Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1901-10-31

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railroad affairs in West Virginia is
apparent to observant persons, but the
nature of the important events about
to be consummated does not yet ap-
pear. A few weeks ago we printed a
statement to the effect that the Penn
sylvania Railroad Company, which
now has complete possession of the b.
& o. and all it's branches in this State,
had demanded that Elkins and Davis
name a price for the West Virginia
Central Railroad, which they own.
This statement seems to be corrobo-
rated by the fact that last week Pres
ident Loree, the Pennsylvania man
who now serves as head of the B. &
o., with party of high officials made
a trip of inspection over the West
Virginia Central. officials of one
road do not carefully examine apoth-
er line unless there is something in
the wind, and it looks as if the Davis
and Elkins road was to be gobbled
up, whether its owners desire it or
not.
Now comes another feature of the
matter, however, which indicates that
instead of becoming a subordinate
part of the great Pennsylvania sys-
TEN, the West Virginia Central means
to make Of itself trunk line. A de-
spatch from Parkersburg states that
Senator Elkins and Mr.. Davis and
their associates few days ago bought
10000 acres of coal lands in Braxton,
Gilmer and Lewis counties, and fol-
lowing this is the news that they have
also bought the Little Kanawha Rail-
road, running from Petersburg into
the coal fields of the counties named
This leaves gap of but 70 miles be-
tween the terminus of the West Vir-
GINA Central and of the Little Ka-
nawha, and when this is built the FL
kins and Davis syndicate will have an
independent outlet for their vast out
put of coal and lumber directly to the
West and South and the great lakes.
At Parkersburg they will have the
water transportation of the Ohio riv-
er. From Parkersburg connection
can be made with the Gould railroad
lines, giving fine western connections.
The eastern terminus of the West
Virginia Central is at Cumberland.
For years it had continuous fight
with the B. & o. for fair rates east on
coal shipments, and it has been COM
paratively recently that anything like
satisfactory arrangements were made
No matter how good its connections
westward might be, it is still blocked
at Cumberland. There seems little
chance that it can get hold of the
Chesapeake & Ohio canal, which
it so ardently desires and which would
make such an ideal route to the East,
and it is therefore looking in another
direction. 1t wants the Western
Maryland Railroad. 1t would not be
a matter of serious difficulty to build
the gap from Cumberland to Cherry
Run-and there's your through
route from the West to Baltimore and
tidewater 1t is a noteworthy fact
that President Davis, ofthe West Vir-
GINA Central, is one of the holders Of
Western Maryland stock.
Whether the Davis-Elkins syndi-
cate and the Gould managers really
mean to push this project, or whether
the shrewd fnanciers interested are
playing into each others hands and
are simply planningto make still more
vast the enormous system of the Penn
sylvania Company, is the question.
The developments will be awaited with
interest.