The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-06-04
An Interesting Story Of the
Stilwell Road.
SHORTENS DISTANCE.
Brings Pacific Coast 300 Miles
Nearer 10 Topeka:
Other Items of Interest in
Railway Circles.


the then recently completed Kansas
City Southern, conceived the plan of
building a railway from Kansas City
to the Pacific coast by route approx
imately 500 miles shorter than any of
the then existing or projected transcon-
tinental lines. The Kansas City, Mex
leo & Orient Railway company was in
corporated in that month and plans
formulated as rapidly as possible, grad
ing being begun in Harper county,
Kansas. in the following June. On July
4, 1901, the first rail was laid at EN-
porla, Kan, the occasion being cele-
DRAFTED with appropriate ceremonies.
In March, 1908, of the 1610 miles of
nne contemplated 0he located line is
t'ooS mlies), 1t was reported that all had
peen located except go miles in Kansas
ana ~ miles in western Mexico, this
latter section including the crossings
OF the Sierra Madre range. Track was
laid from Milton Junction, Kan, to
Carmen, Okla, a miles, and for 10 miles
east from Topolobampo the western
terminus. Grading was completed
from wichita to Milton, 81 miles; for
SIX miles near Emporia and for 12l
miles IN Chase county, Kansas; from
the Red river north to Dill City, Okla,
SO miles; and south to Sweetwater.
Tex. except for two miles near Ben
jamin, Tex.), 159 miles; and for 80 miles
west from Chihuahua and IA miles east
from the western terminus in Mexico
Iracklaylng was in progress between
wichita and Milton and from Carmen
south and it was planned to begin OPP
Grafton between Wichita and Carmen
on April l, 1903. The company was al
ready operating between Chihuahua
and M1naca, Mex, 125 miles, under
trackage agreement with the Chihua-
X Pacific in
Five years ago the equipment of the
Kansas City, Mexico & Orient was re
ported as locomotives, 8 passenger
cars, 10 box cars, 40 fiat cars and ca
booses In the United States and 3 loco
motives, passenger cars, II box cars,
A fiat cars and cabooses in Mexico d
total OF Z locomotives, passenger cars
and liz freight train cars. At this time
the company has 55 locomotives, 1929
freight cars, 80 passenger cars and IS
are virtually all of $4,000 and $4,000
pounds capacity. The passenger loco
motives are of the S-wheel type, with
cylinders 10 by 26 inches and drivers 81
inches in diameter, the total weight be-
ing 10000 pounds The freight Iocomo-
tives are mostly of the mogul type with
cylinders 20 by % inches and 63-inch
drivers, weighing 168,00O pounds each
The equipment was built by the
American Locomotive company and
Tic <AHleIlCdH Gar q FOunQry company
under equipment trust agreements
Since 1908 the company has been
prosecuting work actively and now has
"A per cent of the line completed (and
substantially all Of this is now in OBJ
eration) as follows:
Wichita, Kan, to Elmer, Okla .27O
Benjamin, Tex. to Sweetwater. Tex. SO
San Angelo, Tex, north. ......... II
Chihuahua, Mex, east. 81
Chihuahua, Mex, west. 1856
Hornillos to Topolobampo. .... rs
Total .............. ..........72 1928
Grading for additional track has
| been compared within the last three
years as follows:
Miles.
Emporia, Kan, west. s
| Ellinor, Kan, to Ell Dorado. Kan. -. As
| Elmer, Okla, to Benjamin. Tex 70
Sweetwater, Tex, south. .... 60
Conchos river, east ....... 20
| Sanchez, Mex, south. INSTRUMENTATION. 10
| Hornillos, Mex, to Antillo, Mex. "a
| Total ........ PA
| Steel is on the ground for laying. to
complete the Elmer Benjamin section
! and for 10 miles of the Sweet-San
| Angelo section, and it is the expecta-
ton of the company to have the line in
| operation between Wichita and Sweet
water, 431 miles, by September 1, 1905
| The grades on the several portions of
the line are as follows: Between Kan
sas City and Wichita, II of 1 per cent
| maximum: between Wichita and the
! Rio Grande, 1 to IA per cent maximum;
| between the Rio Grande and Chihuahua
l12 per cent maximum; between Chi
huahua and La Junta, to 2k per cent
maximum; between La Junta and
| Iopolobampo, l per cent maximum
! Long sections of the route lie along
the dry ridges between water sheds
so that the bridge construction is
much less than might be expected for
an undertaking of this magnitude, al
though there are a number of impor-
tant streams requiring expensive
bridges, the principal of these being
the Missouri and Kaw rivers near
Kansas City the Cimarron and Cana
dian rivers in Oklahoma, the Red riv-
er the Rio Grande, the Rio Conchos
in Mexico, and to the west of the Sier-
ra Madre, the Rio Fuerte.
| The Canadian river bridge Dewey
| county, Oklahoma, completed in May
1906, was described in detail in The
Railway Age of August IL 1906
Construction has been carried on by
two companies. the International Con-
struction company building the lines
in Mexico and Texas and 81 miles in
Oklahoma, and the Union CONSTITUTE
ton company building the northern
portion of the line. and these compan-
! les have also conducted the financing
of the undertaking, the construction
companies taking the securities of the
railway company in payment of their
work and then placing these securities
with individual investors, whose inter-
est in the enterprise has been aroused
| by taking them over the road for
personal inspection of the property,
thus eliminating the financial middle
man and saving the bankers commits
sions and stock bonuses for the stock
holders
The principal factors aside from the
productive territory on which predic-
lions of the financial success of the
| Orient are based are the saving in dis