El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-08-27
ROAD To BIC
DAM5ITE IS
BUILDING
Within Thirty Days Santa
Fe Can Begin Laying
Down the First Steel.
GOVERNMENT MEN
ARE BUSY NOW

plant Butte & FL Paso railroad, as the
branch road from the Smain line of the
Santa Fe between Cutter and Engle
to the construction camp at Elephant
Butte has come TO be known, will be-
gin in all probability in 80 days or very
soon thereafter.
The camp of the Petrolithic Con-
struction company, at work on the
earth work contracted for in schedule
No. I. is located about three and a half
miles from the railroad and the con-
struction gangs are working in the
direction Of both the railroad and Ele-
plant Butte. The grading east to the
road, a distance of approximately three
and a half miles and west from the
camp a distance of three and a half
miles, will be completed in 80 days.
The reclamation service will inform
the Santa Fe railroad that the work
Of grading has been completed and the
railway will put its forces in the field
and begin the laying of ties and rails.
Some Difficult Work.
The last "a miles of the road will
go through a difficult country and the
work of grading will occupy a longer
time, though all of it viii be COM
pleted in 100 days. The section of
"
the Petrolithic company, is encamped
in this region and the men are en-
gagged in removing rock along the line
of the proposed railway.
BY the time the last 81 miles of the
road is graded. the Santa Fe will prob
ably have built the road as far as
seven miles toward Elephant Butte and
the progress of the work will thus not
BE delayed
The contractors who secured the con-
tract for the construction Of the rail-
road bridges over Ash and Spring can
yons on the last three miles of the
road. viii begin preliminary work Sat
urday. Mr.. Brown, of the firm Of
Brown & Connolly, the contractors,
passed through the city Friday en-
route to the dam site, and he stated
that his equipment. which was sent
overland from Tucumcari, would be
on the scene of operations by Satur-
day. The advance force of the con-
tracing firm arrived there Friday.
Building Bridges.
The cement footing for the bridges
has already been put down in Ash
and Spring canyons, that being done
by the government according to con-
tract The bridge over Ash canyon
will be 44S feet long and II feet high;
the bridge over Spring canyon will be
400 feet long and so feet high. The
government has already graded one
and a half miles OF the route of the
road running out Of the camp, which
leaves but two miles Of the heavy
rock work to be done by the construc-
ton company
The 100000 gallon water tank built
by the government at the dam site for
the camp supply will soon be filed
with water. An order for a pump was
placed by telegraph Friday evening.
The present water supply equipment
consists Of two small tanks filed with
pumps from wells in Ash canyon and
is entirely adequate for the present
uses of a camp Of $50 people. but IT
will not be adequate when the real
work of dam construction begins with
its several and various steam-operated
machines.
Adobe Residences.
Twenty thousand adobe brick have
recently been made at the camp for use
in construction Of residences for the
laborers at the big irrigation plant and
for office buildings for service officials.
Although not yet on the map, Elephant
Butte has its fashionable quarters
where the married Observation-Disclosures
side. and a bachelors's quarter. Eie-
plant Butte's Fifth avenue is Slob hill
and the shacks Of the unfortunate IN
married are ranged along Sixbit row.
The highest point on the Elephant
Butte & FL Paso railway will be 1870
feet above sea level, the eastern slope
being 1.6 percent grade and the
western slope a 81 percent grade.
which is a very fortunate circumstance,
as it would be almost impossible TO.
haul the heavy material to go into the
dam up a grade of 81 percent.
Events move rapidly when the hand
Of the government once gets at the
steering wheel. Two years ago it was
impossible to get to the site of the
Elephant Butte dam on a horse, 50
nearly impossible were the slender, in
distinct paths leading TO the Butte.
First came foot trail, then a burro
trail. When the government took
hold Of the project two years ago. one
of the first things it did was to make
highways entering the camp. which ap-
pear as clear and as clean cut as a
boulevard. The last stage in trans
portation development is taking place
now The locomotive viii be next