The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-03-26
Special to The Journal.

Special to The Journal. .. IS
New York, March 26.-While James
J. Hill is busy in New York and vicin-
ity trying to sell the ore lands to the
United States Steel corporation, the
! Hill engineers are good and busy out
in the northwest. The Portland &
Seattle railroad is well-known propo-
sition, both in the west and in the east.
The railroad people are watching It,
wondering whether OF not it will really
take the city of Portland from the
Hartman diadem. On this the Great
Northern will spend about $l2,5O0,00O
cash, the Northern Pacific spending the
rest of the money to complete it.
The Great Northern will spend about
$3,5OO.0U0 on an extension to make
new connection with the Burlington be-
tween Sioux City, Iowa, and Omaha:
This extension involves the building of
as indicating the trend of cooperation
between these two parts of the Hill
system.
Coal Road Plans.
About $45oO,oo0 is to be spent on the
V. V. & f. and the Washington 4
Great Northern, building jointly the
lines across the British Columbia Dor:
der from Washington. This is supposed
to be largely coal proposition. All
other branch line in the same country,
not yet begun. will cost about $780,
OOO This whole project is thought by
some to be the western terminus Of a
new line that will bid for the trans
continental traffic of Victoria. to com
pete with the Canadian Pacific s new
line to Spokane. This theory is not &C
cepted in railroad circles here, AS the
road is not being laid down like a
trunk line, but like good local traffic
railway.
Two small spurs run north from st
John, N D., to the Canadian frontier
and perhaps across it. One of them l:
supposed to be aimed at Brandon, ant
is intended to take Canadian Paeif'
amidships,. so TO- speak; The who'll !!
amount of building in this section il
probably covered by $1,500,0O0.
An important 2O0-mile line is to b.
sent thru to Billings, Mont, to connec
with the Northern Pacific and Burling
ton at that strategic point. The rea
object of this extension is not known
It looks little like another scheme il
the general proposition of making
traffic more easily interchangeable be
tween the three systems, and does no
seem to- have much transcontlnentai i'm
portance. The cost will probably b
about $45O0,000 or more. u
: OGH6T COdSI bIduCilSS.
: About $1,25O.OOO will probably b.
needed to complete the company's dou
BILE tracking contract between Scattl
: and Everett. A retaining wall will b.
| needed most of the way, which bring
the cost up tremendously. Contract
are let. -
!. About 81 300 900 or less will complet
| two or three small feeders under wa,
r in Montana. These lines are designe
l merely to hold the traffic Of the roa
. against new roads, the Milwaukee an
/ other possible arrivals.
!. Elevated work in the twin cities
t estimated at various values. Probabl
! $3.50 900 is liberal for it.
4 In all, the program at present on tn
: surface calls for the expenditure Q
over 100000 on lines in the mort
, and the northwest within the next tw
:, or three years. It is not possible eve
. to guess what new projects Mr.. Hill
" contemplating that are still beneath tn
surface.
A lot of talk that comes out Of tn
west with regard to invasion of tt
Canadian northwestern prairie lane
NAV be forgotten as soon as heard. Hi
may go into the Canadian northwe
r with feeder or two, but it is believe
\ here that he has no extensive plan II
Canadian invasion such as is talke
about. i