The Oakes times. [volume] (Oakes, N.D.) 1906-current, 1913-01-30
500 line IS TO
Be EXTENDED
President Pennington Confirms
Report That Line Will Be
Built from Plaza.
Will Invade the N. P, Territory
in Montana and Make a
Through Route.

Minneapolis, Mimi, Jan. 25.-The
500 line, in the biggest constructive
plan of any kind tl.at has developed so
far this year in the western part Of
the United States, will put $25, 600, 900
into the building of TBS miles of new
road, will cross the state of Montana,
open up an enormous territory for
direct connection with the twin cities
and strike the Canadian Pacific some
where near the extreme edge of Mon
tana, where the state of Washington
begins, was announced yesterday.
Late in December the 500 line was
known to have plans for an extension
of the Ambrose line for eighty miles
into Montana and for the Plaza, N. D.,
line thirty miles to the Missouri river,
and these extension plans, although
contemplating the construction of only
short mileage, were considered in the
railroad world at large as developments
of the first Importance, marking, as
they would, the initial appearance of
500 rails in one of the greatest. states
of the union in area, productivity and
rapidity of development. From the
Minneapolis standpoint the definite an
nouncement of the purpose to lay the
first 500 line rail into the eastern part
of Montana, in which state Minneapolis
bankers, manufacturers, mlllers and
grain elevator men have invested mil
lions, and wherein wholesale trade of
Minneapolis has grown enormously,
was considered vastly important for the
trade growth of Minneapolis in the
future.
These former plans today fall into
position of comparative minor impor-
tance, for the 500 is not only going to
build the thirty miles to the Missouri
river from Plaza, but, crossing the
I river at Sansit, will strike west and
go over the Montana boundary, follow
the Yellowstone river for approxi-
mately $50 miles across the northern
part of big Dawson county, go over
the Musselshell river into Fergus
county, which is geographically the
central county of Montana. cross the
southwestern portion of Choteau
county, enter Teton county In the west
ern end of Montana and strike northerly
and westerly, going over the Canadian
boundary either in Teton or Flathead
counties.
A third transcontinental route with
Minneapolis as its principal basic point
will have been created. Two years
ago the 500 line began work on an ex-
tension from Drake to Fordville, N. D.,
the full purpose of which was believed
at the time to be entrance into a part
of North Dakota where population
growth had increased grain production
to an extent making it profitable. This
purpose was realized. Yesterdays de-
velopment shows the relation of the
Drake Fordville plan OF that time to an
eventual far western extension, for the
725 miles of new road, with connection
at Plaza, will make possible the opera
tion of trains on almost straight line
to the Drake Fordville cutoff, to either
Minneapolis or Duluth.
President Edmund Pennington of the
500 line, who returned today from
Montreal, confirmed the statement that
the road has had six locating crews in
the field all summer and that they haye
been working far west in Montana.
Of the territory that will be crossed,
about 70 per cent is agricultural land
and 80 per cent grazing country. Much
of it is land that can be- irrigated
That part of the new line through
Dawson county will open country that
is entirely new, in which there is as yet
but little settlement. and where towns
of size are few and far between. The
Fergus county territory is similar, but
Fergus county has Lewiston as its
center and several other places of some
Importance. Northward in Choteau
county is Benton and westward in Cas-
cade county is Great Falls. The Black
foot Indian reservation covers a large
portion of the northern part of Teton
county and here there is much land on
which irrigation work is under way or
planned. The big Teton irrigation
project lies on the general route of
that part of the line.