The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-04-17
TO save 5 MILES.
Santa Fe viii Spend 10 Millions
on Cutoff.
To Dodge a Hill in the Ration
Mountains.
CHECK ROCK ISLAND
Each Road Desires Supremacy
in Handling Traffic.
Cut-Of viii Have to Save More
Than 100000 Annually.

Chicago, April 1.-THE Achison,
Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad company
viii spend 10 million dollars to save
five miles of road and dodge a hill in
New Mexico.
To any one except shrewdly caIcu-
lating engineers and financiers. the ex-
penditure CT / 0 million dollars and the
employment of hundreds of men for
at least two years on a dinky little
cutoff-the Belen cutoff-down in that
southwestern territory of sand dunes,
pueblOs and Mexican greasers, would
appear foolish. But the men at the
head of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa
Fe pondered long before they made
the move, and it is to be supposed
they reckoned the cost-and the
profit.
Saves Only Five Miles.
When all that has been said has
been done the Santa Fe's new short
line" to the Pacific coast will be just
five miles shorter than it is today. For
these the company is not paying mill
lion dollars a mile. Instead, 1t is Civ
ing the whole 10 million dollars to a
single half mile on the journey. This
is between La Junta and Albuquerque.
It is $500 feet difference in altitude
between Ration mountain, the highest
point on the present line and Abo pass,
the highest point on the proposed
cutoff
What the close fgurers in the Santa
F'e Offices want is not the shortest pos
sible line to the west, but the most
economical line, one over which they
can run long freight trains with only
one engine to pull each; a line with
out any steep grades and upon which
operating expenses can be cut down to
the minimum. This subsequent cut
ting of operating expenses eventually
viii pay for the cutoff. Ration noun
tain is 1908 feet high, on the present
Santa Fe main line, which is a 4 per
cent grade, 1S5 feet rise to the mile.
Three or four of the largest engines
in the world are required to push a
single freight train up that hill.
Glorieta mountain, 7,421 feet high. is
almost as bad. Heavy traffic multi
plies the cost of maintenance of such a
road Accidents are common Pusher
engines crush the "empties' ahead OF
them. Freshets sweep down the
gulches and blockade traffic for days
at a time.
As long as the Santa Fe is obliged
to haul thousands of car loads Of
through freight over the $50 miles of
steep mountain grades between La
Junta and Albuquerque it is wasting
immense sums of money in fuel, re-
pairs. and general operating expenses.
To compete in freight traffic with the
Rock Islands tangent line across the
table lands of the southwest the road
realized that it must eliminate, with
out regard to expense, its mountain
climbing.
To justify the expensive change the
Santa F'e must save in its operating ex-
penses at least 4 per cent interest on 10
million dollars. This is 100000 a year.
The fuel to run the engines over the
proposed cutoff must be $50 tons less
every day than is now consumed to
move the same amount of freight. All
this it must be considered, has been
figured out by experts-and the road
will be built.
An Advantage to Each.
With little or no difference in the
grade of the respective roads, the Santa
Pc will have the shortest line between
Chicago and Los Angeles by nineteen
miles; between Chicago and San Fran
cisco by 1873 miles, and between Kansas
City and San Francisco by 129 miles.
The Rock Island, on the other hand, re-
tains the shortest line between Kansas
City and Los Angeles by 146 miles, and
between Kansas City and FL PaSO by 40
miles. On the longest hauls the Santa
Fe will have the advantage. On the
shorter hauls it will be the Rock IS
land
A railroad attorney went to the office
of a territorial secretary and Incorporate
ed a railroad under the name of ''The
Eastern Railway of New Mexico to be
built between two vaguely located
points, with certain branches, the des-
tination of which cleverly was conceal
ed under the disguise of township 3
north, range east The Eastern rail-
way Of New Mexico has its headquar-
ters at Las Vegas It is capitalized for
So, 625, co., divided into $500 shares, of
which $685.. 600 has been subscribed. OF
this amount 1919 600 is owned by the
president of the Santa Fe. Eventually
the Santa Fe will own the whole bust
ness.
Men and Material TO BeIen.