Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-01-18
TRIUMPH OF ENGINEERING.


Dream Of q Rose Across Great salt
Lake at Last Realised.
When the Arst survey Of the Union
Pacific railroad came out Of the mouth
Of Weber canyon. little southeast Of
the present city Of Ogden, ID found the
Great Salt lake lying across It's path
westward to junction with the Cen
trail Pacific. Even at that early date
some idea Of the possibilities of the
later day triumphs of railroad con
struction seems to have occurred to the
engineers OF the survey, for they dis
cussed little, though perhaps more
jocularly than seriously, the feasibility
Of driving straight across the lake or
at least across its eastern arm. or
course they gave it up. The idea then
was almost chimerical. There was
neither the genius in finance bold
enough to undertake such stupendous
work nor the traffic to warrant such
an expenditure. 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 six
ties was not without its fruit. The
idea remained the dream, the hope,
the faith, Of one of the young men EN-.
ployed in building 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 responsible post Of chief
engineer Of the Southern Pacific sys.
tenn, 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
it might BE done, but the time was not
vet 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 whose financial ability
and. holiness matched the engineering
skill and pluck Of Hr. Hood. In Ed
ward H. Hartman Mr.. Hood found
a man who sympathized with and be-
lieved in his plans and who was able
and willing to provide the money.
The times had changed. The day Of
great and bold enterprises had come.
The old era Of pinchng and often false
economy that let roadbed and rolling
stock run down in order to squeeze out
an unjusthed dividend was ended.
The condition had been reached where
it was only necessary for the engineer
to show how the interest on the invest
ment could be made to be told to 90
ahead. Traffic had increased to such
point that operation over the steep and
crooked old line was becoming con-
| stantly more and more vexatious and
difficult Relief must be had. Finan-
cier agreed with engineer as to how 1t
| could be obtained, and the result is the
"Lucin cutoff" as 1t is called, the line
that runs from Ogden straight over
Great Salt lake. which it crosses ON n
trestle nearly twelve miles long and on
twenty miles Of "fill" and over the
desert fats, 1O2 miles in all. to Lucin.
where II rejoins the old road. 1t is Q
cutoff indeed. Forty.three miles In
distance are Topped of. heartbreaking
grades avoided, curves eliminated,
hours Of tinf in transit saved and I'M
told worry and vexation prevented, at
the same time that expenses Of opera.
ton are reduced more than enough to
pay interest on the whole cost twice
over.-Oscar King Davis in Century.