Los Angeles herald., 1890-05-03
A UNION DEPOT.
1t Will Provide ALI the Roads
With One Terminal.
A Subscription of 100000 is
Called For.
How Far the Work Has Progressed.
A Slow Job.
The Trunk Lines Have Not Come to Any
Decision in the Matter-Other
Railway News.


On the occasion of his first visit to this
city last fall, Mr.. Marvel, president of
the Santa Fe, remarked in an interview,
published at the time in the HERALD,
that he would like to see his road pro-
vided with better depot in this city.
At various times since he has expressed
the same wish. A number of property
owners at the lower end of the business
portion took hold of the suggestion, and
several months ago started into move
ment to erect union depot, which
should be used by both the main trunk
lines, and also by the smaller local roads.
knowledge of this fact was obtained
some time ago at the HERALD office, but
the projectors of this scheme made
special request that nothing be pub
lished, lest it should hamper their work.
The request was complied with. AS
there no longer appears any necessity for
keeping back the facts in the case, they
are now made public.
The property on which it is proposed
to locate the depot is the tract owned by
the Sisters and held for orphan asylum
purposes, lying between Commercial
Macy and Apablaza streets. 1t covers
about eight acres. 1t was bonded sew
eral months ago for this purpose bv a
syndicate of capitalists, of which M. L.
Wicks and E. F. Spence were members.
1t was decided that before any definite
offer could be made to the roads the sum
of 5000, 900 must be subscribed, to pur-
chase the property and begin the work.
The projectors of the plan set about
raising this sum, making the subscrip-
ton conditional upon the agreement of
all the roads to come in. At the end of
more than months work less than half
the desired sum has been subscribed.
Those who have the undertaking in hand
are not discouraged, although some of
them are inclined to think that unless
more interest is taken in the matter by
the railroads themselves the plan will
have to be abandoned for the present.
The chief engineer of the Southern
California, Mr.. Perris, was taken into
the consultation as the representative of
that line, and said that the plan
"bristled with difficulties" 1t would
carry the line back from the river and
away from the warehouses, and would
involve extensive changes in the yard
arrangements. Officials of the Southern
Pacific who have been consulted in the
matter were inclined to think that it
would be almost impossible for that road
to go into the scheme. The proposed
depot would not give sufficient yard
room for the making up of trains, and
would put the company to no small in
convenience and expense in this regard.
The chief difficulty, however, lies in the
fact that the road is committed to the
Wolfskill depot location for term of
years, and is interested in the surround
ing property. A change would involve
much greater expense than would ap-
pear on the surface.
These are the discouraging features of
the case, but they are balanced by a
number of facts of an opposite sort. Be
sides the two main lines there are the
Los Angeles and Pacific, the Los Ange-
les, Pasadena and Glendale, the Re-
dondo Beach road and the Rapid Transit
road. All Of these are willing to 60 into
the union depot, and most of them could
without much difficulty secure the
right-of-way. The Redondo Beach line,
which at the present time has it's ter
minal at Agricultural park, would make
detour around the city and use the
union depot for its main station. The
other roads have terminals near to the
proposed new union depot.
1t goes without saying that railroad
cannot change the location of it's depot
without great expense and difficulties of
all kinds. 1t is not to be expected that
the main roads will go into the scheme
until they have made thorough cam
vass of its advantages and it's drawbacks.
If the projectors of this plan meet with
success it will not be until every feature
of the plan has been carefully discussed
The mere fact that the roads do not at
first seem inclined to go into the scheme
does not by any means insure its failure.
1t is considered tolerably certain that if
the Southern Pacific road agrees to come
in the Santa Fe will be compelled to do
likewise. The reverse of this is not
necessarily true, owing to the location of
the two roads. 1t would be possible to
get all the other roads into the depot
and find the Southern Pacific still out of
the fold, for the reason that the present
Commercial-street depot would be only
a short distance from the proposed
location.
The men who have the matter in
hand are not at all discouraged. They
believe that both the main roads are
desirous of coming into a union depot,
and that although they may hold back
for time they will ultimately come
around.
General Railway News.
President Huntington has returned
from Oregon to San Francisco. He will
visit this city on the 9th of May.
The San Francisco Examiners special
arrived in this city last evening. 1t will
remain several days at the Southern
Pacific depot.
Thursday evening at 7 80 as the
Southern California train from San
Diego was running between Ell Toro and
Modjeska some scoundrel shot at the cars.
The bullet, evidently from a revolver,
went through the window of one of the
coaches and narrowly missed striking a
passenger. Nothing is known as to the
perpetrator of the outrage.