The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-06-28

concern up 10 the present tllilc' NIL Young is quoted as follows:
 T will say that the Central Railway and Electric company of New Britain, the Waterbury Traction company or Waterbury, the Naugatuck Electric Light company; the Norwalk Gas Light company and the Norwalk and South Norwalk Electric company, the Green- Wich company and the Housatonic Power company have been purchased by R. A. c. Smith and his associates, who represent one of the strongest sym dicates in New York city. It is their purpose to turn these properties over to the Connecticut Lighting and Power company
 "The purchase together with the im- provements and extensions contempla- ted, will represent an expenditure of about six million dollars.'
 The Norwalk Street Railroad compa- II, an excellently equipped line, is also controlled by the new company.
 While, perhaps, interesting as being one of the earliest outgrowths of the success of the experiment of generating and transmitting electric energy for considerable distance at Niagara Falls it's chief interest to the public al large is its relation to the Connecticut insu- burban transportation problem, which is now in process of solution.
 The Consolidated Railroad System. Any movement which did not take into consideration the possible relation of the Consolidated railroad to it would be incomplete The Consolidated con trols nearly all the steam railroads of the state. It's trunk lines cross the state in an easterly and northeasterly direction, and it's feeders branch north ward at intervals into Massachusetts following the rivers and passing through the many factory towns which cluster along the river banks. By thus dividing the state into squares the steam transportation problem is wei | solved.
 The Consolidated has always fought 1 every effort to parallel its lines and has always won Every attempt has failed owing to lack of strength. The mair line between New York and New Ha ven, the chief feeder of New England from New York city, while subjected t' 1 more than one attack, has not beer paraleied except by the steamboat along the Sound, and the chief steam boat lines, those running to Norwich Providence and Fall River, and doins a through business, are now under tn control of the Consolidated. To-da. 1 there is little probability of interference from steam railroads.
 The development of electricity and it practicabiity as a motive power for in terburban passenger transportatiol thrust a new element into the problem and, to use the words of N. H. Heft electrical director!iof the Consolidated in a recent paper upon electrical trans
 portation as conducted by the New Ha ven road. i've had to steal some O
 their thunder The Consolidate found that it's local traffic was bein cut into wherever a trolley line paral leled its tracks for any distance.
 In order to learn the value and prac
 ticability of electricity for heavier trat fic than of street railroad, it began
 few years ago to experiment.. spu
 running to Nantasket beach, near Bos
 ton, was equipped with the overhea
 system, and ten-mie stretch of it
 track, running between Berlin an
 Hartford, passing through New Britain
 was equipped with the third-rail sys
 tenn. So successful have been these e>
 periments that steam has been suspenc
 ed entirely on these lines.
 The speed attained compares favors
 bly, with that accomplished by the us
 of steam. Specially geared trains o | +o1, l.
 cred the ten miles at rate of nearly mile a minute. The innovation, with
 reduction in fare, rapidly increased tl
 passenger business, and, notwithstan(
 ing the presence of a parallel trolle } road between Berlin and Hartford, tf increase on this branch was fourfold.
 Paralleling the Steam Roads. Trolley lines began to connect ar J parallel the steam railroad for conside able distances between New York ar
 New Haven, and it became necessal . to consider the best methods to brea up a possible through line. Special les islation against paralleling, except cases where public necessity and co, .. venience could be proven before the s
 perlor court did not stop the threa ened invasion of territory. A leg fight in 1896 against proposed trolle line between South Norwalk and Stan
 ford was won by the trolley line, ar
 the tracks have been laid along u
 shore of the Sound for the entire di tance between Stamford and New H ven. Port Chester has track along th , Post road for three or four miles, ar a other lines are projected nearer Ne York
 f In order to prevent any practic a amalganation for the purpose of S n curing through line between Ne ! York and New Haven, the Cons llidatt f, road bought the Stamford Street raj
 way, thus taking possession of one f the necessary links in the chai
 Stamford is midway between the tv e cities The Meriden Street railrof . was also purchased in order to break | l a possible combination between Ne |, Haven and Hartford.
 n The Norwalk Tramway compan
 which owns the Norwalk Stamford lin 6 endeavored to get into Stamford tn