Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-06-19
Railroad Traffic Held Up By
Huge Mountain Slowly Nov
ing Along Right of Way
MOVES SIX INCHES a WEEK
Rate of Progress Was Slow at First,
and Workmen Did Not Notice the
Change. But Conditions Changed,
and Workmen Now Unable to Keep
Pace With Movement.

traffic on the Telluride branch of the
Rio Grande Southern has been par
TALLY suspended as result of an i'm
mense section of keystone mountain
five miles below Telluride, moving.
transfer of passengers and mail is
freight and express must be hauled
over the wagon road, IA distance of
eight miles from Vance junction on the
main line to Telluride.
When Otto Mears built the railroad
into Telluride he chose a right of way
across the Keystone placer property,
skirting the mountain above the gray
Ell pit of the company, where mining
has been going on with more or less
regularity for twenty years. great
pit was washed out in bedrock far
below the river bed, with hydraulic
giants. A tunnel was dug at great
expense from the bottom of the pit
thru solid formation to an outlet fur
ther down the stream. So large was
this pit that the workmen looked like
f1les and felt much smaller. Small
caves occurred. Once in a while
man Was killed by the falling banks.
but the work went on. just year
ago the Workmen noticed that there
was a regular movement of earth to-
Ward the pit; they measured it. Six
inches a week was the rate of travel.
The roadmaster inspecting the track
above first noticed the slide on June
Is, 1905.
The rate of progress was so slow
that the Workmen in the pit did not
mind 1T. They could wash rods Of
gravel away while the slide was mov-
ing inches. The roadmaster did not
mind it. The section men could undo
in an hour what it took the slide a
month to accomplish.
In February these conditions were
reversed. Section men worked night
and day to keep the track straight
Engineers complained, engines refus-
ed the heavy grades of the uneven
track. The Keystone Placer people
took up their pipe lines, walled up
their tunnel, stored their lumber and
and prepared for the worst.
Keeps Steady Gait.
Sunday, May 20, the slide gave lit
tie trouble, and ran two feet, then set
tied down to steady gait of about
four feet a day. Sunday, Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday trains cross
I'd one car at a time. Thursday was
The limit. Two cars of company coal
We're dragged across with rope for
he II Of ba III vrn1j
side. Twelve hundred feet of track
was torn up and piled in a place of |
safety. Railroad men ceased to fight. |
D. j. Yard and r. D. Jones, d. & r. G.
civil engineers; ]. L. Thompson, SUI |
oerintendent of bridges; A. S. Mel
lrum, general superintendent of the
Southern, and r. D. Jones, road mas
er, held a consultation on the scene
They traversed the slide from one
md to the other. They viewed it from
III sides and gave it up.
They found huge piece of land, $50
lcres in extent, shaped like an inverted
j, it's top at the rim rock that borders
he valley, its feet in the river, slowly
liding down the hill, taking with it
he sacred right of way of great rail-
Dad system. 1t required the time Of
hree men to keep the telegraph lines
rom crossing. From the rim rock to
he river is little more than half
nile. Forest, meadow and waste land,
rees pointing in every direction, rocks
olling, the earth opening in great
racks. Slowly moving like the hands
# clock, not visible to the eye, but
moving nevertheless. A great river of
Millions and millions of tons of earth
nd rocks, its banks we'll defined, seek
ng it's level with irresistible force
Where it runs will be a great gulch, to
re bridged by the railroad when it has
assed. In the meantime there is MOTH
ng that can be done to hasten it's de
cent. box of giant powder would
ave as much effect as fly lighting
pon the side of a house. Each morn
ng the road master looks thru his
ransit, sets his stakes; each morn
ng he calculates the rate of travel. He
avs the speed is increasing. When
shall begin to slacken. then he will
egin a new grade or at least plan for
he building of one. How long before
hat time will come no man can tell
i month perhaps perhaps two But
ntil that mighty river is at rest there
Ian is helpless.
GAS sUFFocATEs FIREMEN.
hirty Seven Injured While Eiuhtinu