The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-11-13
PLANS FOR YARD ROOM
WESTERN RAILROAD IS MAKING
 IMPROVEMENTS.
Will Change Crossing and Route of a Street in North Montgomery. Grade Crossings Becom-
 ing Unpoular.

|. Grade Crossings Becom-
 ing Unpoular.
 
 More yard room Is in preparation by some of the railroads entering Montgom- cry.
 Several years ago a proposition was made to the city by the Western Rail- road to do away with the present exten- sion of North Court Street and the cross- Some weeks ago at a regular session of the City Council an ordinance was adopt ed authorizing the railroad company to make these Improvements, and the work, which until this time has been delayed, has been started.
 The plan Is to abandon the extension of North Court Street and instead of mak- ing the curve that is made now to get to the Jackson Ferry Road there will be a line almost as straight as an arrow from Court Street proper to the Jackson Ferry road. The new road will start at the southwest corner of the property on which stood formerly the Western shops and round house. In other words at the point where the Riverside Park line of the Montgomery Street Railway crosses North Court Street and the tracks of the Western Railroad.
 In a direct line through this property an abandoned field, the extension of North Court Street will be built and paved with gravel or chert, passing in front of the store and boarding house of Jesse Wadsworth where it crosses the Riverside Park line again joining the Jackson Ferry Road at the southeast cor ner of the Louisville and Nashville shops.
 The old round house of the Western Raiiroad|and several of the other old shop buildings have been torn down, the last one falling yesterday, and the only build ing standing in the old field now Is the brick building that was for so many years the office of the Master Mechanic of the Western. That building will be torn down immediately and early next week the work of clearing up the survey of the proposed stret and grading will begin.
 On the south side of this field runs a short street, and after 1t leaves North Court Street and crosses the Western tracks there is a depression of about a foot which the Western will fill in and grade and pave the Street, Railroad Street it is called, until 1t reaches Hartley's Boiler Works and the Louisville and Nashville tracks to the southeast Of the field.
 This plan will not only result beneficial ly to the city, but to the Western Rail- road as well. for with the abandonment of the extension of North Court Street reverts to the Western Railroad and will be converted Into yard room. Then again the crossing at the present junction of North Court Street and the Jackson Ferry Road will be a thing of the past, the only crossing being the one at the southwest corner of the field.
 One of the most beneficial results of the abandonment of North Court Street by the city for the Western Railroad is the fact that the company will be enabled to run It's engines straight from the shops to the Union station and vica versa in- stead of having to run a mile up the track and back into the shops as is the case now.
 When the new street is. built and the old Court Street extension is abandoned the Western road will build tracks begin ming somewhere near the new crossing and leading direct to the shops. In fact the company had already commenced building such tracks, but work was order ed stopped by the city until the conn pletion of the new street
 The Western Railroad has the most extensive terminal facilities of any rail- road entering Montgomery, and these inn provements will be a great addition to its yards.
 Just what the company will do with its property on the East of the proposed street remains for time to develop, although 1t will virtually throw the Vest ern and Louisville and Nashville yards together. The property mentioned is a grand site for a manufacturing enter prise, but it has developed that when the Western came into possession of the property there was a clause in the deed that if 1t was ever used for other than railroad purposes the property would re- vert to It's original owners.
 Grade Crossings Doomed.
 Al the rate that the overhead crossings are Jumping into favor with the railroads the finish of the old grade crossing can be seen.
 Overhead crossing not only do away with danger to life and property, but they take away the necessity of watchmen, gates and the consequent annoyance that railroads are subjected to from having grade crossings.
 The Atlantic Coast Line has two in the southwestern part of the city limits, one at its crossing of the Mobile chert road and the other at the crossing of the HavnayIlle gravel road Before the over head crossing was put in at the crossing of the Mobile road several bad accidents and consequent heavy damage suits cost the railroad more money than bunch Of overhead crossings would cost.
 It was about five years ago when the overhead crossing was put in and since then such a thing as an accident has not been known.
 The Seaboard Air Line has one on the line of the Montgomery Traction Com pany. and 1t would have probably saved the Sealboard lots of money and annoy ance if 1t had an overhead instead of grade crossing where It's line crosses the flower Wetumpka pike near the shops in the northeastern part of the city.
 Negroes in Sleeping Cars.