Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-13
He OUTLINES HIS PLANS
NEW BRIDGE TO DEPART MATE
RALLY FROM WINNERS PLANS.
Western Roads Have About Abandon
ed the Idea of Issuing nm Inter-
chauEeabIe Mileage Ticket
Other Interesting
Railroad News.


the North end and the completion OF the
so-called Winner bridge in connection with
the depot. In addition TO the members OF
the club, there were great many repre-
sentative citizens not members ana num-
Der of prominent railroad men and others
interested in the project outside of the city.
Among those from outside the city wEre
w. B. Doddrdge, general manager of the
Missouri Pacific railroad; H. P Taussig, of
ST. Louis, who built the magnificent Union
depot in that city, ana c. T. Link, the
architect of that structure.
Those who listened to the plans unfolded
by Mr.. Theodore c. Bates were greatly in
terested, and at the conclusion of his ad-
dress united in hearty vote of thanks.
Mr.. Bates explained his plans in great de-
tail. making use of stereopticon to elab-
crate the scheme proposed by him.
Mr.. A. E. Sulwell vice president of the
Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf road is not
infatuated with Mr.. Bates plan, and
hence did not buy the old Winner bridge
and the adjacent land in Kansas City ana
Harlem. He did not want the strip of
road attached to the bridge, but decided
that he must have IL. There are number
of other representative citizens VINO do
not take kindly TO Mr.. Bates scheme. They
do no tbelieve that the site selected is in
the proper locality.
TO force Bates 10 sell to them the property.
and should this be done of course it will be
a fine place for grand Union depot, but
unless they get control of the property the
site, as well as the proposition offered by
Mr.. Bates will be very undesirable and
visionary"
Mr.. Bates proposed depot is to be located
between Locust and Holmes streets and
TO extend from Pacific to within about 80
Vii ILL
a length of COO feet for the depot building,
with a court of $50 to 200 feet on the In
dependence avenue frontage. Mr.. Bates
had no views of the proposed depot build
ing He showed several stereopticon views
of the st. Louis depot for the benefit, he
said, of a Kansas City paper which pub
lished Sunday morning what purported to
be cut of the depot that has not yet been
planned. So Mr.. Bates showed view of
the st. Louis depot to remove from his
auditors minds any ideas they had got
ten from the cut. The ST. Louis depot is
somewhat in accord with his ideas.
Mr.. Bates paid high tribute to Kansas
City He said It has impressed him as
having but one rival in the Western coun-
try-Chicago. There are three things in
my mind" he said. that Kansas City
needs" Mr.. Bates may have intended TO
ferred to only one of them; that was a
new union depot. Nothing. he said added
more TO the attractiveness of a rapidly
growing city than good passenger sta
tion, facilities and accommodations
Mr.. Bates expressed the opinion that
there was no city in the West that afford
ed to the railroads so substantial sup
port, financially speaking. as did Kansas
City, and il seemed to him that the lines
centering here were justified in devoting
a large share of the money they make
from freight traffic into,out Of and through
Kansas City to giving the people better
passenger accommodations.
He quoted Colonel Nettleton as having
given the matter of a new Union depot for
Kansas City serious consideration as long
as four years ago., and spoke Of MIN as
having set on foot, in connection with Mr..
Bates. a proposition looking to that end
Mr.. Bates then showed, with the aid of
the stereopucor, a series of photos show
ing hes the scope % Of the plans Of the interests
the bridge. AS shown by the drawings,
they differed materially from the old VIM
ner bridge plans.
the old Winner piers, which are now in
place, about forty feet, and the construc-
upper and lower deck, bridge. The har-
Dor line. as established, passes near what
is known as pier L. near the Kansas City
bank of the river, and the plans include a
fill to extend out to the harbor line This
will give the company a 5000 foot front
age along the filled land. which will COM
prise a tract of about seventy-five acres
Mr.. Bates suggests that should it be
decided not to build the depot on the high
level of the location heretofore mentioned.
Il might be built on this low level. The
lower level of the bridge is TO grade exact
ly with this filed land. The preferred site
for the depot is forty feet above it.
The Winner piers, as they now stand
are nearly parallel with the proposed high
level depot. >, BY cutting them down forty
were constructed for a high level bridge
and after being cut down will give an ex-
traordinarily substantial foundation of the
low level bridge In addition to the double
railroad tracks a wagon way is planned on
either side of the bridge, and the construc-
tion. of the piers is' such that the center
limo of weight will still be well within the
piers. In fact there win be left a margin
of two feet on either side of the piers be-
yond the necessities from an engineering
The bridge is to be equipped with a If,
span instead of a draw. this span being
lifted twelve feet,by the agency OF weights
and pulleys following much the plan of
the ordinary window weights. A ten horse
power electric motor is TO furnish the pow
er for lifting the span, although Mr.. Bates
said II could easily be done by two men
with a lever, so perfect will be the system
of weights. Hydraulic cushioning will pre-
vent jarring in raising or lowering. No
steam railroad bridge has ever been con-
structed with lift span, but II has been
found TO be entirely feasible in several no.
table instances, and much more convenient
than the customary drawbridge, being more
easily and expeditiously operated. The
plans of the bridge. Mr.. Bates said, have
been approved by two successive heads of
the Missouri river commission, and by the
war department at Washington.
As before stated, Mr.. Bates showed nc
views of his pronosed Union tiepot MS the
plans have never been drawn. He eN-
planned his ideas briefly by saying he would
have the building about 500 feet in length
with such depth as might oe necessary,
and a train shed corresponding 10 that In
st. Louis. The proposed location. the prop
erty of which is owned by his company. he
dwelt upon at length, calling especial at
tention 10 the fact that, in a central loca-
tion, within 1000 feet of the business center
OF Kansas City there was an ideal spot for
"A passenger station, with all needed ter
minal facilities, and available for that pur-
pose without the destruction oil any con-
siderable amount of property.
Trains entering from the east, Mr.. Bates
said, can round the incline on a grade of
one-half per cent, and those from the west
need not have in any place grade exceed
ing ! per cent, bringing their passengers
into the high level union depot near the
business heart of Kansas CitV. Mr.. Bates
would have an interlocking switch similar
20 that at st. Louis 10 control all trains,
and will back all trains under the tram
shed and 10 the depot with an electric mo-
tor. hauling them out in the same manner.
and thus doing away entirely with the en-
trance Of steam locomotives.
Nj. Bates showed, with the aid of the
steIecpticon, several large depots in diff
ferent large cities of this and the Old
World, with both interior and exterior
views. He claimed that Kansas City was
entitled TO equal facilities. He made no
estimate Of the probable cost, further than
TO give the cost OF the Union depot at ST.
Louis.
At the conclusion OF Mr. Bates remarks.
H. ]. Taussig, construction engineer of the
St. Louis depot. addressed the club briefly
He approved the plans Of Mr.. Bates. which
he considered feasible in every respect 1t
IS merely n question of dollars and cents.
Mr. Taussig thinks. and as TO that part OF
the plans. Mr.. Taussig said he was not
qualified to express an opinion. Architect
G 7 Link. who planned the St Louis de-
xryaUa fent ~ felA ,gnlf