Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-04-11
STREET RAILWAYS.
Rapid Growth in Maine During
Past Decade.
Able Address of Chairman Peaks Of
Railroad Commission.
It Was Delivered at Meeting Of State
Board of Trade.

Board of Trade at Auburn an able adj
dress was delivered by Hon. ]. B. Peaks
of Dover, describing the growth and
development Of street railways in the
State of Maine. The address was as
follows:
I'm 1885, by chapter 26S of the Public
Laws of that year, the Legislature au-
thorized the formation of street rail-
road corporations under general laws.
AT that time there were nine different
corporations organized by special char
ters. operating 1920 miles of street rail-
ways IN Maine. AS nearly as can be
stated twenty-five miles of these street
railways were then operated by horse
power, and less than fifty miles opera
ted by electricity. Since then all those
operated by horse power have substi-
tuted electric power, except the Frye
burg horse railroad, three miles in
length, and with the new roads since
constructed there are in this State to-
day nearly $50 miles of electric street
| railway already in operation.
Twenty different corporations
have this year made report to the rail-
road commissioners. OF these, the
Lewiston. Brunswick e. Bath Street
Railway operates 54.75 miles, or more
than one-seventh of the entire mileage
of street railway in the State This
line includes, as you may know, the
old Bath Street Railway, the old Lew
iston and Auburn Horse railroad, and
/ the Brunswick Street railway. The
|, company gives good service to the cit
liens of the towns and cities through
which it is located, and no reason can
Abe perceived why it may not in the
tpear future be a dividend paying road.
3Gwenty-one charters for electric street
highways have been granted by the
Il Board of Railroad Commissioners,
Since 1888 but only ten of these have
II bsen organized and commenced the
of the roads. Several of
|EfHRse charters have lapsed by limita-
Il he problem Of construction and OPP
|fEtNtiQn of rural lines of electric street
|$&4itrOadS in Maine is yet unsolved.
EEThere are several of them which to
Hpresent appearances promise we'll.
|tThere are others which promise nothing
to stockholders. and but little to others
interested. The chief difficulty in the
opera ton of rural lines of electric
depended upon to help earn the neces-
sary income, is in overcoming the
heavy grades, where the line is confined
to the street. Freight cannot be eco
I nomically handled over grades rang
ing from three to seven per cent. And
upon many of the lines of street rail-
ways in this State there are many
grades exceeding the average per cent.
IIf,kr &1.l
Maine are well constructed, kept in
good condition, and some of them are
earning good dividends, after paying
the interest upon the bonded indebted
ness.
"Of course the Portland railroad is
the best paying electric street railways
because it is so located as to secure the
largest patronage. 1t is, generally, as
well constructed as any road in this
country. It's power house is a pattern
| for roads of it's class. Indeed 1 know
of no one which exceeds it in any res
pect, except in size. Heavy girder rails
are used in the city proper, and when
ever IT, rail-, are used, they are well
laid. upon good ties, and the road-bed
| is in fine condition. The extensions
made by this road within a few years,
and the purchase of other roads, makes
it one of the largest and most impor-
| tant railroad corporations in the State,
and in which the whole State may well
have pride.
| "In speaking of the Portland Railroad,
| must not be misunderstood as making
| a distinction or comparison with other
| electric street railways in Maine. I refer
| to it because the company has had, and
| has well accepted. the opportunity to be
| come one of the most conspicuous street
| railroad corporations in the whole coun-
| try.
What shall be the policy for future
| development of electric street railway
service in Maine. remains to be deter
mined. 1 do not, and have not, classed
these. electric. street railways as trolley
| know. of those who regard them. and
| treat them as an existing fad They are
| entitled to more dignified treatment; and
am frm in the the. belief be; that ,,, within hi
piled to the operation of railway cars.
in a more, effective, and less dangerous
manner than overhead wires, and the
trolley system of communicating it.
| IF judgment is used in the future con-
struction of street railways in this State.
| there will not be; =, and T, need not be. that
roads and electric street railroads. which
| many people fear, and many. more seem
to hope for. The difference between the
| and the manner of applying 1T. The diff
| ference is chiefly in the manner of con-
| struction and operation. The railroad
| commissioners, in a recent decision, at
| tempted to make clear this distinction,
and l cannot make myself better under
| stood than by quotation from that de-
| Cision 1t is as follows:
| THE electric railroad often gives ser
| vice which the steam road can not give
| Electric cars are run singly and often.
| while the steam cars are run in trains
and necessarily less frequent. The steam
| cars have only one general station in one
| town while the electric cars run through
| the streets and take passengers at more
| convenient points. The electric cars stop
| for passengers whenever and wherever
| il is found necessary, so that while the
steam road runs trains in sufficient num-
bers to carry passengers the electric rail
| way is more convenient for people be-
tween the two points who want to take
the cars or for people who want to stop
between stations.
.When this distinction is better under
stood by all those interested, there will
be a better feeling between these two
/ classes of corporations. 1t should be the
policy of the State to foster both systems
1 Of transportation. 1t should not allow
one system to override. and throttle or
| exclude the other, thus creating a monop-
| DIV of the traffic against the interests
| and convenience of the people. Neither
should one system be allowed to interIers
- HIra r.NY