The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1910-05-20


neers concerning his power project
before them with results of the most
encouraging nature.
Plans Nearing Completion.
The project, while given some little
authentic notice during past years, has
been the development of years of con.
sideration. The plans of It's originator
are well on towards complete realiZa.
ton, and with the matter of incorpo.
rating power and railway com.
pany at Pierre, S. d., the next step in
placing the plans on a working basis,
Mr. Cornell last night discussed some
OF the larger details of the project
Something like four years ago Mr..
Cornell secured, through congress and
the president by special right, the
franchise for water power to be gen.
Grated by the erection of a mammoth
dam across the Niobrara river near
his home town, Valentine. A gorge
fifty feet deep with bottom 100 feet
wide, and with an opening at the top
of $40 feet will be crossed with a dam,
and over this the water will be drop.
ped to the turbine wheel some fifty
feet. Here a power plant, generating
will be erected and the plant with the
do II will represent total investment
of at least $l0O0,00O
Plenty of Power.
Some idea of the power Is gathered
from the declaration of engineers who
declare that the big plant of the Mo
brara could move every wheel in Sioux
city, run every factory, every elevator
every car and still leave balance of
power that would operate an electric
railway some 100 miles in length. The
river being harnessed, Mr.. Cornell pro-
posed to use his power first in the
movement of traffic on an electric road
between Valentine and Sioux City, a
distance, according to the survey
made, of $50 miles.
The survey, with all the engineering
details for the water power and for
the railway from Valentine to Spen-
Ger, Neb., has been made, but the ex.
tension east of Spencer has not been
made, and it is said to be quite prob.
able that this survey will be run at
once.
The engineering work was done by
the w. X. Palmer company of Kansas
City, which reported on the water
power project, that with the dam slip
ulated in the plans a potentiality of
7 900 horsepower could be easily de-
Veloped, with the power to operate a
line from Sioux City to Valentine, and
to furnish the electricity needed to
give the towns through which the line
passes complete lighting systems. The
cost of production of this power being
cheap, it was the declaration of engi-
neers that it would be easy to find in
vestors to back the project, with the
result that the matter was taken up
with larger eastern capitalists.
Total Cost, $5,25o,ooo.
The specifications of the engineers
call for a roadbed such as that re-
quired for steam railway work, and
the cost is estimated at between SOL
900 and $4,000 mile, which would
bring the cost of the proposed line,
using the lowest cost for a basis in
figuring, up to $5,250,00O.
The line, Mr. Cornell says, will run
from Valentine north to Harmony,
Neb., and across the state line into
South Dakota. 1t will follow the south
line of Todd county to the intersection
OF Todd and Trip counties, where it
turns south into Keya Paha county,
passing through Springview and then
swinging northeast to Burton. Above
Burton 1t will cross the Keya Paha
river at the mouth of the Burton. 1t
goes northeast into Gregory county, S.
D., passing through Jamison, Naper,
Butte and Spencer, and then down into
Boyd county. Here the detailed sur
ends On
the exact route has not been deter
mined
May Use Combination Bridge.
Mr.. Cornell, with promoters, looked
over two routes on the trip into Sioux
City, which was completed Saturday,
and since which day he has been at
the West hotel. The route as roughly
proposed will run through the north
eastern portion of Holt county, and
then on through Knox, Cedar, Dixon
and Dakota counties into this city. 1t
is believed by some that the company
would probably use the Combination
bridge to cross the Missouri river.
Mr.. Cornell roughly drafted two prob
able routes from Spencer to Sioux
City. One proposed route would fol
low The Niobrara river, and. crossing
the Northwestern north of Verdigre,
would work into this city. The other
would bring the line out at the head
of Louise creek and would follow a
more southerly course, crossing the
Northwestern between Winnetoon and
Creighton.
Would Open Territory.
The proposed road would have
territorial zone of from five to twenty.
five miles in width, through one of
the richest farming sections in Ne.
braska and South Dakota. The terri
tory is now meagerly served by the
Northwestern road and has vast pos
sibilities yet to be developed. The
works through the coun-
try both north and south of the pro-
posed route, and all the produce, all
the banking business, and all the pur-
chasing power of the territory is now
paying tribute to Omaha.
The Omaha market is at least fifty
miles farther from the territory than
is Sioux City, and it is properly the
field for the local jobber and purchas- |
er of cattle and grain. The shippers
in portions of the territory have been |
for connections through the
Northwestern road with this city and /.