Omaha daily bee., 1915-01-01
RAILROADS ARE
WITH PROCESSION
Steam Lines in Omaha Trade Terri
tory Put Millions Into Improve
provements During Year.
LITTLE NEW TRACK IS LAID
Money Expended Is for Bettermentu
Upon the Different Systems and
Maintaining Excellent
Standard.

Owing to the war in Europe and the
inability to secure money at reasonable
rates, the railroads in Omaha trade terri
tory did little in the way of extending
their lines last year and invading new
fields. However, in order to maintain
the excellent standards of the past, these
same roads spent millions Of dollars in
betterments improving roadbeds and re-
construction.
The Burlington alone expended close to
S6'oOo'oOO. 1t completed its new line from
Casper to Grin Junction, wyo.. thus
opening TO Omaha. vast area Of terri
tory to the northwest, territory that
heretofore had been as sealed book,
so far as the trade Of this city was con-
cerned. The building Of this line, In
Guiding some tunnel work and ballasting
west of Casper, meant an expenditure
Of $4,000, On the line near Guernsey.
where connection is made with the Col
orado & Southern and where work was
closed down in September, $4,000 was
spent The grading of the Chalco-Yutan
cutoff. giving Omaha another short line
into Sioux City and Dakota, was begun
and partially completed when the work
closed down in September. Up to that
time 100000 had been expended. During
the year new bridges were built at cost
of $751; 600
Protected by Block signal.
Block signal work at cost OF 10000
was done on the main line between
Omaha and Denver and $1ss,O00 was spent
in laying new underground steel rails
on fifty-three miles OF the system. In
dIstry and team tracks were put in at a
cost of $4,000. New freight houses and
depots were constructed at Superior.
York and Curtis, they costing, together
with lesser improvements at other sta
tons, $4,000 New steel water tanks and
p new coaling station were built at a cost
of $50 600
While the Union Pacific does not give
out the itemized cost of improvements
and betterments during the year, IT is
known that it has spent more than $l0-
0oo,O00 in Omaha trade territory. During
the year 1t put into service $500 new
freight cars, 107 steel passenger cars and
fifty heavy locomotives OF the most i'm
proved type.
In improving the track, 200 miles of
the lines were ballasted and thirteen
miles of sidetrack laid. Modern coaling
stations were erected at Columbus and
Cheyenne. A modern interlocking plant
was built and is in operation at the
crossing with the Burlington tracks at
Sterling, Colo.
Everything Modern.
To expedite the handling OF locomotives
OF large capacity, modern turntables
were installed at Council Bluffs, Grand
Island, Norfolk and Onago, Kan Mod
ern scales were put in at Norfolk and
Beatrice. Neb,. and at number OF other
points further out New water stations
were installed at Beatrice and Genoa.
Five new depots were built during the
year.
Though the Northwestern did not build
any new lines west OF the river during
the last year, it spent more that half q
million dollars, as follows:
Industry tracks at stations, s2s 4ss.
tracks to private industries, $21. ~; new
betterments, s16s, 1850; track betterments.
$llS,92O; improvements to station build
ings and grounds, 1853; steel water
tanks, N.O00; new buildings, $6a, 500: spe-
cial assessments, 1899; equipment IS, 645;
total s529 Isl.
The Missouri Pacific finished rebuild
ing its Nebraska lines. as well as COM
plotting the second track OF the Belt line.
This work and that of the reconstruc-
ton Of number of bridges meant the
expenditure of more than $4,000 in
Omaha and eastern Nebraska