The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1913-04-24
WORK IN SIGHT
ON W|NNEMUCCA NORTHERN
Chief Engineer Sheldon Will Start May 5 On Completion Of
Survey -Ri9htsOfWy and Terminal Facilities To
Be Acquired by First Of September

valleys already are served by lines
and additional trackage would merely
mean an extension of the existing ser
vice or competition with existing
lines. But the construction of the
Boise Winnemucea line would open
up to. San Francisco a territory in
which we now have but small trade,
but which has business that could
be made almost exclusively ours. The
articles on southern Idaho which ap-
peared in the Call showed us the
trade possibilities.
The March number of the Chamber
of Commerce Journal quotes a portion
of Traffic Manager Wheeler Is argu-
ment before the California Railroad
Commission, in part as follows:
Manager Wheeler and Attorney
Mann of the traffic bureau attended
hearings before the Railroad Commits
sion in the matter of the unmerging
of the Southern Pacific, Union Pacific
and Central Pacific, which were begun
on Wednesday, 10Th, and concluded
Monday, February oath.
" Manager Wheeler testified before
the commission, showing the import
ance to San Francisco of leaving the
Sacramento Benicia- Oakland ut-off
(owned by the Southern Pacific com
pany), open to negotiations for its use
by railroads other than the Central
Pacific, and of not allowing the power
of veto to be given to the letter.
by means of map, prepared for
the purpose, Wheeler explained to the
commission the strategic position of
this Benicia short line and its import
ance to transcontinental railroads that
are now reaching out toward Califor-
MIA and the city of San Francisco. He
showed by this map that the Chicago
& Northwestern is now headed for
California and is constructed to a
point in Wyoming not far east of the
meridian of Ogden, Utah, and some
1850 miles from Chicago. Also that
the Denver & Northwestern Railway
company (known as the Moffatt road),
is about to resume negotiations fer
construction through the Rocky noun
tains, with Salt Lake as its immediate
objective point. Also that the Winnie
mucca Northern road, projected from
Winnemucca to Boise, Idaho, will
bring San Francisco large volume
of trade not now accessible.
'This road will shorten the distance
between Boise and San Francisco more
than 400 miles as against the present
existing rail routes, and its extension
to Butte, Montana, which is also con-
templated, would afford connection
with the Great Northern, Northern
Pacific and Chicago, Milwaukee & St.
Paul railroads, over either the West
ern Pacific or the Central Pacific at
Winnemucca. By using the Benicia
cutoff with this traffic in connection
with the existing railroads which
operate between San Francisco and
Winnemucea, the shortest possible
route would be accomplished to Idaho
and Montana.
''It is the contention of the traffic
bureau of the Chamber that the grant
to the lessee railroad of the power to
veto any trackage arrangement over
the Sacramento Benicia- Oakland cut
off, would have the practical and GER
tain effect of preventing the use of
this piece of road by any other than
the u. Pc. P. combination, a condi-
tion hurtful to San Francisco and to
California.
''The traffic bureau took like posi-
tion with regard to the provisions of
the proposed agreement which grant to
the Central Pacific the use of Southern
Pacific industrial tracks and vice
versa to the exclusion of all other
roads,
1t is generally conceded that Cali
fornia needs more railroads and that
they are going to have them and are
going to see to it that they are nu-
hampered by the Southern Pacific or
any other competitor.
We predict that nothing will pre-
vent the construction of the Winnie
mucca Northern and that southern
Idaho will be part of us Nevadans
and Californians before the fair opens
in 1915.