Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1899-01-06
Important Railroad Deal.
The Ogendsburg and Lake ChRmpIain
Railroad Bought by the Rutland Rail-
road Company.


Railroad Bought by the Rutland Rail-
road Company.
Announcement was made Wednesday
that the stock and bonds of the Opdens-
burg and Lake Champlain railroad have
been bought by the Rutland Railroad COM
pany. Negotiations between President
Percival w. Clement of the Rutland road
and DR.. Seward w. Webb and Charles Par
sons of the Ogdensburg road have been in
progress several weeks and the deal has
just been completed. 1t is expected that
the Rutland road will take possession of
its new property in a day or two and that
steps will soon be instituted looking to the
construction of line between Burlington
and Rouses Point, making a continuous
line of about $50 miles and extending
from Ogdensburg to Bellows Falls. 1t is
understood that this connecting link will
be built through the islands bridging Lake
Champlain.
II is understood by railroad men in this
section that the purchase of the Ogdens-
burg and Lake Champlain railroad is the
last of line of purchases and accessions
which will develop the Rutland road into
trunk line from the West to New York
and Boston. There will be lake steamer
service that will land western freight at
Ogdensburg, where it will be transported
to Rouses Point, there to connect with the
Rutland Canadian road soon to be built
under charter granted by the legislature
at its recent session. This freight can be
taken from Rutland over the Bennington
and Rutland with its Vanderbilt connec-
tioDs TO New York, or 1t can be carried to
Bellows Falls and hen taken by the Fitch
burg to Boston. Oh, IF the strong points
in the new trunk line will be, it is said, the
long water haul on the lakes. 1t is a rail-
road commonplace that the longer the
water haul the less the cost of tIansporta-
ton, and the new trunk line will be for
uidable rival, 1t is argued, for any other
railroad system in these parts competing
for freight.
This is the end. or the latest develop
ment, in the move of DR.. w. Seward Webb
and the Vanderbilt interests to build up
big western traffic over this line. The
Burlington Free Press SAYS, at is an.
nounced that the Ogdensburg road under
its new management will be operated in
close relations with the New York Central
and the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg
road which is also controlled by the Van
derblts. The Ogdensbuig road, which is
lis miles in length, connects with the
Vanderbilt system at Ogdensburg, at Nor
wood and at Malone, while at Rouses
Point il touches the Delaware and Hudson.
in which the Vanderblts are largely inter.
ested. AT Ogdensburg this road will con-
meet with steamboat lines from Chicago
and other important commercial ports on
the Great Lakes. DR.. Webb is also a d.
rector in the Fitchburg railroad with which
the Rutland connects at Bellows Falls, and
1t does not need prophetic eye to see that
very close relations between the two sys-
TENS will be established with the chances
very strongly in favor Of ultimate consolid-
alton. II is significant in this connection
that the stock of the Fitchburg has ad-
yanced from par to 100 during the past
few weeks.
The Ogdensburg line now becomes a
link in system of lake and rail transpor.
tation which we believe is not only to gain
an important share in Western freight
traffic, but which is also TO contribute in a
marked degree to the upholding of the
material interests in the Champlain val
ley in particular as we'll as the Green
Mountain state and Northern New York
in general. 1t means the permanent iden-
titcation OF DIR. W. Seward Webb and of
the large Vanderbilt interests with this
section, and the development of enter
prises on scale Of which our people have
not yet dreamed"