Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1906-02-16
THE LuclN CUTOFF"
A Triumph Of Railroad Engineering
Across Great Salt Lake.

When the first survey OF the Union
Pacific railroad came out Of the mouth
OF Weber canyon, little southeast Of the
present city Of Ogden. Il found the Great
Salt Lake lying across its path westward
to junction with the Central Pacific.
Even at that early date some idea of the
possibilities of the later day triumphs OF
railroad construction seems to have oc-
CURED to the engineers of the survey,
for they discussed little, though per-
haps more jocularly than seriously, the
feasibility of driving straight across the
lake, or at least across it's eastern arm.
OF course they gave 1t up. The idea then
was almost chimerical There was
neither the genius or finance bold enough
to undertake such a stupendous work nor
the traffic to warrant such an expendi-
ture. 1t may be doubted. too. II there
was engineering faith equal to the task
So the line was built up through the hills
around the north end of the lake
But that light talk of the early sixties
was not without its fruit The idea re-
mained the dream, the hope, the faith, OF
one of the young men employed i'm build
ing the Central Pacific. William Hood
was OF that company of across the
isthmus" pioneers who have made their
mark and their fame in the development
OF California and the Pacific slope. As
he worked his way up to the RESPONSE
BILE post OF chief engineer of the South
ern Pacific system, owner of the old
| Central Pacific, he never lost sight of the
possibility Of that line across Salt Lake.
/ Coils p. Huntington the master of the
Pacific railroads was inclined to think that
/ II might be done; but the time was not yet
| ripe, the traffic was not heavy enough TO
! justify the expense, and such enterprises
were not easy to finance. But after Mr..
/ Huntington's death there came to the
head OF Southern Pacific affairs a man
| NNlan Hranh al oh
matched the engineering skill and pluck
OF Mr.. Hood. In Edward H. Hartman
Mr. Hood found a man who sympathized
with and believed in his plans, and who
was able and willing to provide the mon
/ ey.
The times had changed The day OF
/ great and bold enterprises had come.
The old era OF pinching and often false
economy, that let roadbed and rolling
stock run down in order to squeeze out
an unjustified dividend, was ended The
condition had been reached where It was
only necessary for the engineer to show
| how the interest on the investment could
be made to be told to go ahead TRAFFIC
had increased to such a point that OBJ
Grafton over the steep and crooked old
line was becoming constantly more and
more vexatious and difficult Relief must
be had. Financier agreed with engineer
as to how IL could be obtained, and the
result is the "Lucin Cutoff" as It Il
called, the line that runs from Ogder
straight over Great Salt Lake, which II
crosses on a trestle nearly twelve miles
long and on twenty miles OF "hn," and
over the desert flats, 102 miles in all, e
Lucin, where 1t rejoins the old road II
is a "cutof'' indeed. Forty-three miles
In distance are Topped on, heart breaking
grades avoided, curves eliminated hours
of time in transit saved, and untold Wor.
ry and vexation prevented, at the sam'
time that expenses OF operation are re.
duced more than enough to pay interes
on the whole cost twice over.