The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-11-21
TRACKS ARE LAID
Lehigh Valley Grade Cross
ing Is Now Made.
WORK WAS BEGUN LAST NIGHT
Connections Will Be Made
Immediately With the
Point Of Rocks Trestle.

Residents in the vicinity of the Lehigh
Valley Railroad, at Communipaw avenue,
were greatly surprised late last evening
to hear the buzzing of saws, the clang-
ing of hammers against steel rails and
the hundred and one orders being shout
ed back and forth among a gang of al
most three hundred men, All this meant,
as the residents found out when they
awoke this morning, that the Lehigh Val
ley Railroad had at last won its grade
crossing fight, in spite of numerous OBJ
stacles The decision of the Court of
Errors and Appeals yesterday, at Tren-
ton, in which the ruling of the Supreme
Court against the railroad was set aside,
gave the Lehigh Valley the undisputed
right to cross Communipaw avenue at
grade.
The league battle in the courts has often
been reviewed. Since October, 1898, the
case has been in the courts, but previous
to that in Mayor Wanser's administra-
tion the railroad was refused permission
to GROSS the street at grade. The compli-
cations that arose after the Street and
Water Board passed an ordinance in favor
Of the railroad in 1888. were many. The
ordinance was taken to the Supreme
Court for certiorari proceedings, it being
alleged that Colonel Smiths vote was mot
valid, he being a Colonel in the Volunteer
Army at the same time. The Supreme
Court upheld this contention last winter.
The Lehigh Valley Company appealed to
the Court of Errors and Appeals from the
decision of the Supreme Court and yester-
day the Supreme Courts ruling was set
{r1cr "a H.
road the right of way stands the
yesterday. when the decision of the Court
of Errors and Appeals was flied.
The news of the decision reached this
city yesterday afternoon. Chief of Police
Murphy dispatched a squad of men to
the disputed crossing at once, after
conference with Corporation Counsel Nc
Dermott. Later, when a messenger ar
rived with copy of the filed decision.
which was served upon the Corporation
Counsel the police were ordered back to
the station house.
Track Master John Sheehan, with
gang of three hundred men, appeared at
the Communipaw avenue crossing at nine
o'clock last night with hundreds Of tools.
prepared to lay the tracks in no time. The
idly, as all the necessary tracks and logs
had been stored near the crossing for al
most two years, awaiting just such an
emergency Pavement blocks were ripped
up right and left. excavations were made
and log after log was laid in place to
receive the ponderous steel rails. Nearly
all night the men hurried on with their
labors by the light of fair Luna and
When daylight broke, four tracks
spanned the street, already connected
with the tracks on the east side of the
street. The force was reduced this morn
ing.
About fifty men were employed today.
The work went on with rapidity. The
bolted together, while carloads of dirt
were dumped alongside the new crossing
to be used to properly support :, the
entirely completed by nightfall, and the
long contested grade crossing will have
been established.
But It will be months before the cross
ing will be used extensively. Tracks have
yet to be connected with the long trestle
which spans the Newark branch of the
Central Railroad near Comlnunipaw av-
enue. This trestle reaches to the point
of rocks, near the iron bridge of the Cen
tral Railroad, which crosses the canal.
The trestle will cross the Central tracks a
second time at this point. Here the trestle
will be constructed across the canal, and
will take a downward course to the
tracks lying at grade, on the southeast
side of the Central Railroad. The line
will then be completed on this end. No
tracks have been built on the tTestle as
yet, but this will be a small job when a
big gang Is put to work
At present the Lehigh Valley trains go
out over the tracks of the National Stor-
age Company up to the point where the
National Storage Company's road turns
into the yards at Black Tom The Lehigh
Valleys tracks begin here. The tracks
from this point to the point where the
new line will branch into the main road
at the Point of Rocks will doubtless be
used as a freight yard in the future.
est benefits the Valley road has acquired.
It gives the railroad the right to continue
its road from the Jersey City yards, in
stead of running over the tracks of other
railroads. Also to connect with its branch
built, and the extensive yards at Pacific
length of time it will take to complete the
road on this end of the line.
The majority of Lafayette residents ap-
this morning Few could be found who
would take the trouble to talk about It.
There were two hundred people about
watching operations at the crossing this
morning. The work went or. quietly but
rapidly. Tracks are to be laid for dis
tance Of about one hundred yards to
connect with the trestle on the south
side of Communipaw avenue