Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1903-04-02

l4C CuNllC bALS'
The following are the sums agreed
upon for damages by the landowners
named below
A. S. Reynolds ................ " 9OO
Heirs on g Mole. 3 800
Geo 8 Knott 1900
Mrs. Ella Lamar. O,oUO
John G. Flanagan. ..... 80. o,9UO
Flanagan heirs. ............... oOO
'@ tba J. Moler .. 5000
Potomac Building Stone and 800
Iron Ore Co.,. 80. ..... l'UOO
lanes NJ Fngle . 10000
Charles Smith. 5000
The officials at Baltimore on Mon
day accepted the option for the Well
shans lot Just south of Shepherdstown
$1,000 for ten acres. This means
that the connections with the Norfolk
& Western Railway will be made at
the southern and eastern edge of town,
instead Of towards Morgans Grove.
Surveys heretofore made have joined
the two roads near Lemons elevator.
James W. Engle, whose farm is Just
east of Bakerton, gets the heaviest
damages of any landowner along the
entire right. of-way between Cherry
Run and Harper's Ferry. Mr., Engle
has snug home on the side of the hill
not far from the river, one of the val
liable features of the place being a
splendid spring of water that gushes
out from the hillside near his build
ings. The railroad takes house, barn
and outbuildings, covers up the spring
in short, wipes Mr.. Engle's home
from the face of the earth He is an
old man, and naturally he has been
greatly distressed at the thought of
having to start IN and build himself
new home. He wanted heavy dam
ages-heavier than the railroad peo-
pie saw their way clear to give. APP
plication was made by the company
to the court for the appointment OF
commissioners TO view the land and
assess the damage. Mr.. Engle, through
his counsel, Hon. R. T. Barton, Of
Winchester, resisted the application,
and the point was made by Mr. Bar
ton that the railroad had no right to
destroy home, except when 1t was
absolutely unavoidable, or on account
of excessive cost to make a change.
1t was shown that the railroad could
curve to the north and make a fill or
90 to the south and tunnel the hill
This presented an aspect Of the case
that called for fuller consideration,
and the hearing was postponed until
Monday of this week. When the
court met on Monday the hearing was
again postponed, and few hours later
it was announced thst the case had
been settled. Mr. Engle got$lO,0OO !
His farm contains l72 acres.
The adjoining place to Mr.. Engle's
the Rafting Springs Hotel property,
owned by Chas Smith, OF Washington,
D. c., is also teetotally demolished by
the new railroad, the buildings being
wiped from the face Of the earth. This
has been a popular summer resort,
very prettily located along the river,
with splendid spring as its chief
attraction. The railroad company
buys the whole place of % acres, and
the reported price is $4,000.
Some of the folks who live along the
old line, and who don't like the idea
which persisteutly suggests itself that
they will eventually be on sort OF
one-horse branch, try to believe that
this route j, only intended for freight,
and some have gone so far as to say
that only one track will be built, and
that for east-bound freight trains. We
have no desire to prosper at the ex-
pense of any of our neighbors, but
they may as well face the music. 1t
is positively known that the contract
calls for the construction of a double
track line to start on, and we are re-
liably informed that the bridges and
culverts will be made wide enough for
three tracks. At no point is the
right-of-way less than $50 feet wide
and nearly all the way it is 200 feet
This is an indication of what the COM
pany means to make of this route.
Add to these statements the fact that
the road will be OF perfect construction,
with minimum grades and no curves
to amount to anything, and it is not
hard to believe that not only the
freight trains but the important pas
senger trains also will use it. 1t Is
unlikely that passenger trains will use
rough, billy, circultous route, when
they can take what is going to be one
of the best pieces Of railroad in the
United States.
1t has not yet been officially an
nounced, but it is understood that the
contract for this section Of the line
will be awarded to Clement & Co., who
are building the road through Berkeley
county. This firm has only about two
weeks work yet to do on the section
between Wilson's, on the main line Of
the B. & O., and Berkeley Station, on
the Cumberland Valley Railroad.
The presumption is that when this is
completed they will begin work on
the Shepherdstown section.
1t is said that the B. & o. railroad