The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-01-01
SHORT LINE TO THE WEST
THE ALABAMA MIDLAND TO BE
COMPLETED IN IL MONTHS.


To Shorten the Distance between Sa-
vannah and Montgomery, and TO
Open up New Fields OF Trade IN
Southwest Georgia and Alabama
500 Hands at Work on the Road
1900 Tons OF Steel and Several
Engines Already Ordered.
Everything points fsvorably towards
Savannah being given another connection
with Montgomery and the west.
The Alabama Midland Railway Com
pany is building short line from
cambridge to Montgomery, and ex-
poets to have it completed within the
next twelve months, giving Savannah
a connection over the Savannah, Flor
ida and Western railway and the Ala
bama Midland, as short if not shorter than
any line it now has TO the west The total
distance between Savannah and Mont
gomery will be about 400 miles The line
from cambridge to Montgomery will be
about 175 miles, twenty Of which are built.
Over 500 hands are at work on the road. and
it is being pushed vigorously.
Mr. Arthur Pou, chief engineer, was in
NNAAAA~No~'
with the road. Negotiations are in progress
to secure a site at cambridge for depot
Mr.. Pou said that the company is making
great strides
1900 TONS OF STEEL ORDERED.
Seventeen thousand tons of the best steel
have been ordered and are on the way. The
company has also recently ordered two
large engines and fifty cars from the north
to be used in laying the track. r. A.
1 10 o. ~, y~Fl hi,
tract to furnish 500, 600 crosstes. There will
be two large iron bridges across
the Flint and Chattahoochee rivers and
four other bridges averaging about 100 feet
span across small streams. An Atlanta
company has the contract for the bridges.
The line, Mr.. POu said, runs through
good section Of Georgia, striking through
the best portions of Decatur and Early
counties and opening up one of the richest
parts Of Alabama. THE line passes through
a part OF Alabama" he said, "compris-
ing a rich section about 1870 miles square
| through which no railroad passes. The
lower part of the section is ono Of the best
timbered Of Alabama, and the upper part
strikes the cotton belt of Alabama and is
the best part Of it.
TO BRING COTTON TO SAVANNAH
"The Louisville and Nashville railroad
running from Montgomery to Mobile strikes
a line farther west, but a great part of the
products Of this portion of the state go via the
Louisville and Nashville railroad to Mobile
The distance is greater than to Savannah
over our proposed line,o said Mr..
Pou, land we have every reason
TO believe that our line will bring
to Savannah large quantities of lumber,
naval stores aud cotton, which heretofore
has been going to Mobile. We are working
to complete the road with view TO getting
q western connection to Memphis and from
the present indication our hopes will be
realized This will mako the shorte. route
| to Memphis that Savannah can get.'
Mr.. Pou is sanguine Of the success of the
new road. He said that by the middle of
February he hopes there will be at least
l 800 hands engaged on the road.
500 HANDS WANTED.
Mr. G.. A. Wilkens has been in the city
for the past few days, getting up hands
He says that he will take 500 If he can get
| them. He has ALREADY secured about
seventy-five, and says that he will leave for
cambridge tomorrow with twice that
number
James M Brown & Co., contractors of
New York, were the original contractors
for the road. They sub-let the contract for
the greater portion of the road to Louis
McLain, a well known contractor, and he
is exerting himself to complete the grading
within few months, when the cross ties
and rails will be laid.