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Show INCREASED TRAFFIC IS INTERURBAN PROBLEM ? & $2,000,000 EXPENDED IN MAKING IMPROVEMENTS UTAH and Idaho interurban roads, which have a mileage of 250 miles and serve two-thirds of the population of the two states. More than $2,000,000 was spent during 1916 in the improvement and extensions of the roads and the purchase of new and thoroughly modern equipment. rj m.e ( 'rtr ( mat Rise itsee nc j iit' w m tte "f ( -4t fit .lr gj C i i 111 j t nP-ji I Pi?! , - f-T M jm-tfp neb. I pkf- Jj 0. I . Faivisw t ) j . i J : H j KSi? 4 C TCTV. T lLi.,iron V. jft 7 j . ft .cnmon 4iijv '( 5 o x e 1 d e r V A 3 il -, . 1 . ... ill1 """V si s" """Tr ' i i j ' I ) ', r 3t Jc"'c ""?lH ! s" " x s "k T O o e I ' 7 "fjf S?-rd"n s X" I T fzrA H pt ' J &Ji tS $?r IL MlA.vu.w. 1 V f vWJmm rrT. I,. t' u Ch4ur " UTAH 8MHQ HT-Ogdeg HT-Ogdeg Logan & Idaho By. I K 1 Salt Lake&urah Q.Q. " T-iNLf J--aH- sMil ' 4 a b j TV 3 nj e i ex LL Hot Springs and Brigham City Cut-off Important Work of Past Year. ELECTRIC interurban lines in Utah, like steam roads, devoted most 'of their efforts during tbe year IHI6 to the handling of increased in-creased traffic, although extensious wero completed aggregating about twenty-five miles. All told, the three principal prin-cipal intrurban lines the Salt Lake & Ogden. the Salt Lake & Utah and the Ogden, Logan k Idaho expended during dur-ing the ) ear approximately $2,000,000 in improvement woi'K and for new equipment. The extensions were confined to the Salt Lake & Utah and the Ogden, Logan & Idaho linps. The former road completed com-pleted an extension of twelve and one-half one-half miles from Spanish Fork to Pay-son Pay-son and the latter built an extension thirteen miles in length from Sugarton to Alta. The total mileage of the' three lines, which serve two-thirds of the state s population, is in the neighborhood neighbor-hood of 2.)0 miles. Outside of the extensions, the most important work done was the completion comple-tion of temporary union terminals at Salt Lake City and Ogden and the erection erec-tion of shops at Payson by the Salt La ke & Utah ia if road. So far about $7")0,000 has been spent on the Salt Lake union terminals and in the neighborhood neigh-borhood of $1UU,UU0 for the terminals at Ogden. The shops at Payson represent an expenditure of about $20,000. Completes Cut-off. The Ogden, Logan & Idaho interurban interur-ban also completed a cut-off between Hot Springs and Brigham C-itv at a total cost of $:-(O0,iniU. The new line, besides being shorter than the old, lessens the grade and reduces the running run-ning time between Preston and Ogden about twenty-two minutes. The northern road also spent large sums in reducing grades at other points along its line and made extensive improvements im-provements in terminal facilities at Logan. Lo-gan. Snow barriers were erected at , points where trouble was experienced last year. The Plain City branch was. elect ri tied and two-hour service pro- j vided in place of the service of three trains daily. The Salt Lake & Ogden, the pioneer interurban line of the iutcrmountain region and the middle link of the inter-u inter-u r ban system, had no extensions to build, and devoted its attention to general gen-eral improvement work and to the development de-velopment of traffic. Some second main track was laid, but this work was seriously seri-ously hampered by the lack of materials and'labor. At the present time the company com-pany has on the ground about four and a half miles of rail ready to be laid as' second main line, but the work has been held up on account of scarcity of labor. Within the next few months it is planned to lay a second main track between be-tween Centerville and Parmington, and to connect the double track between Layton and Clearfield. Khen this is accomplished the road will be double-track double-track all the way to Clearfield, leaving nbout eight miles of single track on the whole line. Improvement work was liadly delayed on all the lines last year because of the prohibitive price and scarcity of materials. ma-terials. Jlost of the materials used in con nee t ion wit h the proposed improve-1 ments advanced in price from 50 to 10) per cent during the year on account of ! the great demand for metals in conuc-: conuc-: tion witli the manufacture of munitions of war. Six new steel trailers were added to the equipment during the year at a cost of about $.)O.O0u. The' uaw cars were ordered especially for the Lagoon excursion traffic, and assisted very materially ma-terially in the handling of the big crowds of pleasure-seekers during the summer season. For t he coming year the company plans to erect new modern stations at Kaysville and Sunset at a cost of about $1 0.uO'L Improvement s also are to .be made in the track facilities at the Salt Lake Union Stock Yards and it is probable prob-able that a station will be erected there. The track between Bountiful and Centerville Cen-terville is to be reballasted and the sixty-pound steel h to be replaced by eighty-five found rail. The Salt Lake & Ogd-n and the Sail I Lake fc Utah inter urban? jointly con - i structed the Salt Lake interurban terminals ter-minals at South and West Temple st I'eets. A t'm norary station was erected to care for immediate needs and the old union station at Thud South and First West streets was converted into a joint freight station. It is planned to erect a modern passenger station in connection with the new terminals ter-minals within the next five years at a cost of $200,000. Besides the terminal improvements and the new shops the Salt Lake & Utah expended about $50,000 for industry in-dustry tracks and beet dumps, and in the neighborhood of $75,000 for new equipment. Within the past year its daily passenger train mileage has been increased from 968 to 1475 miles. The most notable achievement on the part of all the interurban roads was the perfection of through traffic agreements agree-ments with the various steam lines entering en-tering the Salt Lake valley. By this arrangement through freight traffic may be interchanged between the respective re-spective interurban lines and the steam roads with which thev hold agreements. Through passenger service from the northern terminus of the Ogden, Logan & Jdaho to the southernmost station on the Salt Lake & Utah was arranged during the. year and added very substantially sub-stantially to" the passenger revenue of all the lines concerned. AH the lines also devoted, considerable attention to the development of package freight and express service. Schedules wero arranged ar-ranged and maintained on all the roads which gave shippers prompt service and a cost which proved popular in every sense. During the year the Salt Lake & Utah installed new power substations at Eringhurst and Springville, opened passenger and freight stations at West Jordan, Payson and Salem and purchased pur-chased five new motors and trailers, nine refrigerators, ten beet cars and twelve gondolas. Orders placed for the coming year are for one more freight locomotive and four trailers. No extensions for 1017 have been announced an-nounced as yet, but the Salt Lake & Utah has under consideration the extension ex-tension of its line to Salina canyon. Under the arrangement contemplated, the interurban will use the line of the Salt Lake Route from Payson to Juab and build its own road from J nab to Salina canyon. The passenger traffic, as well as the freight traffic, increased notably on the interurban lines during tho year 1916. The passenger increase reflected a steady growth due to a eteady development devel-opment of the. country traversed, while the freight traffic, reflected not only the development of the country, but of much new traffic. Tho freight traffic on the Salt Lake & Utah increased almost al-most 450 per cent and on tho other lines the increase was little less phenomenal. phe-nomenal. Encouraged by tho reception accorded accord-ed in tho past few years, there is every indication that the extension of the interurban in-terurban lines within the state will be continued during 1017. |