The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-12-04
RAILWAY BUILDER
DISCUSSES ROADS
New Lines in Near Future, as
Seen by Prominent Rail
road Contractor.
To CONNECT DESCHUTES
WITH WESTERN PACIFIC
New Survey Gives One Per Cent
Grade From POcatellO to
Puget Sound.

uSCb loUuuu.
George c. Thompson, the contractor
who built the Hartman railroad down
Snake river between Idaho and Oregon
from Huntington to below Homestead
staying at the knutsford hotel for a
few days. Mr.. Thompson is one Of the
st-kpown railroad contractors IN the
west. and his information concerning
the details of various lines is seeming
ly endless.
.fThe road down the Snake from
Huntington is built as far as Home
stead and is going on down the river
10 Lewiston said Mr., Thompson Fri
day night.
FWhen done ii will give the Uarri-
man system a water level haul from
the Pacific ocean at Portland and Puget
Sound to as far west as Glcnns Ferry
IN Idaho. Here arc two bad grades or
about per cent, but the Oregon Short
Line is going To cut around them on
level, thus giving grade of less than
| per cent, that is, about fifty feet to
the mile in either direction, from Poca'
tello to the Pacific.
Saves One Mile in Grades.
"The Hartman people badly need
that line down the Snake. as it Will save
them a 5000-foot lift over the Blue
mountains from Huntington to the Co"
lumbia river at Umatilla with the crest
short way west Of La Grande. One
of the worst grades on the whole Har-
riman system is between Huntington
and Baker City All this the Snake
river line from Huntington 10 Lewiston
Will do away with.
''To illustrate what this means Just
look at the results in the building of
The Lucin cutoff across the lake west
of Ogden to avoid that terrific climb
over the promontorv The distance is
about l06 miles, and today one engine
can haul sixty cars across the cutoff.
while il took seventeen engines to haul
sixty cars over the hill. Counting ev-
erythinR, although | am in no position
TO know the exact figures. each engine
stood for $50 day, and the saving on
sixteen engines alone is $500 a day
But this is by no means all the saving
the level track permits. More traffic
can he handled, there is less wear on
ears and track, the track is easier TO
maintain. and running time is faster
This cutoff probably saves the road
about $4,000 a dav. or in round num-
bers fully $1,000.000 year, If not
more.
"Now the same thing applies to that
line down the Snake. The first part
that I have constructed is not COSTLY,
and is practically level, being at the
most on a grade of three-tenths OF one
Der cent TO the mile, or thirty feet
From Homestead on down there will
be much rock work. and probably rath-
er heavy cost. 100000 per mile for
roadbed alone perhaps, but when once
done IT will last forever, being IN solid
rock. There is deep. narrow canyon
to 90 through, but the survey is made
and the line is going through The
grade is less than one-half of one per
cent.
'Pin'' Road Bottled UP.
"The Pacific & Idaho Northern
helped to build All talk of it going
further north seems TO me mere moon
shine. The Pin cannot get out of
Council valley very far without going
on TO three and four per cent grades,
and such hill climbing is gone forever
in American .rallroading except for
Two per cent, or 100 feet, to the mile,
Is about all the grade any modern road
can stand and live if it is on through
system.
"The lower end of the Salmon val
ley is open and easy. but heavy work
must be done in the upper part /
understand that the Hartman people
are about TO put road through from
Vale. Or, up the Malhner river into
the Harvey valley and then on west
across south central Oregon to con-
meet with the Hartman line at Kla-
math lake, Central Oregon is COM
paratlveiy flat, open country, and the
grades arc low
"The report is that Hill is going on
right up the Deschutes river along the
east side Of the Cascades range to
Klamath OF Goose lake, then on south.
east and touch the Western Pacific. 1t
is generally believed from n number of
indications that Hill now has the whip
hand IN the Western Pacific, and If he
has. he will without doubt connect it
with the line now building up the
Deschutes river. This Desehutes line
has very good grade, / am told, less
than two per cent.
Hill Coming From the West
I'If this is done, it means Hill into
Salt Lake, but from the west instead
Of from the east, from which direction
he has been expected so long. It is
typical of Hill to come in the backdoor
when every one is looking for him to
come in the front. But Hill has an
easy grade mp Emigration canyon, all
The way to the Burlington in Wyoming,
whenever ne wants to use it. and he
has mad this pathway for years. If
hr has the Western Pacific, and it GER
connect the Deschutes with it in north
ern Nevada and then build up Emigra-
tion canyon.
He is already connecting from the
ends of the Burlington In Wyoming TO
tho Northern Pacific and to the Colo
RADIO Southern. This will connect him
mp in good shape, and especially if he
goes from Goose lake down the Saera-
mcnto to San Francisco, as it is re-
ported he will The grade is easy all
the way from the Columbia 10 Snn
Francisco. but the construction down
The Sacramento is costly. If he does
this, he will connect with the short
lines he already owns out of Eureka,
or course.
"The fills on the Western Pacific.
being steam. shovel work and not vet
settled, are giving trouble already. The
country is very wet in the Feather
river canyon and the work is begin
ming 10 mush down. II will cost fully
ten per cent Of tho cost of the road
10 put it in good shape for traffic--the
roadbcd alone, mean. Gould has not