The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-12-09
RAILS AND TIES ON THE
GROUND.
Within Four Months the Road
Could Be Rushed to Com.
pletion.
DEPOTS AND WATER STATIONS
BEING ESTABLISHED.
Special Excursion Trains With Re
duced Fares to Be Run to
Fresno.


work on the San Francisco and San Joaquin
Valley Railway has been temporarily dis
continued, there is No cessation in activity
along the portion of the line already COM
pleted. comprising 125 miles between
Stockton and Fresno.
In order to give the earliest possible re-
lief to the producers and merchants of the
valley from the extortionatte charges of
the Southern Pacific the road was opened
for freight before the proper &C.
commodations could be provided Tor most
conveniently handling freight. 1t is to
remedy these shortcomings that the most
energetic efforts are now being put forth.
The improvements now under way COM
prise sidings, freight and passenger de-
pots at several of the stations and round
house and turntable at Fresno.
MERGED and Escalon have already each
been provided with com bination freight
and passenger depot, and similar str uc-
lures are going up at Elmwood, Geneva,
La Grand and Lankershlm. Each of these
will cost about $4,000. At Fresno an i'm
mense freight depot is rapidly assuming
Inyo. A portion of this is to be used
temporarily as passenger depot, and by
spring handsome and commodious pas
senger depot will be commenced. The
freight depot alone at this point is to cost
$4,000.
The com bination structures at Escalon,
Elmwood, Geneva, La Grand and Lanker-
SHIN will not only afford accommo datlons
for passengers and the handling of freight,
but overhead will be living-rooms for the
station agent of the com pany.
Work on the roundhouse and the turn-
table, for which the contracts were re-
Gently awarded. is well advanced.
Extension work south of Fresno will in
all probability not be begun until the
early part OF February. The bonds which it
is proposed to sell to provide funds for the
construction of the road between Fresno
and Bakersfield and between Stockton and
San Francisco are still in the engraver's
hands, and it is not likely that any at
tempt will be made to float them until
after the new year dawns.
But this will not interfere with track
construction south of Fresno. The next
obstacle to progress in that direction is the
lack of continuous right of way. As
already announced there will be two lines
out OF Fresno, One will run via Hanford
and the other probab bly, via Reedley and
Visalia. The two lines will come together
again south of Hanford. near Lake Tulare.
The ultimate route of the Reedley- Visalia
branch will depend largely on concessions
made by landowners in the matter of
right of way and depot sites. Local COM
mittees are now engaged securing the
right of way.
Material for this extension is now being
stacked up at Fresno. The rails have al
ready been ordered sufficient to lay the
entire track from Fresno to Bakersfield.
A large portion of them are now at Fres-
no and the remainder are on the way.
1oo III lor 80
trimmings on hand.
As soon as the through right of way is
secured the work of construction will be
rushed. From the present outlook a start
will not be possible before February, but
when once the first rail is laid south OF
the limits of Fresno it will not be more
than four months before Bakersfield Will
be enjoying the same full and substantial
benefits of railroad com petition that have
proved such a blessing and relief to the
people between Stockton and Fresno.
The only check to putting the ITO miles
of track between Fresno and Bakersfield
down at the rate of a mile day will be
the three big bridges that will have to be
erected-two over the Kings River and
one over the Kern. Each of these struct-
ures is to cost $50, 900. All The plans are
ready, but the material has not yet been
ordered, nor can it or will it be until the
right of way situation is cleared of all I'M
certainty.
The company's rolling stock is sufficient
to operate the entire 235 miles between
Stockton and Bakersfield, at least for the
present.
Among other mportant improvements
in progress is the establishment of water
stations at Stockton, Escalon, Elmwoo :,
La Grand, Lankershim and Fresno. Wells
are being sunk, and pumps and tanks
erected. The expense at each station
thus equipped will not be less than $500.
| At MERGED and Fresno the water will be
obtained from the city supply.
In order to accommodate those who
desire to visit Fresno during the continu-
ance of the citrus fair there, a special
train service will be operated at reduced
fares. The fair will be open from the Nth
to the 18th of December inclusive. and re-
turn tickets will be sold from this City
from the 18th to the 18th inclusive and
from other points until the 10Th. These
will be good to return until the Dist. The
return fare from San Francisco will be
SIS 40 and from Stockton 81 80. From in
termediate points one and one-third fares
will be charged for return tickets. Trains
will be run daily each way ana provisions
have been made to accommodate 500 peo-
pie on each day.