The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1927-01-21
EAST MEETS WEST
IN SWEET PEA CITY

runs west from Chicago through
Omaha, Denver and Salt Lake City
to San Francisco. The southern
trunk runs from New Orleans to Ell
PasO, connecting at New Orleans
with points on the Atlantic coast and
at FL Paso with Los Angeles and
points on the Pacific. The new
northern route, after Chicago is
reached, runs west and northwest to
Minneapolis, Fargo, Bismarck, Glen
dive, Billings, BOzeman, Helena, Mis-
sOula, Spokane, Wenatchee, and Sc
attic.
The northern transcontinental tele-
phone line provides high grade facil-
tiles on direct routes for the growing
telephone business between points in
the northwestern part of the United
States and cities in the central and
eastern part of the country. About
one-third Of the entire line between
Chicago and Seattle lies within the
state Of Montana, where, after fol-
lowing the Yellowstone river for d
distance of $50 miles, it passes over
the BOzeman mountains at Bozeman
Pass, with an elevation of 5,572 feet,
while over the Transcontinental di-
vide at Mcdonald Pass it reaches an
elevation of $3.50 feet. From there
it runs down the west side of the
main range of the Rocky mountains
to EIlistOn, where it encounters and
follows pretty generally the tribu-
taries Of the mighty Columbia river.
The path follows on through Garrison
and MissOul a, passing the famous
Bitter Root valley, down the Missoula
and up the Saint Regis rivers, over
the Bitter Root mountains to the Ida.
no state line, at an altitude Of Abs
feet; thence it proceeds to Spokane
and on to Seattle.
A Network of Circuits
At various points along the route
the new line connects with toll lines
running north and south, while at
Helena connection is made not only
with Idaho and Utah, but with the
new line recently installed to CAL
gary, Alberta, Canada. The tying to-
gether of these transcontinental lines
by north and south connecting routes
at certain points makes a sort of
gridiron of the entire nation, so that
with such a network it will be diff
cult to isolate any one section of the
country te~lephonically. In the event
that a storm makes it necessary to
divert traffic, it can be routed
around such storm area as might oc-
cur at any point in the network.
1t has been necessary to build the
line so that in so far as possible it
Will Withstand deep snow and tenn
peratures of fifty degrees below zero
at some points, and temperatures of
{ more than one hundred degrees abov:
zero at other points. At certain places
I along the line there is also the haz.
ard of forest fires, so that it has beer
D necessary to take adequate measures
to prevent Interruptions of service
from that cause. s.
. In general, aerial copper wire which
8 weighs 435 pounds to the mile has
8 been used throughout. The pole line.
are of the standard type construe
ton, consisting principally of ere
osoted pine or eastern cedar timbe
F.; IN the eastern part of the line, ant
d western cedar timber in the sectio,
o west Of the North Dakota-Montan:
!, state line. The wire load on the pol,
line in different sections varies from
n one cross-arm and 10 wires to fiv,
o cross-arms and so wires.
: How Calls Now Routed
Hitherto telephone conversation,
S across the continent or from place,
in the east or middle west to point,
e IN the northwest have been route,
via San Francisco, where the first O.
central transcontinental line termi
I mates. Now, they will go direct VII
the northern route. The new circuit
S provided include the following: Chi
c~ago-Seattle, Chicago-Fargo, Minneap
olis-Helena, Fargo-Billings, Billings
Helena, Helena-Spokane, and Helena
n Seattle. Repeater stations with I'll
: necessary telephone, telegraph, an.
!. power equipment have been estah