Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-11-21

along which the line might be built.
In all, Is different routes were mapped
out before the present one was finally
decided upon. While the route chosen
meant just as much hard work as any
of the others, it was more acceptable
| from the fact that the engineers were
able to figure out a grade which would
make it possible to use all the dirt
/ which had to be removed in cutting
down hills in making the fills for the
ravines. Then, too, the route has no
grade of more than per cent, which
| is considerably better than most of
| the roadbeds of the best railroad lines.
Another advantage is that no curve of
more than degrees had to be pro-
vided for, and the route clear through
to Monmouth is almost as the crow
flies.
Big Trestlc Required.
The crossing of the valley of the
Edwards river will be a big job, and
trestle bridge some 800 feet long
will have to be built This bridge
will be about GO feet high in the cen
ter. This high trestle will be neces-
sary if the company sticks to its plan
of having no grade of more than per
cent, but there is a chance that for
| temporary purposes a greater grade
will be established and a lower bridge
built
i The steam shovels furnished the
feature of the trip for most of the
guests of the company, as few of them
had ever seen the machines at work
before. The respect held by the visi-
tors for the project increased mater
tally as they saw the great dippers of
the machine tearing up the earth and
depositing it on fiat cars for that pur
pose at a rate which reminds one al
once of the digging of the Panama
canal as it is pictured in the maya
/, zines. The steam shovel is without
{ doubt a wonderful piece of mechan
| ism, and it plays large part in the
) building of railroads at the present
time.
: Like Panama Canal Machines.
The shovels used by the Walsh com
pany are just as big and just as pow
erful as those used on the Panam;
: canal and their work supplied the tri
city visitors with a topic of converse
ton for a long time. Each machine
} consists Of an engine which operate!
: a huge dipper, under control of the
I operator. Its actions are almost hu
: man. as it stops and scoops up wha
is equal to two and a half Wagon
loads Of earth and then swings to on
e side and deposits the load on a cal
f 1t is handled with the same ease tina
d man can handle n shovel, and tn
X work done is tremendous. No matte
n how hardly packed the earth is. o
k even. if the roots of a tree interfere
y it works without apparent strain
s Two trains so with each shovel, on
It filling in ravines back of the shove
e and the other doing the same in from
a Of it. Yesterday one of the shove
h broke all its previous records and n
e moved LAO yards of earth in tn
e morning. In comparison to the wor
Y of several hundreds of men with
n enormous amount of work
d The dirt which is removed in NAL
e ing the cuts is hauled on cars, each {
o which holds II yards, to the plao
lie where the fill is being made Bridgin
a gangs have built trestle over the r
Is vines, using piling for this work o.
o on this trestle the train of loaded cal
y is showed and then the dirt is dumpe
off until it is little above the lev,
of the tracks. The trestie work is NJ
10 taken out, as such a thing would |
IN impossible, and it remains in the fl
e. It's work is not yet done, however. 4;
,e it serves to hold the earth togetht
lie and prevents its washing away. E
20 the time the train has dumped it's los
H. of dirt, the other train is about reaC
is to move away from the steam shove
C. and in that way the filling goes on 6
g the time
ly Opens New Coal Field.
it The chief asset of the road when
C. is completed will be the coal min,
in which will be sunk as soon as meal
Ill of getting rid of the product is read
ct One shaft will be sunk on the Co
mt Valley Mining companys claim al
er another on the Gilchrist land. Ea
I'D shaft will have capacity of 1,C
he tons each day, which will give Il
k electric road a big freight service
nd the very start. The coal mines,