The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-01-02

LAYING TRACKS YESTERDAY,
Shortly after five o'clock yesterday morn
ING. four trains, loaded with railroad ties
and rails, and carrying over one hundred
and fifty workmen, came slowly up the Le-
HIGH Valley tracks east of the Morris Canal,
and STONED at Chapel avenue. A half hour
before this time, four large trucks elongm
TO Contractors Holmes and Cogan and kelss
of Greenville, were driven 10 unls
point. and as soon as the Trains
arrived, the rails and Ties We're
transferred to the trucks n carted 10 tne
edge of the high bank, which skirts Inc Cen
trai Railroad tracks on either side OF Chapel
avenue. The property between the Morris
Canal and the Centrals tracks from Vfee-
lands farm, on the south, to Point OF Kocks,
on the north, is owned by the Lehigh Valley
Company, but as yet the company mas not
secured a right to cross Chapel avenue.
AS soon as the tracks were brought to this
point the gang of workmen was divided into
two sections. One section started to lay the
tracks north of Chapel avenue, while the
other started to work south of the avenue.
AS it was dark lamps had TO be Lit, and by
the light from these the workmen lad the
ties and rails at . remarkable rate OF speed.
By eight o'clock they had over one-halt
mile Of track laid but had not yet started to
cross Chapel avenue. The tracks, however,
were within a few feet On either side OF the
th~oroughfare and in a half hours more time
they could lave been laid across 1T.
THE POLICE INTERPRETED.
Al half past seven o'clock one of Green
yillets residents who saw the men at work
sent word to the police station that an at
TEMPT was about to be made to steal the
street and Sergeant Charles Haag detailed
two policemen to prevent the railroad
from LAYING its tracks there. As soon as the
policemen arrived the forman in charge OF
the workmen ordered the men to stop work
n - lz-o Tho fa1.opoon axr1loinod 70 tho
the policeman that the tracks were
llii to prevent the Railroad
from cendemning the property. He
said that the Central Company wanted
the Lehigh Valleys property. for a
freight yard and hat an application to
condemn would soon be made. When asked
why the work was begun at such an early
hour and lone in such a mysterious manne
he had nothing to say.
LAID IN A REL MANNER.
A peculiar feature of the work is that the
tracks were laid in a most slipshod manner.
The Lehigh Valleys property is billy on both
sides of Chapel avenu and the tracks were
laid loosely on it. No attempt was made to
grade them.
Mr.. Vreeland, who owns the property adj
Joining that of the Lehigh Valley on the south,
anticipates that the railroad will attempt to
steal a slice of his farm and he has placed a
man on guard to preventive laying OF tracks
there. The police have no fa1th In the story
that the tracks were laid to protect the Lehigh
Valley property. They believe that the
company intends to steal Chapel avenue and
will keep two policemen there day and
night. Today Policemen Mackey and Nc
Donough are guarding the thoroughfare.
Contractors Cogan and Keiss, who hired
their wagons to the railroad, told the police
that a representative of the railroad called
at their respective residences at midnight,
Sunday, and contracted for the use of the
vehicles.