The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-09-13
BUSINESS ON THE \. P.
Passenger Traffic Larger Than 1t
Ever Was Before.
LONG AND HEAVY TRAINS
The Track Department Is Busy Putting
the Track in Shape for the Winter.
The Projected Branch Up
Nine-Mile Creek.

/
of winter the track department of the
Northern Pacific is making every effort
to get the line into the best possible con-
| dition before winter sets in. The grade
reduction and curve revision has been 60
! ing on at a rapid rate all summer and
| follows what has been done In this direc-
| ton during the past two seasons. The
| result is that there is no road in the
| West that has a roadbed that can COM
| pare with what the Northern Pacific has
| on this division. The curves have been
| regarded to comply with the require
ments of the higher speed that is now
| the rule on the division, and the sharp
| curves are no longer cause FOR dlscom-
| fort to passengers. The ride down the
| canyon is now as smooth and easy as
| any railway in the land. The new steel
| is arriving with provoking slowness and
| the miles that should have been laid with
| this ere now have only been partly fin
ished. On the Missoula mountain, where
it was thought that the work would be
finished last month, it is only half done,
| though all the steel that has come in has
been laid. This steel is improving the
road quite as much as the regarding, and
when it Is finished all along the division
the Rocky Mountain will be cracker
jack.
The trains are getting longer all the
time. 1t was thought a while ago that
the limit had been reached, as the ca
pacity of the sfdings on this division had
been fully tested. This was when the
trains were so cars long. Now all of the
sidings on the low grade track are being
extended to hold 60 cars and the trains
that run over these portions of the divi-
sion will be of that length. The old-timers
shake their heads when they see these
long trains and then go on with their
work. 1t is some different from the days
when no conductor would move a train
that was longer than 10 cars on the
mountain grades. The improvement of
track and motive power has made this
possible, but there. is only one way by
which the 60-car limit can be raised and
that is by building double-tracked line
from here to Helena and Hope. With the
60-car length that the new sidings have
at present there is but little room be-
tween the sidings at the different sta
tions. Any increase in the length of the
sidings at Bonita and Bonner will bring
the two together. AS it is now, an engi-
neer on a train at Bonner has no diff
Guilty in conversing with the conductor
who is in his caboose on the Bonita sid
ing.
The filling of the high trestle on the
ished. All that remains to be done is the
topping off, and this will be done by a
work train. Contractor Johnson has fin
ished his work and will soon start in on
another contract in the Thompson dis
trct, where he has agreed to widen two
big cuts. This work will keep him busy
till late in the winter. This same work
will be carried out. wherever it is possible,
and the immense number of bridges on
this division will be, considerably lessen
ed. Where it is necessary culverts of ma
sorry arches are put in or else large iron
culverts are inserted. This makes drain
age possible and the filling removes a
great source of danger which existed IN
the numerous wooden trestles along this
division.
The announcement in Sundays Stand
ard that the Northern Pacific will at once
build a three-mile branch up Nine Mile
creek, in Idaho, is one of the most i'm
portant bits of railway news that has
been published this season. 1t means
that the Northern Pacific proposes to
hold this district for it's own, and those
who are familiar with the Nine Mile
country say that it will in time rival
Canyon creek in the richness of it's pro-
duction. There are now few properties
that are ready to ship over the new
branch at an early date and there will be
be great news to the Occur d'Alene
country. as it means that there Is to be
a large addition to the total output of
that region. The construction work on
this branch will be started Immediately,
and it is believed that the branch will be
extended considerably in the spring.
1t is the opinion in local railway circles
that the construction of the Clearwater
cutoff, which has been in progress for
year, will soon be suspended pending the
settlement of the truce that has been
declared between the roads interested
The Union Pacific has ceased its construc-
ton work and as soon as the track now
under construction by the Northern Pa
cific is finished it is said that all work
will cease. This is thought to mean that
the extension of this line is to be deter
mined by future developments. If things
come as they look now, the line will be
built according to the original plans and
will come over the Lolo pass into the
Bitter Root valley. 1t may be- however,
that developments will occur in such a
way that the extension will cross the
Bitter Root range further SOUTH proba-
bly, above Hamilton, or it is possible that
it will swing around the range to Butte.
In any event it is the opinion here that
no more work will be done at present
There has been much gossip about the
pioneer parties sent out through the val
ley by the railway company during the
summer. 1t is thought that this explora-
ton has to do with a possible extension
into the Upper Bitter Root, possibly to
meet a crossing of the range that may be
made opposite the Salmon City country.
A report has been current here for two
or three days that this Bitter Root extern
sion was to be started al once but the To-
cal officials say they know nothing about
II, and that, as far as they know nothing
more than the first rough preliminary
work has been done in that direction.
There is no doubt that this extension
would bring much good business to the
road, and it is probable that 1t will be
constructed some day. That day how
ever. has not yet arrived The Bitter
Root branch has always.been one of the
most profitable pieces of road on the
Northern Pacific system and it's extension
would add to the amount of business. The
farmers in the upper valley have been