Rocky Ford enterprise., 1902-04-11

Krcmmiinr. nj the mouth Of the Muddy
and the blue. Here IL whcrc the de
bate begins. Whether the road shnll
plunge due west through rugged noun
tnins to Trappcr's lake. and thence
down white river to Its junction with
the Green. or climb out of Middle Park
over n low pass In the Park range To
the hcadwatcrs of the Ynmpa-barhar-
iously marked on some maps Ms the
Bcar-opcns n field for discussion. Mr..
Davis inclincs To the opinion that the
Ynmpa route will he adopted and the
map TX Intended TO approximate his
ideas OF about where engineering nnd
commercial considerations will compel
II to go.
The region needing railroad transpor-
tntion beyond Middle Park. Routt and
Rio Blnnco counties. IL characterized
by three great river valleys from east
to west parallel with each other and
about fifty miles apart. They are the
Snake. the Ynmpa. and the White. Fol-
lowing the wagon road for 225 miles.
from Bawlins on the Union Pacific to
Rifle on til Rio Grandc. IL Is seventy
five miles from Rawlins to Dixon and
Bnggs. on the Snake. near the state
line. On south to the Tampa at Craig
Is fifty miles more. Meckcr Is another
fifty miles to the south. still another
iifty miles bring one TO the railroad
nnd the valley Of the Grand ut Rifle.
BY running the new road down the
Sampa II will. at Craig. be 10 miles
south Of Itawlins and 100 miles north
OF Rifle. 1t will, in short. command the
three parallel river valleys the most
effectually. 1t will he nearer than the
Union Pacific to the Snake river val
I...~ Il .l.. On.
the White river valley. This route
also best lends itself to n system of
branches to the most productive Sec
tions.
A Great Scenic Line.
The new line will be widely known
ns a great scenic line. AS n famous
passenger route it can afford to spend
much money for scenic effects where
these can be secured without any sac
ritice of time. But the most beautiful
scenery must be left to one side when
1t Is necessary TO do so to avoid loss of
time Thus 1t is n pity that the line
cannot pass Grand lake. the most ex-
Quisitc bit of scenery on this continent.
A short branch line will reach 1t and
thousands will stop Off to see it. but
to bring the trunk line by 1t would
probably cost the loss of an hour of
time. which is not to be thought of for
n moment. On the other hand. Trap
per's lake. and the seemingly inacccs-
sible mountains near 1t. with the canon
on the White below. present n strong
scenic inducement in favor of that
route and Mt the same time 1t is the
most direct line. If heavy grades did
not threaten to counterbalance these
advantages we could confidently count
on the selection of this for the through
route. But whether the White or the
Yampa Is chosen. the scenery practical
ly all the way will be beyond compar-
ison. superior to that of the rival lines.
At frequent points up to the tunnel
Denver and the beautiful irrigated re-
gion will unfold like n panorama. Out
of the tunnel Middle park is II superb
picture. never TO be forgotten. .he
canon of the Grand below Hot Springs
exceeds in beauty any canon in the
state. Along both the rivers the seen,
cry never fails to keep up the interest.
and instead of toiling across sage
brush desert the train will glide
through green fields of honey-scented
alfalfa. Beyond the line in Utah, the
road will pass through beautiful
country to emerge from the picturesque
Wasntch mountains and burst upon the
Great Salt Lake.
The Branch System.
If the stem line goes down the White
n somewhat different branch system
from that sketched in the map will be
developed. But assuming. for the sake
of argument, that the Yampa route