New Britain herald., 1924-07-17
anARK,skINNEpa CnAoHEs


 impression that soap and water net 10 mention paint are toe hish n price for the railroad ie purchase, 50 that ihe musly steam caravans are forced 10 wend their way without an annual hath,
 Several weeks ago the Herald called attention to this uneleanly cons dilioR by prinlinE an editorial entitled "unwashed Coaches" which came te the attention of the honorable enr frightened management in New Haven, or perhaps Waterbury, where this diz vision is operated, Said management finally got around 10 the point where it was concluded something ought to be done about the criticism of the unr washed coaches, although there Is no evidence that anything is being done about the unwashed coaches them' selves Like Tonsy, they will have to go unwashed! maybe they belong to the great unwsshed" which was one writer's way of referring to the masses bsfore the days of modern plumbing,
 But before the said honorable man agement got around 10 it, VIC our. selves discovered why the New Hayen's coaches look as if they had been used to plough through the soil Of connecticuts tobacco farms. We took a trip 10 Boston. and went there and returned over the more direct line through wiliimantic.
 On the return trip the day was hot; there had been no rain for more than week; the roadbed was dryer than the yolstead law
 1t was discovered that the majority of hardy travellers refrained from opening the windows. In the first place. few possessed sufficient strength to budge them. Several suave travelling salesmcn made them- selves solid with pretty girl travellers by tugging at the windows next their seats and finally releasing the clam like grip to the sills. But few of the windows were suffered to remain open; too much of inqulsitive mother earth came through them to spoil good looks. snappy clothes and tem- pcrs.
 When nearly all the windows again were down, and the dirt continued to pile through the crevices of the ven- tilators--which likewise were kept closed--and ever and anon scurried through the doors as trainmen passed through them, we decided to investi- gate.
 Going to the last coach we looked up the receding track-that is, we peered in the direction where the re- ceding track ought to have been; but we saw no track. Instead we saw nothing but a first class cloud of dust thick enough to cut with a knife, and hiding not only the track, but also the entire right of way. Occasionally tree on adjoining land jutted through it, but 1t had to be rather tall tree.
 A trainman in the last seat was glmpsing the devastating effect of the trains progress through the desert right of way. He was jockeyed into engaging fn conversation and was asked the reason for so much dust.
 "No ile on the track" he comment ed pointedly "They used to have crude He on the right of way, but it costs too much money, I guess"
 "What about stone ballast on this railroad?" he was next asked.
 "They got stone on the main line, but not up this way.'
 That's why the coaches are so dusty, eh 2"
 You guessed it."
 And the honorable management has since admitted that it is because of this condition on the "high grade" line, as the Wilimantic route Is called in a geographical sense, that the coaches look So crestfallsn. The management added the distressing in formation that every fifth tie is being replaced with a new one along this route, which helps to stir up the un- deriving sand, enabling 1t to aviate splendidly whenever a train passes.
 Our advice to the honorable man. agement is to hurry up the work or replacing the ties, and pour oil along the right of way; and then employ several hundred ecoach washers, for outside and inside work.
 Better still, the railroad ought to be able to raise sufficient money to place rock ballast along this line The company has been trying. to make it more of an important link in the sys- tenn, but as it is, travellers from down these parts who go to Boston and back are inclined to avoid 1t and travel via Springfield, so that the Bos- ton and Albany gets slice of the fare. The New Haven is losing money in this manner every day;