Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-03-26
THE BRENTWOOD RAILWAY.


The Other Side Of the Case.
To the Editor of The Evening Star;
Referring to your article Of March IS, headed
"Citizens of Brightwood," in justice to the
Brightwood railway l desire to state a few
facts bearing on the other side Of the case and
to which I beg that you will give the same
publicity. they are facts that should be
known in order to arrive at q fair and impair
tial conside ration Of the matter.
The Brightvood road was purchased by gen.
tlemen interested in the Judson Pneumatic
Street Railway Company, primarily because the
property was valuable and they believed with
rapid service out to Brightwood and Silver
Springs would develop . large business and
build up the country In manner to render the
location desirable for residences, and in that
way establish a growing and paying business
for its lines.
The plan adopted was to build the Judson
thresdless screw system Commonly called the
roller SYSTEM from the Boundary to Whitney
avenue and from Whitney avenue to Silver
Springs to build the Judson air storage system.
The Commissioners limited the speed from
boundary to Whitney avenue to ten miles per
hour, but from there out the company hopes
to be permitted to Iun their cars at fifteen
miles per hour.
l would state here that, owing to the restric-
tions in the Brightwood charter and the heavy
grades on the line, there were only two sys-
TENS that could have been considered-namely,
the cable or the Judson. The traffic of the
road would not warrant the building of the
cable, owing to its great expense In construc-
ton and operation while the Judson system is
less expensive in its construction and operation
and is believed to be better in many ways.
Toward the proposed end much has been &C
complished. The former shaky and impaired
track from the Metropolitan stables to Whitney
avenue has been supplemented by a fine track of
most approved sixty-pound grooved rails and
paved with Belgian blocks. The company has
the material on hand now to continue this
boundary, and have only delayed In this work
in the hope that some arrangement might be
made with the Metropolitan railroad to con-
tinue the same construction down 9th street.
Arrangements are now being made for the
building of the air-storage cars to run from
Whitney avenue to Brightwood and the build
ing Of the road on to Silver Springs. The
Brlghtwood Company has but one aim in view
and that is to provide q perfect and reliable
system of transit for that whole section of
country.
Il is further intended that ultimately an ar
rangement may be effected with connecting
lines by which trail cars will be attached and
run across the city to the District line, SO that
passengers can make the trip without
change OF cars. There have been unavoid-
able delays in perfecting the new
grip deylce so as to be absolutely reliable on
grades under all circumstances. which is now
proved, and the company is arranging to fit up
more cars, SO as to take the regular cars as far
as Whitney avenue, from which point to
Brightwood it will be hauled BY horses
until the air-storage cars are completed
Not only will this give perfect service. but
the locality along the line will be furnished
with power from the air pipes, which will be of
great value to this suburban region and give it
advantages over other localities. 1t means
power for manufacturing purposes, for pump
ing Of water into dwellings,, for electric light
ing and other varied purposes to which it may
be applied.
Attention is called to the accompanying re-
port of the District committee of the last Con-
gress reporting fsvorably upon the introduction
and use of compressed air for general purposes
throughout the city. The Judson system is in
dorsed by the most prominent engineers of the
country. This is fact and not u theory.
1t has come to stay, and its friends
were willing to place it in
competition. end on with the cable road which
has been many years in arriving at its present
mechanical perfection. 1t is a well-known fact
that after the first cable road was built il was
over three years before it commenced carrying
passengers and several years before they could
carry around corners So in Market street,
Philadelphia, it was nearly year after the road
was laid before they carried passengers salts
factorily.
In the case Of the Brightwood road the judi
son part is practically only just approaching
completion and it must be allowed a reasonable
time To perfect its arrangements. When the
present owners bought the Brightwood rail-
way they found 1t being operated
under lease to the Metropolitan railway and
that arrangement still continues. 1t is not wise
to attempt to supplant the horses until there
are sufficient mechanical cars to transport the
passengers, and 1t would take as long to pro-
vide new horse cars it will to provide me-
chanical cars.
The citizens of Brightwood and the Bright
wood Railway Company have a common in
terest. namely. the establishment of a perfect
service. This common end will best be served
by united efforts and not through public meet
ings or controversies in the newspapers.
Furthermore, the readers of The STAR,and that
enterprising paper, representing the people OF
the District OF Columbia. are interested in pro-
noting such enterprises as the Judson in their
midst.
Respectfully yours, II. d. COOKE,
Vice President Brightwood Street Ry Co.
WORLDS FAIR NEWS