Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1907-04-18

1t is reported from Chicago that the
Pennsylvania railroad, in addition to a
10 per cent increase in wages, has made
arrangements to increase the pension
fund from 100000 to 100000.
The annual report of the Interborougt
Rapid Transit Company of New York
City shows that during 1906 the number
of passengers carried on the subway and
elevated roads was 10000. 1893, an in,
crease of 100000 over the preceding
year.
In the United States Circuit Court al
Montgomery, Ala, the railroads operated
within the State brought suit to prevent
the execution of certain laws passed by
the Legislature fixing freight rates and re-
ducing passenger rates to 2 cents a mile
1t is alleged that these rates would be
confiscatory, and that they force service
for which no adequate return is made.
A special committee of the Pennsylva.
MIA railroad management has reported in
favor of a comprehensive plan to substi-
tute all steel for wooden passenger cars
on the entire system within the next three
years, and it is proposed to buy and con.
struct 2,999 all-steel passenger cars
which will make a complete change in
all existing standards of passenger equip
ment The cost of an all-Steel car. such
as is contemplated, is $4,000, or about
twice that of the present wooden car
This will make the new equipment bill
come to about S30.0O0,00O. The plan is
to have the steel cars for every train
which will be operated into the New York
tunnel terminal. beginning with 1909. AT
the same time the Pullman company will
be required to provide 500 steel sleeping
and parlor cars, at a cost of $4,000 each.
1t appears that the tunnel will be oper-
ated by such high voltage electric power
as to make the use OF wooden cars dan
gerous.
Western railroads have definitely de-
cided upon a date for frightening the
schedules of their fast trains anG on June
8 all trains will be slowed down This
announcement comes from Union Pacific
headquarters in Omaha and is the result
of a conference between the general pas
senger agents of the roads involved.
Those in the agreement are tue Union
Pacific Rock Island Northwestern,
Great Northern. Northern Pacific and the
Burlington. Other roads are expected to
subscribe to the agreement, which was
made necessary by the cutting OF rates by
western Legislatures.
With New York Central officials
aboard, a train, the exact counterpart of
the Brewster express, which was wreck
ed on the Harlem branch. Feb. 16, killing
"a and injuring 127 persons, and with
the same aotorman at the controller, was
run over the same curve recently where
the wreck occurred. This was done to
try to throw some light on the cause of
the disaster. and the test traiH was run
past the danger point at speeds varying
from forty to seventy miles an hour. To
sand bags were used. The only change
in the bed since the wreck was the double
spiking of the outer rails.
A railroad is about to be built in the
island of Spitzbergen which will run
ten degrees further north than the present
most northern railway, which is in Scan
dinavia. The object of the new line is to
tap the coal deposits in the interior OF
Spitzbergen. Owing to natural difficult
ties it is proposed to construct an aerial
suspension railway.
A threatened clash between the coal
shippers and the railroads of Indiana and
Illinois has been averted by the action of
the interstate commerce commission in
suggesting the inadvisability of the adj
vance of 10 cents a ton on coal rates to
Chicago. The railroads decided to accept
the commissions advice.