The Washington herald., 1909-04-26
RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION.
By FREDERIC J. HASKIN.
By FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

Il is estimated that the present sea-
son VIII prove a banner year in railroad
building in North America Recovering
from the panic OF 19g7. the United States
has opened the throttle Of railroad prog
Tess again and a long list OF new prof.
ects formed and old ones reundeTtaken
IS the result Canada never felt the
panic so far as railroad builders were
concerned, and viii have about thou
sand miles Of new and up-to-date roadbeds
70 show for the years work Mexico IS
also alive 10 the need for new rail-
roads. and is adding many miles Of i'm
pOrtant connections 10 its list OF roads
The average amount OF new lines opened
Up in the United States each year IS
about i've thousand miles. Il is prob
able that the present year viii exceed the
average by more than a thousand miles
There are several hundred new projects.
great and small. OF foot IN the South
alone there are no less than thirty-five
new projects which have been announced
since the first OF the year.
That the day OF profitable railroad pio-
neering has not passed is amply shown
by the experience Of the new Coast Ex-
tension OF the St Paul That part OF the
new line extending from the Missouri
River 20 Butte Montana. has been opened
up for traffic L is estimated that its
cost was S4o.00d000. The line has paid
all operating expenses. with q dividend
OF 2 per cent on the investment With
the through line completed, II IS ex-
pected that even better showing will
he made Furthermore. settlers are III
ing I'D the newly opened country with
Tapidity which exceeds anything dreamed
OF by those building the line. II IS ex-
peCted that the whole extension VII 0e
opened 70 freight traffic within about two
months. but that the line viii be allowed
70 ''ripenT for about six months bsf0re
passenger traffic is put on il
The recent opening Of the Virginlsn
Railway marks what railroad men believe
10 be a new epoch in railroad. construc-
ton. II is said that its builder looked
farther into the future in its construction
than any other builder in the history OF
-ailroading Completed al a cost far
above the ordinary outlay for cOnstruc-
ton work everything has been done 70
make Il big enough 10 not only care for
ali traffic now IN sight but for the posi-
biiiIies Of half century No other piece
CT construction. extending through noun
taius and across water courses. has ever
offered so effective a protest against
grades and curves as this offers. Some
one has said that the Rogers road Is an
inclined plane from the west Virginia
coal fields to the sea. and he did not miss
II much Only al one place in the whole
4z3 miles Of the road has the maximum
grade Of o. per cent been exceeded. The
new CIinchheId road has been built with
largely the same ideas. and has crossed
high mountains with less grade than was
made by the roads Of thirty years ago IN
skirting watercOurse-
John F. Wallace former chief engineer
OF the Panama Canal, has figured out
that IL viii require a billion dollars 10
meet the Southern demand for railroad
improvements and extensions during the
next ten years-a hundred million dollars
a year he has found that AT present
only L134 miles Of Southern roads are
double tracked. and that the demands OF
traffic Tili require 1000 miles Of double
track before 1s20. BY that time he thinks
that the South vii have $500 miles Of
railroad. and that Il viii require gross
earnings Of 5000 mile. with % pe- cent
thereof going 10 operating expenses. 10
make the investments yield ; per cent
4 new road which VIII be remarkable
in many respects IS the Western Pa
eife. extending westward as the coast
outlet Of the Denver and Rio Grande.
on the line between Denver aid Wen
dover it runs across a bed Of pure salt.
containing near half billion carloads
OF that material Some enterp-ising per
son has figured out that this is ten tons
20 every inhabitaDt OF the globe, and
that Il allowance Is made for those who
use bit little salt Al three pounds per year
10 the Individual. the supply would last
Tor 200 years. thus assuring the West
ern Pacific q good income 20 time far
beyond the interest OF the living genera
ton.
The activities Of the Geological Sur
vey are felt in many lines OF ente-p-iss.
but in none more than in railroad con
struction- The great topographic map
Of the United States, which will take
quarter OF a century IN It's making. has
proved a great boon TO the builders Of
railroads In localities where this map
has been completed the protector OF a
new line has practically ali OF the in
formation as TO elevations. character OF
soil. &c, that a preliminary survey would
give. In fact Il Is possible TO estimate
with approximate accuracy the amount
OF hlling and excavation a projected line
would require With this great supply
OF topographic knowledge al hand II is
much easier for the engineers IN select
the most feasible route than il world
otherwise be.
Il is not improbable that the fying ma
chine viii yet be made a part Of the
equipment OF the surveying co-ps Of
railroads. With a bird's-eye view OF 4 4
stretch OF territory, the engineer can do
in a day what might take weeks 10 do /
with the ordinary facilities. Aided By the
highly developed view cameras OF the 4
present, he could make such a record Of 4
construction conditions as would ba /
otherwise impossible. Serious minded
railroad men are already discussing this
method Of using the flying machine. ard /
IL viii probably be one Of the earliest 1
commercial uses 10 which these machines
are put
The tendency Of the year in new con-
struction, as well as in repair work. hasi
been 70 make roadbeds safer The rail /
question has become the one OF prime (
importance. and most Of the railroads \
are writing out the specifications in their
rail orders much as the physician writes I
out prescriptions for his patient. The
vsdl1um rail-. the manganese rail. and i
the nickel rail- are all meeting with favor. !
They cost about so per ton as compared /
with s2S for the ordinary steel ran. but
in safety and durability they are said TO 1
justify the difference. In steel rails the
open hearth process rails are meeting
with the most favor. and their production
has gone forward by leaps and bounds.
while the production Of the other kinds