The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-01-31
AN ARCTIC RAILROAD.
Sweden and Norway Will Extend 1t over
the Mountains to Carry Iron Ore.

l
There is great deal of iron in Sweden
| and some of the largest mines are
| north of the Arctic circle. This is why
there is railroad in the Arctic regions,
| the most northern railroad in the world,
and also why the road whose northern
| terminus is now A miles north of the
Arctic circle is to be extended further
north until it penetrates the Arctic re-
gion 1870 miles.
The iron ore found along the Baltic
coast of Sweden contains little too
| much PHOSPHORUS to be easily reduced,
| and it is going to Germany by the hun
dreds of thousands of tons to be smelt-
| ed. Sweden has no coal to smelt it with,
and so she sells most of the ore rather
| than import coal and make iron and its
manufactures. There is good demand
for Swedish iron, for it is unsurpassed
for the manufacture of tool steel, bicycle
spokes, harness mountings, horseshoe
| nails and many other things.
One Of the most famous centers OF
| iron mining in Sweden is at Gellivara,
north of the Arctic circle. 1t has appar-
emily an inexhaustible supply OF ore,
and several years ago railroad was
/ built from Lulea, on the Gulf of Both
MA to bring the ore out of the country.
| The ore costs at Lulea about 50 a ton,
and the freight to Stettin or Westphalia
is higher than the cost of the ore be-
cause the vessels carrying it have to go
| north in ballast.
The Gellivara railroad has not been a
| first-rate success, for the reason that
the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia
is open for navigation only a little more
than a third of the year. In other
words, the ore can be shipped out of
the country only about four and a half
months in the season. The mountains
to the west cut off the beneficent inilu-
ence of the gulf stream drift, which
keeps the tiords of Norway open the
year round Arctic conditions prevail
on the east side of the mountains and
the result is very short shipping sea-
son.
So the governments of Norway and
Sweden have decided to extend the rail-
road to the northwest through the
mountains to Oloften ford on the At
lantic coast where vessels may enter in
any month of the year and load up with
the ore brought from Sweden 1t will
be the only Arctic railroad in the world.
The present northern terminus at Cali
vara is "A miles north of the Arctic cir
Gle. The western terminus at Oloften
will be 100 miles north of the Arctic cir
Gle but though much further north it
will be in a temperate winter climate
when everything to the east of the
mountains is in the grasp of the frost
king.
Norway has appropriated nearly
So, 000. 900 to build the part of the road
lying in her territory and Sweden has
made grant of about $4,000 900 to con-
struct her part of the work. The en-
cheering difficulties will not be great.
| though several tunnels of considerable
| length will be required According to
| the contracts the road is to be in COM
| plete running order over the entire dis
! tance by Oct. l, 1902. The governments,
| after building the road, will turn it over
| to the company that owns the mines
| This company is to pay all the running
| expenses and repairs and turn over an
| nually to the two governments per-
| centage on the amounts expended in
| building the line.
OF course it will not be possible to ad-
vance the road building on the Swedish
| side during the winter months. The
| plan, therefore. is to work on the tun-
| nels during the winter, and when sum-
mer comes push the work with all pos
| sible speed in the open. When the road
| is completed it is expected to ship over
| 1900. 900 tons a year and to place it in
| England for $3.50 a ton There is a
| growing demand for Swedish ore in that
country to take the place of the Spanish
ores, which are growing scarce and more
| difficult to obtain.
There will be a greater array of snow
sheds on the Swedish portion Of the
| road than are to be found even on the
| Canadian Pacific in the Rockies and
| Selkirks. All the most exposed parts
| of the line viii sbe thus protected and
the snow plough will be relied upon to
| keep the rest of the track clear-New
| York Sun.