The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1901-12-27
INDIANAPOLIS RECOGNIZED AS
THE GREAT RAILWAY CENTER
OF THE MIDDLE WEST

indianapolis Is becoming recognized No
me chief railroad enter OF the middle
west It's great distributive resources
""'e peen utilized by all the leading rail-
roads until its transportation ABILITIES
are exceptional In their ompl-tene,.s
me early years of Indiana preceded tho
,ai''oad era, and during those FIRST years
me towns that were located on the Ohio
river ana the lower Wabash had "A great
advantage over any other settlements In
,he state. Soon afterward came IN.
c"anal-building era, when American enter
prise manifested itself all over the coun-
Try IN an endeavor 10 give convenient
outets Tor the products Of the various
SECTIONS through the medium OF artificial
waterways. which were constructed upon
a most extensive scale. Indiana especially
participating In the extensive canal build
ing activity and constructing the Wabash
a Erie canal from Toledo to Evansville.
40 miles. which was the longest In the
United States.
Ihe Whitewater canal from Lawrence
purg on the Ohio to Hagerstown was also
constructed, and these waterways for
many years constituted the principal fea-
lures. apart from the Ohio river. in the
transportation facilities or the state. The
canals are still in use 10 a considerable
extent, although the section OF the Wa
bash a. Erie canal between 1T. WAYNE
ana Lafayette has not been used for
manj years and will soon be paralleled
with electric railways. the former tow
path being utilized as a oadbed
Great Facilities.
The transportation facilities Of Indian
apolis ave continued {, increase until
at the present time there are sixteen
completed lines running into the city,
connecting In the state with many other
lines which all bring their pa sscngers To
l~ndianapolls's magnificent Union station.
over LOO passenger trains enter and de-
part every twenty-four hours. SO that the
advantages OF the city for reaching any
point In the country are unsurpassed.
The lines that center here radiate like
the spokes or "A wheel in every direction,
and the equipment and service Of the va
rious roads represent the very highest
quality OF convenience. luxury and COM
fort.
The Belt Railroad.
I, IS proper IN this connection to first
refer TO the indianapolis Union railway
company. commonly known as the Belt
railroad, because II IS the connecting link
for all railroad lines entering the city.
This company succeeded In 1859 10 the
'fi'iIiSf ludhSuidteu III 1910 Wy iut
Union railway company. IL OPERATES hf-
teen miles OF track. extending entirely
around the city. and also owns the splen-
did Union station. This is considered one
OF the finest In the United States. has a
train shed 3o1x65o feet In size. and II a
handsome three-story brick building, sur
mounted by a lofty tower. 1t is a beauti-
ful structure on the Romanesque order OF
architecture. The business done by this
fAnlnaHx ia tarN arHe and Indicates
somewhat the extent OF the commerce
and general traffic OF polls. In
1860 the moved @4.234 cars over
the Belt. In addition TO 60, 2ss cars OF live
stock and 47.s5s cars switched for private
industries in the city. While the official
figures are not yet available for 1901. II Is
understood that they will h at least 20
per cent. higher. The company has
twelve heavy switch engines and gives
employment 20 800 persons. Mr.. James
Mccrca. president Of the company. re-
sides at Pittsburg and T. nrst ~vice-presi-