Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1906-05-12
Era of Freak Railroad Building Seems TO Have
Anived-Western Lines Many Laborers.

The era Of freak railroad building
h upon US. Capitalists are callins
upon railroad engineers 10 perform
marvellous feats Of engineering. IN
courased by the willingness n CAPT
tai 70 make lavish expenditures the
civil engineers are accomplishing
wonders. says the Railway Wesld
The Grand Trunk wants = tunnel un'
der the Detroit river. and Il 10 built
President casxatt is no longer con
tent to stop the railroad trains at
Jersey City: they must enter New
York. Even more than that, they
must cross the metropolis and Pro
coed on a continuous journey 70 Bos'
ton. In obedience to this wish the
engineers plan q tunnel under the
North river. q subway across New
York city. q tunnel under the East
river and bridges 10 the main Land
from Long Island.
The cost cuts little figure and the
work Is being performed as planned
Mr.. Hartman was MT satisfied that
his trains, should make q devpur
around Great Salt lake and the Lucin
cutoff results. by which The Union
Pacific trains cross that body NJ wa
ter on trestles. d. II. Moffatt. OF
Denver. who imbibes daring NJ he
inhaies the rare atmosphere Of q rare
altitude, conceived q bold project OF
pushing a new railroad by . direct
line from Denver to Salt Lake City.
undaunted by high grades, deep
chasms or mountain barriers. he con
structed tunnel after tunnel through
the heart Of the mountains on q scale
never attempted in this country be-
fore. There fs even IN contempia.
ton the building Of a tunnel under
Behring strait to connect Alaska with
Siberia, a project which seems to be
received with greater enthusiasm by
the Russians thanIby the Americans.
But perhaps one Of the most won.
derfui OF all these marvellous feats OF
railroad construction II that which Is
o being attempted by Henry M.
FIagIer. This IL the Florida East
Coast railroad to Key West. From
Homestead. the present terminus, the
road will be heightened 126 miles ut
a cost or between s1o,0oo,oOo and si2,
.oO0,0 900. From island to island the
railroad Ii being extended. only sixty
five miles being built on natural fouii-
dations, rock entertainments and rein
forced concrete arch yiaducts being
used to NIL up the gaps. Drswbridgcs
of these arches will require 206,10e
cubic yards Of sand, 8 5000 barrels CT
cement. 17s,sO0 cubic yards Of stone
and 1910 tons or steel. Extensive
docks and terminals will be con
structed by Key West for the &C.
commodation Of huge floats aad
barges, on which cars will be trans
ported ninety miles to Havana, thus
making It possible for travellers from
any point in the United States to be
conveyed to Cuba without leaving
their car. In three years this under.
taking will be completed.
III the young men IN the east only
knew 81 the vast amount Of work that
Is offered them in the west believe
that many Or them would not hest
tate to take their futures in their
own hands and hike into the country
where work Is plentiful. workers few
and wages good said J. Stanlev Orr.
or the Hartman lines In Cleveland
the other day. Il have here q state.
ment from General Passenger Agent
Z. &. Hurley. OF the Oregon Short
Line at Salt Lake City, which shows
the great opportunities now open:
"The government has about a mh-
lion dollars of unfinished work under
the Minidoka project, Minidoka and
Rupert being the proper stations for
this work. They will spend within
the next five or six years approx.
mately I'll. 900. 900 In the Payette-
Boise project. in the Immediate vi.
entity Of Boise ands Nampa. The
American Falls Canal company will
spend from $4,000 to 5000, 900 on
their project on the north side or
Snake River between Blackfoot and
American Falls. The Twin Falls
company will also spend from $1,000
900 to s1,5O0,O00 In final completion
of canals on the south side Of the
river. reclaiming about 100000 acres.
The government viii undoubtedly be-