EH
WUST UNI) SIIKRMAN
IIAVK In tinii'H pnst lio n
tnlil 1 1 1 1 1 e 1 1 of wondo'i fill fonts
In riillniiiil building, mil
much Iiiih lii'i'ii xvi Ittcii f
tln engineering skill iiml daring tluil
directed tln course of tlid Iron h r ;o
across the plains ami itiotitit n Itm th'it
lie between tho MlHHinirl r I v t! r an 1
tint Pnclllo ocean, Utile. It xvoul 1
hcoiii, nail been loft for (lie ImlliTo fl
WKST APPROACH TO
In lliu way ot thu spectacular. Yet thu
Union I'aulllc has Jimt cnmplc.tc.il a most
stupendous undertaking, one. which ordi
narily would cull for pluuditH from thu
public, hul hub done 11 ho iiilutly that no
wluro oiituldu of thu technical puhllcatiotih
devoted to railroad and engineering topics
bus any especial niuutton of thu work been
made. SttlpcndmiH Ih thu buul word to
ubo In deHcrlhliiK tho work. It may con
tain thu elements of thu niarvuloiiH, but ho
quiet and bo business-like wcru thu pro
ceedings Hint marked thu Inception, prog
i'chh and eomilctlon ot thu undertaking
that It hardly Hccmed more than thu laylut;
of a Blduwalk at a country station. A
mountain removed ami IohI Into a cIiiihiu;
hllKU holes lulled hiimlrcdH of feet through
Holld Kninltc; an undermouud river en
countered and overcome, an army of men.
with all HortH of mechanical uldH, ciihiikciI
In the work for nearly a year; thu ureal
Union I'aeillc track hetwecn Omaha mid
Odcn miidu thirty iiiIIch Hhortcr, a Kreal
Kiado uliininatcd. old scenery been changed
for new. and the biiHlncMH of the Kreat
Overland route IIowIhk through a nuw chan
nel, without thu HllKhti'Ht luterriiptloii, for
durliiK thin KlKitntle inidertakliiK the
tralllc of the road Iiiih not faltered In the
least decree.
It Is a itioHl remarkable tribute to the
excellent orKUiil.allon of the ciiKiucerliiK
department of tho Union 1'aclllc that hiicIi a
task could bo conceived ami carried through
with ho Utile apparent effort. Only when
tho IlKurcs are carefully considered do.-s the
liiaKlllludo of the undertakliiK really pre
sont Itself.
Why (lit WurU Wiim Oone.
To understand why It was done, one mint
take a look at the general organization of
a railroad's working force. Primarily
railroads are built to earn money for their
ownurs. This Is certainly the mission of
tho Union I'aeillc under Its present iiiiiiianu
inent. To earn money thu road must be
properly constructed, equipped and manned.
When the nereo competition of modern
I iirIiicfh forced n reduction rntis ih
in'iiliiK capacity nf the road was
vr
k I
i
Stupendous Engineering Triumphs Wrouglt at the Demand of
TUNNKL, NKW LINK )!' UNION I 'AC IKK'
affected, ami some now method was tie
inamli.'il to keep the Income above the ox
peases. Two wus arc open lo In . use
(lie earning oiutlty f.f a ii''rnil Kn. Ii
ilt'iiiamiH to op rail n b'twten the t iigit.eer
Ing nml trnllli- bran 'his of the iuIiiiIiiih ta
tloli. One Ih lo haul ino o pounds In a car;
l ho other to haul nunc -nix to the tr.iln.
Supposing the roail to havn been operated
to the limit of It h power plunt, neither of
TIIK ASPKN TUNNKL.
theso renicdlcH Is available unless the en
KlneorliiK departnicnt can make It possible
for the locomotives to diu heavier loads
at higher speed. Only In one way can this
bo done. That Is lo reduce the Ki'mles.
Tho power of a locomotive, like that of a
horse, Is limited by the maximum acclivity
of the route over which It travels. If this
maximum bo reduced, then the power Is
lncieascd. The iilcstlou Is one for debate
K1S1I CUT. WllKltK T1IK KOSSILS
and adjustment between the departments of
t lit road. On the Union I'aeillc It was re
solved not lung after the accession of thu
present management by the determination
to cut down the almost Inaccessible asceni
to Sherman Hill, the highest point on th
Union 1'aclllc line,
,is well as the
heaviest, made
(leneral Sher
man oucu re
marked In talk
ing over thu mat
ter: "lly a stroke
of Junius thu
builders of the
Union 1 a c 111 c
surmounted t h e
Itocky mountains
by u grade of about eighty feet to
tho mile, whereas by any other route
then known they would havu been
forced to grade l!uo feet or to adopt
short curves through Laramie pass." In
thU statement moru than u measure of truth
appears, and yet it may be doubted If It
was exactly a stroke of genius that so for
tunately lo'atcd the line. The stubborn
fact Is that lieneral (iiciivillo M. Dndgc,
who was in charge of the pioneer work
on the Hue. got lost from his party, and In
wandering about discovered the pass that
was hUbsciiieutly used acloss the Ito 'kles.
Ilowcwr this may be the fact remains
(hat ever since that eventful day
in IVI'.i. when the golden spike was
driven at Promontory Point, ami the
Mlautic and I'aeillc were Dually welded
toiMthtr by a Hue of railroad, the great
li'C of tralllc between tin- east ami the
vest Iiim Mowed back and forth across this
ndc Sherman 11111. Dale Cieck brl Ige!
!i tbise names ale almost as familiar
ii i'c trues (intlueiital traveler as Is that
of Hie Union I'aeillc Itself. Iloth are gone.
Iiisii.nl of ciosslng a bridge lino feet long
and U'7 feet high, ii nerve-la -king experi
ence under l be best i oiidlt Ions, the trains
glide smoothly over what Is pronimiu'cd by
experts one of the most lemarkable em
bankments in the world. Instead of
mounting the summit of that granite-ribbed
spur of the lllack Mills range, of which
Sherman lllll was the backbone, the train
dives through a tunnel bored through Un
living rock.
Triumph for I'nef iiIiichm.
Utilitarianism has triumphed, nnd the
everlasting hills have been humbled ti
meet tho demands of mnn. While
much hns been gained on tho sldo of
WKIIK KOI XI) LOOKINO HAST
speed and safety, new vistas opt n to
thu tourist on either side of the tra.k.
views as beautiful as nny mountain scenery
can be- Somo old familiar names have
been swallowed up. but others as euplv -nlous
nml as romantic haw taK n tin lr
places, mid thu estab
lished route from the
Occident to thu Orient
has been shortened
by many miles.
Thlrty-threu y ears
ago there was no time
to spend on work
similar to that which
has Just been com
pleted. Then the w rid
was watching n.i.'
thu builders . I a
Union Pacltic 1. 1.
Central I'auiu ra. id
It was a mui.iiL'cm
contest, but nowadays
the owiicis of i he ro.i l
have been bri light t
consider utlur prob
lems. One i f lliese
necessitated the solu
tion of the lower
grade question and tho
straightening f thu
Hack. One hundred
ami llfly-eight and
four-tenths miles of
new track were laid,
reducing the mileage
between Omaha and
Ogden by 3tl.IT miles,
and reducing gradients
which varied from la, I
to U7.GS feet to thu
mllu to a maximum of
43.3 feet. Tills is thu
simple talu of what
has been done. It was
the doing of it that is
'I-""" '!.;' ' ' V
interest.
Hvur s I n c u thu
original survey of the
Union I'aeillc, which was Itself considered
a marvel of tho kind, was complettd, It has
been the understanding that by doing a
little heavy grading work here and there,
cutting out curves, and thu Uku, (he gradu
could be lowered nnd the distance short
ened. As management succeeded manage,
incut In control of the road, (he proposition
received attention, but never took an active
form until the present owners took over
the properly. When their new presi
dent, Mr. Hurt, assumed charge he
began without delay an extensive cam
paign of betterment. In this was In
cluded the Improvement of the road
bed, and the Wyoming work was soon de
termined upon. Several surveying partb's
were put Into the Held to determine tho
possible cutoffs, and about n year ago work
was commenced in enrnest on what to tho
lay mind seems a stupendous task, hut to
the engineer a mem matter of detail.
Klrst i'lll-ec ( llttitlx.
The first three cutoffs authorized and
built were those between Laramie and
Itawllns. These are known as "Howell to
1111110118," "Lookout to Medicine How." nnd
Allen Junction to liana," Involving tin
construction of abt.iit fifty miles f line
and accomplishing n suvlng In dlstnnco of
practically nineteen miles. The rcdiuti a
In grades was from seventy-live feet to
forty-three feet per mile. All of this was
heavy work. Klght miles of the heaviest
portion, Just west of Hanna, Involved thu
moving of approximately 1,700,000 cubic
yards of material, of which nearly 1,310.
ono cubic yards was embankment and 310,
0' 0 cubit yards s lid nek excavation. Thus,
UK. KILL ACROSS DALIC C.tKKK '
STKAM SHOVKL AT WORK IN "HOHItt'V PIT." ON DALK CRKKK KILL.
thu olght miles of road nvcrnged over 220,
000 cubic yards per mile. This was largely
concentrated In two miles of work, there
being two lllls of dOO.OOO cubic yards each.
This Is probably the heaviest yardage ever
handled for single-track railroad. Kroni a
constructive standpoint the line Is remark
able for the amount of material required
In tho construction of iniinensu embank
nientH nnd the building of largo tunnels
through solid rock. The construction of
tho new line between Huford ami Laramie
alone has Involved the excavation of fi.OOO,
000 cubic yards of material, one-third of
1KA OK SHAFT
ON NUW LINK ( K I NION PUMKl
v
wtlch (exclusive of tin tunnel excava
tujis) has been solid rock, or something
or 100,000 cubic yards per mile.
ionio of the embankments of the now
r"idbed have been remarkable for tholr
h ight and the large quantities of ma
t -Inl to construct the same over seem
i ;ly short distances. The two most it I 111 -t
it embankments were nl Dale creek.
s.)ithwest of Sherman, ami across tin
S'rtnnn branch of tho Lone Tree creek,
.sfjthenst of Sherman. The embankment
.srtl
alt!
ft It
tho crossing of the Dale crook Is K0
high. Hon feet long ami Involved Ih
ON IBKMA. TI NKL
handling or 200,000
t:Ul)ie ai ds ail u.ld, t i'
sometliilig III excess t,l
7..c,'ii ti cubic yards
within a distant e . i
(,ne mile. At thu
crossing of I lie Sher
man lira null of Lout)
Treo creek the em
liaukmeiit is 130 feut
high at Its point of
greatest depth ami in
ohcd the handling of
oxer 3,")0,000 cubic
yards.
in one place, tho
i i t let l llll, as it is
. . i. a, an embank
. . i.i l. riy feet high
i.i.o -,i.i teel long
x.. s Miili by (ho use of
g r a t, i u g machines,
wliit a plowed ami
..dtil the dirt into
pa. tut dump wagons,
in which it was hauled
and dumped into thu
embankment. T h u
equipment employed
consisted of live grad
ers and forty dump
xvagons. The material
obtained from thu
borrow pits was u
sandy loam, and lliu
work lasted from May
lo November, IS'JU,
This piece of work
has been pronounced
out of thu bust con
structed large rail
road embankments
that has been built in
ruceut years. Tho material having been
spread In thin layers and rolled xvilh tho
wheels of tho wagons, forms a very tlrm
embankment. Thu bases of many of the
larger embankments were built in this way.
I'tti:1!. ill' Mount MiovcIm.
The steam shovels mid the dump cults
played mi important part in the building
of (lie new road. One of the singular fea
tures of the work was tho handling of
broken rock xvlth the steam shovel. Enor
moiis pieces of granite, brought down by
the blasts, wore loaded on tho curs by tho
steam shovel, ami in fact the results wore
as satisfactory in thu rock cutH as on tho
dirt work. At one time on thes cutolf
lines or the Union I'aeillc there xveru llftoen
steam shovels at work. Nearly all of the
heaviest work was handled with i-te.iin
shovels. Much of the "borrow" work for
tho heaviest embankments was done by
means of sleam shovels and dump cars.
An Interesting feature of the engineering
tvork Is tho culverts. In many cases cast
lion pipes were Used for culverts. West
f Laramie cast Iron pipe culverts up t
four feet in Internal diameter were used
and cist of Laramie. In somo of th v ty
heavy (Ills where the watcrxvay carried
largo quantities of water, ami the cnidi
Hons were not auspicious for the constiuc
Hon of masonry, live-foot cast Iron pipe
was used. No timber culverts xvere used,
and but few timber bridges remain, and
these are to be replaced as rapidly as cir
cumstances xvill penult. Whero rubble
stone could he obtained, culvorts too large
for cast Iron plpo xvere built of rubble;
DMinv if tin culvorts. however xvere bull'
Modern Commerce
vikw
of eoucrelo. Two
complete plants,
ct nsisting of a
.lusher ami u
gu so. mo engine,
loth pcrtable.
i re kept con
h.antly at xvork
crushing stone
f . i c o ll c 1 e ( e,
using the suit
able stone near
est to the point at
which thu concrete was to lie placed. Depots,
water tanks, section and bunk houses w iv
all built in accordaiit'o xvith modern prlinl
plos ami in ilist-class manner.
I.lllll mi llesl I'll ll.
Tho new tr.icK is laid Willi eighty-pound
lulls and ballasted Ihroiigiioiit with nine
Inches of ballast iiiulci' ttic tits. Ilallast
from SI u. u. an hill. In the viciu.ty of tho s u
llou ol Hioinmn, has beta distributed ioi
us.- on tne Union I'aeillc uiili'oad as lar
la.-t as i. in, ih. i ami lor several miles xmsi
of Raw I ns. This .Shcimuu hill lulus,
i out crniug x. Ii Icli much lias been said in
the lit w spa.ors, Is a disintegrated nma
granite. It has been chemically prepared
by (he groat II res of nature in prohistorit
days, so as to gradually weld I gcllu r
xvith all the llexlbllliy of asphalt ami
the iluralillily tf granite. Much ot
It can ho excaxatid witli a steam
shovel wit lit lit the line of p wd i
i.. , gtiieiiuly speaking, in.. re t n ., ,,.
t .. .s are obtained by ill us t . s ..n
,o..i r. The two pits from wlr ii I 1 1 Ins t
i.. obtained, olio two miles cast ol Mi liin.ii
mid the oilier one mile west of Slit rtnan.
h.ivo been worked at the rule of 3,non cubic
yaiils poi 1 1 -1 y each. The material is ex
cavated with sleam shovels and loaded
directly into Rodger ballast cars, and, as
Sherman is tile summit, it is distributed as
far as possible eastward from the east pit
and westward fiom the west pit. Under
favorable conditions tills material can lie
excavated ami loaded, Including all the ex
pense in thu pit, for about 0 cents per cubic
yard. The average cost, however, has been
higher than this, owing to the Impossibility
of always having cars ready to load, ami on
account of breakages to machinery, ami
various things which are bound to occur
KST KTRN "K TO ASPKN Tt N'NKL NKW LINK OK UNION I'.U'.KH'
to disturb Ideal conditions The I iib n
1'aclllc Is spending J.'ino.ooii a year in load
ing this gravel Into cars for use In road
bed. Hy using this gravel a roadbed
absolutely free from dust is obtained.
Travelers over this rend therefore escape
j. ' v ' ?
. ' ' ...
()!' err .irsT wkst ok siikk.m w ti i:l
(lie dust ami dirt that makes a trip oxer
the Hues of its loss fortunate rivals so
annoying.
Tins material Is hauled do.xu the lull to
L.nmiil. or ('hcxi'imc In trains or f-rt car-
c. ' i iMi I Ii g i p; itixlmi e CI .-el'
; i t.. j . vel i er iiir. I it.ai 1. .: i I
.,.. . :a tlililiB :.iv i, i ' i up of do.. i
t tit to txv. aly-llxe ears, d loading u, o.i
th - -i..e of th' en;:lii", and hault.l t o. the
new linos will. out i.n serious trouble. The
TRACKLA VINO MACIIIN'K T WORK
standard train for tho "lllno" t lass engine
Is twenty cars, ami with this train twenty
miles per hour can lie made. The standard
form of toadhcil consists of ballast It vel
xvilh Hie top of the He to a width of Ibr e
feet two Inches outside or the rail, llitti
sloping ono nnd oiie-liulf to one to siibgra I
Tho roadbed at siihginde In llulshed embank
lileut Is twenty reel wide, III earth excaxa
tlon It Is txvenly-llvo feet wide
One of the most dllllcult pbecs if
strticll'ii is tho line from Lcroy lo
liver, us It Includes a tunnel nboul
feet long, known as tho Aspen tunnel.
eon
llear 11.200
Th.
approaches to each end of this lunnel
were exenvnted and the hendliigs H'ailul
sthm mi'i:i iiwdiim. uoru
from out h end at He i.iim "no c nU i
shall xmim iil-to unit nod a oil a- l
r. at h. d the pv pt r di pih h .ulnies xxvr
started oath wax from ili.it Kr m alio '--i
Hie Hist conslib table ireiiblo was c per
i n-i d from x .it r, til ' i "m" !' I ' '
fr in lb sh- r: g v m: h oi : ! bo h
xfi r H'c It tiding xo o t'rlv. i m c I i n
like 2tu or ".I'd fie: moll xxnv fun t
shalt a huge si nam cf wn'er wis sri '
nml tin workmen barely u'upol v.ltU. he
ON NKU LINK OK I l' I'M IKH
lives The water lose to a depth of si vent,
reel In Hie sbufl. This ililllculiy, taken
together with tho' very bail material it.
tile tunnel, has caused tins piece id' wor.t
lo lie delajcd considerably
x liol (lie I on r I'll ') i" :;inl.
Tho lirm or Kllpatllck llios. - Collins,
coutrnctniB, of llcallico, Nidi., bad tho till
tiro contract from I he Union i'aeillc rail
way. They did a large part of thu xvork
themselves, and sublet, llic balance, lo va
rious coiitruc mis, both huge ami small.
Soiiiu of tho largi r ones in loin sublet to
small BiihcniitinctoiH, witli team and
scraper oiitllts. Aiming ttic laigor ones
are the McAilhitr llr.is. company, having
1,210,000 cubic yaids at Slicrinan Hill, a
lending about ton mlns. Wood llros., of
Minneapolis, Inlcrostcil In ahotit :i3s,00n
t nine yards luur (Irecu Rix.r and about
.'110,000 cubic yiinls at Slicrinan Hill. Mlehu 1
Kllliolo. Alliance, Nob., bad laO.OOO oilliic
yards near (irceii River, also at Tie Shllir;
W. T. Callahan ot Omaha had Ino, mm tubb
yaids near Orecn River Mahony Mr s.
of Oinalia had 200,0011 cubic ynrtls noai
(itceii River ami Tie Siding K. A. Mussel!
of Chicago bod 200,000 culilc yards i I
Creston, Wyo., and alioiit .',.'.n,uon cubic
yanls near Tie Siding. D. ,. McDnniil l
of Kansas ('lly, had t Iclu mllis hclxxeuii
Latamio and I C d Unite, Wyn.
The tunnel at Ti Sullng was constl'll' ic i
hy Kllpatrick Mns ,i CiIIiiih. with Kian:.
Woods in clinige of Die wirk. 'I'liis tun
nel is I, Mio r ot long ami mciimiroH slxt.ei
f ot wide ami t xvciity-t wo led hlgli Insl I'
ll, miitcrhil is blown rock. This lira
i ' oi.i ih i-U lunnel at k. ten t.
which Is about 0,000 let I long and two iy
two feel by h Vt'lllccll fo t ilisitl . I). I II
pal ilok had charge or this tvork. T.i
small steam shiivols were iihoi in ilio tun
nol to excavate Hie material, load ng ,
Into small dump carts,
l-'liNclnilliiill Iiiiiu lite Line,
Stccncu nf llu, i.iniui ,ii,.i I,.,. .... ..i. t
"" ' n-'ii .m,v in iri k
toss as it k I ii t fi hoifwlih are must fas
t Iiml lug. The huge lllls at Liit-T'ci mc
It ml lli.l, i . . ..I. i.i. i I i i
: y r
(('Olllil lit -I llll Kltilif I'
J