Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1916-02-17
PLANS FOR NEW RAILROAD TOLD
 BY BLANCHARD Promoter of Line from Pine Bluff, Plans Inter City
 Service.
MAY BRING SHIPS
 UP THE MISSISSIPPI
Railroad to Re Financed by Eastern Capital, Figures Showing That Freight Tonnage Will Make
 Line Profitable.

George B. Blanchard, head of the Hot Springs, Pine Bluff & Mississippi railroad. incorporated Monday with capital stock of ss 500,000. spent yes- terday in Pine Bluff, and left last night for Baton Rouge, La., there to board a river steamboat and travel down the Mississippi river to New Orleans.
 Mr Blanchard expects to be gone ten days or two weeks. as his trip along the river will be slow, with the intention of allowing Mir. Blan- chard to study conditions especially As they relate to the likelihood of being able to bring ocean-going ves- te}s some distance up the river. there to take on freight brought to the riv- CT by his railroad.
 Mr. Blanchard spoke at length, il detail and in most interesting manner of his plans, last night. at his quar- ters in the Hotel Jefferson. With him was R. A. Hart. his chief engi- neer, who is in charge of. making the preliminary surveys and estimates of cost of building the road.
 Mir. Blanchard made it plain his
 
 that the plans finally decided upon the surveys and the investigations now under way. by Mir. Blanchard, Mir Hart and others interested
 May Operate Large Line.
 Briefly stated, it is planned to build the road from Hot Springs through Benton to Pine Bluff, thence through Altheimer, Dewitt and other towns to a point on the Mississippi river. At the river terminus, exten- sive terminal facilities are to be erected. for use in loading the freight from the cars into, boats or barges. The company may install and operate line of barges, on which to transport from their river terminus freight 10 the side of ocean-golng steamships. The steamships are to be brought as far up the Mississippi river as is possible, under conditions which may be found to prevail on the river.
 It is tentatively planned to operate at least a part of the road by electric ity. the lines between Pine Blum and Little Rock, and between Little Rock and Hot Springs, to be thus equipped and operated. Frequent interurban electric passenger service will thus be. maintained between those towns, while freight will also he hauled by electric locomotives. Other sections of the line will be of steam railroad equipment except that gasoline mo- tor cars will be used generally, for frequent passenger service.
 Above High Water Grade.
 MT. Blanchard said last night that before his return from Chicago. he has been pertarbed by the reports or the high water and flood conditions prevailing in the greater portion Of southeast Arkansas.
 ssMr. Hart has removed my fears" he said last night. ''He tells me that almost the entire line. as arranged in the preliminary survey. is above the high water level, and that only very few points along the line are likely to be reached by floods Even fiji tue lowlands near the Mississippi river, the conditions are most satis- factory.'
 MT. Hart is going today to Dewitt, to look after details there which are likely to mean that the line of the road will be shifted bit northward, to pass directly through that town. Ire same action is likely to be taken