The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-01-01

was commenced the Southern Pacific
has put a party of surveyors in the
field, who, during the last two months,
nave been engaged in surveying a line
which, if built, will practically parallel
the former. The party is well equipped,
and reports are to the effect that they
are doing good work.
The n other important change in
Utah's railway history during the year
was the absorption of the Oregon
Short Line by the Union Pacific inter-
est. Early in 1897 the Short Line,
which previously formed a part of the
Union Pacific system, was sold under a
foreclosure, and the system -reorganized
on an Independent basis. n head
quarters established at Salt Lake City.
The road was operated Independent of
the present system, and under the
splendid management of General Man
ager Bancroft, Traffic Manager Eccles,
General Passenger Agent Burley and
other equally competent department
heads, the property was brought to the
front as one of the best paying roads
in the west. This magnificent record
attracted the attention of the Goulds
and other capitalists. with the result
that before the annual stockholders
meeting at Salt Lake, enough of the
Short Line stock had pcSsed into the
hands of Union Pacific interests to
give the latter control of the smaller
system. A board of directors, of which
ten out of fifteen were Union Pacific
men, was elected, M a plan has been
agreed upon for the exchange Of stock,
which will not only give the Union
Pacific control of the Short Line, but
also Of the Oregon Railway & Naviga-
ton company. President Carr was
succeeded as president by w. D. Cor
nish, vice president of the Union Pa
ci1c, but while this change made Utah
people apprehensive for a time, the
assurance was 500 given out that the
headquarters of the Short Line would
remain in Salt Lake and the road con-
tinue to be operated practically on an
Independent basis.
PROSPERITY FOR ROAD.
The Short Line, which reaches all the
important mining and agricultural
points in the state, has been enjoying
a year Of unprecedented prosperity. It's
monthly earnings ave been steadily
increasing, and it has been necessary
to add to its already large equipment
by the recent purchase of eight new To-
comotiveS of the most modern type.
The outlook for the future is that new
rolling stock will have to be added in
the spring in order to keep up with
the traffic demands. The physical con-
w ~ liz AC04 ~ C1AAA6 Ii NOA OI
the laying of new steel over the en-
tire Idaho division. The road is being
otherwise bettered, and all of the
equipment brought up to date.
The Rio Grande Western, which is
essentially a Utah line, has expert
enced the same measure of increased
prosperity as other roads entering the
state. The mileage has not been in
creased any, but the present brought
up to a higher standard of excellence.
In the way of improvements, the West
ern has been very active. Lambs can
yon. on the Park City line, is now
spanned by a bridge built during the
The machine shops at Salt Lake
have been added to, and several hand
depots have been erected along
the line.
Railroad men take a very hopeful
outlook of the future. They look to a
big immigration in the spring, as the
people of the east are becoming alive
to the oppoI tunities of Idaho and Utah
under the splendid systems of irriga-
ton that capital is now building.sWith
increased population the traffic will
increase, and the prospects are decided
ly good. The acquisition of the Phil
ippines, and Hawaii. too. viii increase
the transcontinental traffic, so that the
year 1899 bids fair to be a record
breaker