Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1903-10-01
Affairs of the Railroads.

Affairs Of the Railroads.
1t is again reported, as was stated
in last weeks REGISTER, that the
Shepherdstown section of the B. & O.
cutoff will be built in the near fu-
ture, and rumor has it that Clement
& Co., who built the North Mountain
section, will also secure this contract.
The work on the North Mountain
section has been finished, and last
week lot of the machinery and tools
were loaded upon the cars ready to be
hauled away. For some reason they
were all unloaded, and it iP stated
that the contractors were given to un-
derstand that work on our end of the
line would be commenced by the first
of November. Money matters may,
however, cause still further delay.
The stock market in New York is
very panicky, and financial crash
may come at any time. 1t is an
nounced that the road surveyed for
the big cutoff from Confluence, on the
Pittsburg division, will not be built
for some time yet because of the great
expense Of constructing 1t through
the mountains. The engineering corps
of Mr.. Sisson is pretty nearly through
with its work in the MOrgantown
neighborhood.
The Norfolk and Western Railway
has been seized with a sudden and Sc.
we're spell Of economy. All of the
stone work-that is, the putting in Of
new culverts and other permanent
improvements-on the Shenandoah
Valley division has been stopped and
the men laid of. The section gangs
have been reduced to the minimum
all along the line, at Shepherdstown
four out of eight being cut off from
Foreman Carpenters crowd. Latrobe
Hale, who has been telegraph opera
tor and assistant agent at Shepherds
town, has been sent to Rocky Mount,
and agent E. NJ. Spedden and Harry
Maddox have all the work to do now.
The vast improvements along the line
between Bluefeld and Kenova have
been greatly curtailed, and many
hundreds of men have been laid off.
Just how long the work will be held
up is not known. Stringency in mon
ey matters is the probable cause of
the let up in these improvements.
There is considerable of a squabble
over the proposed improvements Of the
B. & O. Railroad just west Of Harper
Ferry, where the new cutoff is to
Join the old line and where the rail-
road desires additional track room.
On the one side of the present line is
the massive cliff, and to cut through
this would be enormously expensive.
On the other side is the river, along
the edge of which the county road is
located. The railroad wanted the
county court to permit the closing OF
this road and allow it to be used by
the company, which offered to build
a new wagon road by easy grade over
the hill and reach the Ferry by way
of Bolivar. The court refused to
agree to this, and the railroad then
asked permission to fill up the river
bed along the Virginia shore and
move the county road further north,
thus making room for an additional
track. The court passed an order
permitting this, the railroad agreeing
to build a road twenty feet wide, with
a wall or fence on the river side.
Road Surveyor L. @. Engle strongly
opposed the change. The Harper's
Ferry people also object to it, and
there is talk of an injunction to pre-
vent even the temporary closing of
the road. Harper's Ferry has it in
for the railroad company and refuses
to grant it any concessions whatever.
Some Of the opponents Of the rail-
road say that there is no present in
tention Of building the cutoff, and
that the company is simply trying to
get the right-of-waY for third track
to Engle's.
At meeting of the directors of
the Norfolk & Western Railway in
PHILADELPHIA L. Z. Johnson was chos-
en- president to succeed the late F. J.
Kimball. He will retain his present
office of general manager and will
still have his headquarters at Roanoke.
Mr.. Johnson entered the service of
the N. & W. as general superintend-
ent in July, 1897, aud two years la
ter was made vice-president and gen.
eral manager. He has virtually been
the head Of the system for some time