The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-05-27
A TINE WAR COMING
The Situation as to Minneapolis.
Chicago Passenger Traffic Looks
Portentous.
Milwaukee's Fast Mail Will Be q
Limited Both Ways Other
Roads Attitude.

Old railroad men scent battlein the air..
The first gun was fired by the Omaha road
month ago when it asserted itself by
passing up the time honored agreement Of
the Minneapolis Chicago roads as to run
ming time of passenger trains between the
two cities. It reduced the running time
of its limited train. The Milwaukee quick
ly followed suit by slashing off a lump
Of time from the Pioneer Limited's sched-
ule Sunday the Burlington will begin to
run its day train Sundays as we'll as week
days and will lop ffty-five minutes from
the limited's running time, making 1t
leave Minneapolis an hour later and ar
rive at Chicago five minutes later.
The long lines have said nothing yet,
altho rumors are abroad that the W1scon-
sin Central will notify the chairman Of
the Western Passenger association that
it is entitled to a $3.50 differential on &C
count Of it's distance handicap.
Now it seems. that the, Milwaukee is pre-
pairing to fire another shot by equipplng
the fast mail west bound with sleepers
the same as is the east bound fast mail
which leaves Minneapolis at p. M, the
only twelve hour train to Chicago. It is
reported that other equipment will be
added east bound practically making a
sister limited to the Pioneer which now
leaves at 8 p. M, only it will be a faster
and probably-a ten hour train II the Mil
waukee makes these changes 1t does not
stand to reason that the Omaha, which
pioneered fast time. will be backward
about instituting similar changes in Its
time card. The officials are giving moth
ing out
Another boom Is the statement that the
| Great Western, which is popularity con
sidered a long line, IS ready at any time
to put on twelve-hour trains or better.
1t has it's roadbed in excellent shape, pre-
pared just for this purpose, and has in
commission twenty new locomotives which
| laugh at hills. To back up this report as
to what the road can do, the statement is
made that engineers can easily make UP
| ninety minutes lost time in the 200 miles
| between Oelwein and Minneapolis, sc
| good is the track.
The situation of the roads may be seer
from the following table Of Chicago mile
age and the running time Of the Chicag,
/ limited trains: Omaha, 430 miles, 121
hours; Milwaukee, 420, 10: Great Western
430, 1917; Burlington, 442, 1871; Wisconsin
! Central, ATS, 141a; st. Louis, 400, 1873; Rocl
Island, 522, 16. It will be seen that thu
running time average of the Wisconsin
i Central is the same as that of the fas
1 sroads-about "a miles. On this will b.
based the claim of the Central for differ
entail. On the other hand, if $3.50 differ
entail is allowed the long lines, it will b
seen that large amount of incidenta
i traffic will be switched to those roads
Ticket agents and brokers will easily sci
tickets over a long tine as against tn
short lines where time cuts no figure, bu
4 $1.50 does.
The st. Louis officials are saying moth
ing yet, but 1t is limited around that tn
1 Omaha and Milwaukee do not hold tn
whole situation in their hands and tina
they cannot go on lslashing schedules Il
lcompetition without the other road
: showing their hands which contain
cut rate club that might be used effec
tually if the old schedules were not re
stored.
$ The short roads meanwhile want
, know what they have superior equipment
hard roadbed and less mileage for, if the
! do not use them.