Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-05-08
UNION PACIFIC TO
SPEND 100000
improvements Contemplated All
Along the Line From Omaha
To San Francisco.
CUT TIME BETWEEN OCEANS.
Protection VIII be Obtained From
Desert Sands by Reballasting
Southern Pacific.

During the coming summer 100000
viii be expended by the Union Pacific
on big improvements, which Will give
10 the road a double track to Granger
In the western part of wyoming. with
the exception OF 4 short distance In
western Nebraska.
Granger is the junction point or the
Union Pacific with the oregon Short
Line which from that point travels
northwestward to Portland, Or while
the Union Pacific continues TO Ogden,
where the Southern Pacific takes up the
route TO California.
Ali these lines are In the Hartman
combination. and with their connections
with the Chicago & Northwestern at
Omaha, ana at Chicago with the Lake
Shore IL Michigan Southern, make up
a transcontinental system which. by
the improvements recently installed at
the cost OF moro than S2O,QoO0OO, have
enabled the combination TO cut off Il
hours from the time consumed by other
tganscontinental liuse in running from
the Atlantic TO the Pacific coast IL
now is proposed tho shorten this time
several hours more. possibly another 10
hours, thus cutting the time between
the coasts to "a hours less than IT re-
quired to cross the continent III years
ago.
The greatest project of all in contem-
platlon is the reballasting of the sys-
tenn from Ogden to the Pncihc coast,
The greatest Inconvenience experienced
In travelling across the continent IS the
hot, flying sand OF the semi-arld wastes
For years this sitting concomitahl 10
rapid transit ACROSS the praues has
been abolished on the main line OF the
Union Pacific the entire distance or
about 1000 miles from Omaha to Os-
den by ballasting done 10 or more
years ago.
The ballast to be used is known as
Sherman gravel 1t Is a peculiar ols-
integrated granite, which, so far, has
been found only on sherman hill, the
highest point which the railroad reaches
In crossing the continent. Scientists
declare that Sherman hill once was
mountain of solid granite which has be-
come decompoSed so that II has cruin-
bled into graVel-like formation. The
small stones are almost adamatine in
heir hardness ana are so uniform in
size as to require but little screening,
II is reported to be the purpose OF
the united roads to continue this ball
last across the Nevada desert and all
along the line of the Southern Pacific
to the western coast. This Will be a
work OF stupendous magnitude, when II
is remembered that the distance is up
ward of 200 miles to Los Angeles and
Portland, by way of San Francisco in
each instance This bnllasting, 1t is
understood. will be done as rapidly as
the work of mountaineering proceeds,
The understanding suggests why the
Union Pacific has piled up its millions
of surplus, and, as result, travel
across the continent will become de-
void of all the unavoidable llscomforts
the trip has involved.
The outlay win run into the mil
lions, but the officials are said to believe
that. In view OF the success which has
attended the ballasting of the road be-
tween Omaha and Ogden with this ma
terlal. and the lessened cost OF opera
tion already apparent in the double
tracking now completed along several
sections of the line. together with the
better satisfaction that will come TO tho
public, the expenditure will prove pro-
fltable In the end.