The Kennewick courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914, 1908-01-10
Priest Rapids Railway TO
Begin Construction.

Construction work on the Priest
Rapids Railway Company's line,
from the Waterville district to Ken
newick, along the Columbia river,
will begin early next spring. w.
R. Rust, president Of the company,
who is now in Europe, will start
the work on his return.
The Priest Rapids railway will be
operated by electricity furnished by
the big power plant now building on
the west bank of the Columbia,
seven miles above the proposed
crossing of the North Coast and
twenty-five miles below the Mil
waukee crossing at West Beverly
The power plant, which is owned
by the Hanford Irrigation & Power
Company, will generate 10000
horsepower, part of which will be
used in supplying water for the new
irrigation area. A contract runn-
ing thirty years has been signed
with the Priest Rapids railway to
furnish power for the road.
The electric railway will connect
with the Northern Pacific, the Great
Northern, the Chicago, Milwaukee
& St.. Paul, the Portland and Seattle.
1t will be 1876 miles in length when
completed. 1t will run up the Col
umbia river from Kennewick to the
new town Of Hanford, crossing the
river at Priest Rapids and extend
to the Waterville country, tapping
the wheat lands of Douglas county
and in time will become the princi-
pal north and south commercial
artery Of the state.
Built primarily as a feeder for the
transcontinental lines, the new road
will be equipped to handle standard
freight cars. An order has been
placed for electric locomotives hav-
ing $50 horsepower each. One
locomotive will haul twenty ordi-
nary freight cars on the easy grade,
which is found the entire length of
the survey.
With the Milwaukee railroad con-
nection, the Hanford irrigation
district will be 10 miles from Puget
Sound. The distance by the pre-
sent route is 2S5 miles from Seattle.
Numerous spurs and side tracks
will be built so that the farmers will
have a short haul to shipping points.
The surveys of the proposed line
have been completed and filed in
the United States land office. I'm
portant stretches of right-of of-way
have been secured, 80 that:construct-
ion work may begin within short
time. The officers of the company
are: w. R. Rust, president; NJ. B.
Haynes, vice president; f. H. Guie
secretary; H. K. Owens, chief engi-
neer.
Within sixty days the Hanford
Irrigation & Power Company's plant
at Priest Rapids will be finished
The power canal will be done with
in week.
Thirty-two thousand acres of land
capable Of becoming valuable farm
| land under irrigation will be re.
claimed about.the new town of Han.
ford. The electric current general.
ed at Priest Rapids will be conveyed
twelve miles down the Columbia
river, where pumping station will
be conveyed twelve miles down the
Columbia river, where a pumping
station will be installed to lift the
water for the land. OF this area ii
is proposed to have 10000 acres un-
der irrigation next spring, so that
crops will be raised next year.
The soil and the climate are
particularly adapted to fruit raising
The Columbia river basin contains
the finest fruit land on the Pacific
coast, although but comparatively
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