Omaha daily bee., 1898-01-02
LOOKING OVER The LINES
New Head Of the Union Pacific Out to Look
at Property,
PRESIDENT BURT AND PARTY START
VIII Make n Thorough Inspection of
the Physical Condition of the
Great Overland Before
Returning.

Horace G.. Burt president-elect OF the
Union Pacific railroad Is not losing any time
in becoming thoroughly acqua!ntel with the
property OF whicn he viii eoon become ;he
custodian and chief executive officer. lie
epent tho last day of the old year at local
headquarters famildrizing himself wi the
work OF the management, and he began the
new year by starting on trip OF Inspection
over the main line and branch lines OF the
Overland Route"
1t was jus. $50 o'clock this morning when
a special tran, consisting Of locomotive
and three private cars, pulled out OF the
Union depot sheds, boring the presidents
party. with President-elect Burt were:
oliver w. Mink of Boston, first vice presl.
dent-elect; Edward Dickinson, general III n
oger; +. E. Buckingham, superintendent OF
car service; p. ]. Nichols, general super
inteudent; JOSEPH II. Mcconnell, slperin tnd-
ent of motive power cnd machinery, ana IL
l.. LomaX, general passenger ana ticket agent
Tho officials were accompanied by their sec
retaries. Tne three private o-rs had all been
brushed up for their trip and the locomotive
CT the 700 class Ulat pulled the train had its
every strip OF brass and steel fairly glistenlng
in the moleIing sunlight. One OF the ohciais
remarked that if the new president wapte d
fast ride ON his new railroad he thought ne
could get II without much trouble. hul
that's what Tom Grogan, he eugineer,
thought as he sat in his cab with his hand on
the throttle waiting for the new head of ne
read to get aboard the train. Tom Grogan
made his reputation last summer when he
hurried another official party in frcm Evans
ton, Wyo., to Omaha IN the longest continuous
run by one engineer Gnd one locomotive ever
made in America. He did not start out TINS
morning with tho locomotive that performed
that feat, No. $50, but he lad one nearly as
good and the engineers the road say that
Grog.c could get speed out of any piece of
mach.uery that ever came down the tracks
WILL INSPECT IT THOROUGHLY.
Tho presidents party is out for a thor
ough trip of inspection of the entire Union
Pacific road. Most oi the Inspecting will b
done by daylight, the parts oil Che road being
covered at night time going west being
scheduled to be gone over in daylight coming
east on the return trip. The first part of the
line that will receive tn attention of the
new president will be the Omaha Repub
lican Valley branch and that will be gont
over TODAY Aftsr that each branch will De
taken in the order that it comes. On tn,
going trip 1t is not expected that any
bursts OF speed will be made, but most o
the men along the road are looking for somt
record breaking runs after the party starts
east from Ogden. Although this will b'
Mr. Burt's first trip over the Union Pacii
as its chief executive, he is said to be yer!
familiar with the Overland Route 1t /
well known that when he formerly lived ii
Omaha prior to August. 1896 he frequentl,
went over the Union Pacific from Omaha t
Cheyenne. When he went out to the Wyo
ming divisions of the Elkhorn road, OF whic
he was generally manager he invarlaD
went from here to Cheyenne over the Unio
Pacific in preference to using the Elkhorl
and is, therefore, supposed to b. very fami
lar with the property of which he is abou
to assume charge
Before the train pulled out memDer