Evening journal., 1897-03-13
THE RAILWAY TIED UP.
Injunction Secured BY the p,
w. & b. is Sweeping.
EFFECTS THE RIvERvIEw LINE

LY GRADE CROSSING.
The Philadelphia. Wilmington and
Baltimore Railroad Company Is fight
ing the new trolley road to New Castle
its hardest. The idea of electric rail-
way competition Is a great source of
annoyance to the old company. and. as
all steam roads are warning against
parallel trolley lines, the railroad COM
pany has never eased up its fighting.
First, there was a long fight, lasting
six years In the General Assembly. over
various bills to charter the Wilmington
and New Castle Electric Railway Com
pany AT last the trolley company was
chartered, but with a string to the char
ter that was evidently intended TO pull
1t out of place-a proviso that all steam
railroads would have to be crossed by
meaus of overhead bridges.
The new trolley company, however,
made a combine with the Wilmington
/ City Railway Company. which was al
ready clothed with power TO extend its
! lines six miles out of Wilmington In
any direction. and was not Obliged to
build overhead bridges. by this COM
bine. the New Castle trolley road was
built-with only one overhead bridge,
at the p. w. & B. cut-on. near New
Castle-and the road merged with Oh,
Wilmington City at Eden Park, TO
which point the latter company had al
ready extended its tracks.
The trolley line has been well
equipped and was all ready for opera
tiOn to-day.
A few days ago the railway company
placed rails and other material on East
Third street preparatory to making a
crossing. The p, w. & ,. railroad at
torneys went to Dover on Thursday
and applied to Chancellor Nicholson
for a preliminary injunction. This was
granted. and yesterday morning II was
served on Willard Salisbury, attorney
for ,he railway. and the other officials
of that company
The Injunction IS made returnable or
March 22. and Chancellor Nicholson
will then hear argument. The restrain
ing order is very sweeping and prevents
the trolley line from crossing the rail-
road at grade i'm any part Of the city
although East Third street is the main
point at present The p, w. q B. rail-
road claims priority TO the crossing ano
declares the trolley cars have no righ'
there, unless they cross below or above
] grade.
! The wilmington City Railway Com
I phnv's charter as does also that OF tn'
r Wilmington and New Castle Electric
- Railway Company, gives it permission
s to lay tracks in the streets of the cit
and a franchise was given by the Stree
a and Sewer Department TO occupy Eas
O. Third street Even with such permits
! sion the p. W. & B. Railroad Company
claims its right 10 occupy Third stree
where it crosses the tracks. and tha
no franchise granted the trolley people
z can do away with this right,
I OLD CITY LINES TIED UP.
. AS a result Of the injunction, two
p lines of street railway were tied up to
n day. and Attorney Salisbury found i
necessary 10 wire Chancellor Nicholson
Z J early this morning, asking permission
to operate the Riverview and Soutl
= Wilmington lines until the time set TO-
+ argument on the injunction He oh
: fainod permission to- operate the lines
it is understood over the tracks al
ready laid. until March p.
o WOULD STOP THE OLDEST RAIL
{, WAY.
2 "The Injunction" said Mr.. Saulsbur
I, to an Evening Journal reporter to-day
= "would have tied up one of the oldes
. electric railways I'm the United states
The Riverview line was put into opera
p ION IN 1888. before the trolley had eve
= become known in rapid transit tn
y Injunction was so sweeping that
y would have practically tied as up
u MIR. Salisbury further stated th
Wilmington City Railway Company
anxious to get the New Castle lin
~ started. and will use every effort {
"a reach some arrangement to relieve II
present embarrassment
" THE RAILROAD COMPANY's SIDE
d Senator Gray. counsel for the p, "
81 & b. Railroad Company. was seen
Sc his Office at noon by an Evening Joul
M nal reporter. He denied the purpose
g. the injunction was TO cripple the cit
lr railway or prevent the operation OF i
lines.
"The object Of the injunction Is
prevent that dangerous crossing
grade over the main line of the p, y
h. q b. railroad. q most horrible thing
,r Mr.. Gray said: THAT Is too much OF
p risk. There can be no doubt that an
rs man who rides across those eigl
W tracks i'm a trolley car takes his life
ne his hands.
Is "UnQuestionably the intent of II
to General Assembly in chartering q
ge New Castle railway was to prevent
and all other trolley roads from eros
ing steam railroads az grade. That w,
n 10 save human life. And If the Legisll
or ture intended to make the compaT
he bridge a small branch, like the OF
which they have bridged q half mi
above New Castle. where only ~
m | rains a day run-and those after mi
night-then the lawmakers surely II
" tended that street cars full Of peop
d. ihould not cross at grade "a main lin
NV If eight tracks where there are 800 pa
,ul sages north and south in a day.
IPCICT HTUpP OV TPOIIPV GAPS