The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-01-27
IS WHEELING
ABOUT TO BE
SIDETRACKED2.
Wen Defined Rumors In Circulation
That the Fish-oaptina Links
LEAVING WHEELING OUT OF IT
So Far as Being in Touch With Main
Line Of Baltimore & Ohio is

Is wheeling to be relegated to a
position farther from the activities Of
trunk line railroad systems than the
side-tracked situation she has been
forced to be content with for a number
of years? The main line OF the Pan
Handle twenty miles distant; the main
line of the Baltimore & Ohio hve miles
down the rlver-this is bad enough.
But suppose the main line OF the Bal
tiniore & Ohio were even farther from
Wheeling than that of the Pan Handle!
That would be quite comforting to the
Wheeling man who is under the i'm
preston that his city, as freight and
passenger center, deserves better
treatment ut the hands Of the railroads
than has been accorded in the past.
A rumor is in circulation, originating
from a source that must meet with
degree OF credence until the railroad
people themselves go on record with
denial, which means that wheeling
Bellaire and Benwood Junction will no
longer figure on the map Of the chica-
go-washlngton- Baltimore line of the
Baltimore & Ohio railroad,
The story is that the Baltimore &
Ohio people intend to build the railroad
they recently surveyed down Fish
creek in wetzel and Marshall countless
to woodland, on the Ohio river; IN the
Ohio on the West Virginia side to oppo-
site Powhatan; thence across the river
on a new bridge, and out the captina
creek valley to a point near Barnes
VILE. The fact that this line, when
built, will shorten the mileage nearly
twenty miles, and that the heavy-grade
Littleton and Barnesviiie hills will be
eliminated. shows that 1t would be pos
sible to make a time cut OF fully an
hour on passenger trains, as compared
with the present line via Moundsville,
Benwood Junction and Bellaire. With
the line built, VIII the Baltimore & Ohio
continue to use the longer and heavier
grade line for It's through passenger
trains between Baltimore and Chicago
in preference to shorter line with low
grades? Well, to be candid, 1t doesn't
look plausible.
The survey Of the new line was re-
Gently completed, and rumor has it that
the work OF construction will begin the
coming spring. In this connection the
fact that, while the company has
widened It's bridges on the Central Ohio
division west of Bellalre, the work OF
double tracking has been suspended ap-
parently Indefinitely, has been cited as
tending to show that the management
Is considering the ACCESSIBILITY Of re-
llevlng the pressure on the present main
line by constructing the Fish and Cap
tina creek link. Then. too, there is the
peculiar delay in starting the work of
construction on the long promised new
Wheeling passenger station. Putting
these and other things together 1t
would appear that there is something
brewing that is certainly not beneficial
to Wheeling.
A well informed man. in touch with
Baltimore & Ohio affairs, but whose
name cannot be divulged, asserted to
the Intelligencer yesterday that the
Flsh-CaptIna creek link would be built
and that it would be used for the fast
through passenger trains. Such an ar
rangement would probably mean slow
er trains for Chicago and Baltimore
out OF wheeling, or short line trains to
connect with the fast trains at Littletoa
and GAINESVILLE.
Yesterday. the Intelllgencer sent the
following telegram Of inquiry to Prest-
dent John X. Cowan. of the Baltimore
& Ohio, at Baltimore:
John X. cowan. President B. & o. Ry,
Baltimore. Nd.
Feuprted here you will build new line
I,ittleton to GAINESVILLE, shortening Balu-
more-Chlcag0 line for through paAsenggr
and freight traffic twenty miles. VIII inns
be done2 lNtSLl'l'flsi>SEiN
Up to a late hour last,night no reply
had been received.