New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1927-04-07
Sees NO HOPE FOR
CR0SS0VER relief
Factories Require Switching
Service, SnaVely Writes
CONFERENCE IS SUGGESTED
New Haven" Railroad Superin-
tcndent Urges that Railroad Com
mittee Meet With Factory Traffic
Men to Work Out Solution.

Men to Work Out Solution.
The necessity OF serving manu-
featuring plants with raw products
AM expeditiously removing manu.
featured materials make it impossi-
BILE to eliminate tie-ups at the Main
street crossing, J. ]. Snavely, district
superintendent of the New Haven"
road states in a letter to the rail-
road committee today.
The committee is working 10 re-
duce to minimum the much COM
planned OF switching through the
center of the city. Mr.. Snavely re-
Gently caused a check-up to be made
rs result Of which it was found
the average tie-up is one minutes
and II seconds, he reports.
lie suggests Il conference between
the railroad committee and repre-
SentAtives of manufacturing inter-
ests. His letter, addressed to the
secretary OF the committee. is as
follows:
IN further reply to your letter
Of March 2Sth having reference to
switching movements over Main
street crossing. New Britain:
The railroad company desires TO
work in harmony with the manu-
featuring interests and the city gov
ernments in all communities along
the line.
AS you know personally. this
same subject has been brought up
on previous occasions. and while the
railroad company would be very
glad II We could centralize our work
at one point away from the high
ways, yet the raw material must be
placed on the locations provided at
the industries, and their manufac-
tured products must be taken out, or
away from their shipping rooms. and
1t seems 10 me that this procedure
on our part is really the life Of New
Britain business. Certainly, the vast
volume Of material consumed in
your city could not be handled
through your streets, neither would
it be desirable 10 consider such a
means. Therefore, movement of the
greatest bulk in the shortest time is
the best transportation.
For the benefit of the railroad
committee, may I be permitted to
say that prior to receipt of com
plant from your city government,
having this same condition in mind.
| made check Of the movements by
switching crews over Main street
crossing. the number of cars handled
and the time consumed. 1t will be
appreciated, of course. that there
are a number Of movements with
the engine alone, each of which con-
sumcs less than 80 seconds Then
there are movements with cars for
the Stanley Works. American Hard
ware, Fafnir Bearing, Sullivan, etc.
and cars from these plants range
anywhere from a few up TO as high
rs 20 to 25 cars. The delays at the
crossing on the movement to these
plants is not quite so noticeable as
the movement from the plants with
the manufactured product and
Empty cars On this movement, it
Is necessary for the crew to know
that there are no main line train
movements before an attempt is
made to cross the two main line |
tracks and the one Berlin branch !
track, to get on the proper track |
with the current of traffic to our |
yard at Whiting street, where these /
cars can be made up for forwarding !
on the specified trains arranged /,
therefor.
TO stop the switcher with a suffi-
cient number of cars to reach from |
the crossover to Main street or he
You'd, in order that the main line
switches may be thrown, viii natur-
ally hold up traffic on Main street,
and in the check | made, l find but
two occasions when four minutes
were consumed in making this
move; that is, from the time the en-
CINE goes over the crossing, the train
is stopped, the switches thrown and
the cars moved off the crossing, four
has been consumed on two
occasions. However, by avera ging
all Of the movements made during
this check. l find such average to
ho one minute and seventeen sec
onds.
NATURALLY, no one would object
10 the average time, and it IS only
the longer periods TO which cXccp-
ZION is taken.
"As secretary of the committee, !
am very confident that you believe
that We have made u study OF this
situation and are anxious to do
everything we can to avoid these de-
lays complained OF. You were pres
ant ut the last conference when the
had representatives.
present.
May l suggest that before this
natter is agitated further, that Il
conference with the representatives
II the manufacturers DE had, and I
heir views obtained"