The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-08-11
Railroad Construction Is Under
Way Now For Sure.
Captain Reeds Project Seems
TO Be Successful One.
Figuring on Where the Smaller
Stations Will Be.

From Saturdays Daily.
Construction work on the New Du-
luth. st. Cloud, Glencoe & Mankato
railway from Albert Lea to Alankato
has commenced, says The Albert Lea
Times. -Four or five crews are already
in the field, one at the Vandegrift farm
four miles north of Albert Lea and the
others at different points between the
Vandegrift farm and Freedom village.
Captain Reed, it would appear, has at
length succeeded in his many years of
labor and the first portion of his cher
ished railroad is to be built. The clos
ing of a contract with so strong a firm
as Tobie & Co., the payment of cash for
right of way to property owners along
the line and the beginning of construc-
ton leave little or no room to doubt
but that the much talked of road is to
be a reality.
The crews now in the field between
Albert Lea and Freedom appear to be
well equipped for their work. They
have big horses, breaking plows and
wheel scrapers and all necessary tools.
The accompanying cut taken for the
Times last Saturday afternoon, shows
the first crew at work on the Candle
grift farm. Just west of the Minneapo
lis & ST Louis railway main line be
tween the Ackland and Howard Vande-
grift homes. This crew has complete
camping outfit with it, including nine
or ten tents. The tents were pitched in
g Grove west Of rhes~pIaee where The
teams were working. There were sew
en- teams of big draft horses, one team
on the breaking pillow, five on wheel
scrapers and one snap team. There
were about ten men in the party, most
of them Danes who have been in this
country but short time and speak
hardly word of English.
The Tibes printed fine half-tone cut
showing the graders at work.
In an interview with The Times this
week, Contractor Moran of Tobie &
Co.. estimated that the grading would
be completed and rails laid to Free
born within forty-fve days or about
September 10. No work is being done
beyond Freeborn at the present time
and every effort is being put forth to
complete the grading at this end. The
grading has been sublet in sections to
different construction crews and several
more crews will begin work this side
of Freedom in a few days.
Contractor Tobie has been absent for
a time but Mr. Moran, Mr.. Gillette, En-
gineer Cox and a number of men, in
Guiding Theodore Nelson and Harry
Johnson of Freeborn, have been out
along the right of way between the
Vandergrift and Freedom village set
ting grade stakes.
Asked if the road would be com
pleted to Mankato and trains put in
operation before January |, Contrac-
tor Moran said that would depend on
the weather and the number of crews
that can be put into the field. They
will continue to work until there is
eight inches of frost in the ground.
when all construction work must stop.
This means that work will not con-
tinue beyond the last of November or
first of December and if only the ten
or twelve miles from the Vandegrift
farm to Freeborn can be completed by
September Is, it is not likely the re-
naming thirty-fve to forty miles to
Mankato can be anywhere near complet-
ed this season unless large number
of construction crews are set to work
at once on the north end This can
not be done at once for the survey at
the Mankato end is not yet completed
and will not be completed for some lit
tie time vet. 1t is regarded as quite
lmproDaDie LlaI Inc new TOau VIII De
completed and trains in operation this
year.
1t will be remembered that when
Messrs. Tobie and Moran came here
early in the spring, they were quoted
in these columns as stating that their
contract called for the completion of
the road by January !, 1906, and that
this would be done. They also stat
ed they would begin grading early in
May. Instead, however, it is the lst
of August before construction has COM
menced. three months later than was at
first planned. Several causes are al
legged for the delay but it is probable