The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-05-22
{ ERIE ELEVATION.
The Company FlatlY Re-
fuses to Get on
Stills.
SLAUGHTER MUST GO ON.
Viaduct Would Cost Four Mil
lions and Human Life
Is Cheap.
COURTLAND PAREERs SMOOTH TALK.
1t Fails to AllaY The Wrath Of
Citizens Engineering
Estimates.
COURTLAND PAREERs SMOOTH TALK.

The Erie Railroad officials were ready
this morning TO discuss the qnes-
tion of elevating its tracks from the tun-
mel to the ferry. The lobby was crowde d
with interested property owners who
were hopeful that the comBany would
do the work. Counsellor Cortlandt
Parker appeared in behalf of the com
pany, and without keeping anyone in
suspense very long announced that the
company would not elevate It's tracks.
He gave the following as some of the
reasons of the company for not doing the
worK.
MR. PARKER's ARGUMENT.
He said, among other things, that II
elevation take place in Jersey City, the
same must be done in passing through
Rutherford. Paterson and Newark which
cities have the same right to ask for the
same privilege, and that 1t Night have to
be done along the 400 miles of It's line.
| The cost was the main consideration. he
said. still the company was willing to
crafty the wishes expressed. According
| to the report of the Chief Engineer,
! which he submitted. he said, chat the
company could not stand the expense.
ENGINEER'S REPORT.
| The Engineers report said:--
| 1.-The length of the TWO main tracks be-
| tween the east ond of the Bergen Tunnel
| aud the est end of the train shed at Jer-
| sey City is 5,79b fset. On The north of
| these tracks near the west eud OF the
train sned there are nineteen tracks used
| for handling passenger and express
| equipment, having II total length OF Il, 500
/ feet. North OF this passenger yattt, which
begins at Hendsrs on strset and extends
east, there ii largc freight yard also
| begiuGfag, cousistiuQ OF faytg-swo tracks,
aggregatiug 72.000 feet IN lrngth. Gu the
| south side of the TWO main pas
seuger tracks tnera are eight
| freight tracks Leading to the milk
platform, elevator aud docks, aggeegat-
| ing 3l.700 fest In length, ana aseut ten
| shep tracks $4,000 feet long, making a
total of eighty tracks, about $4,000 feet
in length, or nearly thirty miles,
nearly all OF which will
be affected by the proposed
| will affect the large locomotive shops
| fronting ON the highway called Provost
street, the local delivery freight
House on Grove street, the two Turn
| tables, four track scales and several
smaller buildings used AZ yard offices.
etc., az well as several private establIsh-
meuts. such as Swift & Co.'S warehouse,
! coal yards, etc.
| GRADES AT CROSSINGS.
! The report Then deals with tunne Is, the
number OF tracks crossing Monmouth
aud Coles streets. Jersey avenue, Erie,
Grove, Henderson and Provost streets,
/ and dealsswith the heighth of the grade
from the east end of tue tunnel to Grove
| street, a distance of 1900 feet,
the highest point between the
/ tunnel aud train shedi ascends about five
feet to tine mile. From thence to the
west end of the traiu shed, a distance of
1900 feet it descends about 1S feet to the
| mile. The freight yard is used
| for asserting aud delivering to
| lighters cars destined to the different
docks in New York city. aud taking the
| cars loaded in New York from tde
| lighters. The operation of assoi ting and
| delivering to ths lig ltsrs IS as folIows:-
After train of cars is brought in from the
Bergen yard. west of the Tunnel, and placed on
the track especially assigned 10 re-
ceve that class of freight so
ity of cases into as many portions as there are
ears The grade at present is as steep as this
work can economically be handled, aud any IN
crease in this grade would greatly
auired, largely decrease the amount of
freight that could be moved in the yard,
thereby seriously gripping the operation of the
road as well as largely increasing tne amount
of damage done TO cars striking one another in
swucning, always a large item and the liability
of injury to prakemen, as on the proposed
grade of so feet to the niIle cars will not stand
without proper brakes are applied.
INCREASE OF GRADES.
The report then takes up the consider
alton of the passenger movement over
the road. the trains being about $50
day, with 500 freight cars and about 300
cars on the elevated rack aud requiring
the handling Of six switching engines
with their crews.
1.-The plan as would seem to be shown
bv the rather incomplete map aud profile
furnished by the authorities of Jersey
City, is to elevate the tracks so that
at the highest point, Grove
street, they would be raised
| IL 37-l00; this would result in
making the grade from the east end of
| feet to the mile in plAce OF five feet as a5
| d. esent and descend from Grove street to
| the west end of the train shed forty one
| feet to the mile in place OF eighteen feet,
and from Grove street to the
| Lfghterage Docks. which would in
clude all the tracks ~ the freigns
yard, it would descend so feet TO the mile
| in place of % feet rs at present, and the
tracks to the Elevator. suppostng that
| they cross Payonia avenue at grade es
now, would descend 80 feet to the mile III
place of 26 feet.
INCREASED COST.
This would very greatly increase the
expense Of handling and interfere with
the large freight business done ut tnese
yards, as a switch engine could
handle less than half IT'S pres
ent load, the report says, and
the car shop aud paint shop fronting
on Brunswick and Coles streets resDec-
lively, might be left al the same grade
as now, by building track. starting
near the mouth OF the Tunnel.
| aud connecting with their present
system Of tracks, but the local
freight house, the blacksmith shop,
machine shop and erecting shop must be
raised to conform to the new grade OF the
main tracks, as otherwise 1t would not be
possible to enter them.
The estimate cost of raising the tracks
as suggested above is not less thaD:-
$1,000 cubic yards masonary, in
cluding foundations at S12.... 1896, 900 co
Bridges at seven streets ....s... 10000 90
440, 600 cubic yards, filing at 81. 100000 90
s feet of track. rae .s.,.s ss,s. $4,000 90
Cost of trestle work for temporary
tracks, including right OF way,
Raising two turntables, three shop
buildings one local freight
houses, three scales and forty
small structures -. s5O.0G0 %