The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-05-25
Railroad News
TO Bring DULUTH
MARKET NEARER
NORTH DAKOTA FARMERS De.
LIGHTED THAT 500 LINE
WILL PLACE THEM CLOSER
TO THE ZENITH CITY.

Duluth, N. D., May 25.-Farmers
and land owners in the central, north
ern and western parts OF North Da-
kota are pleased at the prospects of
having better railway connections
with Dulutf's wheat market, by
reason Of the new railway lines plan
ed by the 500, and particularly be-
cause OF it's new cut-off from Drake.
Papers have been filed in the Of
fice of the secretary of the state at
Bismarck, designating the course of
| the new CUTOFF, which will pass
through part Of McHenry county,
thence clear across Pierce, Benson
and Ramsey counties, and part of
Nelson and Walsh counties, a dis
lance of about $50 miles. The con-
tract has been let for grading parts
of the line, and graders are at work
all along the first "a miles east of
| Drake, while others are at work from
| the Medford end, The Surveyors are
not yet through with their work. but
are still busy in Benson county, head
ed for Devils Lake, which will be a
station on the new line. Surveys were
run from both Drake and Medford
ready reached Devils Lake. The fact
that the graders are thus following
so closely on the heels of the survey
ors evidences the haste with which
the construction is being carried on,
and it is confidently expected that the
line will be ready in time to haul
this years crops. Sixty miles of
grading are said to have been al
ready contracted for at the Medford
end.
The line through Benson county
passes just north of Cranberry lake,
about s miles north of Esmond, and
will run between the Great Northern
main line and the Esmond- Oberon
branch of the Northern Pacific, cross
ing the jamestown & Northern near
Brinsmade.
Rivalry Over Construction.
In Towner county this new 500
line crosses the new Fargo New
Rockford Minot cutoff of the Great
Northern, which is now under con-
struction, not far from Drake, and
there is considerable rivalry between
the construction crews and right-of-
way and townsite agents of the two
roads.
The 500 is also said to be planning
an extension of its Drake-Pl line,
to Williston on the westward and
also a line to Elbowoods, to the
southwest on the Missouri river and
this new Drake Medford cut off win
| haul all the grain from all the Soo's
| lines west of Drake, and with the
new Thief River Falls CUTOFF in
Minnesota, and this new cut-off in
North Dakota, the Duluth markets
will be brought many miles nearer,
and the saving in mileage and freight
will be of great benefit to the North
Dakota farmer At present it is nee
essary, in sending a ear of grain from
Drake to Duluth, to first send it away
northwest, to Kenmare to get It onto
the Wheat Line as the Kenmare-
Thief River Falls lines called. with
these new cut-offs there will be al
most a straight line from Drake to
Duluth.
Duluth grain dealers have already
had representatives in that vicinity
looking up the prospects for busi-
ness, and opportunities for building
grain elevators. The territory ira
versed by the new line Is one in
which the 500 has heretofore been
a stranger, and its advent is well
coined by all, except, of course the
rival roads. 1t is a rich farming
country and besides the through
traffic from Drake there will be
considerable local freight, especially
grain. Drake has hopes of being made
division point.