Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1922-10-04
0L.EUcEl, Axis
Line EX TEN SION
Gives Out Information on Extenl
sion to be Built Thru South
End Of County =.

sion to be Built Thru South
I End Of County =.
In an interview. published in the
Minneapolis Journal, Col. Erie D.:
Luce, thus speaks enthusiastically alb
out the extension OF his line west Of
Hutchinson:
Farmers in a territory 1000 miles
square, who have waited 40 years for
a railroad to bring their farms close:
to the Minneapolis market, today wat
ched along the lend of steel' as steel
| and ballast gangs of the Electric Short
| Line railroad forged ahead in their
drive to complete as much as; possible,
OF railway connection between Hut
Crimson and Clara City, MINI, before
| winter halts their operations
"Construction of 50 miles of track
i. age from Hutchinson to Clara City viii!
| tap a virgin territory 80 miles wide,
! known as one of the best dairying Sec
! tions- in Minnesota and said to have
the most productive soil for beet rails
|
| Luce, head of the short line, said.
1.-THE company in 1916 was prepar-
ing to build on from Hutchinson, after
! laying tracks and commencing opera
| tons from Minneapolis to Hutchinson.
The war halted work, Col. Luce said,
and it was not until April 81 Of this
year that work began again. Two
| weeks ago actual laying Of track com
menced.
! Land Values Mounting
| "'Now we are going ahead to bring
the territory a railroad" Col. Luce
said "And already land values are
booming and new settlers are coming
in, to aid in developing rich section
which previously. had been but one
| third. developed because of the lack
OF railway connection
! New towns: are Swinging up like
mushrooms along the route picked for
the road, which eventually is to reach
beyond Clara City to Montevideo, Col.
II miles beyond Hutchinson, where
steel will be in Friday or Saturday Of
this week. Beyond is Marsh, named
| for Col Charles II. March of Litch-
| field, prominent for his activity in the
| World war as a member Of the Mime
sofa safety board; Cosmos, Thompson
Lake, Thorpe, namedi for S. S. Thorpe
of Thorpe Bros, Minneapolis, real es-
tate dealers to whose efforts Colonel
Luce attributes a large part of the
line; Lake Lillian, Roselan<i, Prins-
burg and Clara City,: 1t is hoped the
line can be pushed as far as Roseland,
| three-fourths of the way, by winter,
and that the balance of the trackage
can be completed early next summer.
he said.
| Rich Beet Raising Section
| Building Of grain elevators, stock
/ yards and stations will begin along.
the route Monday, and viii: be pushed
as rapidly as possible, to keep pace
with the growth of the new towns,
many of them established in plats on
what was virgin prairie six months
ago. In those towns real estate is
mounting rapidly in value, Col. Luce
said.
| "The beet factories at Chaska, Mimi,
| already have contracted for 10000
| acres of land in the district; because
| their Investigators reported the black
loan soil of the district is the best in
Go
| ing to a report from ChasEa- 1t is pos
sible the company may build a beet
refinery in Hutchinson, investigators
told Col. Luce when he made his lat
est inspection trip into the district.
reconstruction of the railroad with
out question will add from S25 to $50
an acre valuation to land thru the Sec
| ton, real estate dealers at Hutchin-
son and points beyond say.
! $4,000 Acres Of Land -.
"As laid out, the line will cross eight
townships lengthwise. There are four
| other townships in the district, giving
an approximate total of $4,000 acres
of land that can be developed to rank
| with the best in the state, Col. Luce
said.
| There now are about $50 men work
| ing in the steel. and ballast gangs en-
ployed by the company. T. ]. Frede-
rick, Minneapolis, contractor for the
construction, is moving from 10000 to
| 10000 cubic yards month, figures on
construction show. Track gangs are
laying more than half mile of track
{. day. Fogg Brothers, Minneapolis, in
| charge of the commissary, are trans.
! porting large quantities of supplies in
to the district to keep work. at. full
speed. s4 ... .~..
"Townships and cities already have
made appropriations to build and i'm
prove roads. connecting with the new
towns being built along the railroad.
do hid. e