Fergus County Democrat. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-1919, 1905-11-28
Every Great Railroad System of I'm
pOrtanCe West of the AlIeeha-
nies Looking This Way.
NUMBER OF ROUTES ARE PLANNED
The Burlington, 500, Milwaukee and
Northwestern Have Their Sur
veyOrs in the Field.

There is undoubtedly some founda-
tion for the great amount Of railroad
talk now being indulged in by the
newspapers Of the middle west, Pa
cific coast and Rocky mountain re-
gion. The government irrigation
movement has done a great deal to
awaken the people to the possibilities
of the arid west and while the devel-
opment Of the Alaskan and Oriental
trade has so multiplied the tonnage
to be transported that all the great
trunk lines are moving out to secure
pasific terminal and to establish
their claims to territory before it is
all possessed by their more venture
some rivals that have preceded them.
There are four or five distinct grand
trunk systems that are already build
ing westward at easy stages which 1t
is claimed will start up with renewed
energy and push for the west coast.
These are the 800" or the wash
burn" the Milwaukee, the Great
Western and the Chicago and North
western. The Burlington, which has
been taken in by the Northern Pacific
and Great Northern some years ago.
is already actively pushing for Ogden
and Salt Lake and it is understood
that 1t is soon to build from its west
ern terminus, Billings. to Great Falls.
Whether this will be done under the
name of the Burlington, Northern Pa
cific or Great Northern is not entirely
plain to us but wen built we believe it
will be owned by the Great Northern.
This will prevent complication with
the Montana railroad running from
Lombard to Lewistown. But Just
where the other roads will lay their
routes is not known. The Milwaukee,
which is owned virtually by Standard
Oil, has line mapped out that runs
up the Musselshell, crosses Smith riv-
er via White Sulphur Springs and the
Missouri valley near Toston, and goes
over the main divide to Butte via the
head Of the Boulder. This is a prac-
tical route and the Boulder part came
very near being adopted by the North
ern Pacific when it built the Logan
cutoff to the greatest mining camp
on earth. The 800" line is naturally
a northern road and will probably
build up the Yellowstone so as to ac-
commodate the newly irrigated region
which extends along that stream FIR
nearly eight miles and will then prob
ably strike northward by the Big Dry
and come down on the Musseshel
about the mouth of FlatWillow and
will cross the Judith and on to Great
Falls, crossing the main divide little
south of west from here and will cut
the Flathead reservation i'm twain via
the Swan river route. The Washburn
line seems to be without any plans or
may prove a part of the 500 The
Great Western has designes on the
Yellowstone, but by what route it will
cross Montana We have no informa-
ton. The Chicago and Northwestern,
like the Milwaukee, may go entirely
south of Montana. 1t is already far
advanced in that direction. Should it
Turn and go through Montana it will
be on the old route which is very
much the same route through the
CT Ia ic lat1 l. he
kee. The Northwestern was in fact
the first to outline the Musselshell and
Smith river route. but it is not likely
that this road will be built on that
survey. There is big business for the
line that secures this right of way for
it will give it the Shields river and the
Flathead trail into the north end of
the Gallatin, choice route through
the granary of Montana, the far-fam-
ed valley, to the National Park via
Bozeman and the West Gallatin This
would make an important north and
south connection SO far as Montana is
concerned. However, should the Great
Northern build to Billings, as now
seems probable, it will effect a north
ern and southern connection reaching
from Lethbridge to Denver. This is n
good line and goes through rich
country. but it would not be an inter-
mountain road and calculated to ac-
eommodate our mountain valleys.
Such road would be big thing for
Great Falls and Billings and would
afford an outlet for the lumber which
lines the Great Northern for hundreds
of miles. But Montana needs a road