Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1912-09-14
WORK SUSPENDED
At CUMBO YARDS
THIS MORNING
Railroad Officials After Confer
ence Send Order.
WORK OF GRADING
NEARLY COMPLETED
8. & 0. Is Now Transferring From GOO
to 900 Cars a Day to the cumber.
land Valley At cumbo and lntersec-
tion--ResuIt Of Suspension Is Not

! land Valley At Cunbo and intersec-
| tion-ResuIt Of Suspension is Not
Known Here.
Railroad officials and others here
interested in the Baltimore and Ohio
we're much surprised and mystified
this morning when II became known
that an order had been received by
Supervisor Mulligan last evening from
the higher officials Of the road sus-
pending the work on yards A and G
which have been under construction
at Cumbo during the past few months
For several years past there had
been much talk about the construction
OF transfer yards at Cumbo. where the
freight could be interchanged by the
! Baltimore and Ohio and the Cumber-
land Valley railroads. For a good
many years this work has been done
on the two connecting lines at Cum
DO and Intersection The number of
transfers became so great and the
work of getting the trains classified
and transferred from one road to the
other at these places was such that the
roads felt the need Of the construction
of joint transfer yard where all the
freight could be classified and hand
led in the most economic manner.
There were several rumors of the
construction of the yards and several
plans were drawn up and discussed
and in a couple instances approved
but not until about a year ago were
definite plans decided upon and later
contract let for the construction Of
the joint yards which are composed
Of two receiving yards and two class
fcation yards.
This work was 70 be done Jointly
by the two roads and the contract for
their building was given to sunstrom
& Stratton, who have nearly com
pleted their contract,
Since the work was begun late last
yeai there have been many changes
made in the plans as originally drawn
| by the two roads but it has always
been felt that the yards would be com
pleted and put into operation and the
order coming as 1t did this morning
for the suspension of the work has
caused considerable speculation.
On Tuesday Vice President A. w.
Thompson, Superintendent Galloway
and Chief Engineer Wilson held a con
ference with President M, c. Kennedy
of the Cumberland Valley and a few
other officials of that road at the new
yards and that there was any inten-
lion of the suspension or abandon
ment of the work was not intimated
or thought Of by the people here and
the order OF last night was therefore
in nature of surprise.
1t had always been maintained that
the Pennsylvania Railroad, which
controls the Cumberland Valley were
the parties which held back on the
plans TOR the construction of the yards
and were not willing 10 put up their
share of the cost. At one time the
B. & o. made proposition to finance
the entire construction and allow the
Pennsylvania to merely pay the in
terest on their share of the cost of
the construction. Later however the
officials of the two roads got together
and an agreement for the construc-
ton and financing of the work was
reached.
The significant part of the suspen-
sion order is the fact that yards and
d which are for the use OF the Bald
more and Ohio in the receiving and
classification OF freight are not eff
fected by the suspension order, Ii
would appear from this that the hitch
at this time is on the part of the
/ Pennsylvania and that regardless of
the action OF that road the Baltimore
and Ohio Will work towards the com
pletion Of that part of the yards which
they have under construction.
The yards on which work has been
suspended We're nearly completed All
the grading has been done and most
OF the track laid, and were further ad-
vanced than the other yards.
Whether the proposed building of a
line from Hancock to Shippensburg
by the Baltimore and Ohio and thus
divert the freight about % miles fur
Their west and discontinue the trans
fer of great deal of the freight which
now goes to the Reading over the
Cumberland Valley from this point
had anything TO do with the suspen-
sion is not known.
The transfer of freight from the
Baltimore and Ohio to the Cumberland
Valley at this point runs from coo to
900 cars day and makes large part