The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-08-28
Union Pacific to Enter the
Junction City by a New
Route.
SAVE FIFTEEN MILES IN
DISTANCE; REDUCE GRADE
Two Surveys Complete for Cut
Off From Main Line to Salt
Lake Route.

With the opening of the Western Ia"
cifc railroad and the Inauguration OF
new transcontinental service over a
railroad with the lowest grade for the
distance of any railway in America,
other transcontinental lines have awak-
ened to the fact that in order to com
pete with the new system there Will
have to be a shortening of lines and n
decrease In grade, so that the traffic
will not have to be lifted so high in
crossing the great mountain ranges.
With this end in view the Union Pa
ciflc has just completed the final survey,
and the maps and profile are now be-
directors in New York for a cutoff
from Evanston, Wyo., to Ogden, which
will effect saving In mileage OF more
than fifteen miles and will cut the
grade between the two division points
to at least a "A per cent grade, To
accomplish this will nccessitate the
construction Of a tunnel about $500
feet long.
This proposed cutoff leaves the main
line of the Union Pacific at point
about FIVE miles west from Evanston
at the point where the road crosses
Dutch creek Thence the line follows
Dutch creek west to it's source and
the range VIII be crossed by Il tunnel
$500 feet in length, the line coming out
on the west end of the tunnel to The
headwaters of Ogden river and thence
viii follow this stream down to Ogden.
The line will pass through Huntsville
or little to the north Of that place
and will come down Ogden canyon on
the south and east sides of tins great
gorge, but away above the wagon road
which trayerses the canyon and will
enter Ogden on the east and north
benches of the mountains. The line
VIII be double track and Will be con-
structed IN the best possible manner.
Will Reduce Grade.
The distance between Ogden and
Evanston through Weber canyon which
the main linc traverses is seventy five
miles and the grade Is a per cent one
from Ogden to Devil rs Gate and 2l@
per cent grade from that point TO
Evanston, which city is at an eleva-
tion of 6760 feet,
The cutoff will save 1919 cents per
ton on freight moved between the two
points and the same would apply to
tonnage on all freight routed over the
Salt Lake route. When the fact is
considered that freight moved at one
half cent per ton per mile enables west
ern railroads TO pay dividends the
great saving to the system is apparent,
The new line of course is for the bene-
fit of through traffic between Omaha
and San Francisco.
Cutoff for Salt Lake.
While this cutoff is being construct
ed another cutoff which will shorten
time TO Los Angeles will also be built
but the route has not been definitely
decided upon, although it is believed
that the route from Echo and then
down through Emigration canyon will
be tho one adopted; the other proposed
cutoff is from Devil IS Gate to Farm
ingtoD, thence TO Salt Lake Either of
these lines would save about twenty
miles in distance and would give the
Hartman system the shortest route to
southern California. These two pro-
posed lines are now before the board
Of directors as is the Evanston Ogden
cutoff General Manager Bancroft, of
the Oregon Short Line, will, it is
stated, leave for New York this week,
haviSg been called there to confer with
the board about these cut-offs.
This is the beginning Of the shorten
ing OF mileage and the reduction Of
grades, and will mean a great deal to
the intermountain empire,