Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-04-07
THE INTERURBAN PROJECT.
Enterprise Gives Promise Of Wonder.
full DEVELOPMENT.


struction of the electric interurban
railway which Is to connect Charlotte,
Gastonia, Kings Mountain, Spartan
burg, Greenville, Anderson, Greenwood
and other towns In the Carolinas Is
the beginning Of actual work upon the
first great transportation proposition
of this kind in the south. There have
been other electric railways Of an in
terurban character, but none Of them
was of the magnitude of this plan that
Is conceived upon a large scale and
will doubtless be executed in accord
ance with broad ideas. When COM
named, it will form a continuous rail-
way about ITS miles long, equipped
with high speed cars and conducting
both freight and passenger business.
This railroad will be an impressive
example of what can be accomplished
at one stroke by intelligence, ener-
gy and capital united for the accom-
plishment of q carefully thought out
plan, extensive in nature and we'll
calculated for the greater develop
ment of the several manufacturing
communities which it will provide with
modern and adequate facilities. AL
though Of the same general character
as the Washington, Baltimore and
Annapolis Electric railway, the Rich
mond and Petersburg line, the Angus
ia and Aiken railway and some other
roads, so far as the connection Of i'm
portant points with an electric rail-
way is concerned, 1t Is different from
them as to length and the proposition
to do a general railroad business from
the very beginning are concerned. 1t
is evidently contemplated to finish the
railway within a couple OF years, for
be completed by the end Of fifteen
months, and although there Is another
contract, that between Spartanburg
and Kings Mountain to be awarded,
1t will doubtless be let soon so that the
line may be connected up all the way
through from Charlotte to Greenwood
without delay.
During the last four or five years
there have been different projects to
build electric railways between Green
Vile and Spartanburg, Greenville and
Greenwood, and Greenville and An
derson. Companies were formed and
other steps taken toward construction
but nothing definite was done, barring
the building of a short piece OF line
from Anderson to Bolton. At one time
quite an ambitious plan was started
under the name Of the South Carolina
Public Service Corporation, the pro-
moters Of which aimed to build five or
six hundred miles Of electric interur-
ban railroads, touching practically ev-
cry important place in that state. But
the financial panic happened, and since
then little has been heard of that eX-
tensive electric railway, and just no.
there is apparently good prospect for
the success of the North Carolina In
terurban Electric Railway company's
plan to build from Gastonia to Ruth
erfordtor and Asheville, about 100
miles. Gastonia Is one Of the points
to be reached by the line from Char
lotte to Greenwood, and this new line
it is expected, will work In harmony
with the larger enterprise.
The charters which the Piedmont
Traction Co., and the Piedmont and
Northern Railroad Co., as the latter Is
known in North and South Carolina
respectively, are broad, and will ena-
BILE the company to build extensively
as may be found necessary after the
completion of the work now proposed,
or before, If the need for other lines
becomes soon apparent. Authority Is
granted for the company to extend its
line to the Georgia boundary and 1t
may also enter the following places In
South Carolina If the local authorities
consent: Columbia, Newberry, Lex
ington, Saluda, Chester Union, Gaff-
ney. Laurens and Abbeville, besides
others between those named. There
has, Furthermore, been considerable
talk about possibly extending to
Charleston or some other city on the
seacoast. In North Carolina the com
pany may also be called upon to build
extensions out Of Charlotte.
In it's entirety this is one of the
most interesting electric railways ever
started. 1t will begin work In a popu-
lous manufacturing region and Is as
sured by contracts for liberal amount
of freight traffic from the time it shall
begin operating, besides the passen-
ger business that Is awaiting 1t. The
possibilities of the enterprise are very
great, and 1t would be no surprise to
see it greatly expand, not only in both
states where it has been chartered.
but in others. 1t seems to have the
friendliness Of the people along the
route and its hackers appear deter
mined to win their confidence and hold
their good Observation-Disclosures Rec
ord.