Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1924-12-21
POINT ISABEL
CHANNEL SOON
TO Be FINISHED
Terminal of Road to
Port Will Be in San
Antonio Some Day
Declares O'Brien

be in San Antonio, and it will
be through the vision of w. I.
Eldridge that it will be built
says ID. A. O'Brien, president
and owner of the line which con-
meets Point Isabel and Browns
vile, the tracks of which are to
be widened to standard gauge in
a few weeks. But if the tracks
ever do extend to the Alamo
City, while it may be due to the
friendship and assistance of iir. FL
bridge, the dream will be that of
Dave O'Brien. seer Of visions who
makes them come true by force of will
and determined hard work which sur
mounts all opposition.
Within a very few days one of the
rails of the Rio Grande line will be
slid over a few inches throughout its
entire 26 miles and for the first time
in So years of the roads history stand
ard equipment will pass over the track.
This will be the realization Of one Of
Mr.. O'Brien's dreams.
Ldllv III III year U L 1870 al CUduHel &
feet deep and 400 feet wide across the
bar at Brazos Santiago will connect
with an inner hanne 100 wide and 16
feet deep leading into a turning basin
at Point Isabel 500 feet in diameter and
the same depth as the inner channel.
This will be the accomplishment of an
other vision of the same man. The COM
bination of the two will rapidly bring
about the realization of the third:
Brownsville connected with the deep
water port at Point Isabel by a stand
ard guage railroad opening the markets
of the east to Valley products and max
ing possible the Importation of mer-
chandise from all the world to supply
the enormous trade territory of the val
ley and Mexico.
Line Nearly Complete
About 100 men are busily engaged in
replacing old ties and laying heavy steel
from mile 20 towards point Isabel, six
miles away, and as soon as this stretch
of track is complete the entire railroad
will be ready for standardizing The
last foot of the light rail on this end of
the track was taken out Monday and
heavy rails spiked to new ties in their
place. A new Brill motor car has already
RECEIVED and will enter the pas
senger service between the two term
inals the day the truck is spread. The
trip. which now takes more than two
hours will then be made in As minutes.
Material for the completion of the
work underway is either Oh the ground
or in transit. When this last stretch is
fIuiShah mara than An 000 fret o1oSc
white oak ties and ~ miles of so pound
steel rail will have been used. All of
the balance of tie track was entirely re-
newed two years ago. Every ~trestle on
the line is to be strengthened and the
longest bridge across the Mesquite is
to be entirely rebuilt with creosoted pill
ing and timbers. This material is in the
yards at Brownsville now.
Necessary rolling stock for handling
freight will be on hand when the track
is ready.
The inner channel a Point Isabel will
be completed early in the coming new
year, according to Mr.. O'BFien, and
the outer channel will be completed
soon thereafter. Some delay on the work
of the outer channel has been occasion
ed by the fact that the machinery avail
able to the contractor was not of just
the proper type but this has been recti-
fled through the insistence of United
States engineers. Mr.. O'Brien has just
returned from a trip to Galveston made
for the purpose of hurrying the work
as much as possible. He has the assur-
ance of the district engineer that work
will be rushed to completion.
IL Eldridge to Rescue
"They told me that a channel could
not be cut out of the Harbor at Point
Isabel Mr.. O'Brien said, but it soon
will be an accomplished fact. Why |
could cut a channel through a noun
tain with the cooperation of the peo-
pie Of the Valley"
Money for the present new material
and Standardization work on the Rio
Grande railway is being advanced by ".
r. Eldridge whose achievements in
connection with the upbuilding Of
the Cane Belt and Of the Sugarland
railway and industries are well known,
according to Mr.. O'Brien. 81 had ex-
hausted all Their esources at my COM
mand and failure and foreclosure were
staring me in the face when Mr.. FL
bridge came to my rescue" he said. 1T
is through his vision of the possibilities
of a deep water port and a rail line con-
Meeting it with Brownsville that stand
ardization has finally become an ac-
complished fact. The money raised by
the Valley citizens had been used as
economically as possible and yet there
was much to be lone when it was ex-
hausted. After seemingly every avenue
through which | might secure funds
had been closed, Mr.. Eldridge offered
the necessary backing, and made accom-
plishment possible"
Dogped determination, sacrifice and
hard work-ten years of overcoming
heart-breaking obstacles at last is about
"a he rewarded-not in dollars and cents
Int in the knowledge of a task well
done.
Plans New Line
I. has been a constant fight for Dave
o,Rrien from the time back in 1913,
when. while he was secretary OF the
prownsville Chamber of Commerce, ne
--ssl;zed the necessity for a deep water
nort At Point Isabel and for a stand