The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1912-02-27


operation within twenty-four hours
if necessary, although it has handled
no grain in q good many years. 1t
is in substance, q club that has been
held over the head of the Illinois
Central by the Louisville and Nash
vile to force the Illinois Central to
make and keep traffc agreements.
Illinois Central Move.
Closely following the acquisition of
the New Orleans. Mobile and Chicago
Railroad by the Frisco and Louisville
and Nashville comes the announce
ment that the Illinois Central has a.
corps of surveyors in the field at
or near Tuscaloosa for the purpose
of surveying q. line from the Birming-
ham district, that VIII connect with
at A. T. & N. over which and the
Tombigbee Valley Railroad, the I'LL
nois Central can secure port facilities
preliminary survey has already
been made for an extension Of the
A. 7. & N. into the mineral belt and
the further fAct that the Illinois Cen
tral appreciates the necessity OF Sc
curing additional facilities on the
Gulf coast for handling business fol-
lowing the opening of the Panama
canal, 1t naturally follows that the
Illinois Central would be interested
would give such facilities-the Coch-
rane lines.
An interesting fact in connection
with the statement that the Illinois
Central contemplates either control
or traffic arrangement with the
Cochrane lines is the fact that re-
Gently, an immense quantity of ter
m1nal property has been purchased
by John T. Cochrane, including what
is known as Farmers Island, just
north of the city, and thousands of
feet of water forntage on Blakely Is
land, opposite the city Of Mobile. The
purchase of the Blakely Island tract
is significant because Of the fact that
the United States government will not
allow the Mobile river to be bridged
south OF Chiscasabogue, while bridge
with the Blakely Island properties,
would be easily possible. BY this
bridge, the Cochrane lines would
make available thousands of feet of
water frontage, for tracks and
wharves, and a large tract would be
opened up for manufacturing pur-
poses where the factories could be
reached by the rails of the company.
The Pensacola Line.
For a long time it has been the
nrm belief that the road now being
known as the Mclaughlin road.
which owns the properties at Pensa-
cola known as Perdido wharf. was.
IN some way, backed by the /. C..
1t Is fact, that several years ago
Mr.. Mclaughlin had charge of con-
struction work for the Illinois Cen
trail and although he has all along
been firm in the statement that he
| alone was building the road, the
/ ms b.
line, without a trunk line connec-
| ton, would not pay for its mainte-
| nance and operation. The terminal
/ Of the Mclaughlin road, on the shores
| of Mobile bay. will be north of
Daphne, and grading to that point
has been completed. Mr.. McLaugh-
lin tried to secure permission to con-
struct bridge acorss the Mobile river
near its mouth, but this was denied
/ The construction of the Mclaughlin
road TO Blakely Island is a simple
matter, and with this construction,
! presuming that the Cochrane lines and
the Illinois Central get together, the
Illinois Central would secure i'm
mensely valuable terminal facilities at
both Mobile and Pensacola.
T. v. Nearly Finished.
Trains are running on the Ala
bama, Tennessee and Northern from
/
/ bigbee from Calvert, just north of Mo-
bile, to West Butler. The strip be-
| tween West Butler and Ward is be-
| ing rapidly constructed and about IL
miles of line are yet to be built be-
/ fore through trains can be run. The
construction of the line between Cal
vert and Mobile is an easy matter and
| it Is understood, practically all the
/ right of way necessary to a connec-
j ~F he az
rahubba, near Calvert, with the ter
minal properties just north of the
city limits, has been secured.
Several weeks ago President John
| T. Cochrane announced that a pre-
/ liminary survey was under way north
/ OF Reform with q view to the ex-
! tension Of the line itno the mineral
| belt, but he has all along declined
/ to state exactly where the line was
headed for. The construction of q
line between Reform and Haleyville,