OCR Text |
Show WESTERN PACSPIC TRACK DESTROYED Ten Miles or More Swept Away by the Waves of Great Salt Lake Road May Not be Open to Traffic for Weeks Damage is Severe Line to be Abandoned. , try to suppress all news In such mat-J mat-J lets. According to figures obtained from an accurate source, the lake will havo to raise less than two feet to cover the level stretch of country extending for blxty miles along the line of the Western Pacific and known as the salt beds. This de Mi. of salt, while lu a cbrystallzed state aud quite hard, dissolves readily upon being flooded with water. The roadbed of the Western Pacific across tho salt flat des not aerage more than two feet above the curface of the salt In discussing the situation, and In O'lswer to inquiries of a representative of this paper, a man prominet in railroad circles stated that he was formerly In the employe of the Western West-ern Pacific during the construction of j tho line across tho salt beds and had made a thorough study of the situation situ-ation and he Is thoroughly convinced that the present line can never be f uccetslully used by the Western Pacific. Pa-cific. He added that. If the Weeiern Pacific does not select a route south of the present one, that the company must enter Into a traffic argeement with the Southern Pacific for the use of the latter's line across the lake and ns far west aa Elko. By using th3 Southern Pacific line, he stated, the Western Pacific would shorten its route about 35 miles. According to advices received at; Osden as well as at Salt Lake last-ever last-ever In jr, Monday 's storm on the Lake extended south to tho line of tho Western Pacific, on the 6outh edge ot thfe lake, practically destroying ten miles or more of tiack and doing damage dam-age to the extent of ?200.000. In addition ad-dition to destroying the track, thla storm demonstrates to the engineers of the We9teni Pacific that, as In the case of the Snn Pedro road, they must either use the Southern Pacific's cut-off across the lake or lind a moro feasible route than the present on.1 The storm of Monday afternoon was one of the worst the Western Pacific officials have had to contend with since tho construction of their road across the 6alt beds south and west of the lake. The north wind, according accord-ing to the indicator of the Southern Puclfic company at Midlake, had a velocity of 60 miles per hour. The intensity in-tensity of the storm washed great waves over the Western Pacific's roadbed road-bed which Is scarcely higher than the lake's level, and destroyed mile alter mile of road. All traffic over the Western Pacific Is suspended Indefinitely, and the most hopeful predictions are that the road will not be able to handle business for several weeks. The worst washouts are between Grantsville and Lnke Point. In thi stretch of track there are sections gone which have entirely disappeared uiider the water. Other parts of the truck arc a mud heap. On the semi-dry semi-dry land part of the road tho approaches ap-proaches of bridges are washed out. The full extent of the damage could not be learned owing to the policy of the Dener & Rio Grande and Western West-ern Pacific railroad management to |