Los Angeles daily herald., 1890-01-30
THE RAILWAYS.
Miscellaneous News of the
Common Carriers.
REPAIRS AFTER THE LAST STORM
Shipments of Oranges-Exp0rtatl0n
of Wine-The Arroyo Seco
Pass.

There was no material change in the
railroad situation yesterday. Trains are
running on time on all branches of the
Southern Pacific except the line to Santa
Ana, where repairs are still in progress.
1t is expected that this division will be
opened today. All the damaged bridges
on the Santa Fe line have been put ir
shape except the one at st. James, on
the Orange division, which will be re-
paired today. The injuries inflicted by
this last storm, although they caused
the interruption of traffic for day OF
two, were trifing as compared with
those wrought by the storm of last
Christmas.
General Manager K. H. Wade, of the
Santa Fe, left yesterday morning on a
general tour of inspection over the lines
in this part of the State. He will be ab-
sent three or four days. He proposes to
see what can be done to protect the road
bed and bridges from the ravages which
almost every storm manages to jnfict.
Yesterday evening special train con-
eieting OF seventeen cars filed with
oranges left the Southern Pacific depot
for Chicago. The season for orange ship
ments is now we'll under way and rail-
va officials and fruit men unite in the
statement that thus far twice as many
car loads have been sent out as were dis
patched during similar period in 1889.
The system of running special trains for
this product alone induces more speedy
delivery of the fruit in the East than
could be achieved when the orange cars
were run in trains with other freieht.
Only seven days elapse while the fruit is
being transferred from this city to
Chicago and it is placed on the market
there in frst-rate condition. The two
competing roads, the Santa Fe and South
ern Pacific, have kept up lively fight
over the carrying trade in this product,
and there have been frequent rumors tC
the effect that cutting of rates would
soon begin, but thus far they have not
come true. The two companies appear
to be about neck and neck in the race.
A table of the shipments of wine from
this State shows that during Decembe,
last there were shipped from San Fran.
CAbCC W 4NOW L VI b ny sch 40, 600 RhliOuS,
to foreign ports by sea 2,428 gallons and
overland 267 ,S15. During the same
month there were shipped from Los An.
geles 13, ,451 gallons, and from the entire
State, erland, the shipment was 392,-
103. During the entire year 1889 there
were shipped from the State by sea g.
S29, 1903 gallons, and by rail 4,341 ,5O3 gal
Ions, with total value, at an average
price of 40 cents per gallon, OF So, 339, 1858.
This is the largest quantity that has ever
been sent out of the State during a single
year. The average annual value of the
product during the past five years has
been $2,5l6,9S2.
1t is generally believed that the exten.
sion of the Denver and Rio Grande, which
is coming into this city inside of year OF
two, backed by the Gould interest in the
Missouri Pacific, will avail itself of the
Arroyo Seco pass through the Sierra
Madre mountains. From the direction
taken by the party of surveyors known
to be at work in the employ
of this line in Nevada it is believed that
the road will enter the southern part of
California at a point northeast of Barstow.
From there the line, to get to Los An
geles, must either 60 clear round by San
Diego, or come over the Sierra Madre
range, as both the Southern Pacific and
Santa Fe have done, the former through
the Soledad and the latter through the
Cajon.
There are known to be only two passes
left through the range which are in any
way available for railway use. One oi
these lies back of Duarte, and Major
81. M. Mitchell is said to know all about
it. He has been over it on horseback q
number of times and declares that it is 6
perfectly feasible undertaking to build 6
railway through there. The other pass
is along the canon through which the
Arroyo Seco flows, over divide neal
the head waters of the TehuDga and ou
at a point only few miles from South
siGe, which is at the entrance of the
Soledad on the Southern Pacific.
F. J. Rask, superintendent of bridge
construction for the county, was the
original dscoverer of the Arroyo Secc
pass. He was seen yesterday by q re-
porter of this paper, and asked whether
any negotiations were in progress look.
ing to the use OF the pass by either of the
new roads. He said that there were moi
thus far, but expressed belief that any
road which proposed to come through
the mountains would be compelled tc
use this route.
GA railroad can be built through thu
Arroyo Seco pass" said he, sat thire
less cost than through either the Soledao
or the Cajon, and when completed there
would be saving, in comparison with
the other roads, of $500 a mile an
nually for every train run. The
fact that the grade is go much
easier than by the other routes
and that the distance is 30 much shorter
has an important bearing on the expense
of operation, and would even up 6
greater cost of construction it that wers
needed. 1t would make the distance be-
tween this city and Barstow fifty nine
miles nearer than it is now by the Cajon
There are no severe grades, the heavies
being 119 feet to the mile, as against ICE
in the Cajon. Two tunnels would have
to be built, one 1900 and the other
1000 feet long. The road would
be free from dangers of washouts and
would involve no difficulties in opera.
ton. Within thirty miles of this city
the road would 60 through dense timber
lands and rich mineral country. The
road which avails itself Of the use of this
pass, will, in my opinion, have decided
advantage over it's rivals as far as the
matter OF getting through the mountains
is concerned.
A Warner excursion which arrived in
the city yesterday from the East con-
fained the followinp Deoplo: