Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-25

to make good his own promises and to
promptly undertake the task of causing
| the road to fulfill it's obligations. Mary
| land and Virginia avenues are broad. ana
| If the railroad continues to insist that the
| tunnel plan west OF 18th street IS lmpracs
| ticable notwi. hstanding the evidence of
| Engineer Commissioners Twining and Lud-
| low and Engineer Douglass of the Balti-
| more and Ohio railroad it might be re-
quired or persuaded to elevate its tracks
| upon a viaduct of the Berlin type. This
| treatment of the tracks would bring them
| to the north end of the present Long
bridge in proper relation to the masonry
| viaduct approaches across the reclaimed
| flats, proposed by Colonel Hams, and to
| the new elevated long bridge which is to
! be. Indeed. an important part of the Penn
| sylvaniaS terminal Improvement must be
| the destruction of that great dam. stretch
| ing causeway and "a low structure sup
| ported by numerous obstructing piers
| across TIE Potomac; a decaying, danger
| Gus nuisance bridge, and a dam
| blocking tie commercial prosperity of
| Georgetown and threatening every spring
| to turn a destructive flood in upon Penn
| sylVanla avenue and lower Washington.
| If Congress insists upon retaining the
| 9th street station and the Disagreement
| of the mall, the tracks might be removed
| from 9th street, opening that thorough
| fare, and run, as proposed. the edge
of the mall next to the street. but an
| embankment viaduct Ike the Berlin road
| In the suburbs. sodded and ornamental
/
| ings at intervals to permit passage under
| it.. 1t is pity that Representative Spring
| er's Champs Elysees. running through the
| series of parks between the Capitol and
the w hlte House or monument, should be
brought into proximity to railroad tracks
| at any point or in any way. but this ave-
J nue. or the more graceful and suitable
! curving driveway into which il might he
| modified, would clearly be more attractive
| if it retained its level grade and passed
| through an ornamental arch under COM
| parativeiy nUiseless viaduct instead of
| climbing over the tracks and engines by a
| bridge.
| The purchase of ample freight yards,
| especially in the section near where the
| railroad issues from the Navy Yard tun-
| mel and south Of its main line, into which
| 1t can run surface tracks, ought to be
| encouraged and promoted. The streets
| and reservations have served long enough
| as shifting stations and freight yards.
When the Baltimore and Ohio gets the
| imposing and admirably arranged station
| for which it is planning, with ample room
| acquired by purchase for the performance
| OF the functions of great modern rail-
| road. the Pennsylvania will doubtless be
| stirred by pride and competitive self-inter-
| est as Wen as by the absolute necessities
| of its steadily growing traffic, to enlarge
| and Improve it's terminal facilities. in
| GLIDING its station.
This main Washington station of great
| railroad system, at which some 1000 600 of
| people arrive and depart every year can
not be anything but inadequate and anti
| quated as long it can be legally an
| preached on 9Th street by only two tracks
| ito be put as near together in the middle
| OF the street as possible and showing flat
| rails like those used by street railways so
as to facilitate wagon and carriage travel
over the same" Whatever the railroad
| has on 9Th street more than these two sets
| of fiat rails. easily crossed by carriages. is
| illegal. These assurances of a minimum of
| inconvenience to the public are made in
| the letter of the law and are consequently
| more binding than the suggestion of SEN
| ator Simon Cameron that the 9th street
| tracks would be withdrawn when the mall
came to be needed as a park and Senator
| trelinghuysens assurance that no engine
| would ever run across the mall to brighten
| horses. as apprehended by a brother SEN
| ator. MI Freylinghuysen's suggestion was
| that the trains would run along 9th street
| and into the station engneess from mo-
| mentum acquired on Virginia avenue but
| he expressed no opinion as to the manner
IN which the train was to get out of the
| station and back to Virginia avenue again.
| The theories and arrangements all pointed
| to temporary makeshift, with a small
| business In view. and all the conditions are
| unsuited for the leading passenger station
| or the capital of the republic in the yea.
| 1892 The Pennsylvania road, N order 10
| keep up with the times and with local bust
| ness competition. must. wherever it's main
station Is located. get more ground in con-
nection with it, 1t must avoid tie ne
cessity Of backing out of its sta
| ton. 1t must secure the pri, -.ege
of laying all the tracks that a first
class road in first-class city requires for
| its business. And in return for the legis-
| lative concessions which will enable II to
| do these things, and in remembrance % the
| gift to it Of free right of way free station
site, and the practically free use of Long
| bridge it ought to take its tracks, excep.
specially designated freight tracks in GER
| tain localities, from grade everywhere with
| in the city limits.
| Costly Changes In Other Cities.
! been making notable improvements in It's
| Jersey City terminals. 1t has elevated Its
| passenger tracks to do away with grade
| crossings. 1t has constructed an immense
| train shed So feet long and 256 villa, with
| an arched roof Of the greatest single span
ever built The cost of its improvements
| including new ferry boat. new bridges all
| Of it's new plant in Jersey city and New
York. is estimated at $4,OOO,0b0.
This road. both in theory and in practice
has been liberal and progressive outside of
Washington.
In other cities it's policy is TO abolish
grade crossings. In formal letter favor
| ing the grade crossings bill for Pennsylva-
mia. President Roberts said: I'm pursuance
of this policy 1t (the Pennsylvania railroad)
has succeeded in eliminating all such cross
ings from its main line in the city of Pha-
delphia and for a distance Of nine miles be-
yond 1t is certainly within your recollec-
ton that In order to reach the present sta
ton at Broad street by an elevated road 1t
y
| dollars and thus secured the removal of all
the freight tracks from Market street and
the abandonment Of the then existing grade
crossings between 18th street and the
Schuylkill river. The same policy has been
pursued by the company for many years
past on its main line in the city Of Pitts
burg, with the result that all grade cross
ings of important streets within its limits
are now avoided. This policy is being
| steadily pursued on our lines to New York
| and Washington also. 1t has not
even been pretended that the wholesome
provisions of law that require the avoid
ance of grade crossings by steam railroads
| in such cities as London Liverpool and
Berlin have in any manner interfered with
their commercial prosperity. although 1t Is
| certainly true that they have compelled
railroad companies seeking admission to
| those cities to expend larger amount of
money than they would have done had
grade crossings been permitted. But
| think that you will agree with me that the
public safety Is the supreme law in this
case, and that II railroads can reach our
| large cities without sacrificing the lives and
| limbs of our people 1t is their duty to
/ an