Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1903-10-23
SOUTHERN PACIFIC IMPROVEMENTS.

From Getails recently made public 10y
thc Southern Puciiic company it is learn
ed that during the pnst three years some
SlOi ,Sis,:G9 has been spent Tor the bet
'erm"nfs aud equipments on the lines of
the Hartman system, including the
Southern Pacific. 'i;c o ). l.. and the
y. Il. ~. ~, and Un'un Pacific. Chicago
IL Alton and Kansas Cit! Snuthern. On
the Onion and Southern Pacific lines
| nlon" the Improvements have -ntailed
expenditure Of SG,6n3,933.
Th" chief railway CONSTRUCTION involv-
cd ha' been whn' is generally known rs
the Ogden Lucin cui-u,T. This cutoff,
which VIII hc r0mpiet"d. and over which
trains will bc running by the first Of the
ycar. has cost To- date Si,iOU, lG2. BY
| this means lu3 miles of crooked aud
bark-number track has bccr thrown ont
between Lucin and Ogden for tlie direct
grnde and trestling OF little over forty
turr miles across two arms OF the great
Salt Lake
Latest rcpOris show that the work Of
construction Ia all closed except about
nine tcnths Of a mile of trcstiug. This
cutoff line takes oil all the steep grades
! running rs high H. ninety feet Ia tho
mile and leaves no grade greater than
twenty one feet tO the mile. There is
practically no curvature, the ncw cngin-
ecriDg reducing ia" curves aud curljug
uUt fully inur ,hOuSuud degrees of cur
vatuGC. In" distance across the two
arms ~ tie grra; Salt Lake Is twenty
six and Onr-hhif miicS. East 0f Promnn .
tory the rOadbcd il embnnkcd except
for ON" opening Of six hundred fcct,pro.
vidcd fur the ontlri of the lirur River.
West uf PrnmOntory the work is being
ont Of Il distance uf nineteen and half
miles. Tie trrstlinG here is substantially
done, ard the engineers plan /" ill in
stcndIly, making Il permanent Cmhank -
ment long before the piIing begins to
show signs Of age.
With the completion ~ this Ogden
Lucin cutoff, railroad men Say That the
saving Ot time on the main overland line
will bc such that the traveller may leave
San Francisco nt , o'clock in the after.
noon instead Of 10 o'clock in the morn
mg as at present on the Overland Lin
tied, and arrive in Chicng" at the same
seven hours in the overland travel. In
other words the Hartman interests
have expended vcr! close to five million
dollars in order to save the cross con.
tiuent traveller seven hours Of time in
his overland journey.
Upon the main central overland line,
besides tin Ogdcn-LucIn Cut-oif, much
of tho track has been rebuilt, amount.
ing between Reno md l.ucin To 2O2
mile, f Of nrw road. This liz actual new
constructions, not merely rclnying Of
modern 81 ponnd steel on oil grades,
hut nearly all the old roadbci through
miles has been Abandoned More than
over 1900 degrees Of curvature have
come ont Oi this line Of read aud 81 ,OD0
feet ot grndr. nscont aud descent. has
rn the cCnira line has inrlu lnd nlsD
thirty siX new steel bridges With mason.
AIRY ahutmcuta rrquirIup over eight mi.
lion pounds az steel.
Between R"r" md Luciu, four tuu
mel have been constructed with M NJ.
grrguic of ln.lU0 feet or nearly two
miIcs, these tunnels beng in length rc.
spcctivcly 1900. 2GG0, 300 aud 100 feet
Tho principles ~ modern rnilrund cn.
ginccring have prevailed here, the rail.
road no longer seeking the beat grade,
~ order 10 get the trncW on Rs ucarly II
water level hasis ns possible. \ railroad
Official, spclking oi the new consiruc.
ton ON the central line, said the other
day, TINT the curves 81 the now trnck
wore madc to accommodate tho hcnvicst
rolling stock moving nt any ePccd.
Over $1,000 ncw i.cight cara In -
hcon ordered for tho line between OG
den and San Francisco. Most Of thcm
~ forty To Gtty tons gross. longer and
higher AID capable oi carrying about
twenty per cent more freight thun tho
old equipment. Those ca-e. IL strung
together. wonlh make one train l29
milca in length. Three hundred aud
thirty seven ncw locomotives have nlaO
been purchased m" lnrgcr number Of
lhrac are designated Tor freight scrvic"
and weigh 100 tons each, or, with tender
| loaded with water and conl about 3d..
900 pounds, Tho order includes nlso
many of the Atlantic type oi locomotive
with 81 inch driving wbccls Tor passcn
ger service. These locomotives carry
! 10000 pounds on four driving whccls,
! and arc guaranteed by their builders to