The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-12-14
THE WORLD ON WHEELS,
Engineer Becker. Of the Great North
ern. Talks About the West
ern Extension.
WHY the Route Up the Dearborn
Was Changed to tho Ono
Now Utilized.
The work AIrendy Accomplfshcd-ohar'
80. - tho Alton, Congratulated
Cooke City to Cinnabar.

Chief Engineer Becker, of the Grea'
Northern railway, was in Spokane the othei
dav. and ais usual the reporters went aftel
him in IN sndeayor to find out how the
Sonnd extension of that line would enter
and leave that oity. He did not tell the
interviewets us to that, but to q reportei
OF the Spokane Review he gave $ Synopsis
nf the work already done and also an lae'
Of the route beyond spokane. "What WI
have constructed said MIR. Becker, is 9
back number to Us, yet 1T might bs WORTH
while making it public. In the fall OF leSI
was when ] was frat started to make II sus-
vav to ascertain the best way through.
Major Rogers was sent in 1886 and 1857 10
look M d line from the mouth Of tbs Daar-
horn river to the Montana Central. .Goina
up the Cadotte pass and down the Dig
Blackfoot to Missoula, thence over the quo.
hone pass in the Cadotte mountains ana
down the Cadotte river by way OF the
Fourth of July canyon to Spokane.
sFrom Spokane west his route practically
followed the Seattle, Lake Shore u eastern
TO Waterville, and Corbelay canyon to we
natchee. He took a tributary OF the stehe-
kin in tho Cady pass, thence down the Sky
homish to tidewater. Major Rogers sur
yey gave only a general outline OF the route,
and a close examination disclosed the 1Sc'
that the survey required very heavy grades
long tunnels and very heavy approaches for
several miles on the anges which he
crossed.
..When active work commenced surveys
we're made in the fall of 1890. and CONSIDER
able time was spent in tracing out the pro-
oosea line. The various difficulties en-
countered caused the company to LOOK
around for a line that would give easier
GRADES and easier construction.
"Looking for q new route In the winter OF
$50 and 80. with the mountain ranges COW
cred with snow, required hard work. ana
The nropress was necessarily very slow. Ihls
DELAYED the construction, SO that it was
about Aug. l before the company was as
crrad that the best line had been found and
that thew could go ahead without mistake.
The 4 MAJ contract was let IN Aug. l, 1850, to
Shspherd. Sims u Co., of st. Paul.
"ihcy had charge OF the road from Inc
Montana extension of the st. faul. MIR
neapolis & Manitoba to tho summit q the
Rnc[ias. n distance of 1856 miles. This track
iayinc was begun on Oct. 20, and between
rat time and Jan. 20, los miles of track
WAS laid. making tile winter term1nus ut
Cnt bank river, where the first large OBJ
atacle to construction in the shape OF the
bic bridge, 1900 feet long and lao feet high,
was met. This bridge was built between
the months Of February and Maren. ana
track-laying was resumed on April 70, 1881,
and pushed rapidly forward until opera
Hons we're again stopped by the construc-
zion Of the Second Medicine bridge, a
otrnnture 800 feet long and ZIP feet nigh.
BEING one of the biggest bridges In Mon
tana. il not in the country.
..Tracklaying was suspended Tor SIXTY
DAYS and since that day mas been gong
steadily forward, stopping occasionally for
the conatruotion OF some small ~trestles
along the mountain sides, until now it has
reached the FIathead valley, t~wenty-nlne
miles from KalIspell, q new railroad town
which was started May last in the middle
Of one OF the most fertile valleys In Mon
tana. During all the past season a large
grading force has bscn Kept
work as fast as definite locations have been
nrennrod by the engineers, 80 that at the
present time, excepting for the consttuc-
tion of a few bridges. work has bean com.
pleted to Albany Falls. at the crossing of
the Pend d'Oreille river, four miles east of
the Washington line.
From the Rocky mountains west as far
as the state of Washington there are heavy
bridges, and the line follows the valleys of
streams with very easy grades and llrht
curves, being in every respect adopted for
making a quick line with long and heavy
trains. East of the Rocky mountains the
line is an exception to any other IN the
country, reaching the summit with no
grades exceeding one per cent. and crossing
the summit without a tunnel. This grade
is about one-half as steep as that OF any
other ~transcontinental line. Ihe crossing
Of the Pend d'Oreille river is made with
two spans of steel bridges, 800 and 100 feet
respectively.
''These spans are now being built by the
Wisconsin Bridge company, and will be
erected during the months of February and
March, so that the track need not be de-
layed when it reaches that point. The
work of preparing this line for construction
has required the services of a large corps Of
engineers on account of ths construction
following SO clossly upon the surveys.
"The examination of the passes in the
Cascade range wag begun as soon as the
snow would permit in the spring of
1890, and a large force of engineers have
been constantly employed since that time,
except for q few months last winter when
the ranges were impossible. seeking for the
IllOSb AdfOl6piS Ett5ss az IL INV PupSSD
and several new ones were examined. The
choice finally fell uuon Stevens pass, which
gave the most favorable approaches from
the east and the west with easy grades by
using Il tunnel of about the same length as
that built by the Northern Pacific at STAN
pe3e pass, about thirty miles south.
"The line where it crosses the Big Bend
country has not received much attention
until recently, as it was thought to be a
country easily tIaverssd. Upon close ex-
animation it was found that there was Il
choice of several routes, and his part of
ths line is now being carefully looked up.
1t ia expected that within q few weeks, or
possibly by the time the work can proceed
in the spring, that this part of the line can
be definitely located. 1t was very quickly
discovered that Spokane would be off the
most direct route. The difficulties in get
ting i'll and out of the town without intro
ducing grades which would be sleeper than
those usec in other parts OF the line made
the problem almost too great to be solved.
Surveys have been going on quietly, and il
ia expected that G conclusion will be reached
pretty scon."
Conaratulation for Charlton,
One of the eastern roads that refused to
Join the boycott, against the Alton was the
Delaware d. Hudson, but as it had no outlet
by which it could reach the boycotted rood