Omaha daily bee., 1902-08-01
OMAHA TO PITTsBURe
wabash RsiIroad soon 20 Have Its
own Line Running
Direct.

A continuous track Of lie own from
Omaha to Pittsburg, Pa, will be in opera
tion by the wabash by the FIRST Of 1908.
Word has Just been received by the local
wabash ONCE directly from President Ram
sey, who has recently returned from a trip
over the eastern end Of the line, that the
extension into Pittsburg lie being rushed.
the construction work will be completed
on time. January 1. and the road be thrown
open to transportation.
The recent acquisition By the Wabash Of
the Wheeling & Lake Erie, beginning at
the wabash's old Lake Erie terminous and
extending to Jewett, o., takes the wabash
within sixty-one miles Of the Smoky City,
and the remainder of the way is being built
as rapidly as possible. Some Of the ties
and rails are already laid.
Owing to the fact that the company is
building two large and complicated bridges,
one over the Ohio, and the other over the
Monongahela rivers, as means Of COM
pleting it's line into Pittsburg, President
Ramsey considers It quite remarkable to
be able to announce hat the entire con-
struction work will be finished on time.
This he says, 10 assured, however, a fact
over which is is personally elated.
Some remarkable architecture ana build
ing is involved In this pair of bridges.
The one spanning the Monongahela river
will contain the longest single span in
the world. s2s feet, The Ohio river bridge
is being built from the respective sides Of
the river, the completion to be at the mid
die junction Of the two extensions.
When we have our own line running
continuously from Omaha TO PIttsburg It
will then be only a question Of tim until
1t is extended to the Atlantic seaboard,"
says a wabash man. This marks
the beginning Of the fight between the
Pennsylvania and the Goulds. The former
has held what It considered q sort Of prior
claim to that territory and has maintained
a rather defiant attitude, which finally be-
came too irritating to the Gould faction.
hence the aggressive action Of the latter"
Rock Island Retrenchment.
In connection with lie general plan of
reorganization the Rock Island is said to
have launched a general retrenohment pol
Icy. Evidences Of economy are becoming
apparent In this section Of the country.
where the road is reducing its operating
expenses by cutting down or abolishing Sec
ton crews. doing away with facilities In
switch yards and increasing the tonnage of
freight trains. At Lincoln a switch en-
CINE that has long been in use has been
taken OF and passing trains have to do its
work. AT Fairbury the section crew is to
be let out, It 10 understood.
All these retrenchments are said to be
in line with the orders sent out from head
quarters to reduce operating expenses
wherever possible in order to swell the
earning report soon to be made.
1t is still the general belief among local
railroad men that the Rock Islands prime
motive lie to get hold of the Frisco for a
coast extension and the press reports stat
ing that the nomnanv has filed new articles
Of incorporation, doubling its capital stock,
confirm this belief. It is urged by men here
who are watching the developments that the
Rock Island must acquire the Frisco or an
other coast extension in order to sustain its
avowed policy Of aggression upon which Il
set out with such determination.