The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-06
MAY RENEW g OPERATIONS Prominent Railroad Off,
 ficials Making Tour. TO INSPECT MOBILE DIVISION lss Big Appropriation May Again Be se3 a.30 Authorized. l~ss
 sum of sl,Ooo,oOo Appropriated Before
 Adverse Legislation For Improving 4g5iRoad From Montgomery To sAE
 as4 Mobile In Balance.
TO INSPECT MOBILE DIVISION

When Chief Engineer Montfort. of the Louisville and Nashville, passed through Montgomery Thursday morn- irE en route south. a very significant event in the status Of the Mobile and Montgomery division and that section Of South Alabama between Montgom- efY and Mobile, Georgiana and Geneva, was pointed out. Nothing official was giyen publicity yesterday, but it is con- Adently believed that the extensive im- brovements planned for the Mobile and Montgomery division will be set on foot again.
 For several years President Smith ana the officials of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. have realized that the growing traf1c of the big system could not be adequately handled with out one of two things: either double track the road from Decatur to Mobile, or cut down the grades and curves to stich an extent that the heaviest freight train could be pulled with ease over the Sand Mountain district. Not being in the financial position at that time to undertake the gigantic task of double tracking the. line in its entirety, Mir. Smith adopted the next most available coarse.
 @<A year or so ago estimates were made by the engineers for improve uaehts from Decatur south that ran up
 
 to be cut down, curves straightened out so radically as to virtually change the route of the present road in many Dlaces. and so many additional miles Of side track built as to result in a double track for miles and miles. Com Ing south the right-of- way was to bo Shifted some distance to the. left of where the present line passes the sta fion at cullman. At Blount Springs, survey had been made that would take the road to the rear instead of the front of the hotel One of the biggest pieces of work was to be at Brooks Gap. few miles this side of Birming ham. At this point a new survey had neon made by which the line would so tooethe left of the present line. This would necessitate the building of a tun- neia through the solid rock for great distance. During the radical an- t1-railtoad and anti-everything in the ahape of progress that has cost Ala ha4na and other States in this section Improvements were abandoned owing to the rapid and alarming decrease iL ehM earning capacity of the road, re- suIting from the loss of traffic due to the unfrisndly legislation. Improve nents of every kind that had been planned, were stopped at once.
 The work at Brooks Gap, however, had already been started, and, being so important to the transportation de- partment, was continued. At the pres eut time the tunnel has almost been completed, and the officials of the road hope to have 1t all ready before thG end of January.
 -NFrom Montgomery south the sum Of s1, 900 900 had been appropriated for the Mobile and Montgomery division in stpaightening out curves, cutting down grades, etc. Near Fort Deposit the present right of way was to be chang ad. the new line running through aiaccession of tunnels that were to be firiit through that section. In about inc same proportion, estimates had been Ilfepared for other Improvements be- tween Montgomery and Mobile. The estimates of the engineers, plans and specifications were all in the general ofFIces of the Louisville and Nashville in Louisville, the appropriation for the Mobile and Montgomery division had fySen authorized and everything was ready for the big work to begin. Then came the rabid legislation, and every thing was killed.
 For some time past. 1t Is said, the anti-railrosd. legislation has been rA" acting. Right on the heels of this came fhe National election, and business men all over the country have prophesied Fnak there would be an awakening ot commercial life as soon as the result was known. So yesterday when MT. Montfort went through Montgomery, wssII posted railroad men freely predict. ed that 1t will not be many days be- foEe the public will hear that the im' pTnvements on the Mobile and Mont