The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1893-12-27
THE RAILWAY WORLD.
A DESCRIPTION OF THE GREAT
ATCHIsoN SYSTEM.
its Construction, Trials and TribuIatiops.
Travelling Freight Agent A ppointed
for tho International and Great
Northern--LocaI Notes,

tern Of today, with It's s34i miles, making
1t the biggest In the world, and its $4,000 :
900 capitalization. which Is the greatest in
this country, was one of many ordinary
railroads in the United states no longer
ago than 1885. At the end OF that year il
owned and operated 1886 miles Of road.
II was In that year that it began to ex.
pand on large scale, the first great ex.
tension being tho Atlantic and Pacific
railroad, which 1t contracted to build
jointly with the ST. Louis and San Fran
cisco railroad for the purpose of giving
both systems an outlet to the Pacific
coast
The original Atchiscn ana Topeka rail-
road was Incorporated February II. 1859,
The Atchison. Topeka and Santa Fe,
which absorbed the smaller road. was or.
ganized In 1863. The line between TopelSn
and Atchison was opened in December.
1872, and the line from Topeka to Kansas
city was leased three years later in per-
petuity The New Mexican division was
opened in 1881 as far as Deming, where
the line connected with the Southern Pa
cific railroad.
The Atlantic and Pacific had been
bought by the ST. Louis and San Fran
cisco under foreclosure In 1876, and It gave
the Atchison half interest in the At
lantic and Pacific when the agreement of
extension to the Pacific coast was made
in 1885, which was to be along the thirty
fifth parallel First mortgage land grant
bonds, not TO exceed $4,000 mile, and
income bonds to the amount of SIS 100 a
mile were authorized. Second MORTGAGES
bonds at $4,000 were authorized, In case
they We're needed The Atchson and st
Louis companies guaranteed twenty-five
per cent of gross earnings derived from
interchange Of traffic with the Atlantic
ana Pacific road to meet any deficiency
in interest on the first mortgage bonds
such advances to be treated as loans pay
able with interest. New per cent bonds
oi the Atlantic road We're issued January
/. 1887 principal and interest guaranteed
by the two construction companies.
Ihis seems to have been the beginning
of the Atchison's fluctuations, for 1t not
only had to furnish most OF the money for
building the Atlantic and Pacific extern
sion, which in itself has proved valua-
BILE accession, but II was dragged into the
mire by It's relations with the ST. Louis
and San Francisco company, and In later
years 1t had to absorb the latter system
- 49, " Sh'N 'isS INNS hipii 'he Sioubh
The Atchison board of directors when
the Atlantic and Pacific deal was made
consisted of Isaac I. Burr, Alden Speare,
9. H. Goldman. A. w. Niclerson, Warren
9aWyer w. y; marion, Wllliam -
Strong, b. p. Cheney and G. o. Shattuck, |
of Boston; $. a. Kent, of Chicago; C. |
i. Holiday, of Topeka. H. Severy, of |
Reading, Kan; and % B. Purcell, of Man
haitian. Kan. W. B. Strong was president |
ana - r. Cheney chairman or the exec |
ltiNe committee. The control was lodged |
IN Boston at that time
IN the year 1889 the Atchison absorbed |
certain Kansas roads and began to build /
branches in that state Mt an enormous |
r,i' me result seyetaI Years later bellg
that Kansas had the greatest mileage of |
any state IN the Union ana the Atchison's |
ms i' NuilSltvle point Wneh' Grol'S were were
ne capltallHatlon OF Inc Atchison STOCK ana
.unded debt was about SloOUWOOO.
In 1856 before the Atlantic and Pacific
was completed TO MoJaVe' Cal, the Atchi-
son company began another ambitious I'M
iertaklnR, the construction OF n me rom
KANSAS Iity mo IhlGaso' me COMPANY