The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-08-13

teams were employed laying track.
surfacing tballastins). piling and doing
the timber work The total average
force directly employed upon the work
then was $3.50 men and 1850 horses,
but the entire number of persons de-
| irving support from the work was
much larger. All hands had to be fed
and cared for, and this occupied the
| energies of a large number; besides
| there was a big contingent of camp
| followers as there always is when
such an enterprise is being pushed for
ward.
Star Achievements.
In some respects 1887 was Shepard s
star year. The work went on from
April to Nov. IL without a break ex-
cepting the weekly Sunday rests, and
| in that time 643 miles of track were
built, laid and finished, the average
! progress being three and one-quarter
miles a day. The biggest days work at
tracy laying was Aug. S. when eight
miles and sixty feet were laid. July is
was the next biggest days work, the
distance being seven miles and 1,040
| feet. The work on both days was done
| by the regular track layers between
! daylight and dark. No extra men We're
| put on, because there was no room for
them, and all the rails were fed to the
| men who actually laid them from one
end" Bearing this in mind, Mr.. Shep-
ards forces must be accorded the
worlds record for single days track
| laying, as he must be accorded the rec
ord of railroad building. The days
| record has been claimed for the forces
of the Union Pacific working years be-
fore, but not quite fairly, since on the
day of their greatest track laying the
rails were hauled ahead of the rail
Il -@r.l Dlr~ -. Il
They . only to put the rails in place
and spike them down. whereas Shop
ards men were not so helped, having
| facilities for the rapid hauling of the
iron that were not invented in the days
of the Union Pacific's construction In
that seasons work the employees of
Shepard's firm handled 100000 cubic
yards of earth, $4,000 cubic yards of
loose rock and $500 yards of solid
| rock. while 100000 feet of timber.
board measure, and 100000 lineal feet
of piling were hauled ahead of the
track-laying. In "A certain seven
| months later than 1887 about 800 miles
of track We're laid. but the force of
men was then larger by more than a
thousand. while 5000 teams were en-
ployed
The feeding of these large forces of
men and animals was no insignificant
task. and any number of figures rela-
tive to this feature of the work that
would interest the statistician nigh, lie
dug out. The statement that the horses
employed the first year NJ the work
consumed 100000 bushels of oats is a
sufficient sample, To accommodate line
men with lodging and food. Shepard
had lot of two and :hree story
boarding cars built. They were cdd
looking structures, so high AMI 30 Ear
row that they had to be fitted, with guy
ropes to prevent being upset when
ever the wind blew hard, and the life
within and without them. tinged as il
was with the flavor of the frontier and
influenced by the frequent presence Of
the northwestern Indians. would I'M
doubleday have furnished kipling or
a Harte with abundant materials for
literature of the raciest. most cllarac-
teristic sort The "reminiscences of
Shepard himself. could they be collected
in the snappy. epigrammatic form he
tells them. would be Contribution to
the worlds stock of good stories.
Economy of Construction.
One of the items regarding Stewards
work most interesting 10 the practical
railroad builder has to do with the reia-
tive cost of the track he built between
1887 and 1898 and other transcontinental
lines. 1t took $71 900 to build each mile
of the Union Pacific. while the Central
Pacific was still more expensive. The
Northern Pacific cost $40, 600 a mile; the
Southern Pacific $4,000. Shepard built
Hills Great Northern at an average eX-
pense of $4,000 mile. This was made /
possible partly through Hills genius in
locating the lines and partly through
Shepards splendid organization and
economy of energy.
Mr.. Shepard is now IL. Though he
has left off building railroads. he still
takes a keen interest in affairs, lEd
goes regularly to his st. Paul office.
His wealth reaches into the millions.
and the wife of his youth. who WIS
Miss Frances Aurelia Parsons before
their marriage in 1850. is sill By his
side. He has suffered one severe be-
reavement in the DEATH two or three
years ago, of daughter, who married
Alvin w. Krech, now rapidly making
his mark among New York fipancsers.
Mrs. Krech's death moved Mr.. Shepard
to erect a mausoleum N the chief
cemetery at st. Paul. There her body
now lies. and by and by her faiher's
will lie beside it. This m4us o!eurl is
perhaps. the most dignified appearing
structure of the sort yet reared. Mr.
Shepard designed it himself. t is built
of massive blocks of marble, and the
lines of construction coincide with the
points of junction between them so
of one great block.
For the information of his grand
children, Mr.. Shepard has got together
maps of all the states in which ne has
built railroads. and has colored the
lines he has been connected With - suit
the grade he filled in each instance. On
those lined in burnt lumber he served
as surveyor or some capacity below
chief engineer; on those lined in GRIM !
son lake he was chief engineer; on |
those lined in orange he was chief en-
gineer: orange indicates that he was |
chief engineer of construction. and tlue |
shows the lines he built as contractor. |
His chief amusement is angling, and |
he makes his fishing trips in car |
specially built and fitted up for that |
purpose. He can reach all sorts If fish |
ing waters that are to be found west |
Of the great lakes over railroad hires |
in the construction of which he has |
been personally concerned. md this can
said of no ot her man living