Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1889-10-18
an Sorts of Railroad News.

| AN Sorts OF R0Iirod0 news.
The Railpay Age has just published
some interesting railway statistics
for the first nine months OF the cur
rent wear. These figures show that
few long lines are in process OF con-
struction anywhere, but that an I'M
usual number of short lines are under
way. In thirty-nine States and Ter
ritories 1912 miles of new track have
been laid upon 224 different lines, an
average of a little less than 10 miles
to each line. Georgia leads with 25S
miles on 12 different lines; Washing
ton comes next with 214 miles on IL
lines: Texas third with 179 miles on 8
lines; Virginia fourth with 1868 miles
on 10 lines; Tennessee fifth with ITO
miles on 8 lines and Pennsylvania
sixth with 151 miles on 10 lines. The
greatest increase is in the South
eleven Southern States, including
Texas. aggregating 1,47S miles, or
nearly As per cent. of the total.
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad is
conducting two new experiments at
present-steam-h heating and the use
of coke for fuel Last winter the YES
tibnle trains were heated by steam,
and the arrangement was rather sat
isfactory. There are still doubts,
however. as to whether the steam
will answer in an extremely cold spell
of weather, so the tests now being
made are to find out just what can be
accomplished in this way. The use
of coke was tried last spring on a To-
connective between Philadelphia and
Baltimore, and it proved so satisfac-
tory that nearly all the passenger en-
gines on the Philadelphia division
are using it. Now the company is
irving it on the locomotives that draw
| the fast western trains, and all OF
them will be changed to burn the
new fuel. The CRATES have to be
altered, as the coke requires very
shallow fire. By its use dust, smoke
and cinders are almost entirely done
away with.
1t is a crying shame that the Shen-
andoah Valley Railroad is not COM
pelled-it will not do it voluntarily
to erect some sort of shelter for its
passengers at Shenandoah Junction.
Last Tuesday the passengers went up
on the platform to get the train at
1926, and, as usual, they were COM
PEELED to wait there in the cold winds
until nearly o'clock, the train being
behindtime. The same thing hap
pens every day and every night-in
cold and rain or whatever weather
there happens to be. 1t is a disgrace
to the name of railroading that in
this age and in this section passengers
are compelled to so expose themselves
to the weather. Why the railroads
do not remedy the matter is one of
the mysteries that has never been
penetrated.
President Hood, of Western Mary
land Railroad, with corps of engin-
| GERS has been surveying a route from
| the terminus of his road at Williams
port to connection with the Balti-
more & Ohio Railroad at or near
North Mountain. The distance as
| the crow flies is not over ten miles,
and the route is said to be an easy
and cheap one, though the Potomac
will have to be bridged. President
Hood is quoted as saying that the
new link will certainly be built.
Last Saturday while one of the fast
express trains on the Philadelphia,
Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad
was dashing along at fifty miles an
hour near Northeast, Md, she struck
a door that had fallen from freight
car directly on the tracks. The en-
CINE made a jump of twenty-five feet
and landed in bank, while the cars
plowed up the ties and wobbled
around most surprisingly. Two Of
the trainmen were fatally hurt and fiji
teen passengers injured.
Business is good on all the railroads
in West Virginia. The Ohio River
Railroad has a much larger freight
and passenger business than ever be-
fore. The Chesapeake and Ohio Rail
road, after repeatedly giving orders
for new cars and locomotives, has
been forced to place another order
for two hundred box cars. The in
crease in the freight tonnage on the
West Virginia Central is also said to
be very great.
1t is strange superstition of rail
road men that accidents come three
together, and yet somehow it seems
to have foundation in fact. Within
very short time there have been three
deaths on the Shenandoah Valley
Railroad-Callan at Buena Vista,
Claggett at Shepherdstown, and Nc
Chan at Berryville.
While B. & o. freight brakeman
was standing on a car near Weverton
the other day he was struck by the
hose from the water tank there and
thrown with great force down from
the cars into the canal. He was ter
ribly shaken up, but except bruises
none the worse for his mishap.
There was bad wreck on the b. d
o. near Mansfield, Ohio, last Friday.