The San Francisco call., 1908-07-11
Gossip of RaiIwaymen

The man never lived who could fore
cast what c. P. Huntington would ask
said Dave Burkhalter. superintendent
of the Sacramento division. Il was to
escort him from Bakersfield to Los An
geles, and sat up all night studying
over the history of the division. the
cost to run trains, freight carrying
capacity, and the number of passengers
that went over the line and what they
preferred to eat at breakfast.
My mind was storehouse of In
formation. 1 was primed for the stiffest
cross examination he could put me
through, SO 1 thought.
You know Coils P. never travelled
by night, and we pulled out of Bakers
field at daylight. After the train had
been running for some time I went to
pay my respects to the chief, and the
first question he threw at me was:
" 'BurkhaIter, what was the ther-
mometer this morning?
Then went out on the platform and
kicked myself"
F. P. Gregson, traffic manager Of
the Los Angeles jobbers' association,
is still in the city and is using all his
persuasive powers to influence the mer-
chants of the city to deliver up the
San Joaquin valley to his employers
NO" said Gregson yesterday, moth
ing definite has been reached as yet,
though 1 have accomplished a great
deal of good while 1 have been here
have set the merchants of San Fran
cisco to thinking, and that is doing
something.
Il must congratulate San Francisco
in possessing two such able exponents
of her rights. There are no cleverer
men made than James A. Keller and
J. W. Chapman, and really their argu-
ments are so convincing and so beau
tifully expressed that they nearly won
me over to their way of thinking.
You have no better takers in the
west. They 8never get tired talking.
They do it In relays When Keller
gets husky with speaking for three or
four hours, Chapman takes it up, and
he is one of the best takers in the
United States.
The city is safe in their hands.
And then to think how lucky you
are. They are so young
w. R. AIberger, traffic manager of
the Tonopah and Tidewater, is in the
city, having recently returned from
New York, where he conducted the ne
gotiations which resulted in his COM
pany purchasing the Bullfrog and Gold
field road. The sum is not made public
The newly acquired purchase runs from
Rhyolite to Goldfeld and aids the
Santa Fe to get a more rapid delivery
of freight and passengers into Gold
field There are some who say that the
Santa Fe is heavily interested in both
these lines.
In speaking of the purchase, Alberger
said:
This extends our line into Goldfield
and gives the Tonopah and Tidewater
from Ludlow, via the Santa Fe a di-
rect roadway of 255 miles to Goldfeld
Freight can now be moved into this
territory from Los Angeles in two days,
and from San Francisco by using the
Santa Fe to Ludlow in three and a
half days, or about the same time as
the northern route.
My work in New York was the seq
regation of the Bullfrog and GoIdfeld
railroad from the Tonopah and Gold
field. by which road it had formerly
been operated"
In regard to the report that had been
published that the Tonopah and Tide
water would build from Goldfeld to
Ely, A1berger was noncommittal 1t is
not. however, supposed that the Tono-
pah and Tidewater is prepared just at
the present to start the construction
of this line
The tracks of the Western Pacific
reached Halvern yesterday, where there
Will be some delay owing to a bridge
having to be built There only re-
mains one more bridge TO be built at
San Lorenzo creek and then the West
ern Pacific tracks will practically be
on the outskirts of Oakland.
J. r. Wilson, travelling freight and
passenger agent of the Illinois Central
left last night for the Grand canyon Of
the Colorado.