The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-31
Officially Announced From
Offices of L. Sewer, Exec
utive Agent of Road
BETWEEN HERE AND
MOBILE JUNCTION
Engineers Will Take Field at Once to
Secure Necessary Data for Work.
Total of "A Miles to Be Double
Tracked by the A. G. S.

It was announced from the executive
offices of the Alabama Great Southern
railroad yesterday that the company had
decided to Immediately add IA miles to its
double tracking programme, which will
run the total mileage now officially de-
cided upon up to IA miles on this di
vision. The new work will be between
Birmingham and Mobile junction below
Bessemer. 1t is announced that engineers
will start Immediately surveying the new
double track route and getting the add-
tional mileage into shape for double track
construction with the 80 miles that has
been authorized and already announced.
The new double track work between this
city and Mobile Junction will involve a
considerable expenditure of money in
grading, rails. ties and necessary equip
ment. The work will be easily the most
important construction north of the York
Meridian stretch. This is on account of
the heavy traffic that moves over the IA
miles between this city and Mobile juno
ton The route is directly through Bes-
semer, where great deal of tonnage
originates
Sewer Announces Plans
l.. Sewer, general agent for the ex-
ecutive department OF the Alabama Great
Southern and all Southern railway in
terests, announced the plans of the Ala
bama Great Southern yesterday. Mr..
Sewer said the decision to double track
between this point and Mobile Junction
had just been REACHED and that 1t would
be carried out with the other double track
plans that have been stated heretofore.
The Queen and Crescent railroad dur
ing the past two years has done consid-
BILE double tracking. The Cincinnati,
New Orleans and Texas Pacific division,
between Chattanooga and Cincinnati, has
been almost completely double tracked
during the past two years. That terri
tory is through the mountains and the
construction has not only been difficult
but very costly However the work has
progressed with such satisfaction and has
added to the efficiency of operations to
such a marked extent that the company
has turned its energies In this direction.
The impending opening of the Panama
canal and the consequent increase in
inland tonnage from the south and for
eign tonnage to the canal has influenced
both the Louisville and Nashville and the
Alabama Great Southern in the policy of
double tracking. The Louisville and
Nashville is practically through north of
Birmingham as is the Queen and Crescent
route. Both of the lines are now turning
attention to the southern divisions. The
Alabama Great Southern has three miles
of double track to build near chatta-
nooga The line is double tracked from
1rondale to Birmingham so that with the
new double track from. Birmingham to
Mobile junction will give that line double
track facilities from Irondale to Mobile
Junction.
The construction forces will skip the
perfectly blocked territory between Mo-
bile Junction and York and double track
from York to Meridian a distance of %
miles. 1t is believed so that with the
double tracks already provided for and
the protected single track, the company
viii have the entire division in good shape.
To Arrange Details Rapidly
1t was officially stated yesterday that
the company will get all details arranged
during the next 50 days for the double
tracking of the entire mileage as an
nounced. The work will be done from
the offices of the chief engineer of the
Southern railway at Washington with the
a assistance of Curtis Dougherty chief en-
gineer of the Queen and Crescent. The
engineers have been working on the previ-
several weeks, but it is stated that this
additional IA miles is an entirely new
problem for the engineering department.
1t will be necessary to get the data neces-
sary from the field and to that end the
engineering forces will be sent out dur
ing thesn few days.
With this work completed, during the
early part of 1915. it is- believed that the
New Orleans and Northeastern connecting
link of the Alabama Great Southern at
Meridian will begin double track work
that will include the double tracking of
that line into New Orleans. This will
give the Queen and Crescent a double
track line almost from CINCINNATI to New
Orleans with very few stretches of |
single track, which is protected by eab- |
crate block signals.
1T would seem from the announcements |
of the Alabama Great Southern officials |
that the Queen and Crescent will not be |
bested by any other line in preparing for 1
the increased volume of business which !
will probably begin with the PanamaS
canal opening. The Queen and Crescent /
Is as well equipped for that service north !
Of Chattanooga as the Louisville and |
Nashville is north of Nashville. SO it is
the southern divisions of the two rail-
roads which must be equipped.
In this connection II is generally un- |
1erstood that the Louisville and Nashville
s preparing to double track it's lines from
-alera to the coast As known the line
s double tracked from this city to Calera.
So the plan of the Queen and Crescent |
or the betterment of the southern di-
'ision is with the same object of the |
louisville and Nashville management
The two pieces of construction of the
ines in question will do a great deal to-
wards furthering the prosperity of this
community and state