The St. Paul & Northern Pacific Railway Company. This company succeeded the Western Railroad company of Minnesota as owners of the railroad extending from Brainerd to Sauk Rapids, and also the land grant connected with this road. ...The work done by the company since the summer of 1883 consists of the construction of the main line from Sauk Rapids to Minneapolis, and the development of their terminal facilities in Minneapolis. The construction of the main line involved a bridge to cross the Mississippi river in Minneapolis, and other bridges of less magnitude. With one exception, a combination structure of wood and iron, these bridges are constructed of iron. The masonry is of granite, and first class in every particular. ...A brick freight depot has been constructed on First street (Minneapolis). It is 700 feet long and forty feet wide, being divided into two compartments by a fire wall. ...Construction, proper, was not begun until September 1, 1883, when work was commenced on the foundations for the piers and abutments for the double track iron bridge superstructure over the Mississippi river at Minneapolis. ...In addition to the freight warehouse, a round house with accommodations for about nineteen locomotives was provided, together with a turn table, water tank, etc., and we would say just here that all of these improvements are of the most permanent character. ...It is well known that the nearest shops of that company are located at Brainerd, one hundred and thirty-six miles distant from St. Paul. It is also an established fact that cars accumulate at such important business centers as are the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the eastern terminal points, and that there is also a large accumulation of cars at the transfer grounds, midway between the two cities, where the interchange of traffic is made with the other great railroads having an entrance to this city. ...The new car shops to be erected by the St. Paul & Northern Pacific Railway company are to be situated upon the tract known as the Como property, which consists of 215.70 acres, situated in the south half of section 27, township 29 north, range 23 west. This tract extends entirely through the section from east to west, and is therefore a mile long. It extends south from the centre of the north half of the above section to the line of the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba railway. Hamline university is immediately south of this property, and the station of Hamline on the Manitoba railway is directly opposite the central portion of the tract upon which the shops are to be erected. The shops will be located near the northern boundary of this property, upon a level plateau that affords a very fair site for them without the necessity for a large outlay for grading and preparing the same. The elevation is such that a perfect drainage can be secured with but slight expense. Access to the grounds will be secured by a spur track extending north from the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba railway at Hamline. The shops will be built of brick, and will be planned in the manner that experience has shown to be the best. The following is a list of the buildings to be constructed: Dry kilns, machine shop, wood working shop, car erecting shop, coach erecting shop and cabinet shop. These departments will be under one roof and are grouped together in the form of a cross, the wood working and car erecting shops forming the longer arm, the machine shop and coach repair shop the shorter arms, while the cabinet shop is over the coach repair shop, this portion of the building being two stories in height. These buildings will be built of brick and the walls will be twenty-two feet high. The roof will be supported by a Howe truss, with the upper chord inclined sufficiently to afford the proper pitch for the roof. The trusses will be supported by the walls and there will be no intermediate posts, so that the floor space will be entirely clear. This form of truss gives a roof of the Mansard type, and advantage will be taken of this to secure additional light by means of an upper tier of windows or dormers. At the crown of the roof will be a large texas or lantern, which will serve to light the center of the shop and also to ventilate the same. The windows in this lantern will be hung upon swivels. The interior of the shop will be painted a dark color to the height of six feet from the floor and the rest will be white-washed. Three tracks will enter and extend through the car erecting shop and the center one will be extended on through the wood working shop. Two tracks run through the machine shop and three through the coach repair shop. There is also a cross track running at right angles to those mentioned above, with turntables at the different intersections permitting the transfer of material from one shop to another or from one track to another in the shortest and most convenient way. The engine room, boiler house, shaving and dust tower, and chimney adjoin the wood working shop. All the shavings and dust that originate from the work in this shop will be taken from the machine by exhaust fans and conveyed to the shaving tower, where a large portion of the dust is separated from the shavings because of its less specific gravity, and passes to the dust tower, the shavings remaining in the shaving tower and being taken thence as they are needed for fuel. Whenever the door or port is opened for the purpose of taking shavings out the supply entrance from the shop closes automatically. Paint Shop. This building will be built of brick and will be 150x194, with walls twenty-six feet high. It will contain eight tracks, seven of which will run through the building. The floor will be of concrete and will be made to slope from the tracks to a line midway between them so as to convey all water from the tracks. It will be taken care of by catch basins which will connect with under drains. The building will be lighted at the sides by means of the doors that afford an entrance for the tracks, the upper half of these doors being glass. The ends will be well supplied with windows also. A lantern with side windows will surmount the roof throughout the entire length of the building, and will furnish good light for all the central portion thereof. In addition to this there will be a line of skylights on each side of and parallel to the lantern. Adjoining the paint shops will be a stock room for the storage of supplies used in the paint shop. This building will be two stories high, the upper one being devoted to the storage of car cushions while the cars are being painted. Blacksmith Shop. This building will be 65x100 feet with walls twenty-two feet high. It will be built of brick. The forges have brick chimneys, and at each forge will be a connection through the wall to the outer air for the purpose of ventilation and dispersion of vapors. The floor of this shop will be made of cinders. Office and Storehouse. This building will be of two stories. Its size is 40x80 feet and it will be built of brick. The lower story will be devoted to storage of supplies used in connection with the shops, and the upper story to office rooms. The grounds will be supplied with a water service and fire hydrants for the protection of the buildings. A thorough system of drainage will be secured by means of a main sewer and the necessary laterals. The equipment of the shops will be the best than can be procured, and comprising the various improved types of tools that have proved by use to be labor saving and economical. The building will be heated by steam and lighted by electricity. In addition to the brick shops there will be a large freight car repair shed 70x320, for the repair of freight cars in inclement weather and when the cars are so much out of order as to necessitate a general overhauling. This building will be constructed of wood. There will also be a coal dock for the storage of coal, and a set of dry kilns of the most approved construction. Tracks. In order to connect the grounds with the track of the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway company, also to properly serve the buildings to be constructed, and afford standing room for cars, it will be necessary to construct nearly nine miles of track. The buildings will cover about 103,000 square feet of ground, and the floor space, including that in second stories, will aggregate 111,000 square feet. It is expected that the grading of the site and a portion of the foundations will be completed during the present season, and that the shops will be completed and ready for occupancy as early as practicable next year. The Cost. While it is difficult to state with definiteness the cost of these extensive improvements, it can be stated that the outlay for the work and buildings herein enumerated will exceed one million dollars, and that as large as is this sum it is but the nucleus for still more extensive works at St. Paul of this great corporation. (Saint Paul Daily Globe, Tuesday, October 14, 1884, Page 4)
Bids for building the Northern Pacific shops will be opened on Monday. (The Minneapolis Tribune, Sunday, October 19, 1884, Page 4)
John Woods & Co., of this city, have been awarded the contracts for grading the sites for the Northern Pacific car shops at Lake Como. (Saint Paul Daily Globe, Wednesday, October 22, 1884, Page 6)
Martin Scott and O. Duclos, the proprietors of the two brick yards on the west side, have been figuring for some time with the officials of the St. Paul & Northern Pacific road on a large brick contract, and they have finely (finally) secured it. The contract is for 3,000,000 (Little Falls) brick which will be used in building machine shops, etc., for the company in St. Paul. Scott and Duclos have an equal share in the contract, and will each make about 2,000,000 brick the coming season, and employ a largely increased force of men. The railroad engineers pronounced the brick made at these yards to be of the best quality. (Little Falls Transcript, Friday, December 26, 1884, Page 4)
During the presidency of Mr. Villard, who saw at a glance the great importance of St. Paul, several large tracts of land were purchased for the use of the Northern Pacific within the limits of St. Paul, to be held for future improvements. (Saint Paul Daily Globe, Wednesday, December 31, 1884, Page 14)
Wednesday’s Pioneer Press contains the following article concerning the new shops for the St. Paul & Northern Pacific railroad which are being built near St. Paul: The contract for the erection of the shop buildings of the St. Paul & Northern Pacific at Como has been awarded to Roland E. Patterson, of the contracting firm which erected the company’s round-house on its terminal grounds in Minneapolis. He was also the successful bidder for the delivery of the stone required for the foundations, and took advantage of last winter’s snow to deliver the stone at Como. John Woods of Minneapolis is the contractor for grading the grounds, and has nearly completed the work. The contract for the brick required in the construction of the different buildings was awarded to Martin Scott and Odilon Duclos of Little Falls, Minn., in January last. The contract covers 3,000,000 brick of the color of white and of the same character as the brick used by the city of St. Paul for sewer work. The contract for the machinery required for the shops was awarded last fall to Manning, Maxwell & Moore of New York. The work to be done by Mr. Patterson consists of the erection of the following buildings: Wood-working shop, 80x172 feet; car-erecting shop, 80x172; machine shop, 80x90; coach-erecting shop, first story, cabinet shop second story, 80x90; engine house, 26x50; boiler room, 50x50; shaving and dust tower, 14x40, coal room, 16x50; freight repair shed (frame), 70x320; office and storehouse, 40x80; blacksmith shop, 65x100; paint shop, 150x194; stock room (two stories), 30x60; coal platform, 25x100; water tank, 15 feet in diameter; pump house, 10x18; brick chimney or smoke stack, 6 feet in diameter and 125 feet high. (Little Falls Transcript, Friday, June 12, 1885, Page 1)
The shipment of brick from the West Side brick yards to the new railroad shops near St. Paul has commenced. (Little Falls Transcript, Friday, June 26, 1885, Page 4)
Still further to the east one reaches Hamline and the St. Paul & Northern Pacific shops. These shops, with their tracks, etc., will cover several hundred acres. Over five hundred acres have been graded, so that the ground is as level as a billiard table. Still more grading of the same kind is to be done. Large groves of trees have been cut down to make room for these great improvements, and the stumps are being grubbed out. Besides this, fifty or seventy-five acres are being filled up and graded. A large sewer is being constructed that is calculated to drain all the grounds and all the buildings. The paint shop of Milwaukee brick (likely means color similar to Milwaukee brick) is nearly completed and the roof is being constructed now and an immense quantity of brick is being hauled upon the grounds. (Saint Paul Daily Globe, Sunday, July 19, 1885, Page 13)
J. W. Kendrick, chief engineer of the St. Paul & Northern Pacific, was in town Tuesday forenoon for the purpose of visiting the west side brick yards which are now manufacturing the brick to build the new railroad shops near St. Paul. The quality of brick was all that could be desired, but the color varies somewhat. (Little Falls Transcript, Friday, July 31, 1885, Page 4)
Capt. Merrit, the engineer who has charge of constructing the new St. Paul & Northern Pacific railroad shops near St. Paul, is coming up in a day or two for a short chicken hunt with Charley Sprandel. (Little Falls Transcript, Friday, August 14, 1885, Page 4)
Work on the St. Paul & Northern Pacific short line is progressing rapidly. Secretary Jones of this company of New York, in company with Maj. Postlethwaite, comptroller, made a trip over the road on Tuesday, and Mr. Jones was very much pleased at the progress that has been made. Track is laid from the Minneapolis terminal grounds to the Como shops, and from there on nearly to Rice street, the grading is well under way and by Nov. 1 trains can run from Westminster street to the company’s depot at Minneapolis. The route which would be taken, however, would be by Northtown junction, where the river is crossed by the Sauk Centre line bridge. The distance of this short line when completed will be eleven miles from depot to depot, three-quarters of a mile longer than that of the Manitoba and one-quarter longer than the Milwaukee & St. Paul short line, on the St. Paul & Northern Pacific, though the grade will be much lighter, which is a big advantage. Work on the bridge across the Mississippi at Minneapolis has been commenced, and no time will be lost in completing it, as the contract calls for the bridge to be finished by Dec. 15, and for every day over that time the contractor takes to finish it, he is under a penalty of $500. The material for the bridge is all manufactured and is being shipped from Wilmington, Del., and it will only have to be put together when it arrives. A running derrick has been gotten ready for the arrival of some of the material, when work on the superstructure will begin. (Saint Paul Daily Globe, Thursday, October 15, 1885, Page 4)