Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-07-20
WHICH W|LLM
Colby College or the
WaterVi|Ie Station?
College Trustees Feel Thai
Present Conditions Are Bad.
The Noise Nuisance Seriously Inter.
feres With College Work.

dinner of Colby College one of the af-
ter dinner speakers who was present
as Il guest and who was, apparently,
used to the quiet that pervades the
grounds of the average college, was
much interrupted in his remarks by
the noise from the constantly passing
railroad trains. After time, he gave
up his theme for moment and lee
tured the college trustees because
nothing was being done to put stop
to the noise which must, in his opin-
ion, prove a serious detriment to the
work which the college was trying to
do. While he offered no definite sug-
gestions as to just what might be
done, his criticism met with general
approval by the large number who
were present and who wanted to hear
the post prandial speeches.
For a great number of years now
the college has been obliged to suffer
seriously on account of the disturb
ance made by the railroad trains, but
never more so than in the past Il
months. During this time the con-
stantly increasing freight and passen-
ger traffic over the Maine Central
tracks into this city has tended to
bring the whole college, from trustees
to students, to q realizing sense that
something radical must soon be done
if the college is to successfully carry
on its classroom work. 1t may be set
down as Il definite proposition that
eventually either the college must
move it's location or the railroad must
&c rnn1 bod
several reasons which force one to this
conclusion.
In the first place. the college cannot
under the existing conditions continue
to do its best work. But if the condi-
tons are simply to grow worse and not
better, the college cannot continue to
do good work at all. AS it is now,
scarcely Il single recitation can be car
ried through to the end of the hour
without serious interruption by the
passing of q freight or passenger train,
or the shifting of the cars in the lower
yard. The blowing of the engines whis-
tie of a heavy freight train coming
over Ticonic bridge has been a sign in
the Classroom for a long time for a
suspension of work. The period of in
VI 'pi''Ii uNct " ltSl any WHERE
three t" five minutes. But new
wrinkle has been added in the past
year. The freight pulls in and the en-
gine gets as far as the crossing. Then
IT gets stuck" 1t blows for help.
sometimes one and oftentimes two
shiftcrs come down from the upper
yard ami couple on. With three engines
pulling at the long train of cars it be-
comes absolutely impossible for a
student t" hear himself think This is
not simply single performance once
each day. but repeated perhaps half
dozen times. All this means a loss of
tine in recitation of from 10 to Is per
cent. When this is figured up, multi
college by the number of days of col
lcGc work, the consequent loss of val
liable time is exceedingly large.
But in addition to the loss of time in
tn" Classroom. the college men who
room in the dOrmitOries have a word
of complaint. There arc study hours
which suffer just as much as do the
recitation hours. There are college
functions, receptions, debates, address
SeS, lectures in the evening, etc, that
must suffer just the same. And then
there is incidentally considerable coal
SMOKE and cinders which drift in little
clouds across the campus day by dav
and penetrate into the rooms of the
college dcrmitories. which is not at al,
pleasing to the several score of men
in the "Bricl.s''
the railroad has strong argument,
however. IN favor of making change
As it is now. the extra expense in haul
ing the heavy freight trains into the
yard is very large, and there never
will be relief in this direction until
one of two things happen, either the
trains must haul less number of cars.
or more powerful engines must be put
on the road. The first, the Maine Cen
trail with it's single track system cam
not do. and as large engines as the
road bed ought to stand have already
been used. The steep grade and the
sharp curve from the Ticonic bridge
into the yard must some day be avoid
ed. but just how and when are mat
ters for speculation.
The initiative in whatever NAV ho
done will doubtless be taken by the
e'iNSt u uSttcS us tnc matter is
more serious one to them than to the
Maine Central Furthermore, the rail-
road company occupies land owned bv
the college and for this reason if for
no ether they might feel all the more
disposed to cooperate with the college
trustees in whatever they may suggest
Two possible courses are omen. In
stead "f the railroad entering the city
as now, it might cross the Kennebec
river south of the city and by some
circuitous route come in over the
western division. Whether or. not this
would prove feasible would depend
somewhat on the civil engineers abil-
ity to find a suitable right-of-way to
connect with the tracks of the western
division. Even then, the trains would
pass through the lower yards exactly
as now and the relief to the college
would not be sufficient.
a second and more probable course
would be that of starting at a point
south of the Front street crossing near
the college and tunnel directly be-
meath the college campus. with an out
let in the upper yard. The station