Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-02-27
A BIG PR R, CHANGE,
Shops and ROundhOuSeS to be
Taken From the City
AND LOCATED AT WALLS.
Over 300 Acres Of Reclaimed Land
Used as Transfer Yards.
THOUSANDS OF WORKMEN WILL GO.
A StupendOus Contract, Kept Secret for
Months, Out at Last.
AND LOCATED AT WALLS.
THOUSANDS OF WORKMEN WILL GO.
MILLIONS In 1T AND WALLS BOOMING

The tremendous changes now being made
at Walls station by the Pennsylvania Rail
road have, so far, been covered by that mos
accommodating phrase Improvements
only improvements" but yesterday the Sc
cret leaked out
Like the gentleman who called big
trust an agreement, " so these Pennsylva.
MIA Railroad Improvements have covered a
multitude of sins, not sinful on account Of
any wrong doing, but sinful on account Of
its secrecy.
Enough was learned yesterday afternoon
to shov that the changes at Walls should
be looked into, and they were looked into
with this result.
The P. R. r. freight yards of the city,
the roundhouses, and even the East Liberty
stockyards are to be moved from the city
limits and located at Stewart, Mosside,
Walls and Wilmerding
With the first tip given, the known
secrecy of the P. r. r. people made it an
almost impossibility, that the story could
be learned; but it was learned, and as fol-
lows:
A trip to Walls in the morning devel-
oped absolutely nothing, with the exception
of what'o ones sight could afford, about 300
men digging, excavating, laying tracks
and leyeling, but the pointer of the day was
given by the ingenious waitress at the
hotel. ''They have been working here for
six months" said she, "and L understand
they will break ground for the shops and
roundhouses in the spring."
ADMITTING JUST A LITTLE.
A visit was at once made to the Offices of
the contractors, Brown & Emery. The
former was just about leaving for the East,
and the latter had nothing whatever to say.
When closely pressed by questions, j. D.
Emery, handsome black-mustached fel-
low, acknowledged that they were changing
the bed of Turtle creek and making other
Improvements for the Pennsylvania Rail-
road, though what these Improvements
were, and to what purpose, he absolutely re-
fused TO say.
A two-hours' walk over the works, and
few hours friendly visits among the towns
people, developed the following facts that
were afterward vouched for by an official as
being correct:
From Walls station to Mosside, dis
tance of over a mile, the bed of Turtle
creek closely hugs the Pennsylvania Rail-
road along the edges of the southern hills,
while fully 800 acres of absolutely waste
lands lay to the north. These waste fiat
lands have been regularly inundated when
ever Turtle creek has seen fit to go on
boom, which was two or three times year.
In order to reclaim this land, Messrs. Brown
& Emery have been given contract to dig
a new bed for the stream over one-half mile
to the north.
The result is simply this: The 800 odd
acress of worthless land to the north of the
present tracks will be reclaimed, and used
fol-. yard and shop purposes.
In order to give an idea of the stupendous
work undertaken by Brown & Emery, it
NAV be said that $50 med, go horses and
several engines have been
AT WORK SINCE AUGUST,
and they are daily increasing their forces,
yet will not be finished until some time
during the coming June, or maybe July.
That such work as this should 90 on
without one whisper reaching the press of
the city can be attributed to the distance it
is away, and the secretiveness of everything
and everybody connected with the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad.
The new bed of Turtle creek, lying, as
has been said, fully one-half mile to the
north of the present bed, is nearly two
thirds finished. Oneabutment has been put
in and the other viii soon be in place, and
in short while that unruly creek will be
locked within the bounds of a trench over
one mile long by IS feet wide, with depth
of 10 to u feet
The excavating is being done by steam
shovel, digger, or American DEVIL" as it
is known in England, where half dozen
are now being used IN excavating the
famous ship canal from Liverpool to Man.
chester. Each one of these machines does
the work of 125 laborers, and that one en-
ployed at Walls is run by seven men and
excavates 80 square yards of ground in Just
ten minutes. The cars used in the hauling
are owned by the firm, and not minute is
lost in the unloading, as they are swung on
the spider" system.
ENTIRE TRANSPORTATION.
After the trench is dug the greatest
changes of all are to come. These 800 acres
of land are to be cleared of trees and then
filled up and graded to height of from
three to eight feet above the present level.
The present bed of the Pennsylvania Rail-
road is to be used -onl. for freights, while
the passenger trains will run on double
tracks one-half mile to the north, along the
edge of the new Turtle creek. This will do
away with the double curve located there
now. beside giving the passenger trains the
utmost freedom and allowing all the space
necessary for the freights.
Right in the center of this tremendous
oval of reclaimed ground two immense |
roundhouses are to be located, and along |
with them will be built the immense repair |
shops of the company. This, of course, will |
necessitate the removal of the roundhouses |
and shops at Twenty-eighth street, Thirty |
third street, and probably the shops at TORI
rens. Suffice it to say that everything in |
that line will be moved from the city out to |
Walls.
And even this is not all. Although |
Brown & Emery are the contractors, they |
have a man under them, j. w. Afford, a |
sort of general superintendent, who is over
seeing several gangs of men employed at |
various places along the line from Walls |
station to over two miles toward this city. |
These men are engaged in widening the |
bed of the road, and will put in two more
tracks before they are through.
A PERFECT GRIDIRoN.
When the grading is finished at Walls
i 4 L -