Connecticut western news., 1907-04-11
COMING OF TROLLEY
A BOON TO ISOLATED SECTIONS

Will Build up Summer Resorts, Revive
 Dormant industries, Create De-
 mand for now Wasted Water Power
 and Contribute to Prosperity.
 In a recent issue the New York Sun contained the following reference under Boston date line the proposed trolley activities in this section.
 President Mellen of the New Haven road in an indirect way has put it up to the Massachusetts, Legislature to deter mine whether the western part of the State shall have it's transportation facili- ties developed in accordance with its needs or W neither things shall remain in their present undeveloped condition.
 Last year the legislators nipped the railroad scheme in the bud, and blocked the escape of dozens of towns from iso- lation and retrocession lasting fully forty years
 
 ment has been announced but whether the programme will be fully carried out depends upon the attitude taken by the influential men on Beacon Hill If their attitude is favorable. promising summer resorts are to be built up, in- dustries that have been in state of de- cay for decades are to be pruned and in vigorated, and in short the whole sec- tion is to have all the transportation facilities it requires.
 These trolley lines have been an inn portant element in the development of the Berkshire districts, but the trouble has been that the development is all in- ternal. It has had no outlet. Under the present plans line running to Ben nington will connect there with the line between Bennington and Hoosick Falls, New York. In this way the Berkshire towns will tap large section of the Empire State, including Troy and Albany.
 From Great Harrington it is planned to extend the main line south to Canaan, where the Berkshire division of the New Haven road meets the Central New England lines. This will make con- tinuous connection between Connecticut and Vermont. From point a little south of Great Harrington a line will run to Egremont, at the foot of Mount Everett, which is close to the New York line. From Great Harrington east a line will run to Monterey and another line southeast to Hartsville, New Marlboro, Southfeld and then on to Canaan through the Mill River valley. Lake Buel, Mill River and other charming summer spots, now little known except to the natives and map makers, will all so be served.
 These lines have already been sur veyed Another line that has been sur veyed will extend from Lee east through Tyringham, Beckett, West Beckett, Otis and thence through Chester to Hunt ington, where it will connect with the lines already in operation between that town and Springfield.
 Some idea of the opportunities for trolley extension and of the needs for such extension may be gained by look ing over the field that this new line be- tween the Connecticut valley and the Berkshire Hills will open up. The tri- angle of which Huntington, Canaan and Great Burlington are the points con- tains some lovely spots, hill settlements and lakeside settlements that have made scarcely any progress in social or con- uercial way since they were founded. Monterey, Tyringham, Otis and Holland have each less than 500 inhabitants. New Marlboro, one of the hveliest mem bers of this miniature Alpine group, has only little more than thousand in- habitants.
 All these towns can be developed by trolleys alone. No steam railroad would think for minute of touching them But the chief reason for their lack of development up to the present time is the fact that it would hardly pay to undertake trolley lines there without railroad connections. Many a New Yorker who knows that part of the country would be glad of chance to take a train to Canaan, say, and then transfer himself and his luggage to a trolley car bound for Clayton, where this beautiful undeveloped land of nat ural terraces begins, or further up the Mill River in the direction of South field or New Marlboro. Incidentally, water power that has gone a-begging for thirty or forty years could be made productive again, because the projected trolley roads with their steam line con- nections would serve as an outlet for commerce. In the past, industry has been raralvzed and sI11nmar visitors have