The New York herald., 1879-03-06
TRAVEL ON THE THIRD AVENUE.
MORE POWERFUL ENGINES.

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The HERALD's advocacy of more powerful engines
for the Third avenue L equal to the demands of the
heavy traffic. has last resulted in the arrival of
new engines. Weighing eighteen and aquarer tons
against the seventeen ton engines which hitherto had
been the largest the road 1t is claimed that these
will clear the stations much more quickly than the
old Ones thus efectng some saving OF time. Thirty
five of these engines have been ordered Director
Benjamin II. Brewster said yesterday and he thought
that at least dozen of them would be here i'll time
to be used on opening the Chatham street branch
Monday week. The company still possess twenty
engines weighing only twelve and half tons and en-
ployed tor the light Grand Central trade; twenty
fifteen ton and twenty seventeen ton engines 1t
is regarded almost certain that all the lighter
engines will have to be transferred to the Ninth we
road they totally inadequate tor the heavy
overcrowded Third avenue trains, except the Grand
Central trains, which are at all times light enough
for the smaller engines. With the new engines it is
hoped that trains will be from the City Hall to
Harlem in thirty-eight minutes and from Harlem
back in thirty-six minutes. The running schedule
time from south ferry still remains forty-fve min
utes. At present there are $50 cars in use on the
Third avenue I'll" and eghty-ive more have been
THE NINTH AVENUE "L"
The contract for replacing all the old track Of the
Ninth avenue "L' by new structure has been
awarded to A. R. Whitney for the upper portion Of
the road, from Fifty-thrd street down to Twelfth
street. and to the Passac Rolling Mills Company for
all the iron work from Twelfth street down to the
Battery. Director Brewster. when asked when this
new structure would be finished. said that definite
time had been fixed as yet, and the work promised
to be very tedious Entirely new foundations
would have to be put in, and where the location for
the new and the old foundations coincided the old
ones would have to be taken out before the
could be put in While the structure was being
erected the road would practically be reduced to its
former facilities a one-legged road, and trains
would only be every seven or eight minutes, as
before Tie old stations were also to be replaced by
entirely ones, and they would be exact dupli-
Gates OF the Third avenue stations.
ON THE METROPOLITAN L.
General Manager John Baird, of the Metropolitan
stated yesterday that tire reports of the adoption
of gas for the Metropolitan L entirely prema-
ture and incorrect. The experiments already made
had demonstrated that great many practical diff
culties would stand in the way, and Mr.. Baird ex-
planned these, which mostly of technical
character. very fully. system of lighting the
cars by gas has been proposed. which appeared
to be simpler. and which would also be fully
tested. 1t is claimed for this process that
it is already successfully in on number Of
railways in Germany, Austria and Russia, and on
some Of the Zines of the Metropolitan railway in
London A number Of men have returned to work
on the Ninth avenue extension of the Metropolitan
'L," between Eightythird and 10th streets. and.
now that the weather is fine, the force will be rap
idly increased to its former size. Nearly all the
1000 who struck four weeks ago declared their
Willingness to return to work ut the reduced wages
some time ago. but it appears that the company
have been in hurry to accept the offer. and the
majority of these men have probably meanwhile
lost four weeks wages