San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-06-17
IMPROVING
THE GOULD RAILWAY IN TEXAS

| NJ. Euuy, JOlul IoS0A'ol "i0A AA N'
Bonner, of the International and
Great Northern railroad, a LIGHT
scribe, temporarily laying aside the
cares Of newspaperdom, and assuming
a all-about-it air common to
tourists, betOok himself up to Blanco
to witness the operations of the great
steam shovel, which is playing such
an important part in the upbuilding
of that road.
At Blanco, which is situated in
Hays county, on the Blanco river,
four miles north of the town of San
Marcos, the Grant Faber pusher was
taken in charge of by Mr.. [. l..
Thomas, the courteous and efficient
general roadpaster of the road south
of Taylor, to which gentleman he
stands indebted for a kind reception
and much information.
Two years ago, when States Attor-
ney Gen eral Hogg was fairly started
on his crusade on the railroads, he
sued for and obtained receiver
ship for the International and
Great Northern Road. At that time
there was little doubt that this was
just, as the track, especially that part
of it south of Taylor was in bad con-
dition, the rolling stock was almost
depleted, and there were few building
adequate to the needs of the road.
After the order had issued from the
court of the Seventh Judicial district
creating recievership, Messrs Eddy
m 10
post and a most exhaustive work of
recuperation was inaugurated. The
many new depots and buildings that
have been erected, the accession of
eight hundred new freight cars. and
great NUM- or of new engines and
passenger coaches, superior to any
thing before seen in Texas, have al
ready been noticed in the columns of
the LIGHT and there remains the
work of ballasting the road bed,
which, when completed, will raise
the I. & G. n. to the first rank among
Texas railroads.
The road bed south of Taylor is
built through the famous black waxy |
soil districts and from the nature of
the material it is next to impossible |
to secure a permanent roadbed to OBJ |
tain which, the road must be bal |
lasted by coating it with gravel. |
When the court gave the order for |!
this work the matter was placed in |
the hands of Roadmaster Thomas,
who proceeded to look for suitable |
deposit of gravel, which..he located at !
Blanco, and received from the owner |
the right to use the pit for three
years at the rate of cents per car
load. Immediately after closing this
contract track was laid to the pit,
an immense steam shovel belonging
to the famous firm of railroad con.
tractors, Kicker & Lee, was engaged
and the work commenced.
This shovel is an all iron affair, self
operating, with 25-horse power en-
CINE, the pulleys being so arranged
that a power of 75-horse can be eX-
erted. Its distinctive feature is huge |
scoop operated by long crane. The |
gravel deposit is of limitless extent,
and the material is as fine as
could we'll be desired, A hole
half mile long and 400 feet wide, By
Is deep, from which was taken gravel
to ballast lis miles of road, makes no
on the amount remaining |
and there is enough left to ballast |
every mile of railroad in the state.
The work was commenced at Tay- |
lor, working south, the scene of Oper- |
atoms now being at Davenport, |
eighteen miles north Of San Antonio. !
The material is loaded on fiat cars,
each car carrying load of fourteen
cubic yards. Four trains are at work,
moving from IS to 100 cars per day.
At the pit car is loaded every three
minutes and owing to the long haul
the shovel is not working to its full
capacity, but it could easily load 10.
All the work is done without the
direct application of the labor of
hands and the unloading is accom-
plished in shorter time than the load
ing. The cars are specially con-
structed, in the center of each being
fixed a beam of wood which serves as
a rail. A train arrives at the unload
ing point and a car containing an I'M
mense pillow is attached to the rear of
the train and connected with the
locomotive by a long irou cable.
When all the brakes are seo so that
the train stands immovable, the en-
CINE pulls up and the pillow, moving
along the rail uulOads the gravel
equally on both sides of the car.
Then comes the "surfacing" gang,
numbering two hundred men, who
with shovels move the gravel into
place.
This gives the road-bed sOlidity
and the track that has received this
treatment is as smooth and firm as
can be found anywhere, and will not
need further application for twenty
wears to come. AS this work pro-
crosses, all the bridges are being re-
novated and reconstructed of new