The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1907-07-19
Story That M. G. Division
Headquarters Will be
Moved Starts Rumpus.
IMPOSSIBLE THEY SAY
Nevertheless, Hammond Officials
Stick to Their Story and
Future Will Tell.

The story that the Michigan Central
shops, division headquarters and yards
are to be moved from this city to Glib
son, between Hammond and Toleston.
has stirred up a controversy at Niles.
a community which has been coveting
all these during the last fifteen years
The Niles Sun published the Gibson
story. with the comment that the
chances of Niles to get the division
headquarters had gone glimmering The
Niles Star takes it contemporary to
task for this display of pessimism and
tells it why the Gibson dream is ri
dfculous. To those newspa pers which
charity assume that the headquarters
/ is of vast Importance to the commun-
ity, and that by its loss Michigan City
would go into decadence without a
struggle the Stars Interpretation of
the Gibson story may be unpleasant
reading.
Now. the facts are that Gibson is to
\ be made simply the western terminal
or distributing point for western
freight, which, instead of passing
through Chicago will hereafter be TAX
en- around the city over a belt line
from Gibson, where the Indiana Harbor
,
10000 cars.
The Michigan City yards are cramp-
ed and more extensive yards are need
ed, hence the change that is to be made,
as per above. AS to the shops being
removed from Michigan City, only
emergency repair work is done here
anyhow, the overhauling of engines,
etc. being done at Jackson.
But the talk of making Gibson the
division point is nonsense. because Glib
son is but twenty five miles from Chi
cago, and the company would prefer
to have this division longer than It'll
now if such move should be practi-
cable. The division between Chicago
and Michigan City is 81 miles while
the division between Michigan City and
Jackson is $50 miles. A change to
Niles would have the effect of equaliz-
ing the two divisions. The suggestion
that the company intends to make the
west division twenty five miles long
and the east division IT'S miles is un-
reasonable.
New Michigan and Indiana laws are
such that train crews cannot be kept
at work to exceed sixteen hours a day.
Heretofore, crews have worked twenty
ing a crew that long to make the run
from Jackson to Michigan City. But
now it is frequently necessary for the
NJ. c. to deadhead crews from Jackson
to Niles to relieve crews that have made
the run from Jackson to Niles, and
these facts are assumed to be in favor
of Niles.
There are some twenty regular and
fifteen extra crews in the freight ser
vice, or total of thirty five crews
which. with five men in a crew, give.
a total of IT'S men. There are also
twelve passenger engine crews with
two men to the crew, or a total o,
fourteen men. There are also stitch.
men. roustabouts and others who woulC
follow the removal of the division head
quarters. and Niles would increase il
population to the tune of about 1000
including the members of the ment
families.
In spite of the vehement denials o
the Niles papers the Hammond officer
of the Michigan Central railroad still
are of the belief that Gibson is sooi
to become the division headquarters o
the Michigan Central railroad.
The road from Gibson to Chicag
will not be considered division. bu
, trains will be handled by switch
ing crews thereby avoiding the yer,
: law of which the Niles paper speaks.
The western division would then b
reduced in length by twenty-five miles