Litchfield enquirer., 1868-01-23
New Haven and Erie Railroad

When we stated, six months since, our belief that the bridging of the Connecticut and construction of the Air Line railroad would carry the trunk line of railroad, con- meeting the Erie with Boston, through Derby and New Haven, and that it would postpone the building of the Boston Hart ford and Erie, perhaps indefinitely, Mir. David Lyman, of Mlddlefeld, and others, rashed.into print claiming that .'the whole idea was humbug." We should very much like to hear from Mir. David Lyman and others, in explanation of facts and statements like the following:
 The projectors of the extension of the Derby railroad te the Hudson, and from thence to the Erie road, making the shortest line between Bos- ton and the West, are before the New York Legis- iasure with an application for charter to build suspGnsIon 11.Io bridge over the Hudson: There is l very little doubt the application will be granted
 put o1 course the rival companies are interposing all the obstacles they can.-Ne,c Haren Coetr ,, By our Legislative news it will be seen that Dlu has been introduced into the Senate to author ize the construction of a suspension bridge over the Hudson river, at the south entrance to the Highlands near Caldwells. It is we'll for the le- glsature to consider this project carefully It has Gus | IS to divert Western trade and travel from New | York city. corporation has been arrang ed a New Haven, and will be authorized this winter by the Legislature of Conneticut to construct a rail
 road on straight line from New Haven to the Hudson river at tho south point of the High | lands. The charter of this company will give the power to carry the road to the state line York city, under our general railroad law
 to construct railroad from Turner's on the Erie railroad to the Highlands, to meet the Connecticut road at the state line. From New Haven to the l Highlands is a due east and west line. The dis tance from New Haven to Turner's station is sev- enty miles it is fifty miles from Turner's to New
 Tor York 1t is eighty miles from New York to New
 Haven; total distance from Turner's by New York 1 to New Haven one hundred and thirty miles. The distance is, therefore, shorter from Turner's sta- I1on across the Highlands in Straight line to New ton to our legislature for permission to bridge the Hudson at that point is to divert our trade Will the legislature aid to injure our city? We trust not. There is sure to be railroad from Fishkill Boston to point some twenty miles west of Hart ford, and will, in year or two, be completed to Elshkill, opposite Newburgh. It will there reach the Newburgh branch of the Erie Tue pan of tue Ne,o Hdreh projectors is 10 bead of the Hartford road 6y bridge Ocer tue Hudson ricer, achich He
 Hargord road cannot hare ct Fls,iU, aud H.us con- t'ot the tratic and trdoel from tue Erie road, and l carry a to NeD H1yee iasteod of Hastford-N. T. | Sun.
 The shortest and easiest line from Watt erbury to Fishkill runs, as is we'll known, through Litchfeld county. Yet we notice the following in the Danbury Times:
 The chief Engineer of the Boston, Hartford and Erie Road was in town, on Friday last, accompa- nled by Mir. Tenn, we'll known to our citizens as their former engineer resident here. The work is to be commenced early in the spring, and is to be vigorously prosecuted, the contractors, Messrs. Dillon & Go. being men of ample means and large railroad experience. The route is to pass through Danbury near the present located line of the White Plains road.
 If the foregoing statement is correct it means this: The line common to the Hart ford and Erie and the New Haven and Erie is pat under contract; and then, if the Connecticut is bridged, the main line will be run through to Derby, a branch per- haps being extended to Waterbury to con- meet with the Hartford and Fis hkill. If on the other hand the Middletown bridge project is decisively defeated, we do not imagine the Hartford and Fishkill will be extended on the South route, but built through Litchfeld County where it would naturally run. --..
 All we desire is that the people of this county should fully understand this mat ter, and make their arrangements accor
 dingly, before it is too late.