The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-07-21
REBUILDING A RAILWAY.
HoPEWELL AND DANBURY HAS BEEN MADE AN UP-To~DATB

in, Bridges of Steel Replacing Wood
 en Structures, on the Reconstructed
 Division-EleveR Freight Train'
 Each Way.
 When, in October, 1904, Charles $.
 Mellen, then lately returned as presi-
 dent to the New York, New Haven and
 Hartford suddenly bought control ot
 the New York, Ontario and Western
 as New Haven connection with the anthracite coal fields and, potentially
 as an influence in the trunk line situa-
 ton, the Central New England, "the Poughkeepsie bridge r6ute,' was all
 ready in the hands of the New Haven
 management. Its acquisition in Feb
 ruary, 1904, led up naturally-if unex- lpectedly-to the Ontario and Western purchase, ssince the Central New Eng
 land was of little use to the New Ha- | ven except as the connecting link
 Tn August, 1905, the Newburg, Dutch
 ess and Connecticut, a short road run
 ming from Dutchess Junction, just Isouth of Fishkill Landing, north to a connection with the Central New Eng l land near the northwest corner of Connecticut, was also acquired. The
 New York, New Haven and Hartford
 had been paying for clever, miles of
 trackage over this line, bringing its
 Westernmost (Iighland) division into Flshkill Landing on the Hudson river With all these roads safely in hand, the New Haven management turned its attention to working out satisfac-
 tory route for east and west traffic
 through this territory into New Eng land
 The western terminus of the Central New England is at Campbell Hall, N.
 r., thirty miles west of Poughkeepsie,
 Besides being, on the main line of the New York, Ontario and Western,
 Campbell Hall is reached by the Erie over tive-mile branch from its main line at Goshen, is the southern termi-
 nus of the Wallkill valley (New York CentraD and the northern terminus of the Lehigh and New England. May brook, on the Central New England
 three miles east of Campbell Hall, is the northern terminus of the Lehigh and Hudson River, which, like the Le- high and New England, gives connec- tion with the Delaware river region, land the various anthracite roads in that territory.
 The Central New England forms the connecting link over the thirty miles to and across the Hudson river at Poughkeepsie; thence east, instead of northWard over it's main line which has exceptionally hard grades and alinement, traffic is turned southward over a thirteen-mile branch to Hope well Junction, the western terminus of the New Haven's Highland division, over which there is connection with all New Haven territory to the eastward Thus Highland division becomes part of a new through route between New England and the anthracite coal fields and the west. As before, freight is also received at F1shkil Landing and reaches the Highland division over the Newburg, Duchess and Connecticut to Hopewell Junction.
 With the establishment of the new through route 1t was necessary that the division should be put in shape to handle modern heavy traffic. What is now the Highland division, extending from Hopewell Junction, N Y, east to Willimantic, Conn, was formerly the western end of the New England rail- road, which connected Boston and Fishkill and was leased to the New Haven on July 1, 1S9S control having been acquired some three years earlier. The Hudson river extension of this road, from Waterbury to Fishklll, was opened late in 1SS1 It is single track and never received any extensive im- provements. Consequently it's practi- cal reconstruction to meet the demands of present and expected traffic has in- volved the substitution of present-day standards for those of twenty-five years ago.
 The first section undertaken was fom Hopewell Junction to Danlbury. S4.6 miles About eight miles east of Hopewell is Poughkeepsie cut. The cut is from sixty-tive to seventy-five feet high; the rock shale. Excavation for the second track amounted to thousand cubic yards. The work was done without serious mlshap, and with slight delay to trains, the only important accident be- ing that of a foreman who fell off the top of the cut near the derrick shown in the photograph. However, in a weeks time he was at work again. The seven-degree curve through cut is the maximum on this section, the sharpest curve be- tween HopeweIl and Danbury being. With this exception, five degrees. Just before reaching the summit the road skirts Whalley pond on the south side. There is swamp on the north side of the track at this point. About five thousand yards of rock and sixty-six thousand yards of arth were dumped here before obtaining a firm bottom for the new track. The water along the track is about five feet deep and the mud about forty feet deep below that.
 Reynoldsville Summit is seven hun dred and fifty feet above sea level, the highest point on the old New England railroad. Hopewell is two hundred and eighty-five feet above the sea. The eastbound grade rises to a maxi l mum of 122 per cent. (sixty-four feet to the nile) between Honeywell and the summit, 12.S miles east. Orig | inally the pusher grade extended all the WAY to the summit. but in the ra-