Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-08-09
NEWS OF RAILROADS
Rock Island in Need of New
Quarters for Freight
Department.
BUILDING PLANS HAVE BEEN MADE
Another Chicago-St. Louis Line Pro-
.jected-Gossip of
Depots.

Now that the merging of the Peoria
road with the Rock Island has been
completed it would seem that moth
ing remains in the way of the cree
ton of the new freight house on the
site of the old Milwaukee depot for
which plans have been known to
have been prepared for some time
The road needs the additional local
facilities and the improvement ought
to be made for the sake of consist
ency, if nothing else.
The local freight forces are doing
business under the handicap of in
sufficient room for both incoming
and outgoing freight and the incon-
venience of having the forces divid-
ed in addition. Not only is there in
sufficient platform room, but the
| tracks are far from ample for
switching and unloading purposes.
Thus handicapped more help has to
he employed and greater expense is
incurred all around than would be
the case if there were sufficient room.
There is ample ward space for all
the needs of the road if things were
properly arranged. At the present
time the yards east of Twentieth
street and north of Second avenue
used for the handling of local
freight are discredit to the road.
The tracks are old and have been
placed without regard for economy
of space. The buildings for the most
part are old and ramshackle and the
wreckage left after the removal of
the ancient building occupied for
merly by the Milwaukee lies ON the
! abandoned site.
IL is understood to be i'm line with
the policy recently adopted to post
pone improvements generally i'm or
der to offset as far as possible
the. expenses of the recent consolida-
tionS and the reorganization. but it
will be most unfortunate if the COM
Pany pauses after the handsome
new Fifth avenue depot is completed
and leaves the local freight depart
ment i'm its present condition.
Burlington Increase.
Definite information has not yet
reached Rock Island concerning the
new wage schedule for the C.. Il. d
q. trainmen. upon which committees
from both the officials of the road
and the trainmen themselves have
been working for Il number of weeks.
1t is known. however. that their
work is n revision of the present
rates, necessitated by changes in
some of the runs and different meth
DDS of work which have come into
use during the past few wears. There
will be no radical change of any ma
ture. The new tariff viii affect CON
luctors. brakemen and switchmen
ON the road. but most of the changes
are applicable to the freight depart
ment, the passenger runs coming in
for but little alteration. Although
the figures of the schedule have not
been received here. the advance re
ports of the committee state that
passenger brakemen will. if the
schedule is ratified. receive 10 per
cent increase. and that baggagemen
ON the main line will receive $40 per
month. Switchmen are given an eN-
ira allowance for working over 10
hours. Conductors will receive the
biggest increase.
New st Louis Line.
Chicago Tribune: 1t is rumored
that the Rock Island Will soon be-
come a competitor of the Alton,
Wabash, Illinois Central, and Bur
| lington for st. Louis business by Sc
curing a new line between Chicago
and st. Louis. Surveying parties
have started out from Morris, H.,
on the main line of the Rock Island,
81 miles from Chicago. II is said to
be the purpose to build a line from
that point which will traverse this
state and pass through Bloomington
and Springfield.
1t is also understood that the Rock
Island management is DESTROYS of
getting control of the Cincinnati.
Hamilton & Dayton and the Indiana.
| Decatur & Western roads with the
view of giving the Rock Island Gin
cinnati terminus. An official of the
Rock Island said day or two ago
that before there was a cessation in
buying and building the system
would be 5000 miles long. Construc-
ton now under way and decided up
on will nearly bring the system up
to that mileage.
1t is also claimed that the Rock
Island management is negotiating
for the purchase of the Union Ter
minal railway of Sioux City. Iowa,
with view of extending the line
| from Guthrie Center to Sioux City.
This would require the construction
of a line 40 miles long.
Rock Island Rattle.
y big freight engine belonging TO
the Missouri Pacific of a type not
heretofore used on the Rock Island.
is being tried out on the Illinois di-
vision. 1t is modelled on the same
general plan as the machines of the
1900 class, but there are 10 drive
wheels with trailer wheels back of
the cab. The theory upon which it
is built is that with the greater mum
Der of drive wheels the weight is