BIG RAILROAD IMPROVEMENTS ARE BOOKED FOR 1914 P6,g - OLO STATION' "| IMI ' " _ 1 r^oJ, £ "t jl J~ •nrrir— "*■>.-,, ■ TV oround to be covered by ~± i! _ P e - i^rr 1 ■; ~ Pennsylvania Railroad Will Construct Great i Freight Station and Yards THE year 1914 promises to witness exceptionally extensive and ex pensive improvements in Harris burg and vicinity. The Pennsylvania and the Cumber land Valley roads will spend, it is esti mated, more than $",000,000 in im proving their freight and terminal facilities in this city and the Valley road will continue its eiforts to place its line above grade in all of the towns along the right of way. For years the Pennsylvania Rail road Company hus realized that its freight facilities in Harrisburg have not been what they should be for a city of its size and importance. As Harrisburg grows as a railroad center many manufacturing and selling com panies doing business of an interstate jiature have conic to realize its impor tance as a distributing center. More and more this city has become a point from which carload lots are broken up and shipped by local freight and in smaller consignments to all parts of the East, New York to the north and the Southern States to the south. Every year this resliipping business here becomes greater. The old freight station in the lower end of the city has long since outlived its usefulness. To meet the growing need for better transfer facilities im mense yards and sheds were a few years ago erected between Maclay and Division streets almost a mile in length. These have served their pur pose admirably and fully 500 men are employed there daily, a large number of them having been transferred to this city from Philadelphia in order that work done there formerly could be done here, where better junction facilities are afforded. Not Sufficient But these have proved by no means capable of relieving the work of get ting freight in and out of Harrisburg as rapidly as shippers and the railroad company itself would like. So it has become absolutely necessary to re move the old depot and yards in the lower end and replace them with big yards and large station, warehouses and offices capable of taking care of all traffic that may develop within the next fifteen years. To this end the new freight station project has been under discussion for the past six or seven years. It has l'mally reached a head. The railroad company has for a long time owned sufficient land in the lower end of the city to make possible the improvement Stucker Bros, j General Cont □□□□ 1 ■W ■ I Brick Paving For Highways : A Specialty I Phone 2616 Bell Russ Building I HARRISBURG, PA. in Harrisburg desired, but the city held rights to the streets that it would be necessary to abandon and the company and the j City Councils could not come to any ! decision as to the amount of damages and improvements to be made ill re- t turn for the streets desired. Finally last year it was decided that the city should give up its street rights if the j railroad company would agree to con- I tribute $2 5,000 in cash and construct' subways under the tracks of the Cum- I berland Valley Railroad in Mulberry street at Front and Second streets. This, the company agreed, was a ; fair proposition and the ordinance was passed and signed. The company will j let the contract for the subways as soon as the plane arc passed upon by ! the Public Service Commission. It Is expected that all the preliminary de tails will have been completed within thirty days and that the early Spring will witness the breaking of ground for the new passages. The Yards Next The construction of the new freight yards will be next in order. These will cover a large section of the oldest portion of Harrisburg. Meadow lane and other thoroughfares that have ligured in the activities of the town since its very inception will be blotted out. Some of the houses that have done duty since the early village days have already been vacated > in preparation for the work to begin. The new yards will terminate at Mulberry street in sheds large enough to accommodate whole trainloads of freight and the most modern facilities will be installed for rapid loading, unloading and transfer work. Ware houses will take care of goods that ' have to bo held in storage for any j length of time. It is believed that real estate pur- j chases included in this improvement | will cost the railroad company some- I thing more than 51,000,000 at a low j estimate. The Cumberland Valley Railroad Company feels the stimulus of its coal field connections to the south more than ever. Its freigftt traffic is steadily on the increase and it has been found impossible to operate trains sucessfully in and out of Har risburg by way of the old iron bridge across the river at Mulberry street. It is a single track structure and, while still in a good state of preser vation, will have to be replaced by a two-track bridge. The Cumberland Valley company voted to do this some time ago and EXHHIBBUIIO Improvements by Railroads in 1914 THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY will build large freight station and yards in the lower end of the city. Subways will be constructed at Second and Front streets, beneath the tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad: The Cumberland V alley Railroad will rebuild the old bridge across the Susquehanna river. The line of the Cumberland Valley Railroad will be double tracked from the Union Station 011 Mulberry street, and across the river to the main line on the west side. The work of raising the tracks of the Cumberland V alley Railroad above grade in the various towns along its right of way will be continued. The Reading will continue ils enlargements of the shop work and yard room at Ruther ford as rapidly as needs require. • The total railroad improvements scheduled for Harrisburg and vicinity the coming year will total more than two million dollars. as soon as the State Water Supply Commission approves the plans the work of reconstruction will begin. It is expected to have this under way before the middle of summer and to continue it until completed, which will be slwortly before the beginning of the new year, it is hoped. The plan of the company is to keep the old bridge in use while the new one is being built and this will mean the accomplishment of a most difficult feat in engineering. The new struc ture will have two tracks and will be of the most approved design. This will allow the Valley company to double its tracks in Mulberry street through the city and into the Union Station. Such an improvement has been long needed and will give the Cumberland Valley company oppor tunity to save many delays to both passenger and freight traffic. The Cumberland Valley company is also planning to carry forward during the year its policy of raising its tracks above grade in all of the towns through which it passes that will give it legislation necessary to make the change. This is costly, but in the end economical work. The Philadelphia and Reading Rail way has not announced any extensive changes for the coming year, but its management says that it will go stead ily along, adding to the size and efficiency of its great and growing yards at Rutherford. Vast sums have been spent there in the past few years and more trackage and additions to the shop equipment will be necessary during the year, unless business falls oft' very seriously . .V Railroad City That these great improvements should come to Harris burg is not so remarkable as it may seem, since-it is as a raliroad city that Harrisburg has attained prominence. No less than eight railroads enter Harrisburg or form a junction at this point. They art the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Philadelphia and Reading, the Cum berland Valley, the Northern Central, the Philadelphia and Erie, the Gettys- ! burg and Harrisburg. the Philadel phia. Pittsburgh and Gettysburg and the Susquehanna and Schuylkill, while an engine of the Western Maryland is not an unusual sight in the Reading yards. The employes of these various lines total more than lI.OUU men and the monthly • payrolls total more than three-quarters of a million dollars. The growth of the city in railroad im portance may be judged from the fact that the total number of railroad em ployes In 19U2 was only 4.500, and this was before a large number of raliroad families were removed from Harrisburg to take up their residence at Enola. Nearly two and one-half million cars pass through Harrisburg every year, this despite the fact that in 1900 th i number was only a million and a half cars and that .since that time all through freight has been transferred to the Marysville yard and all through slow freight by way of Enola. About fourteen million passengers are han dled every year through the city and thousands of them now stop off to see the new Capitol and other points of interest. This has been brought about through the joint efforts of the Har risburg Telegraph and Division Pas senger Agent Buchanan, who together induced the Pennsylvania company to grunt stopover privileges in this city, putting Harrisburg on the same plane with Philadelphia, New York, Pitts burgh and Washington. Thus Harris burg is mentioned as a stopover point on all schedules and is so rated in all ticket offices and agencies the country over. It is a good advertisement for the city as well as a big advantage to the traveling public. Story of Enola The story of Enola is also a part of Harrisburg's railroad history. Janu ary 17, 1905, the Enola yard, which at that time was considered the most up to date in the. world, was opened for business. At that time we had in our westbound yard 10 receiving tracks with a capacity of 90 cars each and 12 classifying tracks with a capacity of 100 cars each. Our eastbound yard consisted of 10 receiving tracks with a capacity of 90 cars each and the solid yard and eastbound classifying yard with a capacity of 1,600 cars. At this time the shops were located at the extreme west end of the yard with a capacity of about 100 cars. The engine house, one of the largest at that time in the world, has a capacity of 44 stalls for engines. The coal wharf and ash pits were also up to date. During 1905 676,457 cars were han dle eastbound and 577,060 cars were handled westbound, or a total of 1,253,517 cars. About Septehiber, 1905, the new shops where they are now located were finished and ready t for service with a capacity of 400 cars. During 1905 the paint shop, located at the extreme east end of the yard, was finished, with eight tracks having a capacity of ten cars to each track and ready for use. During 1900 one receiving track with a capacity of 90 cars and six classifying tracks with a capacity of 130 cars each were added to the west bound yard, making the capacity of this yard nearly 3,000 cars. During this year the paint shop was enlarged to double its capacity. During 1907 836.199 cars were han dled eastbound and 743,608 cars were handled Westbound, or a total of 1,579,807 cars, this being the record year. January 1, 190S, the Marysville yards were closed and the freight from the north and west for the Baltimore division and cars from the Baltimore division were run into Enoia yard. Later high-class freight was trans ferred from Harrisburg to Marysville and is now handled there. During 1912, about May 1, an addi tional classifying track was added to the eastbound yard with a capacity of 70 cars, making the capacity of the eastbound yard, about 2,500 cars. The Enola yard has since been en larged and improved. Freight handling in Harrisburg and vicinity has become a matter ot science. The Pennsylvania alone in its Harrisburg and Knola yards has a sum total of 230 miles of track avail able for instant use. If'necessary, two freight trains stretching from Harris burg to Philadelphia could be har bored within these yards, with enough room left over to accommodate ono stretching from here to Middletown. This capacity divided between Enola and Harrisburg gives the newer yards about 80 miles of track and the Har risburg yards a total of nearly 150 miles. A total of 10,000 cars could be stored in the local yards, with actual moving and handling power for over half that many dally. A total of 6,000 can easily be handled in the Enola yards, while there is storage room for many more. The yards of this city extend from below Lochiel to Marysville and are divided Into six sections. The Reading Fifteen years ago the Reading Rail road did not figure much in the busi ness affairs of Harrisburg. True, its well-known Peipher IJne did a good service in bringing fast freight ship ments in promptly from Philadelphia and points to the east, but aside from that it didn't count for much. Its local equipment consisted of a very sliakey one-track road between this city and Reading, an even worse single-track road between here and Shippensburg and Gettysburg, a pas senger depot that was a disgrace to the city and a rickety old freight sta tion that was even worse. To-day the Reading handles from 6,000 to 7,000 cars many a day and thinks nothing of it. The opening of the soft coal mines of West Virginia was a big boon to the former carrier of anthracite. This traffic from the south and west came in such quanti ties that it became necessary to build the great Rutherford yards, with their offices, shops and roundhouses, and the village of Rutherford Heights with its boarding houses, inn and railroad Young Men's Christian Association is another result of this boom. In the meantime the old depot has given way to a new passenger station and there are no more modern or up to-date freight yards anywhere than those of the Reading here. The crea tion of the Harrisburg division was another long step toward the develop ment of this part of the Reading sys tem. The Rutherford yards have nearly seventy miles of tracks. Three large machine shops and roundhouse em ploy upward of 250 men. In the large car repair shops 400 men are employed. An electric power plant furnishes all the electricity used on the place. The Reading employes in Harris burg and vicinity number almost 2,000 and ten years ago just about half that number found employment. The majority of these men live on Allison Hill and at Rutherford. The Reading, like the Cumberland Valley, will one day have to double track its bridgt over the" Susquehanna river at this I point. A COUNTRY OF MIID Our country is a country of mud. Our | roads are no roads. They are ruts, holes, stone*!, sand—disgrace. Our so- . called, badly miscalled roads impover ish our farms, send our farmers to the j city, keep our children ignorant, put our girls in the streets In search of the pleasure they cannot llnd in the isola tion of the farm, cut off from human intercourse by reason of impassable roads. Our children cannot go to school when the roads are bad. Only when rural roads are good are rural schools well attended. We have the greatest railroad mileage, the greatest telephone mileage, the greatest telegraph mileage of any country in the world. In our roads we have the biggest opportunity —and the worst conditions—ln the world.—Suburban Mfe—The Country side Magazine, for February. WHEN MOTHER'S SICK When mother's sick it's not like when They's chillun sick er oiriy men, Or relatives, or neighbors, say. For it's Jlst like the very bloom Of ver'flng has gone away. An' 'stead uv sunshine in the room, There's just the darkest kind of gray, And all our lips is qulvarin', too, An' no one knows Just what to do. You don't know what she is, yuh see. Until she's sick, an flngs kin be So diff'unt and so all upset. An 'stead of laugliin' why wo fret, An' slip aroun' on tiptoes so She'll sleep a bit an' 'en we'll know She's better, an' the doctor comes, An' sets a bit an' twists his fumbs, Smiles right out 't siie's well again. Oh, muvver, if you only knew, When you lie there, how many times We come an' take a peep at you In door cracks, an' don't make a bit Uv noise or sniffln', but Jus' grit Our teeth and pray an' try our best To be good—way down in our breast — So He will hear our prayer—why then You'd be so glad to eomo again An' be our comfort an' our cheer, An' stop the house f'tini bein' go queer, An" us so sad it's not like when Tliey's chillun sick er only men. "-Baltimore Sun. $25,000 FOR N£W FIRE APPARATUS New Head of Department Has Money For Modern Equipment Harrlsburg's Fire Department has been severely criticised by the under-, writers in a 'recent report, but few I people tukc this criticism seriously, i The firo loss of Harrisburg is very low. I It is not more than once a year thati the city has anything liko a fire of size ! and In no case in recent years lias the j fact that a fire spread to disastrous proportions been the fault of the tire chief or the firemen themselves. Notwithstanding all this, however, the people have decided to equip their fire fighters with the best apparatus on the market. To that end some of the old apparatus will be retired this year and the $2 5,000 voted by the tax payers last Fall for the purpose will be used to buy auto engines, trucks and other vehicles for the service. This buying will be done under the direction of Commissioner M. Harvey Taylor, who under the new commis sion form of government is the head of tho Fire Department. Fire Chief Kindler and his assistant, recently ap pointed, lid. llalbert, a fireman of Judgment and experience, will also give their attention to the study of the proper kind of machinery with which to equip the department. Just now the Harrisburg firemen as a whole are preparing for the con vention of the State firemen here next Fall. It is expected that at least 200 companies will have representatives in attendance and there will be at least 100 bands in the parade, prob ably many more. The convention promises to be not only the largest of Its kind in the history of the State association, but the parade will in all likelihood prove the biggest thing of Its kind ever attempted In Harris burg. No one claims that the city's volun teer system is perfect. It can be im proved in a number of ways. But it I must be conceded tluit the local de | partment has made rapid progress in | fire-fighting methods and equipment and that from the present material a service of the paid character could be welded that would be on a par with the modern trained forces of the big cities before the lapse of many weeks. ■ Estimates Furnished on Application I. R. LYME 'Plumbing, Gas and Steam Fitting 1016 MARKET ST. HARRISBUR G, PA. Jobbing a Specialty Prompt Personal Attention Given All Orders This is a compliment to tho interest these men Imve taken in their haz ardous calling and the promptness with which the companies have called the attention of the old councils to the I'ultilinit'nt of needs made neces sary if the fire stations were to bo properly kepi up in apparatus anil accessories and facilities for rapid de parture. Were the volunteer department tn continue Indefinitely here, it is quito probable that an instruction school would be opened and the men drilled similar to the metropolitan forces. They not only would be taught in tho movements for. quick and methodical work, but also in the science of this dangerous but fascinating game. A great educational factor to-day is tho prevention of fires as well as protec tion against it. The preventable causes of flame are as much feared, really, as the element itself. So a country-.wide impetus is being given to awaken people to the need of more care about the premises and tho re moval of the common causes of liro waste, which amounts to $300,000,000 a year in tills country. In this cam paign the Reading volunteers will tako an active part if their organizations are not disturbed. For that mattei. they also would lend their aid as vet ' erans. The local department Is in better I condition to-day than at any time, ! and, as stated, much of the credit of this is due to the firemen themselves. It has made great strides dufing the last three years in the acquisition of appliances and new houses. THE MUMMERS' PARADE The Harrisburg Mummers' Associa tion promises to make the 1914-1." parade the biggest thing of its kind ever seen in Pennsylvania outside of Philadelphia. This is only the second year for the association, but next New Year's day's procession will be at least four times as big as that of this year and handsome prizes will be offered. Many out-of-town clubs have already signified their intention of participat ing.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers