El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-01-09
THE MORENCI SOUTHERN RAIL
ROAD.

THE MORENCI SOUTHERN RAIL
ROAD.
Southern railroad by the contractors,
Messrs. Streeter & Lusk, marks an
epoch in railroad building which is
uneUualed in America. The road is
only few miles in length but is con-
structad through such rough and
rugged country as to require the high
est engineering skill and the expend-
iture of a vast sum of money For
many years it was considered an i'm
possibility to construct a road to Mo
renci. but the vast volume of business
of the Detroit Copper company, which
was increasing rapidly from year to
year was sufficient to justify its man
agement in seriously considering the
construction of the road. After a
. large number of preliminary surveys
had been run it was found that a
road could be constructed. but upon
shaper curves and sleeper grades
than is usual in railroad building.
1t was a bold enterprise. but it has
been carried to a successful termina-
ton and within a few days the road
will be in operation under a regular
time card. It has been used for sew
erai weeks past by construction trains.
and it has been practically demon
strated that it can be operated without
any serious difficulty. 1t is the
"corkscrew route OF America" and
is well worth a trip of thousand
miles TO see and enjoy 1t must be
seen to be fully appreciated, and even
then one needs the figures of an en-
gineer or contractor to realize what a
wonder of engineering triumph it is.
SOME one long ago very correctly
stated that Necessity was the mother
of invention" which is fully con-
frmed by the construction of this
road. Were it not an absolute ne
cessity to have railroad at Morenci
ii is safe to say that the boldest en-
gineer never would have conceived
the idea of building a road under such
appalling disadvantages. But it has
been built 1t is in operation and it
is a success. and will ever remain as
a monument to the intellect, which
conceived it. to engineers who laid
out the plans. and to the contractors
who so faithfully carried them out.
The construction work was COM
menced last February and will be prac-
tfcaIly completed by January 1. The
engineers found that they had an eleva-
ton OF some 1.350 feet to overcome in
a direct line of less than seven miles.
They also had to cross divide be-
tween the San Francisco and ella riv
ers very nearly $50 feet high. The ele-
walton at the ella river, where the Mo-
renci Southern joins the A. & N. NJ. is
1855 feet; at the San Francisco river
the elevation at the top of the bridge
oS 300 feet: at Morenci the elevation
is 5000 feet, which would be steep
climbing for an ordinary mountain
road.
The bridge at the ella river has two
short approaches and one span 1S5 TT.
long. The deck of this bridge is 102
feet above the river bed. At the San
Francisco river the bridge and ap-
proaches are longer but the elevation
is about the same. 100 feet. Owl can
yon which is a box canyon, is crossed
by a single girder so feet long, over
100 feet in the air. All of the piers
and abuttmentS are of modern con-
crete construction, and these bridges
all rest on concrete foundations. AL
together there are seven steel bridges
on the line, constructed or erected by
the Phoenix Bridge company.
There are three tunnels and five
complete loops. four of which are in
the Morenci canyon in less than two
miles distance. A gain in altitude of
one hundred feet and six inches is
made by the first loop, which will give
the reader an idea of some of the diff
fculties which the engineers had to
surmount in the construction of the
road.
Thousands of yards of masonry were
made to hold the road bed in the can
yons and on the steep mountain sides.
In some places these walls of masonry
are from so to IS feet in height. and
along considerable portion of the dis
lance the road is cut through the solid
formation of the mountains.
The construction is practically all
through solid rock, most Of it being
of volcanic conglomerate or NAL pals;
although red sandstone, lime and
auartsite were found in places. No
mineral was developed. One small
cave was found but not explored, and I
was quickly field up with debris /
The average of about six hundred
men and one hundred teams were en-
gagged in the construction of the road /
Miners will better appreciate the inn |
mense amount of work necessary to !
create the road bed by the simple |
statement that there were 45O, 900 :
pounds of giant powder used in blast |
ing out the rock on the line (
The old town of Stag Town in
morenci canyon, which for years had
been the homes of many people, was
wiped off the face of the
earth in order that the road might
have room to wind its way up the
narrow canyon. The Typography and
of the canyon were entirely
changed.
Over one million feet of timber were
used in trestling. in addition to the
steel bridging.
The maximum grade of the road is