The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-03-19
VIADUCT PLAN
 STONE WALL
tcsntInusd From Pass OnO

! dustries and business houses have been located and devt.oped must be given the standpoint of the public interest. Such changes would, without question, result in serious, if not disastrous, ef- feet upon the efficiency of the opera tion of certain facilities, and the ac- tual discontinuance or loss of others, which would impair, to marked de- | gree, the service 70 both shippers and receivers and consequently, in a broader ! sense,. to the entire community of Bir- mingham and its nvirons.
 The plans of the city of Birmingham for grade separation in district No. propose the construction of subways under the l.. & N. and Southern tracks on the so-eailed railroad reservation at Fourteenth, Eighteenth and Twen- tieth streets. According to this plan, the tracks would have to be raised at Fourteenth, Eighteenth and Twentieth streets about Il or 12 feet, and the streets would have to be depressed ap- proximately seven or eight feet. Change In Tracks Such grade separation plan re- quires the change in grade of the tracks from point about opposite Alice fur mace northwardly to a point just north or east of Twenty-second street. With in this zone are located the L. & N. passenger station, L. & N. and Southern freight stations, ana almost all of the tracks, buildings, platforms, and team ways used by the l.. & N. and South ern in providing an elaborate and ade- quate local freight service for the city of Birmingham.
 With respect to the l.. & N. facili- ties and the property served by that company within this zone, the folloWing objections and difficulties from a stand point of efficient operation obtain: l. The Birmingham freight house of the l.. & N. is one of the largest and probably the longest in the country. To adequately serve this house, = z. necessary to switch tracks from boln ends. If the main tracks are elevated, it is obviously impracticable to connect the freight house tracks at the south end, and 1t, therefore, follows that same must be switched entirely from the north end, this resulting in an increased cost of switching, and a reduction in the operating capacity of this essential facility.
 2. The same situation applies to the team track and warehouse track of the L. 6 N. lying between the freight house roadway and the business houses along Morris avenue between Twentieth street and Twenty-fourth street. This track would also have to be switched from the north end only, such operation be- ing inefficient and difficult as compared with the present arrangement, and sub stantially less satisfactory to the pub lie and the interests served.
 3. The local L. & N. yard between Fourteenth and Eighteenth streets, in which. local business is assembled and cars held for local purposes, would be greatly impaired by the steap grades and hillside arrangement of the tracks necessary, inasmuch as access to the large bulk track yard between Four teenth street and Eighteenth street is obtained through this local yard. It is necessary that the bulk tracks be acces- | Stble from the present street levels, and it, therefore, follows that grades as steep as IA per cent must be used both in the local yard and on the team | tracks of the bulk delivery yard, which grades are difficult of operation, and would make these excellent facilities less l accessible and satisfactory to the public.
 4. The very we'll located and extreme ly busy bulk delivery tracks between Eighteenth and Twentieth streets would be rendered practically useless, and would probably be abandoned as such, this resulting in the positive loss of a facility which can never be replaced with respect to accessibility to the ship ping public.
 5. The difficult grades above mention ed would greatly reduce the efficiency with which the warehouse tracks be- tween Sixteenth and Nineteenth strA ts serving the business establishments on First avenue, can be served. Switching access to these warehouses over the present route, when elevated, will be difficult.
 6. Turntable ana other facilities of the L. &s. N. just north of Fourteenth street for handling passenger train power will probably be rendered useless by the proposed arrangement and new, facili- ties will have to be provided elsewhere.
 T. The width of subway now proposed I t1k afSa 1 rowing of sidewalk leading to L. & N. station, which sidewalk should be re- tained in its entirety. The width of Twentieth street subway also renders difficult an adequate present grade ap- proach to the roadway along L. & N. freight house.
 New Grades Required
 With respect to the Southern facili- ties and the property served by that road within this zone, the following ob- Jections and difficulties from the stand point of both the public served and the railroad serving 1t obtain:
 l. The grade separation from Four teenth street to Twenty-second street will necessitate grades of 3 per cent or more for tracks to connect the main track elevation with the railroad faciIi- ties, and reach the adjoining property now served by the railroad. These grades naturally require space to reach the lower level and as a result, the stretches of property from Fourteenth street to Fifteenth street, and from Eighteenth street to Ninteenth street are lost entirely as teamways with re- sulting impairment of service to ship pers and receivers. In addition to this. railroad operation over grades of 3 per cent Is not only dangerous to the employees handling engines and cars. but the cost of such handling is mate r1ally increased, and these disadvan- tages remain constant source of dan ger and expense.
 Z. From this constant danger and ex. pense encountered on the proposed grade between Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets the stretches of team track and house tracks between Fifteenth and Eighteenth streets are seriously affoA : ed, resulting in consequent impairment Of service to the teamway and freipht house, and in turn to the satisfa ctor,, use or these existing facilities.
 3. The grade separation with suhwa1, as proposed for Eighteenth streeet has a marked and varied effect on South- ern railway facilities in this vjcinjtH The south approach to the subway ren. ders impossible the east Connection to the team track south of the freight house, and also deprives the B. R., IL S- F. Co. of the spur Into it's powerbo1ise The width of roadway leading fo 1he teamway south of the freight house fo such an extent as to render it useless
 Ack&r A.