The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1902-07-04
A Way Out of Our Railroad
Troubles.
Communicated
MeSSrS. Editors:

MessrS. Editors:
Your timely article regarding
the railroad facilities of Frederick
was read with great interest by
one who is a constant shipper and
traveller over the Il. 4 o. to
Washington and Baltimore. The
railroad authorities as a rule are
not given to taking advice from
The outside public or even from
their trusty employees, therefore
the suggestions | am bold enough
to make will likely share the fate of
being consigned to everlasting
Oblivion. Still we must depend
upon bold and fearless press for
all reforms demanded by public
sentiment. There can be no queS-
ton about public sentiment being
with you in your endeavOrs to Sc
cure better railroad facilities for
Frederick. When tue cide-dc0ke
Pennsylvania RdirOdd took pos
session Of the Il. d. o., we were
/ led to believe that we would awake
from our Rip-Nan Wrinkle sleep
and that new ideas would be in
Stilled into our people. Yet,
strange to say, the realization of
these dreams of rapid transit,
better freight facilities and cleaner
cars have not come to pass.
Apropos to your remarks about
the Washington train, let me
make this bold statement. The
train for Washington is so ham
pered by the milk service. by ex-
press and general freight, that it
is almost Impossible to expect it
to be first class passenger train.
Some five years ago one car was
sufficient to carry all the milk and
mixed freight to Washington; now
we have TWO cars to carry our
milk cans, calves, chickens, bag
gage, etc., and this service will
soon demand either larger cars
or more cars. The remedy for
our trouble is simple and the
railroad authorities should heed
our demands. Let there be a
milk and general freight train
leaving Frederick on the time of
our present Washington train
with a passenger coach attached.
Let this train take up all the milk
and through passengers for Wash.
lngton. The train from Mt. Airy
with milk and freight could de.
post its cans at Washington juno.
ton and there he put on the milk
train from Frederick, The through
passengers for Washington could
take the Frederick express which
could leave Frederick one half
hour later than present schedule
time, run as express to W;.shing-
/ ton Junction and only stop at
principal stations on the Metro
politan road, making the run from
Frederick to Washington in two
hours with the greatest ease. The
milk train could do all the local
work along the Metropolitan.
Returning, the Frederick train
would stop only at principal sta
tions on the Metropolitan, run as
express from Washington June
ton to Frederick. Here we have
the solution of our troubles. I'm
fortunately our railroad magnates
never test the trains they make
for other people. They know
nothing of the troubles and sell
dom listen to complaints. Mr..
W. G. Hadister, Train Master,
has done much to better the ser.
vice, but he is not always listened
to by Others in authority. Hun
dreds of people would gladly
spend the summer at or near sta
tons in the neighborhood of the
Point of Rocks or about Dicker-
son or near Frederick, but who is
it in these days of rapid railroad
travel cares to spend four or five
hours per day on trains. The
time from Frederick to Washing
ton could easily be two hours; the
railroads would profit by it, for
hundreds Of people who despise
our slow and crowded trains go
else here. All up in Virginia
along other roads small hotels
and boarding houses are being
built and crowded with people.
With proper train service hotels
on Braddock Heights would sure
ly follow. This would mean new
life to our people and our city
crowded. Why will the railroad
authorities turn deaf ear to such
appeals AS you have said, the
people will gladly welcome cleo
trio cars or new connections, any
thing to escape the long, weary
rides to Baltimore and Washing
ton. The thousands of dollars
collected from freight and paSSen-
gers by the b. & o. from this
ehnulJ Innc+ . hn,,,