13 " THE MORNING OREGONIAN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1, 1908. MHQ NORTH! SFffi IL BMBGI) City Has Only Fresh Water Haven On the Pacific Coast, and One of the Greatest Wheat Shipping Ports in the World PHHH iiiilillil SlililiBiM . iiiisii BETTERMENTS ON HARRIMAN LINES Large Sums Expended for the Improvement of Oregon Railways During 1907 Heavier Rails Laid and Many Steel Bridges Built By J. F. O'Brien, Manager firnrrtman Lines In Oregon. WHILE the general public has knowledge that some work is being done by railroads in the Northwest in bettering and improving their physical condition, and increasing their facilities for conducting the trans portation business,. It is not generally known to what extent such improvements have been carried on and are still being prosecuted on the lines of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company and the Southern Pacific Company's lines in Ore gon. The object of this article, therefore, is to give a brief resume of this subject. More or less work of this character has already been done on the Oregon Kail road & Navigation Company's lines, but, It was not until April, 1904. when the re organisation of the Harriman lines took place, resulting in the merging of the lines in the Northwest and the placing of same under one management, that a definite plan of improvement as to track, bridges, equipment and facilities in gen eral was adopted." permitting the use of heavier power and larger capacity cars made necessary by increased business, resultant from the marvelous develop ment of the country contiguous to those lines. With the general policy of improvement, there was also adopted and carried out, plans to surround the conducting of busi ness, both passenger and freight, with all modern safety appliances. In pursuit of She above mentioned policy, the following work was uone up to and Including June Jft. 1W, Ihe end of the last fiscal year of :he corporation: Nearly Three Miles or Steel Bridge. Bridges, with few exceptions, were of light iron or wooden construction, and to replace same sixtyspven new steel struc tures, aggregating 13.S17 feet in length, nd designed to carry the heaviest loads have been erected at a cost of $2,317,774. This work has been done in the most lubstantial manner and without- regard to cost. Bridge foundations are all of concrete sunk Into bed-rock. Alino-t Seven Miles of Trestle Filled In all 4.324.919 cubic yards of filling has been done, eliminating 34,633 lineal feet sf trestles, which Involved an outlay of $t. 147,000. Where it was not possible to make fills existing trestles were strengthened and renewed at a cost of J400.(XiO. To pro vide sufficient and substantial drainage for the water courses crossed by these filled trestles, cast iron and concrete arch culverts were used in all cases. To pro tect the roadbed from inundation and damage by waters $300,000 was expended for rlp-rapplnr and changing channels of dangerous streams. Over 800 Miles of New Steel Ralls. A greater part of the roadbed was also of llaht construction and to remedy this MS miles of light rail has been replaced by heavy steel rails varying In weight from 75 to 90 pounds per yard, at a cost of J2.138.345. Three hundred and eleven miles of main track have been fully bal lasted at a cost of S4S6.OO0, and 191 miles of embankments widened, costing $90,000. $1,000,000 for Line Changes. On certain sections, the lines as orig inally located were of such sharp curva ture and abrupt gradient as to prohibit the operation of passenger trains at high speed, or locomotives from hauling their full capacity of freight. At such points extensive line changes have been made, which, briefly described, are as follows: Total length. 21 miles: line shortened 2.150 feet, curvature eliminated 1,728 degrees or about five whole circles, at an approxi mate cost of $960,000. The most important of these changes is from Troutdale to Bonneville, and the magnitude of this work is quickly observed by any traveler passing over this section of the road. Tunnels have been retimbered and en larged to permit of the passage of larger equipment at an expense of $43,000. Electric Block Signals. To reduce the liability of accidents to the minimum and to avoid delays to pas senger trains, it is the intention to equip all main lines between Portland and Ashland, Huntington and Spokane, with the latest type of automatic electric block signals. At the present time this work is about one-half completed, and has en tailed an expenditure thus far of $442,000. It will, perhaps, be of Interest to know that such signals require the expenditure of about $120 a mile per annum for main tenance and operation. Adoption or Oil as luel. Owing to the difficulty in securing a suitable supply of wood and coal for loco motive use, and the gradually increasing price of same: also with a view of adding to the comfort of passengers, and avoid ing the setting of fires along the right of way crude petroleum was adopted for fuel on the entire Southern Pacific lines in Oregon' and on the Oregon Railroad & Navipation Company's lines between Portland and Umatilla, including branches. For this purpose, steel storage tanks and pumping plants have been con structed at numerous points, creating a storirse capacity of 126.500 barrels, or 9.513,000 gallons. This improvement en tailed an expenditure of J2SS.000. In order to consume this oil. a remodeling of loco motive fireboxes was necessary which .in volved an additional expenditure of about $00,000. Enlargement of Albina Shops. To provide adequate facilities for the prompt repairing and overhauling of equipment. It was necessary to enlarge the general shops at Albina, which re quired an appropriation of about $450. 000, made up as follows: New machine shop. $100,000; .22-stall addition to round house. $56,500: new paint and coach re pairing shop. $45,000; new transfer table, $26,000: new storehouses. $16,000; air. heat ing, water and sewer systems. $27,000; traveling cranes, $03,000; fire protection. etc., $30,000: additional equipment and tools. $66,000; electric power plant, . $15,- S00; new tracks. $14,709. The division shops at La Grande were also enlarged and improved at an expense of $208,000. Many Xew Passenger Stations. To provide for tne large increase in passenger travel it was necessary to erect a number of new passenger sta tions, the most important of which were as follows: At Spokane, a substantial brick building with commodious plat forms and train sheds was erected at a cost of $95,000; a similar brick structure, but somewhat less pretentious, was built at Wralla Walla at a cost of approxi mately $32,000, exclusive of the cost of the ground. Thirty-eight new station buildings have bren constructed at other points, involving an outlay of $62,000. In addition to these, about $75,000 will be spent to build passenger stations at Eu gene. Albany, East Portland, Troutdale, Winona and Tekoa. ' Xew Docks at Albina. In September. 1905. the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company's grain elevator and export docks at Albina were de stroyed by fire. In their place new mod ern docks, 'equipped with the latest type of electrical contrivances for loading and unloading vessels have been erected at a cost of $111,000. To meet the demands of increasing traffic, $3,370,000 has been expended for new equipment, divided as follows: Locomotives $1.430.no Passeneer cars 421.000 Freight cars 1.4S7.COO Miscellaneous .' 32,000 Cnt-Orr Lines Built. In addition . to the enormous sum dis bursed for improvement to roadbed and rolling stock, considerable money has been expended in constructing cut-off lines which permit of better time and less haul on freight shipments and im prove passenger schedules materially. A line has been built between Lafayette on the Yamhill division and St. .-Joseph on the West Side division of the South ern Pacific lines in Oregon, at an ex pense of $60,000. for the purpose of bring ing the Yamhill division in closer touch with McMinnville. the county seat, and also to avoid nine miles haul over the unproductive section between Lafayette and Whiteson. A connecting link has been constructed between the Woodburn - Springfield branch at Springfield and the main line at Springfield Junction, costing $150,000. which lessens considerably the haul of freight originating on the branch and destined to points north and south of the junction on the main line. By its con struction people living along the Spring field and Mohawk branches have been given passenger train service to Eugene, the principal jobbing center of the south ern part of the Willamette Valley and the county seat of Lane County. Another cut-off line, and probably the mort important to Portland people, but upon which work has been temporarily suspended owing to the money strin gency, is one from Beaverton, on the Southern Pacific West Side line, to Wills burg, on the main line, a distance of 10.1" miles, which involves also the con struction of a ' high bridge across the Willamette River near Milwaukie. -The line will cost about $)00,000 when com pleted. This cut-off has been projected for the purpose of giving better time and shorter haul on products of the West Side division destined to California points and Kastern points, and also to provide better transportation facilities to the large industries on the Yamhill division between Portland and Oswego. The prin cipal object of the construction of this new line, however. U to" avoid the run ning of heavy laden trains up the steep grade through Fourtl street, in the city of Portland. .Although not in the nature of a cut off line, the extension of the Ilwaco Railroad, 13.6 miles up the Columbia River from Ilwaco,. is a matter of con siderable interest to the people of Port land who mhake it a practice to spend the Summer season at North Beach, the cost of which extension will be approxi mately $350,000. It was expected that the entire line would be completed by the FIFTY Mll,ES OF NEW ' WATER MAIN" LAID. Records of the Portland Water department show a net Increase during 1907 of 50.63 miles of water mains, including 20.20 miles Of main four .inches or more in diameter and 30.42 miles of smaller sizes. Of the larger new mains there are 4.7" miles 12 inches and over in diameter, including" 5,200 feet of 2D-inch; 5.130 feet of 16-Inch, 14.4S4 of 12-inch. The complete system of the Portland Water , Department owned by the city, now consists of 267.488 miles of mains, of which 37.062 miles are four-inch and over, and ' 33.426 miles are smaller. Under the present system all expenses of the water depart ment are paid out of the water rents. At the last June election the charter was amended to provide for the laying of mains by direct assessment. This measure has been held Invalid, because It was illegally Initiated but It is probable that the ques tion will be again voted on dur ing the present year. end of the last Summer season, but un forseen difficulties encountered In drill ing the 900-foot tunnel, together with the swampy nature of the country through which the line will run, has delayed the work. The completion of this extension will avoid the vexatious delays heretofore ex ,perienced by boats running on tide schedules between Astoria and Iswaco, and, while a definite schedule has not as yet been worked out. it is probable that that we will be able to inaugurate a daily round-trip service by daylight "be tween Portland and the end of the new line, at which point commodious dockage facilities have been put in, will be inau-aurated. PORTLAND GRAIN EXPORTS INCREASE Fleet Carrying Breadstuffs, Lumber and Other Oregon Products Shows Gain of 394,000 Tons, Net Tonnage, Over 1906. By K. W. Wright. IN NO other, branch of Industry were more satisfactory gains shown in 1907 than in Portland's shipping business. During the year there entered and cleared from this port 1220 ocean-going vessels registering more than 1.700,000 tons, net, and with a carrying capacity of approximately 3.500.000 tons. While the number of vessels engaged In this trade was but 87 more than in 1906, the in creased size of the steam and sail craft was sufficient to show an Increase in net tonnage of 394,000 tons over that entering and clearing the year before, 4the carry ing capacity being about 800,000 tons greater than that of the 1906 fleet. This fleet carried, foreign and, coastwise, more than 175,000,000 feet of lumber and (flour Included) approximately. 18,000,000 bushels of wheat, in addition to thousands of tons of barley,-oats, bay, fruit, fish and other. products. It Included In the foreign trade 84 steamships with a combined car rying capacity of 500,000 tons. These steamships carried Oregon prod ucts to China, Japan, Siberia, Australia, South America. South Africa and Europe, and during the latter part of the year, for the first time on record at this port, had relegated the sailing vessels in the grain fleet to second place. The improved condition of the Columbia River was such that there was no lighterage, and no de tention anywhere in the river between Portland and Astoria, although the aver age draft of the 1907 fleet was more than six inches greater than that of the 1906 fleet, two of the vessels which cleared drawing 26 feet of water, with drafts of 24 to 25 feet quite common. As it was the wheat business which first brought Portland into prominence as a shipping port, that cereal still holds front rank as a factor in our over-sea traffic. With it, as with other branches of the marine business, there have been new records established In 1907. Not only was the average net tonnage of the ves sels engaged in the trade the largest on record, but with December wheat ship ments, exclusive of flour, Portland broke all records for a single month's ship ments from a North Pacific port, with ex ports of approximately 3,000,000 bushels of wheat. Growth of 40 Tears. The wheat trade being the most promi nent factor In the maritime growth "of Portland, offers in its growth and de velopment, an accurate history of the growth and development of the entire shipping trade out of Portland. It is not yet 40 years since the first cargo of wheat was sent foreign from Portland, the pioneer vessel In the trade being the American bark Helen Angler, which was cleared by J. McCraken in April, 1869. with 36,943 bushels of the cereal. ' The American ship Adeline El wood, dis patched six months later by Corbltt & Macleay. with 22.400 bushels of wheat, completed the fleet for the year. Three vessels were cleared in 1870 with cargoes totalling; 7L3b8 bushels and in 1871 the fleet included eight ships ranging in size from 399 tons to 871 tons register, the big ship of the fleet being the Mont gomery Castle, which had the distinction of bring the first metal ship to load at Portland. The fleet of 1872 included 17 vessels, two of which were of more than 1000 tons register. When It is recalled that even the diminutive craft of 35 years ago, were always subject to delays in getting up and down the river, as well as over the bar, and that lighterage was a necessity on nearly all of the largest vessels, the remarkable Improvement in Portland's channel .to the sea can be un derstood. The appended figures showing the aver age cargo carried by the ten largest vessels loading wheat at Portland for a number of years since 1872, presents in a striking manner the increase in the size of the vessels loading at Portland. Bushels. - l 5 7.-...".0 , 114..HI3 1 6X..109 226,620 Tear. 1872 1SS2 . 1S!2 1902 . 1907 Whlle the average capacity of the ten largest vessels .of the 1907 fleet was more than 60.000 bushels greater than that of five years ago, . and more than 110,000 bushels greater than that of 15 years ago. there was no lighterage and there were no delays in 1907. while in 1892. be fore the Port of Portland began clearing out the channel, lighterage was a serious burden on shipping entering the port. With the appearance of larger ships there has been a steady decrease in the freight rates and as the, producer pays the freight, it Is thus quite apparent that every wheat producer in the Co lumbia basin has profited by the improve ments made in the channel from Portland to the sea. In the days of small sh'lps and a poor channel in the river, shipowners were paid from 60 to 105 shillings a ton for carrying wheat to Europe, and 10 or 15 years ago 40 shillings was consid ered a normal rate. Last year. In spite of a temporary spurt caused by a booming wheat market in England and very heavy offerings in the Pacific Northwest, the average rate to Europe Was only about 30 shillings and some vessels were secured at less than 25 shillings. Differential Is Removed. In June, the International Sailing shipowners' Union, which controls more than three-fourths of the available sail tonnage of the world, abolished the 30 cents per ton differential which was placed against this port four years ago. As a result, there nas been a pro nounced Increase in the wheat ship ments from this port, and with the completion of the North Bank road to this city, this increase will be still more noticeable. The" 1907 wheat crop In Oregon, Washington and Idaho was from 10, 000.000 to 12,000.000 bushels greater than that of 1906, and as the propor tion which will seek tidewater by way of Portland will also be larger than that of 1906, the export: ..i this port for the remaining six months of the fiscal year will break all existing rec ords. The practical . nment of wheat-growing in California has com pelled the Californians to draw on Oregon and Washington for wheat and flour in large quantities, more than 1,200,000 bushelB of wheat and 160.000 barrels of flour being sent to San Francisco and Port Los Angeles from Portland last year. xne remaraaoie gams wnicn i-ori-land made over all other Pacific Coast ports in the shipment of breadstuffs the December bulletin of the Bureau of Statistics of the Department of Com merce and Labor. This official publi cation places the value of all bread stuffs shipped from Portland during the 11 months ending November SO, 1907, at $10,536,234, compared with $4,717, 433 for the same period in 1906. The combined shipments from Seattle, Ta coma and Everett for the 11 month ending November 30. 1907, were $13, 989,178. compared with $13,066,250 for the same period. In 1906. The figures for the same periods in San Fran cisco were $4,143,592 in 1907 and $3, 961,620 in 1906. It will thus be seen that while Portland showed a gain of something more than 120 per cent, in exports of breadstuffs, " the three Puget Sound ports gained but a trifle more than 7 per cent, and San Fran cisco less than 5 per cent. In flour ex ports alone, Portland's gain over 190 was nearly 130 per cent, compared with a gain of less than 10 per cent for the Puget Sound ports. Maximum Not Reached. While Portland's foreign lumber trad ran well up towards 100.000,000 feet. It fell at little short of the 1006 business. This was almost wholly due to the decline in the Oriental demand, which ceased al most as soon as orders absolutely necei-. sary for repairing the ravages of war were filled. Toward the close of 1907 there were signs of a revival in this trade, and there is also an improvement In the California demand. These two great staples, wheat and lumber, form the base on which practically all of our foreign trade rests, and with both the possibilities for expansion are practically unlimited Thft cnmnletion of the North Bank road, with the extensions now building into the Clearwater country, and Into the Wallowa country, will increase the output of the Pacific Northwest sev eral million bushels annually. Since the Condon branch of the O. R. N. Co. was opened three years ago. the yield of the region traversed by that line has nearly trebled and has by no means reached its maximum of production. A still greater area of good wheat land awaits the coming of a railroad in Cen tral Oregon, and if this season's prices, which were the beat ever secured during a "big crop" year, are maintained, there will be enormous increases ltr wheat acre age throughout Oregon, Washington and Idaho.