The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-05-26
RAILROAD NOTES,

The United States appellate court Of
New York has decided that railroad
corporation must provide suitable warm
ing to tbs brakemen on freight trains of
the presence of overhead bridges and has
therefore sustained the circuit court in
awarding $1,000 to brakeman in his
suit for damages against one of the rail-
road companies in that state.
When the Waterville and Fair.
field Railway and Light
company laid It's track across that
of the Maine Central Railway company
at Fairfield, the former company bore all
the expenses of the crossing frogs, which
we've then laid. Subsequently, in 1890,
q statute WIS passed giving the board Of
railroad commissioners authority to regu-
late the manner of crossings of all rail
ways and determine how the expense of
construction and maintaining such CROSS
ings shall be borne. The crossing frogs
at the Fairfield crossing in Fairfield hay
ing become worn and dangerous to public
travel, the electric railway company, un-
der the law of 1890, applied to the rail-
road commissioners to determine who
should construct the new crossing and
how the expense should be borne, claim
ing that previous to the statute of 1890,
steam railroads were obliged to provide
crossings for the cars of an electric or
horse railroad, the same as for any other
vehicle passing along the public high
| Int hot ho cto f1to Of
the board of railroad commissioners au-
thority to apportion the expense of main-
| tanning such crossings. The decision of
the railroad commissioners WAS adverse
to the electric railway, stating that in
all instances where steam railroads were
crossed by electric roads the board had
determined chat the electric roads should
bear the expense of such crossings where
the electric road was the one last located.
Their decision in this instance, therefore,
they say, is in line with all former de-
cisions of the board. The railroad COM
pany appealed to the supreme judicial
court and the question is now under con-
sideration by Judge Strout. AS the CUES
ton Is important, in its relation to the
| increasing number Of similar instances,
| it's outcome is awaited with much inter
| est. Hon. VIM. T. Haines appears for
| the Waterville & Fairfield Street Railway
company and the Maine Central Railroad
company is represented by Hon. E.sF.
Webb.
There will be grand excursion via the
Bangor & Aroostook railroad and the
special steamer Cimbria tc accommodate
the Aroostook Patriarchs Militant desir-
ing to attend the field day in Rookland,
juno 4. About 100 members accom-
panied by the Fort Fairfield band. will
come on this excursion, which will arrive
about 6 p. M, june 3.
There will be an excursion from points
In Aroostook to Bar Harbor over the
Bangor & Aroostook railroad on June 20,
returning next day
Last Wednesday night, train No. II.
popularity called the Pullman, Conductor
Haley, made the run from Portland to
Bangor without taking or leaving pas
senger at flag station. So far as is
known this is the first trip of the kind to
| be made by that train.
Elk. Conductor Mitchell of the Maine
Central railroad has been appointed a
government assistant in Contrac-
| tor Fernald's department at the iron
| works ut Bath.
Deacon Stephen e. Sawtelle, who died
| Sunday in Manchester, N. H., at the age
of 70 years, served as an engineer on diff
ferent railroads for half a century. Dur
| ing these long years in which he served
as an eng ineer he had seen the pay for
this work vary from $3.50 to g. 70 1-2.
Mr. Sawtelle In his career as railroad
| man bad worked under every master
mechanic tho Concord and Concord &
Montreal have had since the first train of
| cars passed up along the Merrimac river
banks north of Nashua. and until the
Conford & Montreal system was leased by
the Boston & Maine railroad had been in
the employ of the Concord road continu-
ously since May, 1874. Increasing in
trinity, the result of i'll health and age
com bined, induced Mr.. Sawtelle to hand
in his resignation to the road on the first
of November last, and on December 1 he
concluded his services, after serving as q
railroad man for fifty-One consecutive
years. During portion of this service he
resided in Nashua.
In Skowhegan Saturday, at the hearing
before Judge Strout in the case of the
Maine Central Railroad company VS..
WaterYille & Fairfield railroad and Light
company, the position of the electric road
was clearly shown by the requests made
by that company, which were denied by
the Justice. The decision of the board of
railroad commissioners was affirmed.
Exceptions were made by the railroad
company, and the action will go to the
Law court at once. The railway and
Light company claimed that it is the
duty of the railroad commissioners to
determine how crossing frogs shall be
constructed and maintained where one
railroad of any kind crosses another. and