The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1906-05-24
A Thousand Workmen Busy Rush
ing the Chicago & Milwaukee
From kenosha to Milwaukee
TO BE IN MILWAUKEE JAN.
Great Force of Men ard Teams :Em-
ployed in Filling Mile and a
Half North of Kenosha-New
Cars for Milwaukee Line

sters, foremen, cooks, repair men and
1aborers can rush it, the Chicago and
Milwaukee Electric railway line is
being hurried on from Kenosha 10
Milwaukee.
Gazing upon the great belt Of earth,
100 feet wide, and tedious1y hauled
from place to place by scores of teams
to make the roadbed level, one marve1s
that SO great task is undertaken
just for the sake of reaching Milwau-
kee. IF the Greater Milwaukee adj
vocates want to be treasured, visit
to the scene of this company's opera
tons will provide them with real
faith.
Millions of dollars are being put in
to the task. Many tedious months
the work goes on, teams and men be-
ing kept steadily al work, hour after
hour, at different places along the
line, SO that each NOM ent may be put
to the most advantage use, and no
time or la Dor lost.
Out in the broiling sun, big drove
of mules plodded steadily on as a
reporter was shown about the work
by G. W. Merrilies, traffic manager of
the Chicago and Milwaukee Electric
road. They we're attached to patent
dump carts from which the bottom
fell out when the driver shifted
lever at the desired spot. Now and
then the waterboy would douse the
animals with bucket of cool water,
and they would contentedly and lazi1y
flick their tails in recognition, while
the driver took drink.
The spot was mile or two north of
Kenosha, where fill of fifteen feet
was being made, and the ground was
brought to the spot from a tract half
a mile long, more or less, over which
patent earth loader was moving
slowly back and forth.
This apparatus consists of d
gigantic plow which turns up the
earth SO that it falls upon a revolving
belt about three feet wide. This belt
runs to a height reaching above the
top of the dump carts, and as one cart
| is hauled in place underneath the end.
and filled by falling earth, another
replaces it as it leaves, and so the
string of carts is being constantly
/ filled. The loaded carts go down one
side to the fill, and turning back,
make circle until they are in place
again for another load. The carts
| have tires four inches wide, and these,
with the stamping hoofs, soon pack
the roadbed hard and firm for the
! 1eveling knife, ties and ballast.
"We expect to be running into Ra-
cine by July t." said Mr.. Merrilies,
"and into Milwaukee by January of
next year. Just how soon we will get
downtown into Milwaukee depends to
large extent upon the litigation now
involving the First avenue viaduct
IF that is adjusted so that we can go
ahead, knowing where we are at,
there will be no cessation of oar pres
ent efforts 10 give Milwaukeean the
best service to be had by electric road
to Chicago. The matters of time and
IIare are still open. We are now rum
ming cars every forty minutes. except
on Sundays, when we run them every
twenty minutes. What the new seized
ule will be depends upon the traffic,
but think it will be twenty minutes
every day. with an increase as traffic
demands.
s'The work being done by the COM
pany is Of the most substantial char
acter. AS matter of fact we are
running railroad, not line such as
is ordinarily thought of in connection
with electric lines. The line is of
standard gauge, and the rail eighty
pounds to the yard in weight. All our
cu1verts and bridges are of heavy pat
tern, and the roadbed is arranged SO
that four tracks may be laid when de-
sired. All of the buildings are placed
far enough back to permit this, and
all subways and bridges have project.
ing 1edges upon which the additional
tracks may be placed on moments
notice. There. are to be no grade
crossings, and all of the right-of-way
is private, and is 1eve1ed down so as
to remove ali possible grades, and to
take out all curves except here and
| there some that are not acute.
"The cars to be put on the Mi1wau-
kee run will be considerably longer
than those now in use, although now
we have a fine car. They will be
! fifty-two feet, six inches in length,
and will seat fifty-six people, and will
run at sixty miles an hour
| The company, by the way, has con-
nections with the Milwaukee, the
! Northwestern, the Illinois, Joliet and
Eastern, and the Wisconsin Central,
and arranges its schedules to coincide
with the schedules Of these steam
roads, for the convenience of passen-
gers. One of these connections, with
the Wisconsin Central, is at Rookie
Teller, which is ten miles west of the
lake, which the main line traverses
for most of the distance.
| It is not likely that the line to Mil
waukee will touch any of the towns
along the route above Racine, but it
will pass them to the west, as the COM
pany wants an air line, and wants to
/