Evening star., 1942-11-13
ConlmuterU Use
OF Wa 0..D
Again Studied
State and Federal
Agencies Weigh Data
In Special Report

1ense transportation today hac
under study report recommending
re-establishment of passenger serv-
Ice on the Washington & Old Do
minlon Railroad between Rosslyn
and Leesburg, Va.
Noten D. Ballantine, nationally
known transportation consultant
reported the company can place one
or more passenger schedules in
operation each day without any
capital investment and at a rela-
lively nominal expense.
At the same time, it was disclosed
that Constructions" are frequently
deliberately placed on the track
and the consultant believes that this
may be due to the public's ill-feel-
ing against the railroad for aban-
doning passenger service.
The sec today indicated it's de-
sire to reopen hearing of June on
q petition of residents to re-estab-
lish passenger service Following
receipt of Col. Ballantine's report
the commission announced at Rich
mond it will set date within the
next few days to reopen the case to
take new evidence.
Sees Handicaps to Speed.
The commission said it would re-
ceive testimony from Col. Ballan-
tine and place his report in evi-
dence so as to permit it to act within
the near future.
Commenting on an inspection trip
he made September with officials
Of the ODT, the sec and G.. C.
Baggett. vice president and general
manager of the railroad, Col. Bal
lantine declared:
Track conditions are such that
no more than IS miles per hour is
permitted on any portion of the
line: the frequency of grade cross
ings places another handicap on
speed. Added to these restrictions is
the necessity for extreme care to
avoid distractions deliberately
placed on the track"
Sees Need of Service.
Col, Ballantine answered "yes" to
the question of whether there is
sufficient public need for the re-
sumption OF passenger service.
His study was undertaken at the
request of the Rabey Engineering
Corp. of New York City, which
sought to determine whether one of
its. specially designed automobile
power units would operate on the
line. The engineer, incidently, re-
ported that he did not believe these
units would function properly in
this particular case because Of heavy
grades and curves encountered.
Shortly after he began his study,
the Virginia State Corporation Com
mission and the ODT requested him
to extend his investigation to de-
termine whether there was de-
mand for service The sec now
has before it petition OF Northern
Virginia residents to require the
company to resume passenger
service
He said he carefully studied
records of hearings by the sec and
also data submitted by the Com
mittee for Emergency Transporta-
ton for Northern Virginia, of which
John S. Brookes, jr., and c. Reed
Thomas, both of Vienna, are pres
ldent and secretary, respectively. The
committee includes in membership
the mayors or councilmen OF Vienna,
Fairfax. Leesburg and Falls Church.
The committee would, therefore,
"appear to speak with some au-
thority for the communities affec-
ted he said.
Estimates Commuters.
"From the various sources OF in
formation indicated it would appear
that from $50 to 1900 commuters
are available as potential passengers
on the w. g. o. D. Railroad Col.
Ballantine added 1T will here
matter appear that even If this
potentiality is literally discounted,
there will still be demand OF
sufficient Importance to amply justify
the restoration of passenger service. V
He said the railroad operates 81
miles of trackage between Rosslyn
and Purceville, distance OF AL
miles with a branch line from Blue
mont Junction to Alexandria, OF rs
miles, where connection is made
with the Southern Railway and Rich
mond, Fredericksburg g. Potomac
Railroad. The railroad owns only
about S miles of track between
Rosslyn and Bluemont Junction, the
balance being leased from the
Southern Railway, he said.
Between Rosslyn and Purcellvllle
there are SO "unprotected' highway
and street grade crossings, 26 OF
them being within the first 7 miles
out of Rosslyn, he said. The COM
bined effect of all hazards at the
time passenger service was aban-
doned was to limit an overall speed
between terminals to 81 miles an
hour.
Cites Changed Conditions.
Electric trolley wires are IN a
state of disrepair, and the com
pany now uses three Diesel electric
locomotives AS substitutes as well
as an auto-rail car used to haul
crew members.
Col. Ballantine pointed out that
when the sec authorized the COM
pany to discontinue service in April
1941, the use of automobiles was
not restricted, and there was plenty
of rubber and gasoline available
Apparently because of the
character of the service, there was
little public use made of the w. &
O. D. facilities. Today, OF course
the situation has changed.
Reviewing passenger records, ne
said revenue from this source av-
eraged $3.50 day in 1899 and grad
ually decreased to $l4.77 day dur
ing the last three months Of op-
Grafton.
Figures 20-Cent Fare.
The firm has no bonded debt. he
said, and was acquired for about
$4,000. The report to the sec
shows in 194l the company hac
total revenue of $245,458 and ex-
penses of $l97,619, leaving SAT 1886
as the net revenue. From this taxes