The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-08-17
ROAD JAY GOULD DIDN'T BUY.
Built to a Field of Useless Coal and
Kept for Its Franchise.

For seventeen years the people Of Colo
RADIO have wondered why the Colorado q
road at "A cost of IS q day when the re
ceipts ali told amounted to less than II
slday. The problem mas now been solved
The COMPANY owned the rights OF way;
worth probably $5,a0n,oOo and to suspend
operations meant to lose the franchise
Purchasers of the property have been
hard TO find from the fact that the own
ers badA nothing TO sell except rights Of
way and q little real estate. and neither
has been OF any value But now the Den
yer. Northwestern & Pacific is about TO
begin construction work on its line from
Denver to Salt Lake and the Chicago q
Rock Island company wants right OF
way into Denver As result the two
roads have purchased the Colorado &
Eastern
The road was built in 1855 from Elyria,
a suburb of Denver, TO the Scranton coal
fields sixteen miles east Of Denver The
company. before building the road, Sc
cured several thousand acres OF land
containing millions of tons of coal and
for time II looked as II the market
would he flooded. But before the world
knew Just what had happened the rail-
road company was buying coal 10 burn
in its one lone engine, and it has done so
ever since
Great bodies Of this Scranton coal were
opened UP, and a first sight II appeared
TO be the best on earth but almost i'm
mediately after IL was exposed 10 the
weather the stuff went through a chem
ical process similar TO the Stacking Of
burnt limestone Scientists were puzzled,
and the only conclusion they could reach
was that nature. IN her dealings with
this particular part OF the earth, had
not done her whole duty In other words,
that the material had not yet matured,
and that IL will be hundreds OF years be-
fore IL is available When IL IS ready for
use. however. there viii be enough of
it TO supply the whole state Of Colorado
The railroad had hardly been finished
before this announcement was made \
and the franchise had been granted with
the provision that the road should b
continuously in operation SO. from that
! day to this. with few exceptions. one
train consisting Of a dinky engine. a
combination coach and fiat car, has made
| a trip to the Eiyria coal fields and back
every twenty-foJIr hours Hundreds OF
times the engineer and fireman have
made up both crew and passengers
From the first Of December. 1888. until
/ the last Of March 1899 IL is said the ira IN
didn't make a single through trip me
snow during those months vas from ten
| to forty feet deep all over the mountains
/ Of. Colorado For one week of the time
/ the train and crew were lost and search
| ing parties were sent out for them
| IN 1855 Jaw Could made z trip 10 Colo
| rsdo with the hope OF securing risni
! cific Probably but for one little Incl
dent his road would TO-DAY be running
4 into Denver. ano the idea Of the Denver
/ Mort hwesrern & Pacific might never have
1 been conceived Mr. Gould had heard OF
/ the 9 & Z and thought Of buying it.
/ One morning he notified the officials thai
l he would take q trip over n
1 The engineer was warned He kucF
I his rolling stock was light and that Tbs
! rails weighed oBsy eighteen pounds
/ There was only one thing 10 do II n
4 wanted TO avoid a wreck and give Eouls
( a good impression Of the road, and thu
| Vas &c run his train as usual. not much
I faster than a horse car
1 TIE officarS Of the road and The gTe5
| railroad king got aboard and 4 few mile
were covered Then M Gots-d- WIS
stood on the fat car not far from IN.