USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > History of the city of Omaha, Nebraska > Part 61
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Connecting at Missouri Valley, Iowa, with the Cedar Rapids & Missouri River Railroad (now the Chicago & Northwestern Railway), this line succeeded the old stage line from Council Bluffs to Sioux City, lowa, and was for many years the only line of communica- tion between Sioux City, on the north, and Council Bluffs or Omaha on the south, and
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAHA.
continues to be the connecting link in the through train line between Kansas City and St. Paul, Minnesota.
FREMONT, ELKHORN & MISSOURI VALLEY RAILROAD.
The Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad Company was organized under the general laws of Nebraska, January 20, 1869, and construction was comm need from Fre- mont northward the same year, resting at a point about ten miles from Fremont until 1870, when it was extended and completed to West Point, county seat of Cuming County. In 1871 it was completed to Wis- ner, 16.72 miles farther. Here it rested until 1879, when it was extended 58.56 miles to Oakdale. In 1880 it was completed to Neligh; also a branch from Norfolk to Plainview. In 1881 it was extended to O'Neill, and from Plainview to Creighton. In 1881 the line was extended to Long Pine. In 1882 it was completed to Thacher. In 1883 to Valentine.
In January, 1885, the company acquired the right to extend into Dakota. January 20th, by act of Congress, the right-of-way was granted through the military reservation at Fort Robinson, and in August, 1885, the line was completed to Chadron. December of the same year it was completed to Buffalo Gap, Dakota. June, 1886, it was completed to Rapid City, South Dakota, and Sep- tember 1, 1886, it was completed from from Dakota Junction to the Wyoming State line. February 28, 1887, Congress gave the right-of-way through the military reserva- tion of Fort Mead, and November 21st, it was completed to Whitewood, South Dakota. December 29, 1890, the line was completed to Deadwood, the mining centre of the Black Hills. The same year a branch was built from Whitewood to Belle Fourche, South Dakota.
In 1891, there was built a system of nar- row gauge lines to the mines in Ruby Basin and the Portland mines.
In October, 1885, the Wyoming Central Railway was organized under the law of Wyoming, and in 1886 this line was com- pleted from Wyoming, Nebraska State line, to Douglas, Wyoming. In 1887, from Douglas to Glen Rock, and in 1888, from Glen Rock to Casper, and June 4th was consolidated with and merged into the Fre- mont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad Company.
In 1886 a branch line was built from Fre- mont through Wahoo, in Saunders County, to Lincoln, the capital of Nebraska. The same year a branch was built from Scribner, Nebraska, to Lindsey, Nebraska. In 1887, a branch was built from the Fremont-Lin- coln line, from Platte River to Linwood, Nebraska; also from Platte River to Hast- ings, Nebraska. Also a line from Arling- ton, Nebraska, to Omaha; also a line from Irvington to South Omaha, and from Lind- say, Nebraska, to Oakdale, Nebraska. In 1888 the branch from Norfolk to Creighton was extended to Verdigre, Nebraska. In 1887, the line resting at Linwood was ex- tended to Geneva, and in 1988 to Superior. In 1890 from Buffalo Gap to Dakota Hot Springs.
TOTAL MILES IN THE SYSTEM:
Sioux City & Pacific Railroad in Iowa 80.47 Sioux City & Pacific Railroad in Nebraska 26.95 107.42
Fremont Elkliorn & Missouri Val- ley Railroad in Nebraska ... 985.19 Fremont. Elkhorn & Missouri Val- ley Railroad in Wyoming. . . 130.46 Fremont Elkhorn & Missouri Val-
ley Railroad in South Dakota. 184.88 1,300.53
Total number of miles 1,300.53
1,407.95
It affords access to the Omaha markets from four States, and the best of passenger through car service from Omaha to St. Paul and Minneapolis. Omaha to Dakota Hot Springs. Omaha to Deadwood. Omaha via Fremont and Superior to Newton, Kan- sas. Omaha to Hastings, Nebraska, and as a system, is one of the most important feeders Omaha has.
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TRANSPORTATION LINES.
MISSOURI PACIFIC RAILWAY.
The Missouri Pacific Company made a connection with the Union Pacific line at Papillion, fifteen miles west of Omaha, about 1882, reaching this city by using the track of the last named road, until it completed the Belt Line, in the winter of 1885 and 1886. It affords the people of this section direct access to St. Louis and the South. Its Omaha officers are T. F. Godfrey, city pas- senger and ticket agent; II. B. Kooser, city freight agent; G. E. Dorrington, traveling passenger agent, and J. O. Phillippi, assist- ant general freight and passenger agent. Since the completion of the Belt Line the business of the Missouri Pacific has increased rapidly in this section. S. II. II. Clark, first vice president and general manager of the Missouri Pacific, who has lately become pres- ident of the Union Pacific, has his headquar- ters in Omaha. The company has recently completed a branch line which leaves the main road at Union, Nebraska, and reaches Omaha by way of Plattsmouth. There has been much speculation of late years as to which of the roads entering this city would extend a line to Yankton, Dakota, an im- portant railway connection, and the general supposition has been that this work would be undertaken by the Missouri Pacific Com- pany. Two passenger trains, each way, per day, are run on this road.
THE BELT LINE.
The Belt Line, which encircles the city, extending from Webster and Fifteenth Streets to South Omaha, was a Union Pacific enterprise originally. In 1883 and 1884 that company commenced to secure the right-of-way by regular condemnation pro- ceedings and made considerable progress when, for some reason not made public, the enterprise was abandoned. At that time Mr. S. HI. II. Clark was general manager of the Union Pacific, but resigned soon after and was employed by Mr. Jay Gould to carry out the Belt Line scheme, ostensibly as an
independent line of railway but in fact in the interests of the Missouri Pacific Road, which then ran its trains into Omaha over the Union Pacific lines from Papillion. In- junction proceedings were commenced in the United States Court by the Union Paci- fic Company to prevent Mr. Gould from carrying his purpose into effect, and a con- siderable delay resulted. A compromise was effected, however, Mr. Gould paying to the Union Pacific people about $70,000 and then the securing of the right-of-way and construction of the road was pushed rapidly. From a point near the crossing of Farnam Street extension a branch line to Papillion was built, thus giving the Missouri Pacific direct access to Omaha as well as securing to that company the advantage over all com- petitors of having a line which practically enclosed the city. The wisdom shown by Messrs. Gould and Clark in this enterprise is now apparent and the Belt Line is already worth many times its cost. The entire expense of the construction of the two roads, including money paid for right-of-way, was about $700,000, but that investment has been increased largely since by general im- provements. Harry Gilmore is the local superintendent of the road. During 1890 there was a large sum expended at the South Omaha end of the road in the way of switches, double trackage, etc. Six daily · trains each way afford transportation to suburban residents along the line. The monthly pay roll amounts to $10,000.
CHICAGO, ST. PAUL, MINNEAPOLIS & OMAHA RAILWAY.
The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway Company gained an en- trance into Omaha in 1881, by purchasing of the St. Paul & Sioux City Company the line of road built originally by the Omaha & Northwestern Company, and have since that date expended a large amount of money in the crection of a depot building, corner of Webster and Fifteenth, and constructing a commodious freight yard oner one mile in
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAHA.
length and five hundred feet wide, north of Webster Street; also a fifteen stall round house, water tank, coal sheds and other con- veninces for the proper handling of its large business.
The general officers of this road are: Mar- vin Hughitt, president, Chicago; Martin L. Sykes, vice president, treasurer and assistant secretary, New York; Samuel O. Howe, as- sistant treasurer, New York; Edwin E. Woodman, secretary, Hudson; William II. Phipps, land commissioner, IIudson. The following officers have headquarters in St. Paul: Edwin H. Winter, general manager; Thomas Wilson, general counsel; Walter A. Scott, general superintendent; James T. Clark, general freight agent; Thomas W. Teasdale, general passenger agent; Charles W. Johnson, chief engineer; Lewis A. Rob- inson, auditor; Robert W. Clark, local treas- urer; William H. S. Wright, purchasing agent; Edwin E. Woodman, right of way and tax commissioner; Henry C. Hope, sup- erintendent of telegraph and signals; Ed- mond L. Poole, claim agent; Alexander Drezmal, car accountant.
H. S. Jaynes is superintendent of the Ne- braska division; Wm. B. Fordyce, train dis- patcher; Lyman Sholes, division freight agent; and Richard Dodd, traveling auditor. This division extends from Omaha to South Sioux City, opposite Sioux City, with branch lines running from Wakefield to Norfolk, Concord to Hartington, Wayne to Bloom- field, and from Coburn to Ponca. Great improvements are made by this company annually, in all branches of its business. Its suburban train service is being constantly expanded and improved, and a considerable sum of money is expended each year in ex- tending its depot facilities. Its track is laid with steel rails on oak ties, well bal- lasted. Five thousand cars of live stock per year are brought to Omaha over this line, and its direct connection with the lum- ber regions of the great lakes gives it an importance in that respect which is not
shared by many railway lines. Half a mil- lion dollars is paid out annually in Nebraska to employes. Over one billion pounds of freighit is handled yearly at its Webster Street depot. The following shows the number of miles in the Nebraska division: Missouri River to Omaha 123.06
Sioux City Union Depot to bridge track,
(leased) 50
Sioux City Bridge Company's track. 3 90
Coburn to Ponca .. 16.33
Emerson to Norfolk
46.50
Wakefield to Hartington 33.76
Wayne to Bloomfield.
43.14
Total. 267.19
It is rumored that an extension will be built by the company early in 1893, from Ponca to Newcastle, Neb. The Omaha and Winnebago reservations, through which the line runs, are being rapidly put under culti- vation. It is estimated that nearly 100,000 acres were broken by the plow. on this line in Nebraska, in 1892.
This road, which is called in Omaha " the St. Paul," is known in St. Paul and on Wall Street as "the Omaha." The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway, the Chicago & North-Western, the Sioux City and Pacific, and the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley, form the " Great North- Western Line," of which Marvin Hughitt is president.
OTIIER RAILROAD SCHEMES.
In November, 1875, the Board of Commis- .sioners of Douglas County adopted a reso- lution calling an election to be held Novem- ber 30th, to decide whether or not county bonds should be voted, to the amount of $125,000, to be dated July 1, 1876, bearing seven per cent. semi-annual interest, and to run twenty years, but redeemable at the expiration of five years, at the option of the county ; said bonds to be given to the Ne- braska Central & Black Hills Railroad Com- pany. This donation was upon condition " that the said company shall grade, tie, iron and construct, or cause to be constructed, a first-class narrow-guage road from Omaha, the initial point to be within a mile and a
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TRANSPORTATION LINES.
half of the court house, and run in a westerly direction through Douglas County, thence through Saunders, Butler and Polk Counties. It shall bridge the Platte River, provide also a wagon bridge, free of charge to the public, and have trains running into Saun- ders County by September 1, 1876." This proposition was defeated at the polls by the small majority of 250 votes.
In February, 1888, a resolution was adopted by the County Commissioners re- questing the Omaha, Yankton & North west- ern Railroad Company (consisting of Nathan Shelton, A. A. Egbert, Charles T. Taylor and R. C. Patterson) to file a plat of the survey of their proposed line of railway, as a condition precedent to the calling of a special election to vote upon the proposition to aid that company to the extent of $300,- 000 in the construction of their road. Con- siderable time was occupied with negotia-
tions, but the company failing to comply with this requirement of the Commissioners, the matter was referred to the judiciary committee of the board, which reported ad- versely to calling an election on the ground that " the proposition does not properly guard the interests of the tax payers of Douglas County." The report was adopted, and the business was in that way disposed of.
The Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul; Chicago & Northwestern; Chicago, Burling- ton & Quincy; Chicago & Rock Island; Wabash & Kansas City; St. Joe & Omaha lines afford direct connection with the north, east and south. Offices are also maintained in Omaha by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroads; Baltimore & Ohio; Chicago, St. Paul & Kansas City; New York, Chicago & St. Louis; Pennsylvania lines; Toledo, St. Louis & Kansas City.
CHAPTER XLV.
STREET RAILWAYS-EARLY LEGISLATION - RECENT COURT PROCEEDINGS.
At the session of the territorial legisla- ture of 1867, an act was passed incorporat- ing the " Omaha Horse Railway Company," with Alfred Burley, Ezra Millard, George W. Frost, Joel T. Griffin, J. W. Paddock, C. S. Chase, George M. O'Brien, J. R. Mere- dith, R. A. Bird, E. B. Chandler, John Mc- Cormick, Augustus Kountze, William Ruth, J. Frank Coffman, A. J. IIanscom and David Butler as incorporators. The act required that the company should have one mile of properly equipped road in successful opera- tion within two years, and granted the company the right to lay out, construct, maintain and operate a single or double track railway, " in, on, over and along such street or streets, highway or highways, bridge or bridges, river or rivers, withun the present or future limits of Omaha, or within five miles adjacent thereto, as said company may order or direct, for the uses herein specified; but said company shall not build a track through, or occupy, except for crossing pur- poses, Fourteenth Street, or any other street through which any other railroad company has already obtained the right of way."
The capital stock of the organization was fixed at $100,000; the use of steam as a mo- tive power was prohibited; exclusive right to the use of the streets of Omaha, and for five miles adjacent thereto, for horse railway pur- poses, was granted the company for a term of fifty years from January 1, 1867, and at the end of that period the entire property of the company was to revert to the city.
The first line built extended from Ninth and Farnam to Cuming and Twentieth Streets, and a ten cent fare was charged, though tickets good for eight rides could be
bouglit for fifty cents. There were a great many stockholders, at first, all of whom rode free, and until 1873 the income of the road was about equalled by the expenses. In the early part of 1872, fare boxes were put on the road, the conductors taken off, and the fare redneed to five cents. About January 1, 1873, A. J. Hauscom bought a majority of the stock and controlled and operated the road till July 1, 1873, when he sold his interests to W. W. Marsh. In 1878 the prop- erty was sold to the highest bidder, for cash, by the sheriff, in consequence of the fore- closure of mortgages which had been given in the meantime, and the highest bidder was W. W. Marsh, who secured the entire plant for about $25,000. He added largely to the property, and built the St. Mary's Avenue, Sixteenth and Eighteenth Street lines. In 1883 S. II. II. Clark, Guy Barton and Frank Murphy each bought one-fifth interests in the property, on a basis of a total valuation of $500,000, and a new company was formed. Then the lines on Twenty-fourth, Thir- teenth, Cuming and Leavenworth Streets were built, and the Farnam and Cuming Street lines extended so that on the Ist of April, 1889, there were thirty miles of road in operation, and the property was valued at a round million dollars.
The session of the Legislature of 1888 and 1889 passed an act authorizing the consoli- dation of street railway companies, and on the 1st day of April, 1889, the Omaha Cable Tramway Company and the Horse Railway Company were consolidated under the name of the " Omaha Street Railway Company," with a capital stock of four million dollars. The following named were elected directors:
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WW March
413
STREET RAILWAYS.
S. R. Johnson, W. V. Morse, Charles B. Rustin, Benjamin F. Smith, A. S. Paddock, Frank Murphy, W. W. Marsh, Guy Barton and W. A. Smith; Frank Murphy was chosen as president; S. R. Johnson, viee- president; and D. II. Goodrich, secretary and treasurer.
The Cable Tramway Company of Omaha was incorporated in June, 1884, by the fol- lowing named: Samuel R. Johnson, Charles B. Rustin, Isaac S. Hascall, Casper E. Yost and Fred. Drexel. There was a re-organiza- tion effected December 4, 1888, under the style of the Omaha Cable Tramway Com- pany, a new franchise having been secured in May, of that year, granting broader priv- ileges, and giving the company the right to run its cars on all the streets of the city, and allowing it to use cable, electricity, or such other motive power as might be deemed advisable. The capital stock of the com- pany was fixed at two million dollars. The operation of the line was commenced Decem- ber, 1887, and soon thereafter four and a half miles of double track were in use. A splendid power-house, 132 by 140 feet in size was built in 1887, at the intersection of llarney and Twentieth Streets. The incor- porators of the company, when re-organized, were S. R. Johnson, L. B. Williams, C. B. Rustin, W. V. Morse, B. F. Smith and S. D. Mercer. The following named were the of- ficers of both of these companies: S. R. John- son, president and treasurer; L. B. Williams, vice-president; C. B. Rustin, secretary.
The Omaha Motor Railway Company was organized in the spring of 1887, by Dr. S. D. Mercer, S. S. Curtis, C. E. Mayne, C. B. Brown, J. F. Hertzman, II. J. Davis and E. L. Stone, all of whom, excepting Mr. Stone (who was also a stockholder in the cable company), were members of the first board of directors. The first work was done by employes of the cable company ; and, as their services could not be had in the day time, work was done at night. In fact, owing to injunctions, and other obstructions, a large
share of the construction of the motor line was done at night, chiefly on Saturday nights, after midnight. The night, in July, 1887, on which the work was inaugurated, nearly a mile of track was laid. It was commenced at the corner of Davenport and Fourteenth Streets, extended north on Fourteenth to Cass, west to Seventeenth, north to Webster, west to Twenty-second, north to Burt, and west on Burt to Twenty-sixth. The work was but of a temporary character and hastily performed, to get over as much ground as possible before being stopped by opposing companies. The portion of the track laid on Webster Street was soon after removed to Burt Street, and the light " T " rails re- placed along the entire line by rails of the most substantial character. In a short time seven miles of road were built, exclusive of two and a half miles in South Omaha, and the company acquired a portion of the Ben- son line. During the following winter Dr. Mercer purchased almost the entire stock of the company, selling about a quarter thereof in February, 1888, to John A. and P. W. Horbach, but buying baek their interests the following January (1889), and selling three- fourths of the stock to a syndicate consisting of J. H. Millard, J. J. Brown, E. W. Nash of Omaha, and N. W. Wells of Sehuyler. Dur- ing 1888 work had been pushed at all possi- ble points, and in November, 1888, the com- pany had been granted permission, to a lim- ited extent, by the council, to erect poles, in order to run cars by electricity by means of overhead wires. Great opposition was at once met with, as the citizens generally were opposed to the erection of these poles, and the stringing of wires, which the overhead system involved. The district court was ap- pealed to, the horse car and cable companies taking an active part in the contest in seek- ing to prevent the motor company from car- rying out its purpose. The case was heard before Judges Wakeley, Doane and Groff, · sitting as a court of equity, and depositions and affidavits almost innumerable were pre-
414
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAHA.
sented by the parties in interest. Testimony as to the comparative merits of the over- head, underground, and storage systems were taken in Boston, Chicago, New York, Washington Territory, Richmond, Scranton (Penn.), and other points. The litigation terminated in favor of the motor company. Previous to this there had been various in- junetion proceedings had in the district court, the other street railway companies trying to prevent the motor company from occupying various streets, in which proceed- ings the latter company was generally up- held by the court, in some cases being re- quired to share with its rivals the use of a joint track. The capital stock of the motor company was half a million dollars, all paid in. It erected a power-house at the corner of Nicholas and Twenty-second Streets. The officers of the company were: S. D. Mercer, president; E. W. Nash, vice-president; W. B. Millard, secretary and treasurer. Direc- tors: J. H. Millard, S. D. Mercer, E. W. Nash, J. J. Brown and W. B. Millard. At- torneys J. C. Cowin, W. J. Connell and II. J. Davis represented the motor company in its various legal complications of its ear- lier history. John D. Ilowe fought the battles of the motor company from the re- organization. William L. Adams, for many years connected with the civil engineering department of the Union Pacific Railway, and chief engineer of the Belt line, was chief engineer of the motor company.
The Benson Motor Company was organ- ized in the winter of 1886-7, by E. A. Benson, C. E. Mayne and W. L. McCague. Three and a half miles of road were built the following spring, from the corner of Lowe and Mercer Avenues, to the center of a large tract of ground platted as " Benson Place " during that winter. At first the cars were operated by means of a steam dummy, but this proved very objectionable to farm- ers, and others, whose horses were fright- ened thereby, so that application was made. to the county commissioners to declare it a
nuisance, and the engine was finally removed and horses were substituted as a motive power. Later still, the motor has given place to electricity. The company is called the Benson and Halcyon Heights Railway Company.
The Omaha and Southwestern Street Rail- way Company was organized in the summer of 1887, with S. J. Howell, Cyrus Morton, J. T. Paulsen, Henry Ambler and C. F. Harri- son as the incorporators, who built about three miles of road that fall. The cars were moved by horses. By means of this line, Windsor Place, Ilowell Place, Ambler Place, Eckerman Place, Shriver Place and West Side were reached. The eastern terminus of the road was the northwest corner of Ilans- com Park.
The Council Bluffs and Omaha electric motor line, connecting the two cities, was completed in the fall of 1888. It is owned chiefly by Council Bluffs capitalists. This company also owns the Missouri River bridge, over which their cars pass, on which provision is also made for teams and pedes- trians. The bridge is of steel and wrought iron, has a river span of four hundred feet, and is of a total length, including ap- proaches, of 2,700 feet. The cost of the bridge and five miles of track was about $750,000.
During the spring of 1889 efforts were made to consolidate the Mercer motor line and the Omaha Street Railway Company, and in the month of November this was ac- complished by the purchase of the former by the latter, who increased their capital to five million dollars to effect the pur- chase. On the first of January, 1890, the new company thus formed owned and ope- rated thirty-six and one-half miles of horse railway tracks, nine and one-half miles of cable lines, and forty miles of electric motor tracks, making a total of eighty-six miles of street railway in actual operation, with a full equipment of everything necessary for a first-class system. Since this time more
415
STREET RAILWAYS.
than half of the horse lines have been changed to electric lines. Following named are the officers for the year 1892: Frank Murphy, president; Guy C. Barton, vice- president; W. W. Marsh, treasurer, D. H. Goodrich, secretary; W. A. Smith, general manager; F. A. Tucker, general superin- tendent.
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