Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1915-02-11
0NE-MAN RAILROAD.
STILL A MYSTERY
Lone Worker Remains an Unsolved
Puzzle to Many Curious
Men.
BUILDS RAILROAD SINGLE-HAEDEO

No One But the Mysterious Promoter
Knows Object of Work That
Is Being Done.
Jetmore, Kan.-"When the One. Man
Railroad grade is built an additional
mile it will be out of the woods" This
is the way the people look at the eff.
forts of Rudolph Meyer, proprietor of
the "One-Man Railroad" in Hodgeman
County. When the work now complet-
ed is pushed forward another mile it
will be up on the fiat country that
stretches off toward Garden City, fifty
miles away. The grade will have
reached the fiat lands that make
further expensive grade work unneces-
sary.
But the people of Jetmore know but
little more of Meyer than any one else
in Kansas. He keeps his own counsel.
He will talk, and talk freely, about
everything but his actual plans. He
enjoys his talk with strangers, but
they go away no better informed than
before.
The building OF this One-Man Rail-
road grade has almost ceased to be
wonder here For four years Rudolph
Meyer has been at work on it. Sun
days were no exception, and early and
late his animals dragged the dirt from
the pits to the tops of the grade or
pulled huge stones from the side of
canyon.
The Santa Fe Jetmore branch ends
here, in the lowland of the Buckner
Creek valley. 1t Is rough country.
The railroad line is pointed southwest,
when it comes to the "end of tho
track" Meyer, when he came here
four years ago, went into the country.
two and a half miles, up a canyon or
draw of a dry run that connects with
the ever flowing Buckner Creek, and
| started his grade. He began in the
| edge of a rocky bluff, where he leveled
a grade through this formation and the
| red, sandy soil. He has carried this
| grade toward the southwest, reaching
| for the higher land, with evident pre-
| cision, though no engineer has set the
| stakes, and the line and the elevation
| of the grade has been established by
eye
People who know say the grade is an
| excellent one. When he has come to
depressions that are torrents of water
in the heavy dowrpours of rain, Meyer
has brought group OF two or three Of
these depressions together and direct
ed their course to one common open
ing under the grade, thus to cut down
the number of bridges. Engineering
science seems to have taught him this.
These draws are not bridged, but the
"fill" comes up to them and rock has
been drawn there in quantity for foun-
dations for bridges and culverts, show
ing aptness for railroad building.
Does anyone know why Meyer Is
building this grade? No one in Jet
more claims to have knowledge. Meyer
doesn't owe any one. He has no large
expense, for he lives in his own
SHACK" sometimes mounted on
wheels ana other time. placed on the
ground near his work. But when ne
does buy things in town he pays cash
or else gives check on a bank In
Valley Falls, Kan, which is always
honored.
A large share of the work on the
grade of this One-Man railroad was
built by using four mules, hitched
abreast of two slip" scrapers, one
alongside the other. Meyer would put
the lines around his shoulders, stand
between the two scrap.rs and fill them
as the mules pulled them along, one
with each hand. Then he would follow
and dump them at the top of the grade
1t was almost superhuman work, but
day after day, with long hours, Meyer
has done tllis.
No one here believes Rudolph Meyer
Is in the employ of the Santa Fe Rail.
road. The Santa Fe should be the only
one interested, for there is no other
road anywhere near But system
like the Santa Fe would find no reason
for such course, as there is from one
to half dozen ways out of the Buck.
ner Creek canyons, each as advantage.
GUS as the one selected.
Jetmore people declare the Santa Fe
could easily secure free right of way
| ioi 6idoo anu tIGChJ yet IbuuOlpll
Meyer has paid $40 an acre for all that
he's used, strip nearly four miles
long. In all, it is believed he has paid
$1,000 for land, and all of it with the
understanding that it is to revert to
the former owners ii the railroad is
not in operation in five years. Scarce.
ly year yet remains to Meyer for a
portion of this grade, and still he
keeps on and on.
| sara voI, going IN huild your road IN