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Show SAL. RAILROAD TO BEELECTR1F1ED Line Will Also Be Extended From Present Western Terminal to Garfield. PLANS ARE COMPLETE New Construction Will Be Pushed to Be Ready for 1917 Business. Coming as one of the most important and interesting announcements of the year in local railway and industrial circles, cir-cles, is the news issued yesterday by General Manager Joseph Nelson of the Saltair Beaeh company that final and definite arrangements have been perfected per-fected for the electrification of the Salt-air Salt-air road and the extension of the line from Saltair to Garfield. Ties and rails have been ordered for immediate delivery for the Saltair-Gar-field extension and General Manager Joseph Nelson states the work will be pushed as rapidly as possible. Preliminary work ou the main Saltair line, running between Salt Lake City and the beach, looking to the electrification electrifi-cation of the road, has beon going forward for-ward quietly for several months. At the half way passing point over a mile of new track has been put in as the first step toward electrifying the road. Active Ac-tive operations on the overhead electrical electri-cal construction, together with the very large amount of other work that will be necessary to electrify the line, will start immediately after the close of the coming com-ing summer season at Saltair and will be completed in time for the opening of the 1917 season. General Manager Joseph Nelson of the Suit air Beach company returned from the east recently with all arrangements arrange-ments perfected and the greater portion of tho details worked out for electrifying electrify-ing the Saltair line in time for handling the 1917 summer season, although the decision was reached to immediately build the extension from Saltair to Garfield Gar-field and operate it by steam for this season. Will Double Tracks. The Garfield extension will be a three-mile three-mile line. Ultimately both the main line from Salt Lake to Saltair and the Garfield extension will be double tracked. In all probability the Saltair electric cars will come up town and make a loop of the business district, in order that the half million people who go to Saltair annually an-nually may enjoy the full convenience and comfort which the electrification of the Saltair line ib designed to bring to patrons of the big resort. Negotiations are already under way toward an arrangement ar-rangement of this nature. The electrification of the Saltair line and the construction of the Saltalr-Gar-field extension will be financed by C. F. Childs & Co. of Chicago, one of the largest bond houses in the world. This concern has arranged to take the Saltair Salt-air company's bonds in whatever amount is necessary for the electrification electrifica-tion of the line and the construction of the extension to Garfield. The engineers engi-neers and representatives of the Childs company made exhaustive and thorough inspections of the Saltair property and not only agreed to finance the electrification electrifi-cation of the road, but it is understood the company made vigorous efforts to purchase the entire pronerty outright, so favorably were the officials impressed with the resort and its possibilities. Plenty of Backing. Childs & Co. last year handled over $31,000,000 worth of government bonds aloue and the concern is considered one of the strongest financial institutions in the country. With the electrification of the Saltair road will come entirely new rolling equipment for the line. General Manager Man-ager Joseph Nelson stated yesterdav that the new electric cars will be all steel and of the very latest and most modern type. The electrification of the main line, together with the construction of the extension to Garfield and the purchase of new cars and other rolling equipment, will represent a new investment bv the Saltair company of more than $500,000. Saltair as it stands today represents an investment of more than three-quarters of a million dollars, the main pavilion pa-vilion alone having cost $300,000 when erected in 1893. An average of more than half a million mil-lion people have visited Saltair annually during the past few years. With the announcement of consummation consumma-tion of arrangements to electrify the Saltair line comes the further news of many improvements made at the resort the past few months in preparation for the coming season, which opens Saturday, Satur-day, May 27. Improvements Made. General Manager Nelson states that a great deal of work has been done in cleaning up the beaeh and that there is every indication of the objectionable beach odors being eliminated this season. sea-son. Thousands of square feet of additional concrete flooring has been placed on the main floor of the pavilion and the resort, so that now the entire first floor is concrete. More than 120,000 square feet of reinforced cement fcas been put in. The laying of this cement floor automatically auto-matically brings -several big advantages to Saltair and its patrons. The officials of the resort feel confident that the cement floor will entirely do away with the spider trouble at the lake "which has already been greatly reduced. The pilings on which the main floor of the pavilion rests were subjected to severe tests before the concrete surface was put down. Twenty ton trucks were driven across the floor with not the slightest indication of a "give." Accommodations have been put in tht will make it possible for Saltair to take care of 50 per cent more bathers during the coming peason then ever before. General plans for the 1916 summer season include new dancing and bathing features at the lake, the operation of the ship cafe pnd various new concessions conces-sions and outdoor attractions. S::ltair will be f or mall v opened for the summer sea.enn nn Saturday, May 27. |