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'Cbe Conservative *
long oiid is one of the Inrgest railroad
embankments constructed in recent
years. Other largo outs were made be
tween Hnnna and Dana and on the Con
tinental Divide , that spot whore , if a
spring should arise , its waters would
divide and the different portions event
ually mingle with the Atlantic and Pa
cific oceans , which wash the opposite
sides of the continent. On the line
from Rawlins to Tipton new cuts and
fills have been made , many heavy cast-
iron and stone arches having been used
so as to make the embankment solid.
In the past it was necessary to climb
Sherman Hill between Buford and
Laramie , but the traveler now crosses
the Rockies through Sherman tunnel ,
which was cut through hard granite
rock and is 1,800 feet long. The grade
has been so reduced through the tunnel
that there is no discomfort from foul
air , the tunnel being perfectly clear and
each end visible from the other end at
all times. The Dale Greek fill on this
line is 900 feet long , 120 feet high and
500,000 cubic yards of gravel were used
in its construction ; the Lone Tree creek
fill on the same line is 800 feet long , 125
feet high and required 290,000 cubic
yards of gravel. On account of these
improvements the new line crosses
Sherman Hill at an elevation of 8,000
feet ( the highest point reached by the
Union Pacific ) instead of 8,247 , the
grade having been reduced nearly 250
feet.
The Aspen Tunnel.
The largest single piece of work ever
undertaken by the Union Pacific is the
Aspen tunnel , which is expected to be
completed this summer. It pierces
Aspen Ridge , one of the eastern foot
hills of the Wasatch Range. It will be
5,5)00 feet long. To hasten the work
of construction a central shaft was
sunk , the top being 381 feet above
grade. From the bottom of the shaft
excavations were made east and west ,
and were pushed as rapidly as possible to
connect with the tunnel entrances , but
a heavy flow of water caused a suspen
sion of work , and excavation is now in
progress at the ends only. The new
line at Aspen is 22 miles long and short
ens the distance 10 miles as compared
with the old line.
Ballast.
Sherman Hill ballast , concerning
which a great deal has been written , is
a disintegrated granite. It is without
doubt the best ballast material yet dis
covered. It has been distributed for use
on the Union Pacific as far east as
Omaha and west of Rawlins for several
miles. The material is excavated with
steam shovels and loaded by them into
ballast cars at the rate of 6,000 cubic
yards per day. Sherman gravel insures a
road-bed , absolutely free from dust and
dirt. The standard form of road-bed
consists of ballast level with the top of
the tie to a width of three feet , two inches
outside the rail , then sloping 18 inches
to sub-grade. The road-bed at sub-
grade in finished embankment is twenty
feet wide ; in earth excavation it is
twenty-five feet wide.
Steam shovels , dump carts and track-
laying machinery ( the latter spouting
ties from one side and rails from the
other ) played a great part in the build
ing of the new road , and millions of
money have thus been spent in order to
expedite the commerce of a continent.
The building of this new line of road
is an engineering triumph. The ex
pense has been tremendous , but the re
sults will surely prove that a saving has
been effected , which will more than re
imburse the Union Pacific within the
next dozen years , and vindicate the
good judgment of the present manage
ment.
Ordinarily it would have taken about
five years to complete so great a work ,
but owing to the army of laborers put
on the work by the contractors , Messrs.
Kilpatrick Bros. & Collins , and the use
of different railroad-building machinery ,
which had never been used before any
where , the construction has been finished
in the phenomenally short time of less
than two years. Much credit for the
work is due Mr. Horace G. Burt , presi
dent of the Union Pacific Railroad , who
has constantly asserted the wisdom of
the outlay , and whose boldness of con
ception and unfaltering faith in the suc
cessful outcome of the work finally se
cured the necessary appropriation.
The public is , of course , not inter
ested in the matter of knowing about
the great pleasure afforded the members
of the excursion party by the officers of
the Union Pacific ; but we cannot re
frain from publicly acknowledging the
great courtesy extended , and to express
our sincere thanks for the generosity
with which we were entertained. General -
oral Passenger Agent Lomax was a most
courteous and obliging host , and was
ever on the alert looking to the comfort
of his guests. Mr. Arthur Darlow , who
also accompanied the party , is unsur
passed as an advertising agent. Mr. E.
R. Griffin , general agent at Denver ,
proved himself a prince of entertainers
and fully capable of looking after the
welfare of any large excursion party.
Everything went through without a
hitch , and a great deal of credit there
for is due Mr. W. L. Park , division su
perintendent , whose experienced hand
and eye guided the observation car
( which was placed ahead of the loco
motive ) on the entire journey.
The Union Pacific road was advocated
primarily as a war measure. More than
forty years ago its construction was
urged in the United States senate by
Thomas H , Benton and others. As it
was "First in War , " so we hope it will
always be , like the Father of Our
Country , "First in Peace , and First in
the Hearts of Our Countrymen. " J. N.
WHEN LOVE IS KING.
By IBADKTJ BICHKY ; Published by Qeo. F.
Lashor.
In the preface T. Sterling Morton says
that the author is the product of the
west , and in a brief introductory ho
pays her a glowing tribute.
The principal poem , which is also the
title , claims the highest praise , and by
virtue of its Spartan simplicity , its deep
insight to the character of beautiful
things , ranks Miss Richey with Markham -
ham and other poets who have recently
come out of the West.
"When LoveisKing"is a tale of most
absorbing interest. It flays the disregard
of observance of hereditary law , and the
motive of the poem is a like germ
which characterized Walter Besant's
new book , "TheFourth Generation. "
The authoress details the principal
characters with the touch of a master
hand , and the winsome womanliness of
the heroine and the rugged adamant
character of the hero do Miss Richey
credit.
The poem portrays the youth Raymond
mend , the object of whose love is cursed
by a hereditary taint of insanity ; re
cognizing the inexorable edict that like
produces like , he becomes a wanderer on
the face of the earth.
Madaliue , his love , first learns from
his mother the cause of his departure.
Bowed down by the iron hand of fate ,
she continues to love , though loving in
vain. Pity , that makes the whole
world kin , establishes a bond between
Madaline and her lover's mother. The
son and lover , wanders hither and
thither , and meets in the course of his
travels a stranger. Thro' friendship ,
ripened by a companionship in an isol
ated gold field , he tells the tale of his
life and reveals to Raymond that he was
a comrade-in-arms of his father , and
confesses to his failure to discharge a
trust imposed by his friend and com
rade , Major Stone. This precipitates a
climax , and Raymond tells that he is
Maier Stone's sou , and the traveler and
stranger delivers into his hand a jewel.
Raymond then feels the necessity of
visiting his aged mother to deliver into
her hands the token of love , and he
with the stranger , journeys homeward.
He finds faithful Madaline at his own
fireside , ministering acts of solace to his
mother , and he introduces the stranger
to his old sweetheart , who exclaims :
"What ! Is this Madaline Vandorlantho
child of my brother by his second
wife ? " The lover and mother stand
astounded at the revelation that Mada-
line's father was twice married , and
that Madaliue is not the daughter of
his insane wife , but the fruit of the
blessed and happy union of his second
wife. And thus is brought to an end
all the misery and heart yearnings.
There are other shorter poems in the
book that display , but not in so marked
a degree , considerable ability. The
Bookworm.
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