Show If Jim I. I rid Lime I L r w I J k N j l t a aI I r a t 4 Iw a th O M 42 GREAT GREAT SALT LAKE AND ITS LONGEST L w BRIDGE Ell L d h MF 4 WOULD HE KNOW IT If Old Jim came cam back to Great Crat Salt Lake would h he b. recognize recognise it a a. a the bod body of water wat be he In 1825 1825 Just t let el your imagination travel bani up and down the century during dur duro lag ing which the tb American hat has made mad the Utah desert to blow blot corn om like lika the ro rote rose Would he h. know it 7 Or wouldn't he What lU you l 7 ay w e- e r a 7 I 1 s. s By Ry y ROBERT N H H. H MOULTON AMES AMS otherwise e known ns RS Old Jim plainsman plains plains- man roan mountaineer Indian J 11 trader explorer P pathfinder path path- Q a t h b- b finder discovered Great Salt Galt lake In 1825 If It he lie should come como back no now v v. v he ho would be amazed to see the longest long est bridge ever constructed eted where the tracks of ot the Southern Tactile c railway f IOl erose the lake luke on a n ty typical I American timber trestle 20 O miles In length Originally this bridge was 28 miles In length but eight Ight miles of ot the tho trestle have been replaced h by n fill t ll i. i b Is called the Great Suit Salt lake Inko cut off cut of the South South- Southern Southern ern era Pacific road roud It Is a railway line laid In an nn old lake ake bed from tram to Ogden Utah miles Part of at this lake loke b bed d Is dry part Is U under water Tim part under tinder water Is I Great Salt lake luke The cut off Is us liS as the crow flea flics It was WOI built to save the tho greater grades and curves cunes' und and distance of ot the old eld line Una The curves the ne new line fine saves naves would turn a u train around eleven times The Tho power saved In moving an nn average freight train be because cause of ot lower gr grades would lift nn an average man A KO 8 miles Once upon a 11 time long lung long ago UIO there was a 11 great lake In Utah tar fur larger than thun tho present Great Greut Salt 11 It lake luke lh was WIlS a lot of ot high highland highland I land and which looked like n a saucer with witha inc for tur Its rim This lake lak was wasn n thousand feet teet deep ats surface e was just a 11 mile toile higher than the acts of ot the ocean OClIn The fhe lake Inke woe was 1 Sin tulles lung long miles milts wide whIt und nod 2 2210 o miles mills aroUnd It 11 was almost as liS us Luke Lake Michigan tn und nod much touch deeper The first man wh who wrote about It was woe Captain hero of or one of W la In Ir ln Ir Ing's Ings 8 tales In 1831 lit 6 W the marks high on the tha cliffs cliff wh where re the waves once Inre dashed So time tho o lake th that At once was bus hus been blell named Lake Labe I hut no one ever er saw navy It It for tor It was all In prehistoric times s Once n R river ran from Lake Luke hon Don to the Pacific ocean olenn This river ran rull north through lied Iced lt d Hock fork pass Into the Snake river rind and the he river runs rims Into the Columbia and nod the Columbia runs Into the tile Ii sea U. U the place where Salt Snit Lake Ino City now no stands n was ns nA then feet under water waler limit Hut by find and by there was less ruin Lake Inka Donne grew smaller and smaller until It WitS win no larger titan Lake ake I Erie No stream nm now ran ron from rum It Ill lr for tor Its surface was liS lower et titan than th pass ass to 11 the cite north Now If It you pour water Into n R pan Inn and set It out Into Inlo tho the warm sunshine by and b by the water waler will be gone It will wUl h have c evaporated Rut But If there were ever no so little salt antt In lu the water the suit salt will wll still be In the pun after the water la bs gone glint Thus It h wui with Lake Inke Donne The rivers that ran Into nto it had bad a II little littlesalt stilt salt In them So long ns as a n river Iver ran out Gut of ot Lake Inke It carried curried this salt away ns as fast fust as It came come In Rut But when no river flowed from It and the water witter went up In the air by oration the suit salt remained In title time e Lake Bonneville grew grety very salty Tho The sen seasons ons grew drier dller and drier until one hot summer day Luke Lake was vas no longer a lake Inke of or water outer but just n a lake Inke of ot salt snit Noone Noone No Noone one knows how along Jong Luke Lake B was dr dry J. J Eventually lly however another another an other change came cume The seasons grew colder The Time water waler did not c evaporate tte so fu fut fust t. t Perhaps more mort ruin rain tell fIll and the rivers that ran Into the saucer grew larger At Al fin any rate n a new lake Inke came oil me where the old one une had been It was not pot so 80 large huge as ns Luke Lake Bonneville At AI present thin this lake luke Is very cry salty and It I U is called Great Greut Salt SnIt lake hake Great Grent Salt lake covers co 2000 square miles Is 1 75 miles malice s mug long HI 11 miles millS wide whIt and undo In the deepest places 30 80 feet deep It Is the most unity till It sea SI on onearth onearth earth curth ex except pt the Dead sea sen In every er e five pounds of lit water la is one pou d of lit stilts salts It s of ot which 1 13 11 oune ounces are ure common com mon men snit salt n G Geologists l have hn e estimated that Great Salt Stilt Snit luke Is tit lit least jours ears old Th Th y calculate morn more over o that there theft are arc tons tuns of stilt snit In Its waters livery three thrle years el and n a half hulf time the e sun nun draws up iii from iron the lake bake us its much II water as its Is now nil In hi It Rut nut the a hewing lI Into Inlo the till lake hake keep kelI It pretty well ell Hied jit Just the till saute Mime The v wale or orIn r rIn In the time lake hake Is t 1 so o 0 hen heavy that one line cannet can lIn cannot not net sink In It Its There nere are rc no nil Hi 1 In n Grunt rent Salt Snit lulu lake A shrimp rarely e. tX reeding third one of ot an un Inch In length 1 lives I there IheN Certain young e e eIn In the time luke hike before the they get their winks wings s. s Seagulls make their 1 along the shore and thousands thousand of ml pel pet Means have ta their homes on un the time Munds a cm of tit Gr tt Suit Stilt lake hike It Is said tutu that t no one vows I where they come came um train from i Fifty ears puiS ago and more some HOUI ery IY y enterprising and able uble rueD men IOU said III tIe tIlY yv v would build a II railroad n cross across I the Ill coun tl try They did BO so They built bulU Ih Ib lie e Union Pacific nc east enat from runs rum Sun Son run Iran claw Cisco In 1803 they nano to tu u the her flu flat I blond oud b bed 1 of ot Luke Bonneville flu But t Grout Suit Sall lake hike lay In 11 time the i enter center min and d burred the tho wn way So they built buill th the truck track around the lake to the north A third of ot n century later there x nf n much more business In Ines werl five times ns S lure large Freight ht can would hc times time ns as much weight Between Ogden und and Lucia was n a tine fine level roadbed made b by Lake Inke Bonne 11 Ie Only Greut Salt SnIt lake luke 30 feel feci Jeep deep lay In the wu way And Sf so verJ evert du day duy trains were lifted In curves 1600 1 feet higher and und curried 34 tulles miles farther far tier ther than would be necessary If It u a road roud were 16 built straight across the lake So the Southern l Pacific dOc railroad men amen looked at ut time the old grade grudo over the time mountain and then at nt the th level way acro across a Great Suit lake and th they y sold bald Let us build a off cut a straight level le line flue o over er land lund through water from ruin Lut In to Ogden They did IUd so 80 And thus came clime Into being the longest bridge In the tho world Time The alma aim of ot the line duet chief engineer r was to build u at mile tulle and ond n a quarter q of ut trestle tres tress tie tle u It week week over over a u thousand t feet t for tor each euch working day duy du In June 1004 1002 of t steel rails reached tho time puke luke In July mine cane the tint first piles pills Many of ot th tote tatter hitter were so 0 lung long that three curs cars loud bud to be chained together us ono one to carry cury them then Three thousand men Dlen were at ut work In the cold uld of ot winter winter win win- ter mind and time the heat beat of ot summer there was WUI no nu stopping Steadily the great grent path pathway way WU grew Much llach duy day the time pile IllIe drivers made hundreds hundred of yards yanK I- I Each Kuch uh duy lily time tilt pit lit men then loaded hundreds of ot curs of vt gravel uel el sometimes curs cure It twos tilt army tit nt work In a salt sail dot desert Sixteen hundred and eighty eight y tons ton of ot fresh water were used each duy day All of It It t was brought mummy many miltS miles by hy train some train some of ot It bO miles battle tume 1 0 mills miles More dare II piles II l' l clime came All told 10 trees were cut dawn VU O to make th the great A forest of t two miles was transplanted Into loto Great Salt alt lake hake Plated end to tu end these e piles idle s would make u a great tree fallen would could tench I from Chicago o to tn Buffalo N On several lIe lunt the time III plies piles II were e driven bo so fust Gast hut that the trestle grew grewal rew I at ui the rule rate of ot 1140 feet flet per du clay duy lr I very 1 11 tl Ct 11 the c piles tilL ate driven cn I In u n row low cro to III III time truck track They I Ilire are lire 1181 fastened l' l tl lI I together on un their sides Y with heavy Y Umber lumbers four and eight Inches thick Across their tops um and 1 joining them haul together U Ice u al 1 beum Ib lb feet reet hilt ling King timid and u II taut Jot square Out Out- n I i net ting this beam with the Hie next se bet tiet l of plies 1 15 feet feel away are uru 11 II heavy y ly y timbers timber Wringers stringers laid I with the truck track Above the there thel v era erli U la n u plunk plank three lathes Indies s thick t I t Ahlin that Is u n tit coal of lit then the n u II foot or more of ut rock ruck I Iw in n w h the track und anti rails are IAre hold The fie Hour flour of ut I the h tI q estle U is ID lU feet fee t wide und and the lumber above e time pi 1111 j I hag Ing would w make u It four tour feet to tl i wide nod and an Inch Inh thick from ruin Boston a to lu I. |