The daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1904-1905, 1904-02-29

Club "got theirs" Crossing the Wa
bash finally on a steel bridge Of six
spans, on concrete masonry, we pass
through the winter quarters of the
Wallace shows, seeing perhaps an
elephant or a camel playing sportively
along the track. At Converse we
meet the Pennsylvania and crossing
under this railroad we show our APP
probation of a good thing by keep
ing at its side for ten miles into Ma
rion, smelling of oil from end to end
of the line. Through a large part of
Marion and over the principal streets
the road is elevated. We reach
Jonesboro and Gas City, run along
the Mississinewa for some distance
and here meet up with one Of those
famous "sink holes' which with
others further north so severely tax
ed the engineering department. These
holes, while presenting the ordinary
surface appearance of the ground
around, when any bank or bridge IS
put thereon give way, swallow appar-
emily all material that can be put in
and seem to be actually bottomless.
Train load after train load of earth.
was thrown in without any apparent
effect. In this hole large mattress
Of timber was placed. The logs were
laid in a sort of grillage, the brush
wired in and around them. 1t took
twenty-five acres of timber to fill
this one hole, only a few hundred
feet across. Passing Fowlerton and
CASTOR, small and busy, we cross the
White river at "Magfc Muncie' on
a three-span Through girder steel
bridge. Here is an example of the
rapidity and thoroughness of con-
struction Work was begun May %,
and July II, trains crossed! In the
six weeks two abutments and two
river piers had been built and the
superstructure erected. Fred Charles
was in charge here. Leaving the pref
ty station at Muncie we follow the
bank of the White river, finding here
another evidence of ingenuity. The
road crosses here under the L.. Il. q
W. and the Big Four roads, thus
bringing the grade five feet lower
than high water in the river. The
road bed is protected against over
flow by an especially designed drain
age system, planned by Mr.. Weber,
and executed by Mr.. Charles, to
whom neither holes, rivers or rail
roads were the slightest Of barriers.
Richmond folks, too, gentlemen and
ladies'
At Richmond for several miles the
line runs aolng the picturesque White
water, crossing two branches of the
river on steeN bridges, one of which
is the longest In the state. Here is
the Whitewater branch" We call
it the piano works switch back;
but any one seeing the ingenuity and
efficiency of it will at once agree that
it deserves a better name. 1t de-
scends into the river gorge which is
as deep here as that at Niagara below
the Falls, so that engineering ability
of high order was needed to make
it practical. The Starr piano works
and other industries are located here,
so that this branch of the road
though expensive, is paying in
vestment. We then traverse the
sEShort Creek and EtElkhorn'
Of the country, where for forty years
almost every railroad system in this
part Of the country has made sur
vey after survey; but it remained
for Mr. Jackson to find the route and
fhis company TO furnish the nerve,
money and ability to tackle the
problem, so difficult country is to
build over They did it, placing the
line on the tableland of Indiana"
where for % miles smooth sailing is