The daily gazette., 1880-03-09
Improvement along the r.,
w. de- B. II. R. Q

Thomas III. Coleman, city editor OF
the Philadelphia Ledger has lbeep ltrav-
cling along the p, w, & b. X. r., be-
tween Chester and Philadelphia, and
writes as follows to the Ledger:
"The Philadelphia, Wilmington and
Baltimore Railroad are making a mum
Der of improvements to the line Of their
road between Chester and Philadelphia,
so as to accommo late the increased trav-
el that las been occasioued by tie open
ing Of the new route IN 1872 .lPfeyious
To that year the land Tor nearly the en-
tire distance was devoted TO agricultur-
al pursuits, but at the present time so
numerous have been the improvements
that stations are not more than a mile
apart, and in some places amuch shorter
distance. The land is high, and nearly
all the streets which pass over the road
are spanned with hands me bridges,
that not only serve I the passage Of
vehicles, but serve for passengers, who
desire TO get In safety from one side of
tile road to the other.
At the time of the opening of this
portion Of the road, the Company, for
the purpose of stimulating improve
ments, entered into agreements, for a
term Of five years, by which persons
building houses should have a. free
ticket for one year for each $1,000 in
vested up to $4,000 or. the equivalent
of this sum In yearly tickets, and also
that such parties should have building
material carried at one halt regular
freight ra'es. Owing to the financial
troubles that came on soon after, but
few persons avaiied themselves of the
offer after the first year. Now that the
essential features OF this agreement have
been extended, new Impetus has been
givon co the enterprise. All the sta
! tions have baen handsomely arranged
and made attractive to the eye, and
now the Company have employed the
services of an experienced landscape
gardener to lay out and beautify the
| grounds attached to the stations with
trees, flowers and shubbery.
At Sharon Hill Station a number of
handsome residences have "a already
been erected, among which are those
of Clement NJ. Biddle, Isaac. G.
Clothier, Samuel Conrad, JAS. M. Bunt-
ing and Samuel II. Mattison. Through
the aid of associations at this point, as
well as at Sharon Hill, Glenolden, Nor
wood, Prospect Park, Ridley Park and
other places, surveys have been made,
streets laid out and arrangements made
| for the building of other residences.
| At Norwood and Prospect Parks, eight
and nine miles from Broad and Prime
streets, villages of considerable size
have already been built up, and the
work of erecting additional dwellings
has been commenced this early in the
season. ,s ..,-
Adjoining Prospect Park, or Moore's
as it appears on the railroad schedule,
is Ridley Park, one of the first enter.
prises started after the opening of this
new branch of the road. This place
is SO well known as one of the pleas
antest summer resorts in this portion
of the State, as to make it unnecessary
to do more than to refer to it. BeyonC
this is Crum Lynn Station, one of tn,
most attractive along the road, anC
upon the high ground back of it is the
residence of Mr.. Fuller, the chief en-
gineer of the road, and several others
built to attract the attention OF the
traveller. At Eddystone, one of the
new stations, and just outside of Ches
ter, is located the extensive print
works of William Simpson & Sons
Here, and within view of the station,
is quite a large village of substantial
brick houses, occupied by the employees
at the mill.
The charges for travel between Phila.
delphia and this city have been as mod.
crate as upon other railroads leading to
suburban residences, but II Is contem-
plated not only to reduce the fare the
coming season, bit to increase the hc-
commoiatieus for travellers. To do this
the company have decided to build a
number of small and light cars TO be
pulled by small engines, the cars to be
kept running at short intervals between
Philadelphia and Moore's Station. The
equipments of this line are not to be Of
Ihe cheap order, but in every respect
equal TO tue trains now running on iht
road The liRhtness of the train and it'
economy as compared with the o,her'
will enable the company to make con
siderable reduction in the cost of trave
60 passengers. These light trains viii
take passengers to and from all station,
north of Ridley Park. and will run Sc
frequently that 1t will add greatly to tn,
comfort of those already living out o
town, and be- great Inducement' TO
others to seek re.idences away from thu
city. Since these improvements bav'
been made BaptIst, Presbyterian an,
Episcopalian churches have been erected
at Ridley Park, and an M. L. church a
Prospect Park. which was dedicated
some time since by Bishop Simpson
Private and public schools have beei
established at various places along thi
portion of the road.