The times., 1897-12-09
FROM WHARVEs To THE zoo
Seventh Street Line TO Have an
Electric System.
CONNECT WITH U STREET ROAD
Work to BE Begun as Soon as Avenue
and Fourteenth Street Lines Are
Compieted-No Transfers at Flor
ida Avenue and Cars to Ran
Through From River 60 Park.

The entire system Of the Capital Trae
ton Company thiscity will be etransformed
into an underground electric system as
speedily as possible. The Idea has been
considered ard discussed in an unofficial
way for some time, but not until the regular
monthly directory meeting held yesterday
afternoon at the new union depot in George
town was any formal action taken.
The Seventh street cable line viii be
| discard and a modern underground
electric system put in, and the streat
| electric line will be taken up and repla ced
with system which will be in conform.ty
| with the rest of the system.
| The work viii not Lsgin at once, but
Immediately after the completion of the
work now under way on the Mount Pie as
ant, Georgetown and Navy Yard sectious
| 1t is the desire of the directors, for many
| reasons, that these branches of the road
| be in running order as soon as possible.
| First and paramount as a consideration
is the fact that the public is daily under
| going a great Inconvenience on account OF
! utter iInpossibility of rapid transit being
! given by the present horse-car service.
| Besides the proper serving OF the pubic,
| the directory OF the road is desirous of
having the system completed as soon as
possible for other and more substantial
| reasons.
The road is now losing $1,000 a day.
| The work of la ying the feed wire cOnGuits
| is being pushed on the mort h, east and west
branches Of the main line, and the work of
| placing the contact rails in the main con
duits has been begun on the Fourteenth
street line. Tie General Electric and Jshar
| large construction coupanies, now man
ufacturng the electrical machinery for
the new system, are under contract 70 Iur-
| nish the necessary dynamos, etc, by he
early part OF he coming year, and it IS err
| tain hat they will fulfill their part of the
contract.
As soon as the work aOw ia progress
has been finished, the work OF insta ling
| the Seventh-street line VIII be Commenced.
| There are several reasons for the decision
! of the company To 90 this, chief gmOng
| Which is the important one of economy.
| The directorX,furesaw that it would have
| to Change the Cable system eventually,
on account Of the great success of the
underground electric system, ana, to do
SO they woI:ld also have to move their
cars by horses.
The Z street line viii be entirely re-
built ana equipped with the underground
| system along Eighteenth street northw ri
| from Floridai avenue To the bEJdge at tie
entrance to the Geological Park. That
! PORTION OF the road winch is now oper1ted
| by trolley to the point mentioned will be
Reconstructed with the under ground sys-
ten. When completed the entire Traction
| system, and all its branches. will be mi
| form. The intention is 10 abandon tile
! transfer SYSTEM Stt the corner OF Seventh
| street and Florida avenue north vest, and
| Us run the Seventh street cars through from
| the A rsenal to the Geological Park. The
work viii, 1t is expected, be finished 10y
tbr latter part OF next summer.
| By the time the Seventh street inc is
CON pleted the company expects to lave
the bills now befoTe the present Congress
approved. The bills as they now stand
provide for the extension OF the navy
| yard branch. from Eighth street and
Pennsylvania avenue southeast, along The
Avenue to the bridge and return.
| The most important extension pro ided
fol in the proposed bill is the one known
as the Southwest extension. In this is
to run the Georgetown cars from the
curve at the intersection OF Twenty sixth
street and pennsy ylvania avenue southwark
Oh Twenty sixth street to G street. cast
ward oil that street to Seventeenth street,
and connect with the present Ine.
| The return route will be from Seven
| teenth and the Avenue down to F street,
west to Twenty V sixth street and norgh 10
connect with the present line at the
Avenue curve. The proposed exten Sion
would not interfere with the traffic on
| the Avenue from Seventeenth to Twenty
sfXth streets, as that part would be run as
| usual as though the extension he'd not
| been made
| The present bill also embraces a pro-
vision for the extension of the Fo II
| teenth street line northward to Howard
avenue, westward to Seventeenth street
and by loop southwark to Park street
and eastw ard TO the present line at Four
teenth street.