Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1910-03-31

Inc halfway age GdzelJe 1uf-
nishes some interesting data regard
ing he railroad invasion of Oregon
now in progress. The following is
compilation of the account:
Eight thousand men are working
on the two railroads that are en-
/ gagged in a titanic struggle for SUI
premacy in central Oregon. On each
bank of the Deschutes river from its
| confluence with the Columbia river
at the northern border Of Ore -Dl to
the mouth of Trout creek grading
and tunnel work are being rushed
as fast as conditions under which
! the work must be performed will
permit.
This is a struggle between the gi-
ants. The Deschutes river flows
! from central Oregon northward and
empties into the Columbia 1t Of
! fers a route for bisecting the state
from north to south, and both the
! Hartman and Hill interests sought
! to take exclusive advantage of II.
A legal battle resulted and out of it
came an understanding whereby both
! interests were enabled to proceed.
| The Hartman interests still control
/ one point of vantage which is
stumbling block TO the Hill interests
but the latter is APPARENTLY confident
of surmounting it, for the Hill road
is being surveyed and graded on
both sides of the land in dispute.
The Deschutes Railroad.
The Hartman system is building
the Deschutes railroad along the
east bank of the Deschutes river,
connecting at Deschutes with the
Oregon Railroad & Navigation line,
which follows the south side of the
Columbia river east and west. The
10. r. & n. gives this company trans
portation facilities from Portland
for materials and supplies and has
enabled more rapid construction
work than has been possible on the
Hill line on the opposite shore.
The contracts awarded already
will take the Deschutes railroad TO
Redmond, a distance of 130 miles
from the Columbia, following the
Deschutes for S5 miles and keeping
close to the high water level of that
river, down to the bottom of the can
yon. The maximum grade will be
.OS per cent and the maximum curv
ature II degrees 80 min, according
to information furnished to the Rail-
way AEC EuAClNC W NyhACA A4heoAAiCCA
G.. w. Boschke Fifty-two miles of
the first 80 will be crooked track,
on account of the crookedness OF
.the river Eighty-three miles up
the line turns up Trout creek valley,
following it a few miles and thence
strikes southerly, passing near Ma
dras. and so on to Redmond, cross |
ing Crooked river en- route. At one
point there is a one per cent grade
opposing north bound traffic, but
this is to be reduced to .06 per cent. |
Six miles of track have been laid |
since work was started by Contrac- !
tor John Twohy of Spokane, Wash |
ington, last September. He has g.
800 men employed now on the rail- |
road and $50 men laying track and |
building bridges. There are As miles |
of grading completed. Trains will |
be in operation on the first 80 miles
by the end of next July. The road |
will cost. for 130 miles, $4,000 a |
mile or $5,850,000.
Oregon Trunk Line.
The Hill interests are building the
Oregon Trunk line up the west shore
of the Deschutes, from the Colum-
bia to a point seventy miles south,
where it crosses and follows the east
shore, parallel with the Decshutes
line for 93 miles, until it reaches
Willow creek, which it follows as far
as Madras, 1O8 miles from the Col
umbia.
The Oregon Trunk line must first
cross the Columbia river near Cello
and connect with the Hill line on the
north bank of that river. This will l
require a bridge 3400 feet long. 1t
must also build three crossings on
the Deschutes, as it was found more
practical to cut across one bend than
to follow its sharp curves. The max
imum grade will be one and three
tenths per cent for a short distance
near Madras, but for the first 95
miles II is 06 per cent The max
imum curvature is six degrees:
There will be no grades opposing
north-bound traffic. Porter Bros. OF
Spokane. Washington, are the con-
tractors and have $500 men at work.
They have graded 25 miles since last
bringing in equipment II
by wagon from Dufur, on the Great
in the same manner as
was done by the builders of the De-
schutes line on the opposite side. No
rails have been laid, but great guam
titles of materials are ready for use
AT the mouth of the canyon. accord
ing TO President ohm F.. Stevens and
G. A. Kyle of the
Oregon Trunk, who furnished the
70 the ailway Age Ga
zette.
The Oregon Trunk line is being
built in a more substantial and con-
sequently more expensive manner
than the opposing road. While its
contracts only so far let carry IL 10