Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-02-02
WAVES BREAK
OVER CUTOFF
Embankment Damaged by Heavy
Salt Water Lashed by
Severe Storm.
HOLES TORN IN APPROACHES.
Water Dashes Over Fill, Doing Consid-
erabIe Damage-Rock Trains Dis
patched to Scene of Trouble.

Ogden. Utah. Feb. 2.-The heaviest
storm experienced since the construc-
tion Of the Ogden-Lucin cut off, which
fpcludes trestle II miles long acros.
Great Salt Lake. has lashed the lake
into waves OF great force, sending the
salt water over what is known as "the
fll' in the lake and washing grea,
holes in the cmbanllments at Rambc
and Saline, the two points of land
connecting with the big bridge.
One freight and two passenger trains
are held west of the lake but the road
will be repaired so that the passen-
gers can cross at noon today One
train came over the bridge last night.
The trestle proper has not been
damaged In the least and Is In no dam
ger The wind has been blowing from
46 TO 65 miles an hour since $50 a. m.
Tuesday, reaching the proportions of
q hurricane at an early hour this
morning, aba1ng somewhat at about
o'clock this morning,
There is a wind gage at Midlake, In
the center of the trestle, where a rec
ord has been kept since the construc-
ton OF the cutoff. The highest pre-
vous wind did not attain velocity
within 10 miles of the present storm.
Work trains have been started out of
Lakeside and Promontory, where sew
eral hundred cars of rock are held In
reserve for an emergency of this kind
and the cars are now being unloadcd
where the breaks in the entertainments
have occurred
General Superintendent ] NJ Davis
and Chief Engineer William Ashton of
the Oregon Short Line, left for the
scene this morning. A large force of
men and g. steam shovel are main
tafned at Lakeside and Promontory
Point at all times, and when the storm
broke yesterday. the men were put to
work on the damaged portion OF the
track at once. The waves washed up
from SO to 40 feet high during the
worst part of the storm, and tho heavy
water brealclng through the open
trestle work. swept largo portions of
the erbankment out, but did not de-
Stroy the track.
The waters of the lake are now
four and half feet above zero more
than one inch In depth having been at
tanned since Jan l. On June / last. at
tho high water period, soundings at
Midlake registered 50 inches above
zero. In January. the low water per-
iod, the lake had risen to 55 inches,
showing that more serious trouble
may be expected the coming year from
high water than has been experienced
since the completion of the cutoff.
Some time ago the railroad COM
pany constructed a breakwater extend
Ing 300 feet along the side of the trestle
work, as an experiment in breaking
the force of the salty waves In times
of storm. The result was more or less
of failure, as the breakwater washed
out more than a month ago in one of
the severe storms which frequently
visit that portion of the lake A propo-
sition is under consideration among the
engineering officials of the road to fol-
low the plans adopted by the Dutch
government in keeping out the en-
croachments Of the sea on the depres-
sed shores of Holland, where break
water constructions having a concrete
foundation have proven successful.