The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-03-11
SOUTHERN ID HAVE
 DOUBLE TRACKS
Big Order Has Been Placed for
 Rails at Ensley Plant.
5000 TONS PER MONTH
Southern Railways New Double Track Line VIII Extend From Washing ton to Atlanta, and Work Will
 soon Be Begun.

Atlanta. March -(speciaD-Greatly in- creased activity in the work of improving and doubling the main line of the South ern Railway from Washington to Att lanta is presaged in the announcement by the company that a contract has just been closed with the Tennessee Coal and Iron company for 5000 tons of s5-pound steel rails to be delivered from its Bir- mingham plant between June 1 and De- cember 1. 1910. at the rate of 5000 tons per month.
 l This contract calls for the expenditure of s900.000 by the Southern Railway com pany for rails alone and will provide the steel for the laying of 8 miles of track per month for the next six months. This work will furnish labor to an army of men and will also greatly stimulate other industries. An order for 5000 kegs of spikes was recently given to the Atlanta Steel company and the purchase of a great amount of other material will be necessary for this work. In giving these orders to Birmingham and Atlanta plants the Southern is carrying out its policy of patronizing southern industries.
 This great order of steel will be used in the work of improving and double tracking the main stem between Wash ington and Atlanta. A large part will be used in replacing steel now in the track which will in turn be used to better the tracks of some of the secondary lines M
 This work of doube-tracking Will not only mean much for the sections imme- diately touched, but will help provide bet ter service for every city and town on the line of the Southern railway. Of the SS1 miles of the line between Washington and Charlotte, 178 miles of double-track are already in operations as follows: Washington to Orange, Va, S6 miles: Montview, Va, to Sycamore, Val, 2S miles; Danville, Va, to Pelham, N. C., g miles; Greensboro, N. C., to Salisbury, N. C.. 5s miles.
 Within the next 60 days 1t is expected that 4s miles will be added to this by the completion of track now under con- sruction from Franklin Junction. Va, to Whittle. Va, five miles, and from Sails bury, N. C., to Charlotte. N. C., 4S miles Twelve miles under construction between Monroe Va, and Montview, Va, including the new tunnel through Lynchburg is ex- pected to be open for traffic by Octo- Der 1.
 This will give 236 miles of double track of the Ss1 miles between Washington and Charlotte. Eight miles of double track at Spartanburg and Atlanta give PA miles of double track of the total dis tance between Washington and Atlanta, 64S miles.
 In addition to this double track on the main line the Southern now has 42 miles of double track between Knoxville and Morristown, Tenn, on the Knoxville Bris- tol division; 20 miles in the Birmingham district; IS miles between Atlanta and Austell, used by the Birmingham and Chattanooga lines out of Atlanta, 15 miles between Chattanooga and Ooltewah Juno ton on the Chattanooga-K Knoxville line and three miles at Asheville.
 In the last IS months the Southern | used 2S,000 tons of rails purchased at Birmingham. The fact that 5000 tons are to be used in the next six months shows the ratio of increase and it is hoped that the time is not far off when there will be double track all the way from Washington to Atlanta.