Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1902-09-25
Affairs of the Railroads.

Affairs of the Railroads.
The surveyors who are locating the
roadbed of the new B. & 0. cutoff
have been working at the west edge
of Shepherdstown this week. The line
crosses the Martinsburg road a few
yards west of the corporation limits,
and goes in the rear of Iceland and
Elmwood Cemetery, making curve
to again head eastward and running
through the Hoffman field. The sur
veyors have been spending good deal
of.time on the line seeking the best pos
sible grades and curves, and they 60
over some sections again and again.
The gratifying statement is made that
the railroad will cross the three prin-
cipal roads leading into Shepherds
town-tbe Charles Town pike, the
Kearneysville pike and the Mar
tinsburg road-on overhead bridges.
The farmers will be particularly
glad to learn that they will not have
dangerous grade crossings 10 contend
with.
During the past week the surveyors
have run their lines through the farms
of Miles w. Starr and E. Rush Turner,
west of town, and both places are bad
ly cut up by the proposed railroad.
1t goes right through Mr.. Turner'S
garden, and he can load cabbage and
potatoes direct from the ground to the
train, while Mr.. Starts strawberry
patch will have unrivaled transporta-
ton facilities. And yet neither of
them is satisfied. Both of them have
been lying awake of nights figuring
out how they can get ahead of the
railroad company, and have finally
agreed to submit three plans: The
first is to insist on such heavy dam
ages that the road will be moved to
some other fellows farm; second, to
sell out entire to the railroad and let
the company do some farming; third,
to give free right Of way for tunnel
under their farms. The latter idea is
the plan they prefer, IS it will not in
terfere with farming operations in any
way. This suggestion is also en-
dorsed by D. G. Moler, who offers free
use of his cave to the company. The
cave does not run in the right direc-
ton, to be sure, but in these days of
wonderful engineering feats it ought
to be feasible to turn the cave in the
opposite direction. The surveyors
cut down tree on Mr.. Turner's place
the other day, and he intends to have
1t worked up into canes as souvenirs
of an extremely sad occasion.
For several years the train service
between Harper's Ferry and Lexing-
ton, part of the line being operated by
the B. & o. and part by the Southern
railroads, has been so abominably bad
that the people OF the Valley have
lost all patience and have loudly de-
manded relief. 1t is now announced
that through coach will be run by
the two roads between Harpers Ferry
and Lexington, thus doing away with
the changing of cars at Strasburg juno
ton and Harrisonburg and other an
noyances. 1t is also rumored that
soon the trains will be operated over
this line as they were some years ago.
A daring but unsuccessful attempt
was made last Friday morning to
wreck the Baltimore and Ohio fast
west bound express train No. AZ near
Kearneysville. The wouldbe wreck
ers placed rail on the track at Buffers
fat, evidently with the intention of
wreckiDg the express train, but few
minutes before the time for the ex-
press train a west-bound freight train
came moving along slowly and struck
the rail. The front wheels of the en-
CINE went off the track, but further
than that no damage was done. Train
No. AZ is solely an express and mail
train.
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in-
tends to raise the roadbed between
Cherry Run and Hancock, and Major
Goldsborough's corps of engineers are
now at work on the necessary surveys.
Whenever the Potomac river gets very
high the roadbed is submerged between
these two points, causing not only SER
ious annoyance but also great loss.
Last spring the road was put out Of
business for couple Of days, and the
loss of passenger and freight business
by the stoppage of trains was heavy. |
East bound B. & o. train No. 2 was
wrecked by running into an open
switch at Leesburg, Ohio, last Thurs
day night. The engineer aud fireman
were killed and about forty of the pas
sengers more or less hurt. Miss Lizzie
Pence, of Timberville, Va, who is
known in Shepherdstown, was on the
train and was slightly injured.
A new freight warehouse is being
built by the N. G. W. Railroad at the
switch used by the Antietam Cement
Works, between Shepherdstown and
Antietam.
Take Care Of the Stomach