The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1906-06-13
TAKE A TRIP ON
NATCHEz LIMITED
THROUGH ORCHARDS AND FIELDS
New Road Not as Long, but just as
Wide as Any in United States
and Scenery Second to None.

A trip over the Yakima & Valley
railway reminds one of the story
which is told on Mr.. Perkins of the
Tacoma Ledger, whom, it is related
some years ago when the Tacoma &
Eastern had built few miles of
track, as its manager and promoter,
made application for passes on east
ern railroads, and when turned
down" by the president of an eastern
system because his road was not 4
long one, replied: 81 know my rail-
road is not as long as yours. but it is
just as wide"
The Yakima 4 Valley is just as
wide" as any of them, and it might
be a surprise to many to learn tn 1t
it is very fast becoming a long one.
Last Wednesday at 1880 Mr.. Chas.
Lombard and Herald representa-
tive boarded engine No. 1, manned
by Engineer Wiley and Fireman
Minner, with Jake Kaufman as head
"brakie," and at noon the party was
at the terminal.
The Yakima G Valley railroad has
its starting point just north of the
city limits, from whence it runs al
most due west to the Natchez gap.
Here it crosses the Natchez river over
fine steel bridge and then makes
straight shoot along the bottom
lands to the Rowe hill 1t would in
deed be a hard matter to find pref
tier or richer country than that
through which this railway finds its
way. There are the beautiful or
chards, great strawberry patches,
now resounding with the voices of
the merry pickers, immense fields of
clover and timothy almost ready for
the sickle, and pastures where herds
Of stock are being fed ready for the
market. One gets a sweeping pauo-
ramic view from the cab of loc.,.
motive.
| The track is in fine shape as far
as the Natchez bridge, or distance
of perhaps six miles from the city.
Beyond this the rails have been laid
for distance of six miles and the
construction crews are pushing
the further laying of rails, straight
ening track and ballasting the road
bed. Two large crews known as the
Dick Ball and Aum.ller crews are
pushing the work of grading. At
pl esent there are about one hundred
.uen engaged in grading work. These
crews are located near the bluff at
Rowe hill This point seems to be
the most serious obstacle the engin-
GERS have met along the entire route.
The river flows along this bluff for
short distance and the right-of-way
has been forced into the river for
short distance because of the solid
rock distractions at this point. A
miniature railway has been put on
stills and as fast as the dirt and i'm
mense boulders are taken from the
bank it is put upon small fiat cars
and carried out and dumped along
the river bank. Sometimes il is
necessary to start the earth u the
use of giant powder. Holes are
drilled into the solid rock, a big
charge placed therein, the fuse light
ed and the workmen notified 10
scamper, when, with a bang tina.
makes the earth tremble, dirt and
stones are thrown hundreds of feet
skyward. Here bank thirty feet of
almost solid rock is being torn down,
which to a novice would appear Al.
most herculean task, but every day
finds the road bed little nearer
completion. 1t is expected that four
weeks more will find the roai oed
graded up and couple of weeks lat
err the rails laid to the new towa of
Naches, about eighteen miles from
the city.
Already the residents of the Nat
chez valley are beginning to appre-
ciate the benefit of a railway Con-
siderable freight has been hauled out
as an accommodation to the farm
ers, although the road has hardly
felt able to handle much business be-
cause of the necessity of pushing
construction work. That the new
road will be taken advantage of ana
prove boon to the ranchers of that
valley this season goes without argu-
ment.
1t takes money to build RAILROADS
Besides the hundred men employed