The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-10
TO RAISE ROADBEDS
WILL IT PLACED ABOVE HIGH
 wATER-
Trouble of Washouts on Railroads
 Will Ds Overcome in This Way. Other Railroad News " and Gossip.

While the tremendous rains of the past few months have been very disastrous to the railroads. they have had the effect of teaching a valuable object lesson. The lesson has been to show just how high roadbeds must be raised to escape the relentless fury of the highest high water, and Superintendent McKinnie and Master of Trains Mizell of the Mobile and Mont gomery division of the Louisville and Nashville are profiting by the experience, costly though 1t has been.
 About the most dangerous places on the Mobile and Montgomery in very high water are the Catonia and PintIala swamps. the two creeks in the above named places becoming raging torrents on the very slightest provocation. Tho track through Pintlala swamp has lately been raised so high that the heaviest rains will have no effect on It. In ad- dition to being raised the track is pro- tected by continuous line of water ways-lsrge sewer pipes and drains. Work has commenced now on Catoma swamp and the track for something over one mile through the swamp and including the trestIe over the creek will be raised. An immense quantity of dirt will be re- auired to i'll in the mile embanixment necessary to raising the track through
 
 from Montgomery. Yesterday morning Master Of Trains Mizell put . big force of men to work on the part of the big cut just south of the Union station. The high blum on the river bank where the Louisville and Nashville freight transfer trsck converges into the cut proper will be taken entirely out, blasting having commenced yesterday morning. About ono month will be consumed in this aAss tel ~,A f,xf fh.t Sty,,. the big pile of dirt and clay that now stands between the Louisville and Nash vile tracks and the river bank will be part of the long embankment through Catoma swamp. When the big bluff is out of the way there will be room for at least two more freight tracks, and instead of the curve that is being made at present there will be almost straight line from the south end of the trainshed to the Bell Street overhead bridge.
 Rather an amusing incident happened there yesterday morning, an incident that had rather a tragic look at first. A couple of kegs of blasting powder had been used and some wag took the empty kegs. filled them with dirt and put them In the watchman's house down there. It was quite cool, yesterday morning and a fire had been started in the stove. the kegs of powder being carefully placed almost against the stove. One of the gatemen came down about this time and of course the most natural thing for him to do was to so up to the stove and warm his hands.
 This was his impulse but-well he didn't find it exactly convenient to carry 1t out just then. Just as he entered the room he caught sight of the two kegs lovingly nestling up to the hot stove, and with yell that would have made steam calliope go to night school he literally fell out of the door. Of course 1t was all explained later, but there was some strenuous kicking until the explana- tion-very innocently-was made.
 Jnust north of the bluff mentioned above there is a good bit of space between the tracks and the river bank, and here a garden has been laid off that is very creditable. It is the work of R. E. Barnes, foreman of the Water Street yard engine. AZ, and Gate Waterman W. C. Pace. They are extremely proud of it and well they may be for their work as amateur landscape gardeners is sur prisingly god. They have volets. roses, cslla lilies and even banana shoots grow- ing and doing remarkably well. When the Louisville and Nashville inspection party came through Montgomery some months ago General Manager Evans visited the garden and paid high com plment to the men who have worked so hard on 1t. Several peach trees are also growing, some of them being almost in bloom. The peach trees and banana shoots were kept carefully covered with straw during the past winter and have not been injured by the cold.
 The contract for the dining room lunch counter and news stand at the Union station will be let next Tuesday the 18th. and there is a story at the sta ton that the Vannoy people have recon- Eidered and will renew their contract for the Montgomery privilege at least. This is not official and nothing will be known positively until after next Tues day.
 . It looks like the fight that The Adver- tiser predicted between the Louisville and Nashville and the Southern is shap- ing itself pretty rapidly and the indica- tions are that from now on things in the railroad world will be rather interesting. The police authorities of Berlin have is- sued a public warning that if the practice of alighting from electric cars while in mo- tion shall be persisted in. it will be made punishable orense.