The herald., 1898-01-01
TRAFFIC. TROUBLES

| Ing.
TRAFFIC TROUBLES
CHICAGO, Dec. 31.-Another effort is
to be made in the near future to reor-
ganize the old Transcontinental Passen-
ger association. The longer the roads
work without an association the more
urgently do they feel the need of one,
and the Generalization of rates In trans
continental traffic has been so great
during the most of the year that the
roads declare that they have lost much
revenue which might have been saved
| If they had been working under strong
traffic agreement. The principal OBJ
stacle to the reorganization of the asso-
citation has been the position taken by
the Union Pacific, which has, by its re-
fusal to join any passenger association,
caused more trouble to the transcon-
tinental lines than 1t has to those Of the
Western Passenger association.
Most of the passenger men who favor
the reorganization of the association are
now Of the opinion that they will have
little trouble in inducing the Union Pa
that a meeting of all the transcontinent-
al roads will be called in this city some
time in January.
A meeting of the western lines was
held today, for the purpose Of doing away
with the home seekers excursions,
which, it is said, have been demoraliz
er of winter tourist rates.
The same old straw was threshed over
again, with the same old result. and the
excursions will be continued for the re-
mainder of the winter 1t is probable,
however, that they will be confined to the
first three months of the year.
THE VALLEY ROAD
STOCKTON, Dec. 31.-Construction of
the Valley Railways roadbed from
Stockton to Richmond Point began to-
day at Old River, under the supervision
of Contractor J. d. McDougald. The
bed of the road is being laid in a novel
manner and to some extent the work is
experimental. The spot selected for
commencing operations is in the worst
stretch of marsh land between here and
Brentwood. Borings show the depth to
solid ground to be thirty feet. To sup
port the railroad embankment. bed of
brush, seventy feet wide will be laid,
and for the initial work 500 cubic yards
of brush have been cut. 1t has been
done up into fascines fifteen inches in
diameter, each bundle being bound
tightly with wire. These fascines will |
be laid as compactly together as possi- |
BILE, breaking joints to make the bed
hrmer. There will be two layers of fas-
cines, the top layer to be covered with |
few inches of earth, when ties and rails
will be laid on it, forming a temporary
track. Over this roadbed trains will |
eventually be run from the vicinity Of |
Brentwood, hauling sand and gravel for |
the permanent embankment. The brush |
support Is intended to remain perma-
nently where it iy placed. the earth
hauled in from Brentwood being dumped |
on top Of it.
Contractor McDougald left for the
scene of operations this morning. He |
takes down with him, on barge, a lot |
of earth dredged from Mormon Channel,
in this city, to be used as a covering for |
the brush roadbed. The brush has al |
ready been cut on Old River and bound |
into fascines. Twenty-Five head of |
horses and half dozen wheel scrapers, |
the barge to the brush bed, were sent |
down on the vessel this morning.
This method of railroad construction |
Is very costly, as may be judged from the |
'aot that at the opening of bids at Sac
not long ago, for furnishing |
'ascines to be used in the work on the |
Sacramento river the lowest bid was so |
cents cubic yard, and the next lowest |
S1.10. How much Contractor McDou-
gald is to receive from the Valley Road |
S unknown. The cost, however, is less
han if piles had to he driven into the |
narshy ground to support the rails.
Vast quantities of sand and gravel are |
,btainable in the vicinity of Brentwood,
ind as the material for the embankment |
s to be obtained from that side of the
ule basin, it is probable that the Valley
Road intends to change it's base of op-
.rations to Brentwood as soon as the
stretch of roadway begun today is fin
she'd
Mr.. McDougald's contract calls for
,nly 100 feet The work was evidently
begun in the worst part of the swamp to
make sure that such roadbed Is feasi-
lie. AS soon as it is demonstrated that
he plan is feasible, similar work will be
commenced on the Brentwood side of the
,asin and continued across the tules to
stockton, gravel and sand being hauled
IN the brush as fast as the fascines are
aid down.
EIDE ANTI