In addition the floods in the Grand Canyon are enormous and capricious.

Sometimes heavy torrents from cloudbursts plunge down the sides of the canyon and these would require to be considered as well as those of the river itself.

To be absolutely safe from the latter the line would probably require, in the Grand Canyon, to be built at least one hundred and twenty feet above low water, so that for the whole distance through the Marble-Grand Canyon there would seldom be room beside the tracks for even a station.
But Frank M.Brown had faith, and a company for the construction of the Denver, Colorado Canyon, and Pacific Railway was organised.

Brown was the president, and in 1889 he formed an expedition to Survey the line.
On March 25th the preliminary party, consisting of F.M.Brown, F.C.
Kendrick, chief engineer, and T.P.Rigney, assistant engineer, left Denver for Grand Junction, a station on the Rio Grande Western (near the C of Colorado, State name on map, p.

51), and the next morning set the first stake for the new railway which was to cost the president so dear.
Then they bought a boat from the ferryman, and after repairing it laid in a supply of rations, engaged some men, and ran a half-mile down Grand River.