The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-02-03
Wonderfully Level Route.

1t is almost beyond belief that SO per-
feet q natural route for railroad as
that surveyed by the new ChicagO-NeW
York Electric Air Line could have stood
all these years and not had railroad
built upon il. For stretch of 1JO miles
in Ohio there is a fall of only two feet
to the mile. From Chicago TO the Penn
sylvania state line the grade does not
exceed sixteen feet per mile. and i'll the
entire distance Of go miles between Chi
cago and New York no grade on the
route surveyed exceeds / per cent. No
doubt the reader who looks on the map
and observes the snake-like winding of
the existing trunk lines maTVelS as TO
why they ever were built so crooked, but
the reason becomes plain enough when it
is realized that many of the cities from
which these roads draw their industrial
life blood were located on the great riv
erS which then constituted the only high
ways OF transportation.
None of the great roads of today were
built with any idea of catering to through
direct route passenger traffic from east
TO west, but were merely gatherers-in Of
local traffic from these river-bank cities,
with their aIluring freight tonnage the
main object sought. IT must be remem-
bered too that il is only within the last
twenty-five years that the passenger
traffic has reached gigantic proportions.
When the steam roads were built the pas
senger was matter OF small considera-
ton compared with freight. but today
with the increase of national wealth and
consequent increased capacity for luXur-
ious travel. the passenger traffic holds
forth alluring prospects of profits to anV
new road that will equip itself for it and
carry the traveller to the end OF his Jour
ney by direct line. high-speed route
that takes no account Of and doesn't
bother with freight on the same track
Passenger Traffic.
Passenger traffic. with its constant de-
mand for higher speed, has made the
Chicago-New York Electric Air Line rail-
st.ss lr.nla Il.
tended that freight shall be overlooked
Freight will ultimately be handled on ex-
elusive freight tracks and kept as dis
tinct from the passenger traffic as if two
,sonarate roads ran side by side n stands
TO reason that il won't be very long be-
fore the freight shippers will begin to
think that such direct high-speed line
is as good thing for freight as for pas
sengers. and this of course, will ulti-
mateIy lead to spur tracks being run to
the main line from more than twenty cit
les of over 100000 inhabitants. and a prac-
trcal absorption OF the freight business
from territory with a population Of
about 5000. 900.
Tho main line runs so close 10 several
large cities such as Cleveland Toledo
ETC. and others so near that spur
tracks OF less than fifty miles in length
will connect them with the main line
and even then get their freight TO New
York or Chicago several hours quicker
than is now possible. That is what con-
fronts the existing steam lines today.
The planS Tor me new electric line con-
template ample track space for freight as
we'll as passenger traffic when the time
comes to handle it
New Road Encounters Few Obstacles.
The histories of most Of the steam
roads read like political meodrama Rri-
berry and corruption Of state and national
dignitaries was looked upon as being as
essential as the laying of rails indus
tries were throttled. coal mines forced
into line and right-Of-Way secured by the
most desperate tactics.
No such struggles will be necessary IN
the construction of the ChicaEO-NeW
York Electric Air Line railroad Most OF
the large cities are not absolutely crossed
by the right-of-way. but lie very close
10 *. This has given the project all of
the advantages and none of the difficult
Ties encountered by the steam roads. The
line Is. in most cases. Just near enough
so that an INSIGNIFICANT spur of q few
miles long viii for all practical purposes
locate the line beside the city while IL is
fust far enough away TO escape political
or similar obstacles. Never was rail-
road project launched with so few diff
ficulties confronting it.
The problem OF grade crossings has not
only been solved. but done away with.
The Chfcago-New York Air Line rail-
road will be the first example in rail-
road history in Whic>- no other road