The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-08-13

Indiana NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. az
Illinois Observation-Disclosures. Pr
iowa ...................... 500
MissouIl .'.'.'.... ..................... OIL
NeOIdska ...................... AZ
Wisconsin .................. ............ 236
minnesota .'..................... ,452
ooutn DdkOtA NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 700
North Dakota ........................ 1884
elontana ....................... SSS
to '''''''.'''''.'.. oe
washington ....................... 40
Canada Northwest territory and Mani
TOPAZ Observation-Disclosures. ..........1,52b
1othi '................. ...6,ll2
1t should be understood clearly in consd-
ering this record that the total refers only
| to miles Of road actually built by Mr.. shep-
ard as contractor. and does not include the
| stretches Of road with which he was connect
ed as surveyor or engineer. or in any other
capacity. But the total as 1t stands is quite
impressive enough. With the era Of extern
| bive steam railroad building practically clos
ed, there is little probability-hardly posi-
bility-that this record will ever be approx
mated even.
Mr.. Shepard Is generally considered a
typical Westerner. for his energies have
been mainly expended, and nearly all his
adult life has been lived In the West He is
| native Of East Geneseo, N. Y. He was
| educated at Mt. Morris and Brockport, era
duating from the Collegiate Institute at the
latter place fifty-two years ago. His family
was an important one in state politics, and
he Immediately got a Job as surveyor on the
long since abandoned Genesee Valley Canal.
In 1859 he renowned state employment
| forever and devoted some months to en-
| cheering work on a new railroad from
Canandaigua to Niagara Falls. now a part
of the New York Central system. The next
| year he decided to work for nobody but
Shepard. and at twenty three took the FIRST
contract. and began making his record.
This contract was for the building Of forty
miles Of track on the line of the old At
lantic and Great Western in Ohio. now O
part Of the Erie lines between Chicago and
New York. While he was engaged there
| on he had to spend his time In the valley
| Of the Muskingum. and he got the agus SO
bad that he pulled up stakes as soon as the
contract was finished and struck farther
| out into the West. Thereafter. as the table
giving his record shows. he wrought mainly
| In the Northwest, ten OF the thirteen states
| in which he operated lying west of tho
Mississippi. while over $500 miles of his
| construction was in that region.
He began work in Wisconsin In 1856.
transferring his energies to Minnesota In
| 1857 Tho Northwest was then q vast
| wilderness. He was the FIRST to point out
the agricultural possibilities Of the region.
and Minnesota's state records include q re-
port from his pen dealing with soil, eli
mate. and the like. written soon after he
settled in st. Paul, which now reads like
a prophecy. For years his occupations
were diversified. He laid out some rail-
roads and built others. He engaged In mer-
| camille pursuits. He was the main spirit
OF tho early operation Of the Minnesota
Central. now a part Of the Chicago. Mil
waukee and st. Paul system, and the brief
and simple time tables under which its few
trains were run in the early sixties are
still carefully preserved in the Shepard ar
chives. 1t was not till 1887 that he for
sock everything for railroad construction.
renouncing therefor the prospective pre-
sidency of highly important line con-
Meeting Chicago and st. Paul.
Building railroads was his chief occupa-
tion from 1870 till 1890. however. and from
| that time till his retirement, twenty -four
years later, he laid down on an average
of almost mile and a half working
| day. He made a record OF 675 miles In
the fifteen months following May /. 1882.
| but was destined to do much better later.
1t was James J. Hill who induced Shepard
| to make railroad building his sole occupa-
| ton. Hill had already done a good deal
| towards expanding his st. Paul and Pacific
| line into the present Great Northern sys-
tenn, and was ready to push operations with
greater vigor than ever. Hitherto his con-
structlon work had been in the hands of a
number OF contractors. Shepard and his
| firm being among them. From that time
on, Hill wanted all his railroad building
| to be done by one firm. He wanted to build
railroads faster than they had ever been built
before. yet he wanted them built economi-
cally and thoroughly. He knew that his re-
| Quirements could be met only by q railroad
builder who had unusual executive ability
and courage. who was progressive enough
| to make use of all the latest railroad build
ing devices and had sufficient ingenuity to
invent still newer devices should occasion
| demand them. Hill selected Shepard as the
man he wanted, and after some hesitation,
Shepard's firm took the Job. From April @,
1887, to January 6. 1898. when the last spike
OF the Great Northern line was driven at
point deep down In the Skyomish valley,
thirteen miles west OF the Stevens Pass
summit, in the state Of Washington. shep-
ards firm built all the Great Northern ex-
tensions.
No other aiHnilar period OF railroad build
ing has equalled in achievement that brief
stretch CT less than six years. In the winter
of 1SS6-S7 the system. then known as the
st. Paul. Minneapolis and Manitoba Rail
road. had practically reached Mlnot, $50
miles from st. Paul At tho beginning of
1893 the System was completed to Puget
Sound. a total distance OF 1868 miles, or
more than three miles a day as an average.
Had shepard's entire period of railroad
building bcca dolc at that rate, he would