The Railroad Platting a Town: Fifty Acres Become Fourteen Blocks

During the week the Blackwell road has had a party of surveyors at work under Engineer H. L. Russell, laying out and platting the Jaynes tract west of this city, purchased by the road last summer. The tract contains 50 acres and has been laid out into fourteen city blocks. When the addition will be placed on the market has not been decided, but doubtless it will not be until next spring.

The company headquarters were this week moved from Coleman to Spirit Lake, the new depot having been completed and the upstairs offices finished for the reception of the office force of the company. Headquarters had been maintained at Coleman since last June.

Two more big freight engines for the new road are on the way and will soon arrive here. The passenger equipment is expected to be ready for service about Jan. 1st, and when it arrives a double daily train service to Spokane will be put on, the trains running direct to Spokane without change at Grand Junction. That will give Newport a morning train into Spokane and one out in the evening, and will make three trains a day between here and Spirit Lake, as trains will lay over night at that point.

Both passenger and freight business on the road are increasing, as the service given is pleasing to the patrons. Express service has not yet been inaugurated, but it is expected that it will be started in a few days.

Extra gang No. 3, on the Idaho & Washington Northern Railroad, which has been camped west of town, was laid off this week. The gang had been engaged in filling and surface work and were laid off on account of the difficulties encountered in this work this season of the year. The roadbed of the company is already in fine shape and considerable more work is planned to be done on it in the spring.