Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-12-31
STREET RAILWAY
CONCERNEXPENDS
$4,000 IN YEAR
Improvements TotallIng Large Amount
are Made By Jri-City Railway
Company In Rock Island
PLAN $4,000 I'm AT THE TOWER
New Building to Replace One Destroy.
ed by Fire Last Summer VIII
Be Erected In 1916

During the year 1915 the Tri-city
Railway company has expended for
construction and reconstruction work |
alone. over $4,000. Some OF
the principal items in this outlay we're |
az follows: The laying and paving Of /
an entirely new double track on Eiev-
I enth street. Rock Island, from ThiT-
teenth TO Eighteenth avenues. including
new crossoveF near Seventeenth ave
nue., for the better handling OF cars
carving the crowds to the Island City
! ball park and the Exposition grounds.
This improvement cost about $16.500.
The track on Second street was ex-
tended from Twelfth TO Thirteenth
avenue, for The better accommodation
of the patrons OF the street railway In
that section Of the city New rail was
nut liz from Eleventh to Twelfth ave
ruas, and both blocks paved. This cost
over s3.700,
On Eighteenth avenue, from Twen-
tieth 10 Twenty streets, the
track was entirely reconstructed and
paved. The Old rail was put in first
class shape b. welding and grinding
the Joints. The total cost was nearly
s $4,000
In addition 10 the above, new special
work Of the latest designs constructed
oareailv from Manganese steel, was
4 Installed in the curve at Fifth avenue
and Fortleth street, Seventh avenue
and Fifteenth street crossings. -Four
teenth avenue and Thirtieth street
branch-ofI. Eighteenth avenue and
Thirtieth street curve, at cost OF
about $500. The tracks of the rail-
way company on the viaduct between
Rock Island and the arsenal were en-
II tirely rebuilt by the company at a cost
L OF about $4,000,
In order to better the condition OF
the tracks aud make them less noisy,
the company purchased an arc welding
i machine and grinder. also big ''recsp-
i rocating grinder" which uses emery
4 bricks In its work These and some
few other construction tools cost over
$s,7Q0
Il Most Of the company's cars have
been reeainted during the year. and the
ears operating on the bridge line be-
L tween Rock island and Davenport have
been converted to the "P. A Y E."
! type. the cars being reprinted and
decorated and the bulkheads between
/ the vestibules and the interior of the
= to- atFsaf 4ofs.
ing and unloading faster.
Big Project for Watch Tower.
On Aug. i, The inn at Watch Tower
park, very popular ard enc
of the best known resorts in this part
of the country, burned to the ground,
in the middle OF the season, at a loss
Of SIS. 900. Next year the company
plans not only to rebuild the inn. but
also 10 beauty the grounds SO as to
enhance the natural advantages and
splendor of the location. Already plans
are under way which call for an ex-
pendifure Of over $50 000 The inn
which burned was built in 1897 to re-
place an inn which had been burned
the previous year. During the last few
years the company has suffered severe
ly through loss by fire, the inn at
Campbelrs island having been burned
In 1913, the car barn at Fifth ave-
nue. and Thirty-fifth street with about
one hundred cars iii 1913, and the
Watch Tower inn In 1915.
Owing to the falling off in the in
come of the street railway company
through the business depression and
the operation OF the "iitueys." also the
difficulty of securing money for con-
struction work on favorable terms
many improvements which were con-
templated were necessarily postponed
One of the principal OF these was the
enlargement of the car barn and shops
at Fifth avenue and Thirty-ffth street
Rock Island. at an estimated cost oil
$4,000. As it was, a new floor was LAID
in the old wooden shops and the ROOT
repaired.