The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1911-02-03
RAILROAD QUESTION
is BADLY TANGLED
Will Boston & Maine Build in
New Hampshire ?
SPECIAL TOWN MEETING FEB. IA

To See What Action viii Be Taken
in Regard to Order of Public Service
Commission Central Vermont An
nounces Plans.
In view of the statement from Presi
dent Charles $. Mellen of the Boston &
| Maine that he will proceed TO build hi'
proposed railroad link between Soutl
! Vernon and Brattleboro ON the New
| Hampshire side of the Connecticut
river and statement from General
Manager George c. Jones of the Central
Vermont Railway company that ms
company will proceed at once to carry
| ont the order of the public SERVED
commission for the abolition OF the
! Bridge street grade crossing ana ioi
/ the construction of an overpass as orig
| innlly proposed, the citizens of Brattle
boro are wondering where they are az
| Monday gang of workmeu appeared
on the ledge opposite the Central Yer
mont passenger station and got busy
Tuesday they raised the big derrick
which was delivered on the ledge last
| fall Wednesday a fire was started
under the boiler which will operate the
hosting engine placed in the old scale
house nj the top of the Vernon street
hill. and Yesterday half dozen or
more workmen with picks and wheel
barrows were busily at work trying TO
remove the frozen soil from the surface
of the ledge.
This show of activity upon the part
of the Central Vermont management
excited activity upon the part OF soihe
OF the citizens OF BrattlebOro, and the
oninion was freely expressed that the
Central Vermont officials should be re-
strained from proceeding with the
work if they were about to start on the
task of carving out the orders OF the
public service commission. The sentl'
ment of the citizens was plainly against
any move being made by the central
Vermont toward the proposed changes
around the station until the last word
had been said by the Boston & Maine
officials. Monday afternoon word came
from Boston in the shape of n telenhone
message from Engineer George Iomp,
son Of the Boston 4 Maine that IT had
been definitely decided to build the pro
posed road upon the New Hampshire
side of the river according TO the sur,
yev which he and his assistants made
last summer. Mr.. Tompson said that
he expected to be in Brattleboro Tues,
dav or Wednesday with his men and
office eduipment to complete the survey
and make the working plans. A letter
received Tuesday stated that he would
be unable to arrive here before Mon
day. His office equioment arrived yes
terday.
The local railroad committee and the
selectmen, believing that some action
ought to be taken at once TO acquaint
the Central Vermont with the spirit OF
the people here, sent telegram TO the
public service commission Tuesday ASK
summer for an indefinite time The
same day the selectmen sent General
Manager George C. Jones of the Cen.
tral Vermont notice that there would
be a meeting of the voters to rescind
the vote taken July 2. 1910, to pay
Sl5 900 of the 100000 to be expended rh
improving the Central Vermont termi'
nal facilities here. On Wednesday n
reply was received from the public ser
vice commission asking that petition
be forwarded to the commission from
the people of Brattleboro asking for
another hearing in the matter. The com
mission stated that upon receipt of such
a petition it would name date for the
hearing Meantime petition was, be
ing circulated asking that the select
men call a special town meeting. A
copy of the warrant for the meeting ap-
pears elsewhere in this issue of The
Reformer. The warrant contains an
article to see if the town will vote to
vacate, suspend. amend or modify the
order relating to the adjustment Of
the Bridge street grade crossing. There
is also an article in the warrant to see
if the town will vote to instruct the
selectmen to take such action as may
be necessary to prevent the Central
Vermont from carrying out its plans IN
relation to the adjustment of the cross
ing. The selectmen have named Feb.
IA as the date of the meeting. which
will be held in Festival hall at s
clock in the evening.
While many of the citizens are out
spoken in favor of vacating the order
of the public service commission there
is a strong sentiment that there is no
need for immediate action inasmuch as
the commission has stayed its order in
the premises until another hearing can
be had.
Though authoritative statements
have emanated from the offices of the
New York & New Haven railroad to
the effect that work is to begin at
once on double track road from South
Vernon to Brattleboro with a double
track bridge at South Vernon across
the Connecticut river and another
bridge at Brattleboro to connect with
the Boston & Maine s tracks in this vii
lage, the people of Brattleboro are still
of the opinion that the possibility of a
road on the Vermont side of the river
is matter to be seriously considered
by President Mellen.
1t is believed by some who have
studied the law in the case that it is
possible for the Boston & Maine to
come into Brattleboro from South Yer.
non on the west side of the tracks of
the Central Vermont road, using a por-
tion of Vernon street. There is also an
available charter, secured at the ses-
sion of the legislature of 1908, for the
construction of an electric line from
Brattleboro to South Vernon, which
many believe can be utilized in some
way to solve the problem which con
fronts the Boston & Maine.
General Manager George c. Jones has
made the following statement in regard
to the plans of the Central Vermont: !:
"We have already started a gang Of
surveyors at Windsor to make a com
plete survey and location of the South
ern Vermont railway from Windsor to
Brattleboro. AS soon as the survey is
completed it is our intention to let the
contract at once for construction of
the line. In regard to improvements at
Brattleboro we shall proceed to carry
out the order of the public service com.
mission so far as the elimination OF
Bridge street crossing and the building
of new station are concerned. Fur
ther than this we have not made any
plans, but l will say, however, now. that