Las Vegas optic. (East Las Vegas, N.M.) 1908-1921, 1911-11-20
CONSTRUCTION HAS BEGUN
LINE WILL ELIMINATE HEAVY
GRADES AND CUT OFF MANY
NILES OF TRACK
MEANS MUCH TO LAS VEGAS
BUILDING OF NEW LINE MEANS
ERECTION OF NEW ROUND
HOUSE AND SHOPS

To the Dodge City and Cimarron
Valley railroad, which is, in reality,
the Santa Fe's new Colmor 'cut-off,
was issued a charter Saturday in To-
peka, Kan.
The new line will have nearly 200
miles in Kansas. 1t is purely an At.
Gibson, Topeka and Santa Fe COM
pany, the officers Of the Santa Fe
owning all the stock. The capital is
$S,600,O0O. and E. P. Ripley. president
of the Santa Fe, owns 39,934 shares;
G. W. Kouns. F. C. Fox, w. R. Smith,
E. L. Copeland, A. o. Wellman and
J. f. Scott, all general officers of the
Santa Fe. own one share each.
The company will build the line
from Dodge City, southwest to Col
NOR and a branch line northwest
from Haskell county to the west line
OF the state. The main line is 120
miles long and will run through Ford.
Gray, Haskell, Grant, Stevens and
Morton counties. The branch starts
near the southeast corner of Haskell
county and runs northwest through
| Haskell, Grant and Stevens counties.
This line will traverse the five
counties in Southwest Kansas now
mi oarf a RAILROAD Tho.v 49, N~o..4
Stanton. Stevens, Morton and Has
kell counties. The surveyors are now
running the line for the new railroad
and actual construction work will be-
gin in the spring. The Santa Fe will
not ask for any bonds from the town
ships or counties. 1t will pay all the
construction expenses and the farm
ers are to give the right Of way. The
Santa Fe Development company.
owned by the Santa Fe. has recently
purcased 255,O0O acres OF land in the
five railroadless counties.
The building of the Colmor cutoff
is one of the Improvements that Las
Vegas has been anticipating with in
terest since the first announcement
that surveys for the line were being
made, which appeared exclusively In
The optic over year ago. The line
will give the Santa Fe much more
direct line to the coast and will cut
out many miles of track as well as
heavy grades, which are the source
of much expense to the road.
Eventually the Santa Fe will build
the proposed line from Sulzbacher to
Fort Sumner, surveys for which were
made last winter. This will also cut
off heavy grades and shorten the
route. The construction of these
two lines means that Las Vegas is to
become the greatest railroad censer
in New Mexico. This city, practical
ly of necessity, will be the headquar-
ters for the men and engines run
ming on the two cut-offs. The road
has already caused plans to be drawn
for an immense roundhouse to be To-
Gated in Las Vegas. 1t is said that
construction work upon this structure
will be begun early next year Ma
chinists also will be located here in
large numbers and the shop facilities
undoubtedly will be greatly increas-
ed.
The building of the Colmor and
Fort Sumner cut-offs and the erec-
ton of the roundhouse and shops
here will bring to Las Vegas at least
1000 new residents. The Camfield
irrigation project will bring probably
twice that many Inhabitants to the
country in the immediate vicinity OF
this city. Las Vegas should do ev-
erything in it's power to encourage
the Santa Fe and tie Camfield pro-
ject as they are both in a position to
return many fold. in increased pros
perity. any assistance that is given
them.