The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-03
NEWRAILROAD MILEAGE
ALABAMA MAY LEAD ALI OF THE
 STATES.
ExtenHtve Improvements Are Making Throughout the State--Other News of Railroad Men
 and Matters.


 Alabama will be far ahead of any State in the country in the matter of new railroad mileage next year if the roads now being projected are put through.
 Even if only half of the roads now being projected are actually built there will be something over 700 miles and if all of the projected roads are miles.
 Starting in the extreme southern part of the State there is the road from Bay Minette to Fort Morgan. This road is a certainty for Superintendent J. I. Mckinney of the Mobile and Montgomery division of the Louisville and Nashville is having a commodious joint depot built at Bay Minette to be used by the Mobile and Montgomery and the new road Extensive improve ments are now being put in both at Bay Minette and Fort Morgan, sidinrs spurtracks. etc. and 1t is only a mat ter Of short time before the new road will be completed
 Then there are some probIematical roads leading from Alabama into Pen- sacola. These are on paper, remain ing for the future and the men behind them to develop.
 Another speculative road is the one from Hayneville in Lowndes County to Morgansville on the Mobile and Mont eomery division. This road has been graded but that is the extent of the work up to date. The people behind It say. however, that 1t will be built and that they will build 1t from Nor. Eansville to this city, a story being that the Seaboard Air Line will cor1- plete 1t and build on towards the Gulf
 The road from St. Andrews Bay of Florida to Columbus, Ga, looks to be pretty sure, though 1t has not ad- vanced very far as yet. A great part of the mileage of this road is in Ala bama, running by Eufaula in Barbour county and through Russell County.
 A road has been projected by the Western Railway from either their main line or from Tallassee to. Rock ford in Coosa County. This road has been surveyed but construction has not begun.
 Several new roads are headed for Birmingham, the Louisville and Nash vile building some Of them and number of sidings and branch tracks, Taken altogether the new mileage in Alabama next year will be very large.
 The South will construct over 5000 miles of new railroad during 1905 if the report compiled by the Railroad Record of Atlanta is correct
 Last year every State in the South had its railroad mileage greatly in- creased and probably more new lines were built than will be built this year This year, however, a number of the roads will devote a great deal of time and money to double-tracking main lines and taking this into considera- ion more road will bo constructed this year than In any year since 1878.
 Of the 5000 miles and over that will be built in the South this year Texas will come in with S49 miles and will head the list of States. Georgia will be second with 490 miles in prosnect. and the Indian Territory, with 4S7. is third. About 100 miles of new line is to be built in Oklahoma, and S72 miles are in prospect for Arkansas. Of the States east of the Miss.ssi River Tennessee is the smallest in point of new road in prospect. Only about 50 miles of entirely new line will be built, but, including rebuilding and cut-offs, Tennessee will have about 25O miles of new track.
 If the extension to Key West mate rializes. Florida will build $50 miles, Mississippi 221. North Carolina, 243, and Louisiana. 219 Alabama and Kentucky face the same condition that confronts Tennessee, and more double tracks and rebuilding will be put down than entIre new roads. In each of these States, however, a number of short spurs are to be built and a num- Der of roads are to double track.