Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1901-08-30
UNIQUE UNION PACIFIC FYrns.:.
the Delightful Scenery Airord.
Trolley Ride Across the ~. ~ 1

( invited to meet at the Brown po were
| motel, Denver, Colo, for d trim ~ ace
Wyoming division, THE ov on me
| Route" for the purpose OF yiewinaaa
stupendous engineering achievars.ne
recently made on that line.
| Inc train was made up of two L.
! Vate cars, three Pullman palace s,aaa
ers, dining car, drawn by ono ~ ~
new compound engines, with an ohs .ae
| walton car constructed on the san.
plan as a trolley car-ahead of .he
engine. 'ue
No more striking example is afrors
ed of the progress Of today than ". y
| gigantic undertaking of the iIn ;nh
| Pacific. 'on
One hundred and flfty-cisht ana
four-tenths miles Of new track laia h
reducing the mileage between Omaha
and Ogden by 3O.47 miles. and rednc.
ing gradients which varied from 45a
to 97.68 feet to the mile to a mari.
mum of 43.3 feet, and curves from :
to degrees, while great deal of had
curvature has been eliminated en-.
tirely.
A mountain removed and lost into
a chasm; huge holes bored hundreds
of feet through solid granite; an under
ground river encountered and over.
come; an army of men. with all sorts
of mechanical aids, engaged in the
work for nearly year; the great IN h
ion Pacific track between Omaha and
Ogden made shorter. heavy grades
new, and the business of the great
Overland route flowing through new
channel, without the slightest inter-
ruptIon.
Millions Of money have been spen,
to reduce the grades and shorten the 4
distance.
This reduction is the result Of
Strengthening unnecessary curves, and
the construction of several cutoffs be-
tween Buford and Bear river, Utah
Buford is on the eastern slope of the 4
Black Hills, 545 miles west of Coun.
Gil Bluffs and twenty-seven miles west
of Cheyenne. The cutoffs required th y
construction of 1853 miles, of whia
1858 miles are between Buford and
Laramie, 1884 miles between Howell
and Hutton, saving 81 miles: SO
miles on the Laramie plains between
Cooper's Lake and Lookout, saving IS
OF mile; 1884 miles between Look.
cut and Medicine Bow. Gill further
west, saving 1908 miles; 8 Is miles
between Allen Junction ind Dana. saw
ing 1857 miles; 1888 miles between
Rawlins and Upton, saving LA
miles; 1864 miles between Green River
and Bryan, saving .45 of a mile, and
21.56 miles between Leroy and Bear
River, saving e.56 miles.
The curvature saved is about one
half, the grading about the same,
while the angles are reduced nearly
two-thirds.
The superiority of these changes is
apparent to the practical railroad en-
gineer 1t is also apparent to the OPP
Grating department in the reduction in
operating expenses, and to the trav-4
eler in the increased speed the trains
can make. The change in alignment
of the line is marked. West of Bu-'
ford the track ran nOrthwestward ttSs
the Ames monument, near Sherman,
and then took sharp turn to the
southwest over Dale creek, crossing
it by a bridge 1875 feet high-an ele-
walton trying to the nerves-and from
thence due north to Laramie. The
new line runs due west from Buford,
avoiding the high hills and eighty
eight-foot grade from Cheyenne, and
piercing through cuts and the big tun-
mel, crosses the Black Hills at q. grade
of less than one-half (43.3 feet) over
mountain attitudes. From Leroy the
country is literally coal bed. Here
the new line makes another reduction
and enters the Bear river valley on an
easy grade.
From a constructive standpoint the
line is remarkable for the amount OF
material required in the construction
of immense embankments and the
building of large tunnels through
solid rock. The construction of the
new line between Buford and Laramie
alone has involved the excavation OF
100000 cubic yards Of material, one
third of which exclusive of the tunnel
excavation) has been solid rock, or
something over 100000 cubic yards per
mile. 3
Some of the entertainments of the
new roadbed have been remarkable
for their height and the large guam
titles of material to construct the
same over seemingly short distances
The two most difficult entertainments
were at Dale creek, southwest of Sher-
man, and across the Sherman branch
of the Lone Tree creek. southeast OF
Sherman. The embankment at the
crossing of Dale creek is 120 feet
11Su, OOO 1SSI lolS, ciAA AA'oA'So 49,
handling of 5Qa,vvvs chic yards, At
the crossing Of the Sherman branch \.
e. Lone Tree creek the embanknsent
is 1875 feet high at its point of great
est heighth ana involved the handling
Of over 100000 cubic yards.
Too much credit for this work can
not be given to Horace G. Burt, pres
ident of the Union Pacific railroad,
for boldness Of conception Of these i'm
for ability to convince
the company Of the wisdom of the out
lay, and following the necessary ap-
by the company, for tho
execution Of the work in a phenome~
nally short time. Deputizing his lieu
tenants, Mr.. E. Dickinson, general
and Mr.. J. B. Berry, chief
engineer, to commence and complete
the work, under their direction the
contractors assembled large army OF
laborers and gathered a vast array OF
modern machinery, much of which .