Friends of the Q:
That the CB&Q planned to build further west is
not too surprising. Every railroad that looked to protect itself planned
to build further west. But from a June 16, 1890 edition of the Anaconda,
Montana, Standard comes this article about plans of the day.
It is thought that a move
looking very much as if the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy were preparing to extend its line
to Butte and the coast has been
inaugurated.
Yesterday articles of
incorporation of the Butte City, National Park & Southeastern
railway company were filed for record with the county recorder. According to
these articles the object of the company is to construct and operate a railway,
the termini of which are to be in Silver Bow, Jefferson, Beaverhead, Madison,
Gallatin and Lewis and Clarke counties. The general route of the road is set out as follows:
>From Butte southeasterly by way of Blacktail, Deer creek, the Pipestone pass and
Little Pipestone creek to the Jefferson river valley in Jefferson county; thence by way
of Jefferson and Ruby valleys and Alder gulch or some other practicable route to
the Madison river valley near the town of Ennis; thence
in a southerly direction through the Madison
river valley to the summit of the Rocky mountains at or
near Reynold's Pass on the southerly boundary of Montana. Branches are to be
built from a point on the above line in the Madison valley southeasterly through
the Madison basin to the western boundary of Yellowstone
Park; also from a point in the Jefferson valley
northerly by way of the Three Forks in Gallatin county to Helena in Lewis and Clarke county; also from
Three Forks to Bozeman; also from some point in the Jefferson valley southerly
to Dillon in Beaverhead county. The capital stock of this corporation is to be $1,000,000 divided into
10,000 shares. The principal place of business is to be in Butte where most of the
directors will reside. The incorporators are Charles S. Warren, Wallace M. C.
White, H. L. Frank, Lee Mantel, N. C. Ray, George W. Irvine, E. J. Carter, L. C.
Trent and Joseph R. Clark. It is understood that the C. B. & Q. system is
backing these gentlemen in their enterprise, that corporation having long been
desirous of securing direct connection with Butte and surrounding country. It is being pushed
at this time in order to secure the Pipestone pass which is now the only one
leading into this city that is unoccupied. Mr. M. C. White was for a number
of years among the leading
officials of the Q system and his presence at this time is especially
significant. A plat of the promised route has been filed with the secretary of
the
interior at
Washington.
The fact that the Burlington is now extending its
Northwestern line into the region southeast of here, being already engaged
in grading a line across the Black Hills, gives some color to the suggestion
that the new company is backed by that powerful corporation. [There is one more
sentence in the article, but it not readable.]
Chuck
Hatler
KC
MO