San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1886-06-24
CONVERSE CONVERSES.
TALK CONCERNING SOME PROPOSED
RAILROAD LINES.
The Sunset Depot Will Not be Removed
Would Like to See the Proposed
Northwest Road Built.

A LIGHT reporter met with Major Converse
! the well-knOwn construction officer of the sun
| set railway recently, and In conversation
| with hiE In regard to the rumOr current upon
| the streets that the Southern Pacific railways
! lease on their present depot grounds WAS about
! to expire and that the depot and repair shops
would in consequence be removed soon To the
800 acre tract owned by the company Just
south of the city. said the rumOr was entirely
unfOunded. The lease, IL IL can he called
such, was conditional lease, that in case the
company run its yard tracks beyond North
Fifth street, In the period OF five years from
the date of transfer its grounds would
be forfeited. If not, at the end
would revert to the company. This was
practically donation by the Mavericks. There
Is no likelihood rs know Of the repair shops
being removed to where our stock pens are
now located. We need that for stock pens,
and besides II would be too expensive to move.
In regard To the talk Of Il union depot being
established between the international and
Great Northern and Southern Pacific and the
Arkansas Pass, he said he did BOT know. He
thought his company had not entertained
such an idea as yet.
To the question that II the city would present
to the Southern Pacific company the piece of
property intervening between their depot
grounds and their reserve, would il he an in
duCemcnt for them to remove their car shops
from Harrisburg here, he said no, ne did not
think so. All our shops we have, are here,
except the wood working machinery, now al
Harrisburg, and as that Is much nearer the
timber regions he thought they would be
allowed TO remain there.
Major Converse spoke about the prospects
of the new northwestern road, and intimatcd
that he would like to see il built, but would
rather see his company build IL, AS they had
long ago intended running road in that d.
rcctiOn, and a line had already been surveyed.
If that line had been built when ii was first
talked about the Cult, Colorado Il Santa Fe
road which comes now within 40 miles of San
Angelo, would never have been built. If the
road is built IN that direction now, we can
only divide the trade with the Santa Fc. The
Southern Pacific had been engaged in build
ing road in Oregon, and on the Pacific coast,
and had just finished paying $4,000 for the
Louisiana Western, and would probably not
like to tackle this proposed road Just yet,
though If they started at IL they could find
enough money to complete II. When asked If
abOnus were offered by the citizens to build
ii, would the incentive be sufficient for his
company to build il, he replied yes, If the in
centive or bonus were large enough.
In speaking of the proposed line OF the
Arkansas Pass branch from Kennedy to Waco,
he did not think it would pay as largely as cX-
pected. The International and Great North
ern can ship cattle from the lower country
continuously to st. Louis, while the Arkansas
Pass would have to transfer at Waco, unless a
line of steamers be established at Arkansas
Bay. line from Kennedy to tap the Sunset
and run into Houston or Galveston would pay
much better, both for passengers and traffic.
Railroad building now ought to be cheap.
When the Southern Pacific WIS built through
Texas, they paid 50 and 81 per day for labor
that could be had now from 81 TO -, and he
thought the northwest road could be built on
something like Sl2UUO per mile.