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Show IfffffilTS BY SALT LAKE RGUTEOflDEflED Expenditures Amounting to Nearly $5,500,000 Are Announced by General Manager Nutt. PICO-SANTA ANA BRANCH ASSURED Automatic Block System of Signals Feature of the Many Betterments to Be Made. Extensions and improvements representing repre-senting an expenditure of nearly five and one-half million dollars are included in the 1917 budget of the Salt Lake Route, according to an announcement made yesterday yes-terday by General Manager H. G. Nutt. Mr. Nutt arrived in Salt Lake from Los Angeles late Sunday night and started start-ed westward yesterday on an inspection trip over the road. He was accompanied from Salt Lake by William Warner, assistant as-sistant general freight and passenger agent, and some of the division officials. Mr. Nutt's announcement is in line with a hint dropped by former United States Senator W. A. Clark, president of the road, during his visit to SaJt Lake a few weeks ago. Senator Clark said at that time that extensive improvements were contemplated, but that the budget for the coming year had not been definitely defi-nitely worked out. Uinta Not Included. The expenditures mentioned by Mr. Nutt do not include the possibility of an extension into the Uinta basin. In case the new line should be authorized a few more millions will be added to the budget. The largest single item mentioned by Mr. Nutt is that of new equipment which represents an expenditure of $1,800,000-Next $1,800,000-Next comes new steel, $1,500,000, and then the branch line from Pico to Santa Ana, $1,400,000. The company also will expend $390,000 for the installation of an automatic block signal system, 118 miles of which will be in Utah, In announcing the work contemplated, Mr. Nutt said: During the year 1917 we expect to lay some 00 miles of new ninety-pound ninety-pound rails at an approximate cost of $1,500,U00. In addition, we will spend in the neighborhood of $50,000 for new ballast and about $25,000 in improving our water supply at Las Vegas. Automatic Block System. During the year we also expect to install an automatic block system over 2"0 miles of our line, 112 miles from Rox to Modena and 118 miles from Salt La'Ue to Lynndyl, representing repre-senting an expenditure of about $330,-000. $330,-000. We also plan to spend in the neighborhood of $125,000 for permanent perma-nent bridges. The chief of these will be a steel bridge in the Clover valley val-ley wash, a large concrete bridge spanning the Sevier river south of Lynndyl. For miscellaneous improvements we expect to spend about $160,000, and for additions to tiie mechanical department, de-partment, including six heavy type locomotives, 750 self -dumping steel gondolas and six cabooses, $l,SO0,00O. The new "branch line from Pico to Santa Ana also Is included in the 1917 budget. This extension will be about twenty-four miles long and will represent an expenditure of approximately approxi-mately $1,400,000. The order for tbe new equipment will be placed just as soon as plans are completed com-pleted and bids are received. Other improvement im-provement work will be started as eoon after the first of the year as the weather will permit. |