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Show Prosperity on Denver & Rio Grande I I Tho most prosperous year in the cn-liro cn-liro history of the Denver & Rio Grande railroad was that, of 1908. and this is tho declaration of tho officials of that, tho scenic road of the Rockies. In tho words of General Superintendent Ernest Steuger of tho Utah lines of the system, sys-tem, "The road suffered Utile or nothing noth-ing from the panic; our business increased in-creased right along, and in one mouth our not earnings exceeded those of tho samo month in the previous year by $00,000 " Going into details. Mr. Steuger Steu-ger claimed for his road that it is essentially es-sentially a mining road, and that for the fiscal vcar ending June 30, 190S, S2 per cent of the entire oarumgs was obtained from tho freight charges on shipments from the mines. The income from, this one source for the year amounted to $7,019,470, a gain of more than $000,000 ovor tho same period for 1907, for the same traffic, and these figures show to some degree how tho business of the road has increased. 4 4 One of I he largest sources of our revenue, and one that we recognized long a"0, is the Bingham district, whom the increase iu the traffic from the product from tho mines has necessitated the relaying with Su-pound steel rail of ten miles of the high line, and tho improvement of the track lo Bingham Bing-ham and the facilities for handling freight iu that great mining camp. The railroad company is spending unlinutod iiinnev in improvements, anticipating that "shipments from Bingham will be increased 50 per cunt in 1909, and to this end the embankments from Bingham Bing-ham and Garfield have been widened and the most of the line ballasted. "I'liysically the road is being improved. im-proved. One thousund now cars aud twentv-einht now locomotives have been received this year, and thirty more locomotives loco-motives arc now being constructed, fifteen fif-teen of which will go to the Western Pacific aud the Samo number lo tho Denver & Rio Grande for passenger service 011 tho two lines. 'In addition to the new passonger station sta-tion now under construction, tho management man-agement is now having drawings pre-pared pre-pared for tho most comprehensive freight terminal in tho wost. The pros- ent facilities are not sufficient for one line, and it is proposed to build for IH the completion of tho Western Pacific, with ample trackage and warehouse room to handle tho eastbound trade ' from the coast on tho Western Pacific, ; and the westbound traffic that reaches , Salt Lake over tho Denver &r Rio JM Grande from the east. a "Another great physical improvement 'M is the double-tracking of the entire main line, a portion of which work is lH now completed. Tho directors have tho m matter before them now, and assurances fH have been received that approval will IH ,bo voted at tho next meeting and work EH started at the earliest possible date. tH "The road has just received from the IH manufacturers the finest wrecking car ever shipped west, with a capacity ofi lifting 100 Ions. During the past year the S3stcm also acquired titlo to aud possession of the Sanpete Valley, a branch. The territory covered by thi$ branch is being rapidly filled up -with, immigrants, and more than 30,000 acre of virgin land are soon to bo reclaimed by tho waters of the Sevior riven through one of the state irrigation projects, the Piute reservoir, so tha the acquisition of the branch was 4 profitable one for the parent system. A number of now coal fields havo been IH opened along the main line, among then tho Independent mines at Helper, ana; , Iho output of other mines has increased -' fully 50 percent, and this has added 1 to 'tho hauling revenues of tho Ria Grando system. Somo of the towni alonir the main lino aro growing IH wonderfully. Grceu River has jumpoo; into prominence during tho past yea as tho center of a favored fruit growing region. Recent discoverios of oil noav Bluff, Utah, havo attracted the uttoiy tion of experts, well drillers and iur vestors to thnt district, with thu cort taiuty already shown that the oil is, not ouly of superior grade and quality but that the arcu aud the flow where; opened is cxhaustless. "This winter is a relief to tho man agemeut over somo of its predecessors) Never has there been a winter before! jH that freight in transit has not been tied IH up ou tho roud from shortago of cars or power." mmt ' ' ' A Tho Donvor & Rio Grande R, R. PaEscngcr Dopot, Salt Lake City, Utah. - mmm |