Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1914-05-01
MAIN line FOR US
Better Railway Facilities Prom.
ised for Dallas.
ELECTRIC TRAINS PROBABLE
Mr.. Walter Tooze Interviews Rail
road People as Representative
of the Commercial Club.

Walter L. Tooze, Jr., returned from
Portland yesterday afternoon, where
he had gone on behalf of the Com,
mercial club to interview Robt. E
Strahorn, president of the p, E. &
E. railway lines in Oregon, with ref
erence to the early electrifcation of
the lines south of Whiteson. The
Commercial club is making a strong
effort to secure the main line of the
new electrified road through Dallas,
and is asking that the line from
Smithfeld to Dallas be Strengthened
out. Several days ago, Mr.. Fuller,
president of the Dallas Commercial
club, and Mr.. S. B. Taylor, local
civil engineer, went out to Smithfeld
and looked over the ground with a
view to relocating the railroad, and
putting the proposition up to the
railroad powers that be. Mr.. Tay-
lor, who for several years, acted as
chief engineer for the Salem, Falls
City & Western Railway Company,
building the line from Dallas to Sa-
lam, Salem to Silverton, and the
railroad bridge at Salem, went from
Smithfeld to Dallas over a proposed
route with Mr.. Fuller, and they
found what they believed would be
a most desirable location for
change in route. Mr.. Taylor estimat-
ed the cost of the change to be in
the neighborhood of 100000. If the
railroad company accepts the recon-
mendations of these men and acts
upon the same, the distance between
Dallas and Portland will be lessened
by about one mile, and the maximum
grade cut from 212 per cent to l per
cent and the maximum curvature
from 16 degrees to degrees. Mr..
Taylor accompanied Mr.. Tooze to
Portland yesterday to put the matter
up to Mr.. Strahorn.
What the result of the effort be-
ing made by the Commercial club
will be, no one at this time can fore
tell The railroads are doing moth
ing in the line of improvement now
owing to a lack of finances, but the
coming summer will see many changes
made throughout the State. All ma.
terial is on hand to electrify the Sa-
lem, Falls City & Western Railway
line from Falls City to Salem, also
the Southern Pacific line from White
son to Eugene. Mr.. Tooze reports
that the president of the p. E. &
E. Railway Company informed him
and Mr.. Taylor that probably during
the coming summer, the electriication
will be completed into Dallas, and
that Dallas will have at least two
trains each way between Dallas and
Portland, without any change at
Gerlinger. According to the presen,
plans of the p E. & E. Railway
Company, and the Southern Pacific,
a new line will soon be constructed
from Salem to Portland along the
present site of the main trunk line
of the Southern Pacific, giving in
effect a double track system between
Salem and Portland. The new line
will be electrified. Trains between
Dallas and Portland, will then run by |
way of Salem, Woodburn, and Ore
gon City. 1t is believed that this
will be the ultimate solution of the
''main line for Dallas" problem.
With this service, Dallas would be
able to claim as fine railroad SER
vice as any city its size in the state,
with the possible exception of a few
towns along the main lines of the
Southern Pacific and Oregon Elec-
-ric.
Mr.. Tooze was assured that the
officials realized fully the
rather poor service Dallas citizens
we're receiving at this time from the
standpoint of passenger accommOda-
ions, and that the arrangements at
present were to be considered but
That they also realize
he importance of Dallas as a big
shipping center is a well known fact,
md from what he learned in Port
and yesterday, Mr.. Tooze is confident
hat within the next year the rail-
-oad Service into and out of Dallas
will be so improved that Dallas citi-
.ens will have but little cause of I
complaint. The railroad officials
eemed to appreciate deeply the
friendly interest shown by the Dallas
Commercial club in their proposed l
development. and seem inclined to
avor Dallas as much as is possible.