The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-03-10
TUNNEL FINISHED,
National Docks Railroad
Completes Its Work at
the Point of Rocks.
HISTORY OF THE GREAT FIGHT.
Half a Mile of Road Costs Two
and a Half Million Of Dollars
Issues Involved.

A railroad less than a half mile In
length, which has cost more than s.. $780,
ooo, was finished this morning. 1t is the
New Jersey Junction and Connecting
Railroad. 1t passes under the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad system in a tunnel at the
Point of Rocks, and will, 1t is expected,
be the means of revolutionizing freight
and passenger traffic over every road hay-
ing a terminal in this city.
The completion of the tunnel is the ter
mination of one of the hardest fought
and most expensive railroad battles IN
the history of New Jersey. In it the
Pennsylvania Railroad was the principal
factor and for eight years in court and
otherwise. 1t combatted the combined in
terests of the Vanderbilt systems and the
National Docks Railway, which is an
auxiliary of the powerful Standard OIL
Company. Although beaten in nearly
every court in which the case in Its null
titudinous phases was heard the Penn
sylvania Railroad did not acknowledge.
itself defeated nor did it surrender I'M
til it had been adjudged guilty of con-
tempt of court and its property threaten
ed with sequestration by Chancellor Alex
ander T. McGill.
The Pennsylvania Railroad, b. means
of its location in the very centre of the
city, cut off all communication with each
other of the several railroads lying
north and south of its system. The COM
pany would allow none of the Compel
ing companies to cross its road at grade.
To go over or under it did not seem
feasible. As a consequence freight drawn
into the several yards which had to be
transferred to other roads to reach its
destination, had to be drilled over con-
Meeting links of the Pennsylvania. For
that privilege the company imposed a
toll of IS on every car it handled. As
the business of the several roads increas-i
ed it was foun that the IS toll was
eating a big hole in profits. An effort
to have the toll reduced proved frujtless
and several of the railroads submitted
quietly.
At that time, however, the West Shore
Railroad began to make a bid for freight
and passenger traffic 1t had a passen-
ger line extending from its termina in
Weehawken. skirting the hill and john
ing the main stem of the Pennsylvania
or the north side. near the Point of
Rocks. On he south side of the Penn
sylvania main stem the National Docks
Railway had a spur running from Its
work and connecting with the Pennsyl-
vania also near the Point of Rocks. The
west O1OTG anu NdllOQd1 OOch5 Ildtt-
roads Joined issue and demanded a reduce
ton of the transfer toll.
The Pennsylvania officials agreed it was
reported, to transfer all cars of the Ma.
tional Docks free of charge, but insisted
upon the IS toll on cars of other roads.
An agreement could not be arrived at and
friendly relations ceased. Apparently
divining that its formidable enemies
near the Point of Rocks, that being the
only feasible point, the Pennsylvania
Company transferred its round-houses
from Greene street to the Point of
ed them to an extent which, 1t was
said by its engineers, would make it i'm
practicable for a railroad to be built ,un-
der it's system. The Vanderbilt n
Standard Oil interests engaged engineers
n from them learned that the Penn
sylvania engineers had made a miscal-
culation and that there was two feet at
least to spare in tunneling under the
roadbed
The New Jersey Junction and Connect
ing road was organized and Messrs;
Dickinson, Thompson & McMaster and
other eminent lawyers engaged to COM
mence condemnation proceedings.
After a long and bitter fight an award
was made. The Pennsylvania appealed
peal resulted in the damages being more
than doubled The Junction Company
appealed and after months of legal wrang-
ling the second award was reduced. The
I1A1A a. II oS(ODhCa 0AA4 "a Ian ZRtoE
ceedings were i~naugurated.
While the case was effectually tied up
in the courts the Junction Company pro-
ceeded to acquire the necessary right of
way for its line in the event Of being
allowed to tunnel under the Pennsylvania
tracks. In this part of its undertaking
reason of the Vacation of Railroad ave
nut being necessary and also the con-
struction of a tfestle over private prop
erty in order to get a connection with
t1n Mo ffnnn1 Tl<1cl-c f,~ncf1n Tho rrityf1a0a
was finally obtained and the trestle built
to within five feet of the Pennsylvania
-embankment at the proposed point of
creating the tunnel.
Watchmen were stationed at the scene
by the Pennsylvania Company and the
moment the first shovel of earth was dug
from its e-mbankment the case was again
taken into court on a technicality. The
complaint was not sustained and the
Junction Company was authorized to pro-
coed with its work. In the night the
stood on tracks at the tunnel crossing
were removed and fiat cars loaded with
ashes substituted. When a hundred
Junction laborers finally attacked the
ernbankment employees of the other road
dumped ashes into the they
had made and upon them If they got In
protection was demanded by the Junction
Company. Efforts to compel the Pennsyl-
vania orkm to cease were fruftless
and arrests had to be made. In that way
more delay was caused.
When work was resumed the Junction
men had a 4-inch stream of water turned
on them, which drenched them and drove
them from their posts. There were ffty
policemen present when this occurred, but
they were powerlesS to preserve order.
In a scuffle which ensued between the
workmen a water pipe of the p. R. r.
was torn away
Wilful destruction of It's property was
the plea on which the case was again
carried into court. There was a brief de-
lay and then hostilities were renewed, the
Pennsylvania Company to prevent the
tearing way of its embankment dunping
car loads of powders weighing several
tons apiece Into the excavation.
Chancellor McGill was appealed to@and
he directed the Pennsylvania officials to
offer no further resistance. The order
was ignored and riots at the scene<of ac-
ton were only prevented by the presence
OF a hundred or more policemen. Work
men were injured and arrests were made
--- -