Evening star., 1896-12-02
New Union Station and Sinking ALI
the Tracks.
PENNSYLVANIA ROAD IN EARNEST
Difference of Opinion Over Extent
of Underground Cut.
BRIDGE ACROSS POTOMAC

|
President ingalls, of the Chesapeake and
| Ohio Company to have a great Union STA
! ton in Washington. Such al least was
| the Information given by some of the high
| est officials of the PENNSYLVANIA company
| 10 Star reporter in Philadelphia yester-
| day.
1T VIII be remembered that President In
| gals OF the Chesapeake and Ohio Informed
! star reporter in Cincinnati that ii was
| The desire of the Chesapeake and Ohio. The
| Southern and the Pennsylvania companies
| TO have great Union station here and
| that the preparation of the plans therefor
| had been placed in the hands OF Chief En-
| gineer Brown of the last named company
| for development.
| 1t is stated upon the best authority 10 be
the intention OF the representatives of the
| Pennsylvania to go before the Senate and
| House committees on the District of CO.
| lumbia as soon after Congress resssembles
as they can get hearing on the subject
| ANA endeavor to get the necessary legisla-
| lion TO accomplish that purpose.
Chief Engineer William ii. Brown, who.
| as stated by President Ingalls, of the Ches-
| apeake and Ohio, has charge OF the prepa-
| ration of plans for the new station and
| yards, which it is proposed 10 be used
| Jointly by the Chesapeake and Ohio South
| crn and Pennsylvania, and such other COM
| panies as may wish to avail themselves of
| The Improved facilities, excluding, how
| ever, the Baltimore and Ohio company,
| talked at length TO the reporter concerning
| the intentions Of the Terminal Company
| which is TO be organized for the -oastruc-
| ton of the improvements. provided. of
| course, the necessary charter is granted by
Congress.
| Il wish, at the outset 10 say" Mr. Brown
| RI rfmarked. that we need the staIiln and
! the yards spoken of by Mr.. Ingalls,. and
| We need them very badly. The passenger
| tfan1c which reaches Washington over the
Chesapeake and Ohio, the Southern the
| Atlantic Coast and the Pennsylvania lines
| Is already lar too great to be .lcaommo-
| dated at the present Baltimore and Poto-
| mac station, 9th and II streets. and the
nlncuties arising therefrom will naturally
| increase rather than decrease. ami the only
remedy Will be the construction of a big
| station and large freight yards.
| Sinking the Tracks.
Now, do not want the people of Nash
ington 10 have an idea that l am standiay
in the way of the improvements needed ly
us and our railway associates. and desired
so earnestly by the people OF Washinc,on
but cannot as an engineer recommend
the companies interested to ask Congress
for authority to construct a system of
| tracks in the city which are to go down 90
what engineers call plus 10 below the ,ia-
| yum ilne, which is what is wanted by Dis
| trlct Commissioner Powell, but which is
| three feet lower than necessary or t,ron,.r
in view of the dangers of flood in Wash
| ington
10 have an elevated road as is wanted
| 10y many residents of Washington is out
| of the question, not because of the inn
4 mensc cost involved, but by reason of The
TACT that the topography of the city is
! such that we could not build an elevated
| ROAD over which trains could he run be-
tween the tunnel on the east side of the
| city and the north end of the Long bridge
| Objections 20 Elevation.
| Assuming that elevated road was
built in Washington for the purposes of
the several railway companies interested,
we could net get on ii at the tunnel, which
We Will, as far as our conversation goes,
take as starting point We could go over
9Th, 4th and Sd streets southeast. but
| would have to cross New Jersey avenue
where ii does today. We could also go
| over South Capitol street, Delaware ave
| nue.. I'd, Az and 9Th streets southwest. and
| get into the station with elevated tracks.
| but in going out of town to the south it
| would be impracticable to get either over
or under 9TH, 9th, 10th, llth and 18th
| streets southwest without sinking those
| streets from five to seventeen feet which
would make miserable hole at each place
| that the people of Washington could not
| possibly he expected to endure with pa
| tience.
Another and very serious objection to
| having our tracks elevated in Washington
| is the fact that we could not nave a freight
station any place I'm the city except north
| OF the tunnel and south of Eth street be-
| cause there is no room for yard purposes
OF course, we could deliver coal 10 COLI
| signees because coal could be dumped from
| the cars into the wagons or carts Intended
| to maui ii away, but no oiheI freight could
| be handled except at the Places indicated.
The Flood Theory.
Il have said that. engineer and IN
/ ilSficp n h,a nh
| perms sion TO make the Improvement
| which, if constructed, will involve the ex-
! renditure of an immense sum of money /
| cannot recommend the sinking of our tracks
| tc the point designated by Engineer Com
| missioner Powell. The reports on file i'm the
| District building and with both houses of
| Congress dor the reports We're printed at
, the time they Were made to the govern
| ment, about seven years ago. show that
/ curing flood in June, 1889 the water from
] the Potomac river backed up through the
| city sewers TO the corner of Pennsylvania
| Avenue and 9th street northwest. causing
| our passenger station at 9th and II streets
| to be flooded. while the water rose to the
same height. that of 1ol9 feet above mean
| water mark, at 9TH, 5th Az and Sd streets
| northwest.
Il concede that Commissioner Powelrs
| views on the subject of having the tracks
| sunk to the depth of ten feet good.
| provided his plan to have a system OF low
| sewers in the southern section of Washing
| ton also be put in fierce Put | am
| very confident that it will be a very long
! period before Congress will make the APP
| rropriations of money necessary to make
| Major Powells sewerage plan effective.
| have suggested TO him that all those inter
| ested agree to accept the plan which | have
| here outlined. and which will be laid before
| the proper congressional committees. which
| is to sink the tracks seven feet from the
| tunnel to the north end of Long bridge.
| We are willing 10 build bridges to the
| width of each street, if IL is wanted 10y the
| people, for anxious get the
| tracks off the streets the ciJzens Of
| Washington are to have them removed;
/ for almost any plan OF getting in and out
| OF Washington is preferable to the present
| miserable grade crossings.
| New Bridge.
THE building of a station and the con-
| struction OF a great freight yard, would
also make necessary either the construction
| of new bridge across the Potomac river
or the widening of the present Long bridge
for 1t would be entirely out OF the ques-
! ton TO do the work of reaching yards out.