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Show Encouraging Railroad Reports Rumor is Persistent That New Road Means Business and is Headed Toward To-ward the Uinta Basin. land for fift'v miles. The territory opened in Rio Blanco county alone comprises some 3,3000 square miles or more than 2,0)0,000 acres. The counties immediately affected by the line will be Garfield and Rio Blanco in Colorado and Uintah, Wasatch, Summit and Lake in Utah. Denver Dec. 18 The Grand River Meeker & Salt Lake railroad, rail-road, incorporated Inst October, is to become a reality at once. Two million of the $10,000,000 capital has been subscribed and grading will be started immediately im-mediately on the route which will cut off 173 miles between Denver and Salt Lake. The line is designed to penetrate pene-trate a rich mineral and agricultural agri-cultural territory on the western west-ern slope which has hitherto been untouched bv steam or electric transportation. When completed the road will enable persons leaving Denver via the Colorado Midland to travel 173 miles less than over the old route, and 100 miles less than as present via the Rio Grande line. George R. Simmons formerly assistant general manager of the Moffat road has been named as general manger' of the new line, and contract let for construction of the entire 300 miles to the Rangely-Meek-er construction company, with offices in the Railway Exchange Ex-change building. - It , is said, that the .contract-j price is to be $40,000 per. mile! the money to b', furnished as the work progresses. William I. Barenscheer, formerly with the Southern Pacific in California Cali-fornia has been selected as chief engineer. He with a large corps of assistants, is now on the ground finishing the preliminary work for the first twent3'-five miles which will be constructed at once. The construction compauy is prepared pre-pared to proceed as rapidly as the engineers make the way, which lies through an easy territory with but few grades and no tunnels. It is the purpose of the new company to found a town at the starting point on the Grand River, -the place to be known as Chapman. The $2,000,000 that has been subscribed will build the road toMeeker, and a meetiug of stock holders will be held on Dec. 15 in the offices of the General Attorne' Alfred Muller, 527 Ernest & Cranmer building to authorize ihe issue of $15,000,000 in 5 per cent gold bonds, to complete the road to Salt Lake. Officials of the road declare that the capital cap-ital is being subscribed entirely by individuals in Denver and through the cast, and that neither Midland or Rio Grande interests are involved. The length of the' road approximately ap-proximately is 300 miles. The project is one of the largest yet undertaken in the state and upon completion, will open one of the richest sections of the western slope. The territory ter-ritory abounds in rich mineral resources, besides embracing some of the richest agricultural lands in the west. The great : Hog Back range of mountains, ! extending from the Grand river i to Meeker is known to contain i practically a n inexhaustible ; supply of high-grade coal and the new ro-pto follow ttm coal i |