The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-01-21
WORK TO BEGIN ON BURLINGTON
EXTENSION.
Be WITHIN THREE MONTHS
Line Permanently Located for Con-
siderable Distance From This
City NorthWard.
r rom Sundays Daily Gazette.

E. M. Peterson, a Burlington & Mis-
souri, River Railway company civil en-
gineer, who for the pass several
months has peen at wor-- Gu the Cody
extension of the road, arrived in the
city yesterday and is registered at
the Great Falls. He is en- route, under
orders to join the William Grant par
ty of Burlington engineers, who have
established a camp at Stanford. He
gives 1t as his opinion that the work
Of actual building of the new extern
sion of the Burlington between Billings
and Great Falls will begin before three
months.
This is not a new part of the u
try to Mr.. Peterson, who has been
with the Burlington engineering corps
for the past Is years, says the Great
Falls Tribune. Eleven years ago he
was one of the Pease engineering par
ty which, with the Gillette party, ran
a preliminary survey line for the Bur-
lington between Billings and Great
Falls. That work, he says, was much
thessame as lots done by the road and
was for future use in case the neces-
sity should arrive.
That time has now come, and the
three engineering parties in the field
will have as their duties the finding Of
the proper grades between Billings
1~I Croot Eo1 lie op1 vYhor thoco hoyn
been found, then a permanent location
will be had.
In an interview last night he said:
IT think it is safe to say that the
actual building of the extension of the
Billings line to Great Falls will have
been started within three months.
That is the time we are supposed to
spend here. Our work, as well as that
Of the other two parties along the
proposed line, is to find grades which
will permit of the building of the road.
1t is not necessary that we complete
our work before the construction Of
the line shall start, for weeks before
we have our grades established it will
be known just where the line will 60.
AS soon as this has been definitely
ascertained then building from the
Billings end will begin.
Engineer Deos has charge of the
work at the Billings end. He has been
at it for nm time and when l was in
Billings, the other day, l was inform
ed that he had a permanent location
out for almost the entire distance al
lotted to him.
1T is the Burlington road that is
doing all the work. The engineers
corps now in the field are those which
have been in the employ of the Bur
lington for many years. All our or
ders come from Burlington headquar-
tiers and our reports are sent there.
while it is true that we have no
further orders than to go ahead with
our w work, it is generally known
that by summer the Billings extension
will be under way.
"As soon as the Grant party have
completed their work here it will prob
ably begin the running of preliminary
surveys from Great Falls in several
directions. Now, when | say this, it
practically means nothing. All the
corps at work are kept in the field by
the road all the time. They are con-
tinually running preliminary surveys,
which mean nothing other than that
the road is gaining a knowledge. re-
garding the country, so hat in the
event of it's becoming necessary to
build other extensions the officials
will have some idea of what to do at
the beginning. It was II years ago,
when We made the first line through
to Great Falls. At that time there
were reports that the Burlington
would come here. However, our work
meant nothing other than when this
time arrived the company knew some
thing of what it was going to do and
had a good idea of where it would be |
liable to get through.
'It is not the opinion of those best |
posted that the Burlington will ever
reach the coast by the northern route.
If it ever does start over there, and
there is a good prospect, it will prob
ably be from the Salt Lake extension.
Therefore, while we will probably |
make a westward survey from here,
it is generally accepted that Great
Falls will be the western terminus
of the Burlington system.
Moki Tea Positively Cures