Evening star., 1935-08-18

dSC WAL ANSoANOa @1~oS1y
night.
At that hour the Washington, Balti-
more & Annapolis Railroad. unable
longer to compete with private auto
mobiles, will cease operations-27 years
and six months after It began.
Departure Of the last train from
Baltimore at midnight and Of the
last train from Washington at 1880
am. will be just another incident in
the history of the two cities, but to
most of the 5I4 employees of the W., B.
a. A. 1t will be a tragedy and life
climax
Fewer than 100 Of them. chiefly
young men, have been employed by
a new company. which will continue
to run the trains between Annapolis
and Baltimore over the Short Line"
route.
Veterans Feel Lost.
The others, including many veterans
of l5-years' service or more. face q
future of uncertainty. They can hard
ly be blamed for saying they feel that
they. like the cars they ran SO long,
are bound for the scrap heap.
The patrons, too, who have COM
muted on its trains for years. are "au
at sea-" puzzled over the problem of
finding other means Of transporta-
ton.
Both patrons and employees Of the
line cannot realize the railroad Is so
near death. 1t has been such funda-
mental part of their lives they regard
the arrival and departure of its trains
as a certainty-something to be relied
upon as surely as the inevitable Sc
quence of daylight and darkness.
Something will happen at the last
minute" people in the terminals say
to one another. THE w.. B. & A
must go on"
Emotions Hidden.
But at the headquarters Of the rail-
road in Baltimore there is no such
fatalism. Hiding their feelings, the
men who have directed the operation
of the trains for more than quar-
ter of a century have arranged for
the final runs with the same uneno-
tional efficiency that, in past years,
they arranged for special trains to
carry the Annapolis midshipmen to
Baltimore or Washington.
Deciding special ceremonies would
be inappropriate, Harry Connolly, gen.
eral manager. announced the regular
crews will make the final runs.
Connolly himself was among those
who rode the first train over the new
line when it was opened in February.
1908. officials of the Midwestern
syndicate who constructed the rail-
road, together with city oficials of
Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis
were with him on that trip, the man
ager says.
Others now at the helm Of the line,
who have been with it since it started
business, include e A. Cannon, gen.
eral passenger agent; Carson Schu-
macker, superintendent; E. W. Wei
nond, chief engineer; T. S. Barrow,
passenger and freight agent, and a
number of trainmen. The road never
had a pension or retirement system,
Connolly stated.
Soon in Receivership.
He and the other old employees.
many of whom. the manager believes,
never will have another days employ
ment, saw the railroad go into receiv-
ership four years after its inaugura-
ton, pass into new hands and flourish
during the World War, only to decline
as good highways were built within
sight of its tracks and cheap automo-
biles covered them.
The receivership which terminated
in a court order to sell the railroads
property and stop its operation began
in January, 1881. The same year the
Maryland General Assembly voted it
tax exemption. This exemption was
continued by the 1888 Legislature, and
the problem arose again before the
Legislature Of 1895.
It was prophesied that the railroad
would 60 out of existence II the tax
exemption were not continued. The
delegation from Anne Arundel County,
which had the heaviest tax on the
railroads. properties, termed such pro-
phecies false and persuaded the As
sembly to terminate the exemption.
Barely three months after the legis-
lators left Annapolis, the road was
sold at auction, almost within the
shadow of the State Capitol Building.
New Company Formed.
Holders Of the company's outstand-
ing $7,000.O00 bonds bought in much
Of the property. They sponsored the
formation Of new company. headed
by Connolly as president, which will
continue to operate the "Short Line.
or North Shore route between Annap-
oils and Baltimore, using the Camden