Pacific
Interview with Charles
Croker.
Through Railroad TO the Gud-
Surveys of a Nav Northern
Route

Southern Pacific Railroad Company,
relative to the progress of the vari-
GUS transcontinental railroad enter
prises, in the development of which
he and his associates are engaged,
will be read with interest:
RepOrter-As there is a good deal
of speculation and talk of railroads
and railroad building nowadays,
Mr.. Croker, and particularly about
your own roads and other transcon-
tinental projects, have called upon
you to obtain any information you
Emay care about having made public,
or anything at all about railroads
that will be of interest to the readers
of the Bulletin. *
Mr.. Crocker-Anything at all that
we are doing in the line OF railroad
building, whether it be new projects
or extensions, we are at all times
willing to have made public. | take
it for granted that you aretinter-
viewing me, which is one reason
why answer thus unequiVocally.
Reporter-Y es, sir and now if you
have no objection, l will proceed by
asking you how your work is getting
on beyond Ell Paso?
Mr.. Crocker-Well, sir, we are lay
ing about one mile day now, and
expect to increase it soon. We have
been troubled somewhat for want of
ties and on account of Washouts,
both-of which have delayed track
laying, but our grading force is
making good progress.
GRADING THE EAST END OF THE
LINE.
Reporter-As understand it you,
are pushing your road through to
the Gulf of Mexico, or possibly to
New Orleans; if so, are you build
ing from the other end?
Mr.. Crocker-Well, l should say
so; General Pierce is working al
large force at the other end, and has
already graded about 125 miles, and
laid sixty miles of track west of San
Antonio; and heeXpectS to complete
200 miles before December, which
will bring his end to the Rio Grande
Canyon. We expect to reach the
western end of the Rio Grande Can
yon early next January. This will
leave about eighty miles of heavy
work to be done, which we will
tackle at both ends, and complete by
July 4, 1882.
DIRECT LINE TO GALVESTON AND
NEW ORLEANS.
Reporter-The accomplishment of
this work will give you q line di-
rectly through to Galveston and
New Orleans, will it not?
Mr.. Crocker-No, not exactly; but
it gives US Hale to within few
miles of Galveston and to within
100 miles of New Orleans, where we
connect with the Morgan Road or
build on to New Orleans. In all
probability, however, we will con-
meet with the Morgan Road.
POSSIBLE COMBINATION OF EASTERN
RAILROADS.
Reporter observe from late
eastern dispatches that the Union
Pacific, the Atlantic and Pacific, and
the Texas and Pacific Roads have
formed a combination, and propose
to meet at point in Pahranagat
Valley, Nevada, and from thence to
build a Joint line into California,
which it is stated in the kilograms,
will shut the Central Pacific out
from eastern connections. In the
event of carrying out such project,
how would it effect the Central
Pacific?
Mr.. Crocker-It is possible that
there is such a combination, but it is
not at all probable. L can assure
you, however. we are not not UMPIRE
pared for such a contingency, and
| expect to have, should such a pro-
gramme be successfully carried out,
an eastern connection long time
before the completion of such road
into California.
SURVEYS OF A LINE PARALLEL TO
THE UNION PACIFIC.
Reporter-Do you refer to the
narrow-guage being built into Salt
| Lake by Palmer s Co., known as
the Denver and Rio Grande Rail-
way?
would be a pretty good out
| let, and probably sufficient
and very attractive route for
passengers, by the way-but in case
| of such a combination as referred
to, we will have an outlet Of our
own. We now have an engineering
party in the field, surveying dine
from COrinne, through the South
Pass. by way of the Hams Fork
coal fields; thence down the Sweet
water to the North Fork of the
Platte: thence following down the
Platte for about 100 miles, and cross
ing over to the headWaterS of the
Niobrara River, and thence to Yank-
ton, Dakota. The Hams Fork coal
fields referred to are immense, and
the coal is of excellent quality, as
reported by our experts, who have
examined it, and as we are at the
present time paying the Union
Pacific enormous rates for transpOr.
tation on ccal, branch to this point
, would be of great value to US, even
supposing our relations with the
On on Pacific should continue
to be friendly. We are as
sured that this is very
fine country. capable Of immense