THE BEE: OMAHA, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 1010.
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Railroads
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OMAHA IS A GREAT
RAILROADCENTER
Ten Large Systems Ran Lines Into
This City from All
Points.
CHIEF CITY ON THREE ROADS
Union Pacific Lets $1,000,000 Con
tract for Building.
ALL ROADS SPEND VERY HEAVILY
Vast Sums Are Being Expended on
Improved Facilities Here.
NOW TALK OF A BIGGER DEPOT
t'nton Pacific Merita to Have I nlon
Mtntlou Eailarircd Uecanae Pres
ent Una la Too Small far Im
mriiae I'niaengrr Traffic.
Among the elites of the great west Omaha
stands pre-aminsnt as the railroad center.
Ten systems run their lines into this city,
the splderltka web of their rails radiating
Into all directions and covering the greatest
grain and produce valley of the world.
Since the first slender line was fist projec
ted Into the Immense Missouri valley three
roalA have made Omaha one of their chief
polnTS, and today they handle the bulk of
the traffic passing Into and through here,
They handle trains from Chicago to San
Kranclaco over a wide breadth of territory,
developing the country that directly bears
on Omaha In shipping and trade liiterestH.
The Union Pacific has manifested the Im
portance that It considers Omaha on lta
road by Just letting the contract for their
new 11,000,000 headquarters building, work
on the twelve-story structure, to hold their
office force, having started at Fifteenth and
Dodge streets.
A total mileage of 2.&6.M miles Is owned
by this system In single track lines, and
added to this are 624 miles of double track,
making a total of 3,411.02 miles.
' There are at the present time over ITS
miles of double track being constructed In
points west of here, chiefly In western Ne
braska. Block signals are already placed on
1,526 miles of this and additions are being
made all the time.
Hat Manx Short Branches.
The road has a number of short branch
lines In Nebraska and Kansas directly run
ning into Omaha, handling a large grain
trade every year and bringing Immense
trade to Omaha. '
Expenditures made by the road through
the Omaha office amount to enormous
yearly sums. For the year ending June iiO,
1008. a total of $18,000,000 was spent In wages
alone, approximately 22,000 men, not Includ
ing the contractors' forces, being kept busy.
In the Omaha shops alone 2,100 men at a
yearly salary of $1,600,000 are employed.
Last year $280,000 was placed on Improve
ments In the shops. On the Improvements
and In building of new lines a sum of $2,197,
000 was laid out.
Nearly 100 miles of new track, exclusive
of second track work and sidings, was laid
down by this company during the year
at a cont of $2,206,000. This trackage
covers elKht miles In Nebraska, from Kelley
to Noithport; thirty-three miles from
Onnga to Marysvllle, Kan.; twenty-six
miles Greeley to Brlggsdale, Colo.; and In
the earns state, eighteen miles from Sand
Creek to St. Vralna, and thirteen miles
from Cloverly to Hungerford. At the pres
ent time about twenty-five miles of track
age Is being finished up In Colorado.
I. P. Wants Bla-ner Station.
The L'Blwn Pacific road Is trying to get
the Unlim station In Omaha enlarged, as It
Is far to small for the amount of travel
coming through here. By an average made
by the station authorities, over 16,000 people
pass through the setatlon each day. This
does not mean that that many go away,
but many visit tho station to meet friends
or see them off. The enlargement will
cost over $000,000, but as It Is necessary to
get the consent of the eight cu.er roads
using the station, the Union raclfic road
cannot go ahead until word from them ts
received.
Over 6,000.000 people travel over the
Union Pacific trains each year, and Hie
problem of caring for the safety and lives
of Its passengers has become one of para
mount Importance among the officials of
the roud. No railroad anywhere has a bet
tor system of train dispatch than Is shown
In the rush hours over the "Oate to the
West," the big railroad over the Missouri
river leading Into the Union station. Hun
dreds of trains a day pass over the stretch
of tracks between Council Bluffs, la., to
Hummitt, Neb., where the Lane Cut-Off
comes off from the old Union Pacific and
practically no accidents are had on the
line.
Millions of dollars have been spent by
this road on block signals and other safely
devices, and now It is the proud boast of
the Union Pacific that It has the "Safe"
route to the Pacific coast. The entire line
from Colorado to San Francisco Is covered
by means of an elaborate system of signals,
, and each train passes Its progress Is re
ported by the silent hands that signal fol
lowing trains to slop until the first train
has left the block.
t. P. lias Bis; Block System.
One-third of the block' system of the
United States Is on the Union Pacific
lines, nearly 6,000 miles being placed on Its
lines. Installation costs about $1,500 per
mile, and the annual cost per mile for
maintenance Is $160. Prevention of ac
cldents by no means covera this cost, ac
cording to one railroad official, but the
added safeguard that the public knows it
has, more than recompenses the roads, and
the volume of business In passenger travel
makes up for the expense Incurred.
Probably no other road In the world has
put so much money Into the construction
of Its roadbed for the mileage obtained,
and It Is safe to say that In recent years
the Union Pacific haa built works of en
gineering of a magnitude never undertaken
by a railroad before.
The first of these Is the famous Lane
Cut-Off, saving nine miles of travel and
costlnar $3,000,000. About 4,000,000 cubic
yards of embankment were built in it
Other great works not so near Omaha
were the Sherman Hill cut, the Dale
Creek crossing, the Asen tunnel, and
the greatest work of all, the Great Suit
Lake Cut-Off. The last Is 102 miles long
and save forty-three miles In the road and
thousands of dollars In the yearly opera.
Hon of trains.
Irrigation Helsed Roads.
When the Idea of a road to the Paciflo
waa first proposed It was thought that It
9
W. M. Bushman
STORAGE
1013-15-17-19 Leavenworth St.
Best trackage and etorage building in Omaha.
United States Government bonded warehoute.
Receiving, forwarding and financial agent.
U. S. Customs Broker
Pacific Storage & Warehouse Go.
CHAS. H. GRATTON, Frera.
1007-1000-1011 Jones Street
Merchandise Stor
Excellent Trackage and Unloading Facilities
Sprinkler Protection With Automatic Alarm
Low Insurance Rate
CAREFUL ATTENTION GIVEN TO "POOL" OARS
Safe Fireproof Storage
We take great pride la saying what we know te he an aheolnte faet, and
that la that we have the FIMJSsT AMD ATJbT MOOnBVM n raVOOr
storage house In the west. When yon store anthing with ns 7 oar worry and
responsibility tn regard te Its safety ends. Ton are snre ot earsfol fcaudilng,
tale from riavB or burglars and taederate In cost for roar Insurance.
Don't watt until you Inour A LOS a BUT SO XT MOW. Moving and fire
proof storage la our business. Wl KNOW MOW i let ns do It.
TOU ABM XMTXTXD We eordlaUr Invite yon te Inspect
our new, beautiful, fire proof warehouse- An attendant will
gladly show yon every part of the building.
Ul Willi TOVB YAX.UABX.Bt) ABB BAFBOUABSBB
Omaha Fire Prool Stor-aflc Co.
Call Douglas 176SI lad. A-133S. 604-glg MOUTH UTXf ITTBMT.
could never succeed because of the desert
through which It would run. But In the
years which followed the untiring efforts!
of Irrigation experts and of hopeful rail
road anxious for the development of the
country have changed it Into a land of
the greatest prosperity. Crops worth
millions of dollars are grown and the
shipping and Jobbing Interests of the new
country are centered In Omaha, which is
steadily becoming recognised as a real
factor In the trade of every great com
mercial house of the west.
In the network of the Burlington rail
road system, Omaha Is placed In what is
the geographical and the real center. One
of the two headquarters of the road is
situated In this city, some 1.600 persons be
ing given employment by the road In
OmahA.
From Omaha the Burlington radiatts
everywhere, reaching points In twelve
states, and connecting directly or through
their connections all of th great com
mercial centers of the country. The Mis
souri river valley from Sioux City to
Kansas contains the greatest part of their
trackage, although their lines from Bill
ings, Deadwood and Denver to Omaha are,
of coume, the long ones. Between Omaha
and Chicago a network of lines throuth
Iowa and Illinois carry a grsln trade that
Is not equaled by any such amount of
mileage In the country.
BurllBHton Handles Mnrh Traffic.
Although the Burlington In Iowa, and,
Indeed, all east of the Missouri, does a
large shipping and passenger trade, It Is
the division west of the Missouri that has
developed the trading and Jobbing Inter
ests of Omaha greatly during the last few
years. Omaha and South Omaha together
handle what Is approximately one-tenth
of what Is the entire trade of this Immense
system, 25,000 cars of grain and 86,000 live
stock cara a year being handled by the
road In the two cities.
When the point Is considered that there
Is a car loading of 1,800,000 ears a year
and that Chicago Is the only center which
has a larger tonnage than Omaha, It can
be seen that Omaha Is really In need of
the road. An average working day of the
Omaha freight house Is about 2,000,000
pounds, all put through the freight house
Itself.
A look at the passenger tatlon of the
Burlington at Omaha In one of the rush
hours, perhaps t In the morning or better
at : to In the afternoon, forces one
to realise the Immense amount of travel
coming into here from both east and west.
Four fast trains to and from Chicago are
run dally, and as a standard of their ex
cellence and time service the mall from
Chicago to Omaha Is csrrled by the Burl
ington, and also from Omaha to Seattle
on the western service.
One of the most remarkable records of
train service on reoord was made by the
Burlington aystem during the month of
June, 1B10. For the thirty days of that
month the four trains appeared on time
every day In the case of two of them, one
train once and another late three times.'
The record in detail la as follows:
v Fast mall No. 7 on time every day.
Fost mail No. 15 late one day out ot the
thirty.
Passenger train No. 6 late three times In
the thirty days.
Passenger train No. 2 on time every
day.
A record like this reflects without
further proof the condition of the road
and the service and shows the perfect or
ganization behind it. An .equally good
July record was made also.
Bond Always Improving.
Improvements are always going on on
the road, the greatest one of the lest year
being the new line from Guernsey to
Thermopolls, Wyo., opening up a new
water level line from the great northwest
to Omaha and connecting this city with
the Big Horn Basin country, a land that
Is sure to draw an immense amount of
trade to the Omaha markets through this
new connection. Another connection be
tween the Burlington and the Northern Pa
cific line just being finished Is the
Scrlbner-Fromberg line, affording ad
ditional transportation from the Omaha
markets and the Jobber to the northwest
country. Several extensions on the east
ern section are being considered, on a
southerly line Into Fartiucha, Ky., being one
of the most Important. The Hudson
Oreely line, to be a airline route between
Denver and Cheyenne is now under course
of construction.
In Omaha the new Burllnfitou freight
depot, an Improvement which the Omaha
officials have hoped for for some Ufa, Is
already started, and it will undoubtedly
Improve th freight service of the road In
this city and maks It possible to ).andl
any amount In the quickest manner known.
The building will run from Farra.tn to
Jackson streets along Eighth, aa.l will
entail a cost of over ll.OOb.OOO to th road.
Purchases Xew Cars.
Other Improvements In operating is the
purchase of 8.761 curs and eiiKn during
the last year, the recent puruhm ) of the Col
orado & Southern, Colorado Isid'and, Fort
Worth & Denvor City, Wlc!U:a Vulley and
Trinity St Biaios Valley itHroads. Alto
gether, with the S.84K mil's of the Burling
ton proper and the 2, miles purchased,
titers are 11.742 miles of track which th
road controls. On their own lines west of
the Micso-ai', before these new roads were
h.vjj)',. t Uere was an Increase of 2220 2 miles
of track. Over $t,000,00u were spent by the
road tn ballasting track last year and an
other sum of I2.0UO.OOO spent tn the Mllford
cut-off, near Lincoln. Improvements In
the shops at'Havelock mean an expenditure
of IM,W.
One of the Interesting purchases of the
road was the Investment In 600 automobile
freight cars, the cars needed having to be
especially wide and high for the shipment
of thece machines.
As an Illustration of the trade opened
to Omaha through the Burlington, tak a
glance over the development ot Wyoming,
a state tributary to Omaha trade. Ten
years ago there were 0,000 farms, and
property was cf the ai&essed value uf 111.-
0,000, and now there are 20,000 farms of the
value uf l 46.000.000. The land in the dry sec
tion, especially In the great Big Horn Banln,
la rapidly being brought under the Influence
.of irrigation methods, thus increasing
greatly th number of people to the mile
and the trad and produce of the region.
The Burlington is spending thousands uf
! dollars a year In simply placing people on
j tiio.se lands, In order to Improve the coun
I try and incidentally their trade.
H i
All Through Trains Via
urliotoo Route
Now Electric Lighted
Throughout from locomotive to observation platform
To inaugurate this service, it has been necessary to entirely re-equip, elec
trically, seventy-tvro complete trains and practically all the reserve passen
ger equipment of the entire Burlington system, consisting of locomotives,
baggage cars, mail cars, coaches, chair cars, dining cars, sleeping cars and
observation cars. In the history of American railroading no such extensive
and costly improvement af coach lighting has ever been attempted up to
this time.
These electric-lighted trains operate between Chicago, St Louis, St. Paul,
Minneapolis, Omaha, Kansas City, St. Joseph, Denver, Billings, Spokane,
Seattle, Tacoma, Portland and intermediate points.
The dynamo system of electric lighting the most satisfactory known is
used. An electric dynamo installed in the baggage car of each train gener
ates the current and supplies the entire train with a brilliant, steady light,
not only when the train is in motion, but also when standing still. Further
more, a skilled electrician is on duty on each of these trains for its entire run,
to see that the train is properly lighted, ventilated and heated, both by day
and by night On the trains of no other railroad are exclusive train elec
tricians carried.
L W. WAKELET, General Pamper Agent
OMAHA. NEB.
Burlington trains run "on time" with astonishing regularity
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Leave : Union Station daily 7:00 a. m., 12:05 p. m., 5:20 p. m., 6:00 p. m., 6:05
p. m., 8:50 p. m., 11:45 p. m., 12:40 a. m. Convenient departures and arrivals.
Fast schedules and unrivaled equipment; dining car service unequaled.
St. Paul. Minneapolis and Duluih
ftT1-ree splendid trains a day via the North Western Line leave the Union Station, Omaha, at
7:50 a. rn., 7:00 p. m., and 9:00 p. m. There are hundreds of cool northern resorts in the woods
and on the lakes in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Lake Superior District.
South Dakota Hot Springs
Located in the heart of the Black Hills, at an altitude of 3,000 feet. Its summer climate
is charming and the medicinal waters and big plunge baths restore health and provide recre
ation. t Good hotel accommodations. Endorsed by the U. S. Government as a National
Sanitarium. Direct train service, through Pullman sleeping cars and free reclining chair cars
to Deadwood daily, leave Union Station at 3:55 p. m.
Summer Rates
Low rates to Black Hills, Wyoming, the lakes and resorts of Minnesota and Wisconsin
and to Chicago and the seaside and mountain resorts of the East Liberal return
limits and favorable stopover privileges.
For tickets and full information apply at
Ticket Office
,, 1401-1403 Farnam Street,
Omaha Neb,
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