The Richfield recorder. (Richfield, Idaho) 1909-1931, 1910-09-15
GoodRaailrooadGossip DAD
Surveyors Busy All Along the Line Be
tween Boise and Richfeld.

Barring the brief incursion of the
o. S. L. into the realm oil local poll
when it was given out by inference
that no railroad would be built the
county was to be divided, and by
the same kind of inference the road
was to be built within few minutes
after division was defeated, there
has been almost no railroad news
here for number of weeks.
Yet there is abundant evidence
that there is plenty of railroad news
to be had if one could but piece it
all together. The big bridge across
the Snake river at American Falls is
being double tracked This, of
course, would not be needed for the
present single track main line; it
is evident that double tracking of
the system is now in progress. 1t
is the opinion of railroad men almo
everywhere; that IL is almost as easy
and as cheap to build new paral-
lei line some distance away as it is
to double-track line already built.
To build the separate line through
new, productive country especially
where it can be made to save grade
and distance, would be the logical
thing to do---and the Richfield-Boise
line is just such line. 1t has from
the first been the understood plan
to double-trackj the present line at
least as far as Minidoka, as there W
no objective new country north of
American Falls that would warrant
building a separate new line through
that section There would be neithe
economical building, engineering ad-
vantages, nor rich and growing Sc
ton Of country. SO the old line was
to be merely double-tracked for so
miles out of Pocatello.
But west of Minidoka, it is possi
BILE to save grade save distance, and
serve a magnificent new country.
For all these reasons the Richfield-
Boise line is the finest solution of
the problem of more carrying capac-
ity for the Short Line And it is
reasonably APPARENT to even the
common person that the Short Line
has about reached the practical car
rying limit for a single track road,
under the present geographical cond
tions. If you could flatten down a
few of the big hills, and fill up a
thousand feet or whereabouts in somt
of the great canyons, you could run
more trains and make more time on
the single track line. But there is a
limit to the business that a single
line can carry with despatch and tn
Short Line is at least getting close
to that limit From this fact grows
the partial reason for this new, ex-
cellently engineered short cut across
the state. The fact that there are
other rivals Grady to jump in and be
the first in this great new country,
also a factor.
The fact is that the railroad sur
veyors are as busy right now on the
line between here and Boise, as at
any time in the past. A number of
parties are now in the field between
here and the capital city, and it is
surmised that the matter has pro-
gressed far enough that some defin
ite announcement may be expected
soon. Indeed, the following report
of activities in Boise, from the Cap
ital News, may be taken as about
the most authO itatiev announcement
of the companys intentions:
Mystery surrounds the appearance
a crew of surveyors in the lower Or
egon Short Line yards. They have
been active running lines between
Sixteenth street and the Fairview
avenue bridge. Reports today from
reliable source are to the effect
that the surveyors are in the en-
ploy of the Idaho Central railway.
or the Hartman system, and that
they are running the necessary lines
for the trackage of the new line
with nthe corporate limits. The re-
cent transfer of property in that vic
unity, one piece of which was sold
by the Boise Commission company,
is taken to indicate that the railroad
company is quietly making the nee
essary plans and securing the requir
ed property for the enlarged railroad /
yard needed to handle the traffic of |
the OREGON Short Line and zttiiie=idiza- q
no Central the latter oftes.- spoken j.
of as Boises new main line il
THE general activity on the part r
of the Oregon Short Line to improve {
It's yards and which has been not