The San Francisco call., 1904-07-11
RAILROAD BUYS
ACRES OF LAND
Southern Pacific Company
Takes Steps to Increase
It's Traffic Facilities
BONDS WATER FRONT
Corporation to Add New
Tracks to Third Street
Line for It's Freight
Berkeley Office, San Francisco Call

Berkeley Office, San Francisco Call,
214S Center Street, July 10.
In order TO increase its freight hand
ling facilities, which have lately be-
come overtaxed on account of the big
advance in the volume of freight traf-
ficked through Oakland. the Southern
Pacific Company is making arrange
ments to purchase a long stretch Of
land on the water front of Berkeley,
between the north and south bound
aries. The railroad has been forced
TO take this step so that the burden on
the trackage on Third street may be
relieved and il has set its agents to
work bonding all the property it may
find useful in its enlargIng scheme. So
quietly have the agents worked that
property owners did not suspect the
hand Of the Southern Pacific until
day or two ago when a real estate
agent, through whom negotiations
were being carried on for the purchase
Of one piece of land, inadvertently let
the cat out of the bag. The corpora
tion went ahead stealthily because it
feared opposition and high prices from
the property owners, but now that
practically all the little deals are COM
pleted, there is nothing TO fear. The
property owners, too, realize that it
is now too late for them TO interfere
The land that the Southern Pacific
will acquire through its bonding scheme
all lies west of its main line tracks on
Third street in West Berkeley, stretch
ing between Addison street and Folger
avenue. 1t is a strip that lies between
the tracks and the bay and varies in
width according to the indentations
of the shore line. In surne places it is
a block wide and in others it is less
than a hundred feet.
For this strip the Southern Pacific
expects TO pay something between $780,
900 and 500, 900. The money will be
distributed among the following own
ers of the land: H. w. Carpenter, j.
A Haywood, Mrs. Jane Thomas, Che
ney & Berry, the Avery estate, the
A. Boardman.
When title to the property is secured
the corporation will begin series of
improvements that will call for the
expenditure of perhaps another $780,,
600 or more. Among other things, it
viii connect the track that now runs
on Second street, between Addison
street and the north boundary line,
with the main line on Third street.
This will be costly project that Will
require considerable piling and filing
as at the point where the connection
will be made between Addison street
and Allston way, the land is quite mar
row and near the bay.
The railroad has two good reasons
for wishing TO increase it's trackage
in West Berkeley. The primary one
is to relieve the congestion on its pres
ent trackage, but the other is almost
as necessary and it is to retain the
traffic diverted % it by the big manu-
featuring nlautS in fhe district There
is a soap works in West Berkeley, a
furniture factory. candy factory, a
chemical works and three or four other
big industries that need to be nursed
along, and the Southern Pacific seeks
to prevent the Santa Fe from cutting
into a field that has been such a source
of income for a long time.