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IV.

IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF THE TROY AND LANSINGBURGH RAILROAD COMPANY ON ITS OWN BEHALF, AND AS LESSEE OF THE RAILROADS OF THE WATERFORD AND COHOES RAILROAD COMPANY, THE TROY AND COHOES RAILROAD COMPANY AND THE LANSINGBURGH AND COHOES RAILROAD COMPANY, FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE BOARD OF A CHANGE IN MOTIVE POWER FROM HORSES TO ELECTRICITY, ON CERTAIN PORTIONS OF. THEIR RESPECTIVE ROUTES, IN ACCORDANCE WITH CHAPTER 531 OF THE LAWS OF 1889. October 28, 1889.

This application, dated the 6th day of September, 1889, was duly lodged with the Board.

A public hearing was had at the office of the Board in Albany on September the 24th, 1889, after due notice thereof in the newspapers and by written notice to parties immediately interested.

The railroad company was represented by P. D. Niver, Esq., counsel, Mr. Charles Cleminshaw, president of the road, General Joseph B. Carr and several employees.

At the opening of the proceedings, the counsel for the railroad company made formal application for the approval of the Board, and presented the consents of the owners of more than one-half in value of the property bounded on that portion of the railroad as to which a change of motive power was proposed. Subsequently, affidavits of John H. Egan were submitted, to the effect that he was, during the month of August and up to September the 16th, 1889, city clerk pro tem. of the city of Cohoes; that he had examined the assessment-rolls of the city; that the whole amount of the assessed valuation of the property on and along Saratoga street, from the terminus of the Waterford and Cohoes railroad to the Mohawk river bridge, was $134,000, of which the owners of said property, to the amount of $125,700, had consented to the change of motive power; that the whole amount of assessed valuation of the property on and along Mohawk street, between Ontario street and the terminus of the Troy and Cohoes railroad, was $607,000, of which the owners of said property, to the amount of $382,000, had consented to the change of motive power; that the whole amount of the assessed valuation of the property on and along Ontario street, from the terminus of the Lansingburgh and Cohoes railroad in the city of Cohoes to the Hudson river bridge, was $266,000, of which the owners of said property to the amount of $224,900 had so consented. The application was opposed by the Commercial Telephone Company of Troy, through its counsel, William Shaw, Esq., and the Hon. Charles Patterson, and by the common council of the city of Cohoes, through the city attorney, George H. Fitts, Esq.

By consent of all parties, the hearing of the case was adjourned to September the thirtieth at which time, the arguments and evidence. not being concluded, a third hearing was set down and had on October the fourteenth.

Briefs were to be submitted by the three parties respectively not later than Monday, the twenty-first inst. That of Mr. Fitts, on behalf of the city of Cohoes, with the consent of Mr. Niver, representing the railroad company, was finally filed on Monday, October the twenty-eighth. First. As to the opposition from the Commercial Telephone Company. A large amount of testimony was had at these hearings, particularly touching the matter of the interference with the currents on the wires.

of the telephone company by conduction and induction from the wires of the railroad company.

It is not deemed necessary to review this testimony in detail. It appeared to be clearly proven, however, that there was a substantial interference with the delicate currents on the wires of the telephone company by the high tension currents from the lines of the railroad company. It appears that the current which propels the motor in the cars of the railroad company reaches the motor by a single overhead or trolley wire. What is termed the "feed" wire runs on poles erected near the curb. At intervals of a few hundred feet this feed wire is connected with the overhead wire, thus supplementing the current in the overhead wire as needed. The circuit from the dynamo of the railroad company passes through the feed wire, or through the overhead wire, into the motor, through the wheels to the rail, and then back to the dynamo through the rails and the earth.

It is claimed by the telephone company that in the passage through the rails back to the dynamo more or less "leakage " takes place into the wires of the telephone company, which may be grounded near the railroad track. This would be interference by conduction.

It is also claimed, and appeared to be proven, that more or less interference takes place from the proximity of the feed wire and overhead wire to the wires of the telephone company by what is known as induction (it being a fact of electrical phenomena that a current passing through one wire induces a current in the opposite direction through a parallel wire; the amount of the current induced being inversely proportionate to the square of the distance).'

It appeared to be shown from the testimony of Mr. H. V. Hayes, an electrical expert, and by the actual experiments of Mr. A. Seeley, superintendent of the telephone company at Troy, assisted by Mr. F. W. Sabold, General Manager of the Western Union Telegraph Company at Albany, that the interference from conduction or "leakage" could be remedied by the telephone company by laying a main ground wire, thus improving the circuit of the latter company, but that the difficulties from induction could not thus be disposed of.

It appeared to be further proven that the only way that the telephone company could entirely do away with the difficulties both of induction and conduction, would be by duplicating its wires so as to make a complete metallic circuit from every one of its subscribers to the central office. This was shown to be an exceedingly expensive, if not impracticable, thing to do.

The telephone company, on the other hand, claimed that the proper way to remedy the difficulties from both induction and conduction would be for the railroad company to construct two overhead or trolley wires, thus making a metallic circuit complete from the dynamo; through one trolley to the motor and back again through the second wire to the dynamo, and this would be a matter of comparatively small expense to the railroad company.

The electricians on behalf of the railroad company admit that the double overhead or trolley wire would remedy all the evils, but they object to it upon the ground that it is much more difficult to operate than the single wire.

The telephone company request that the Board decline to approve of the application of the railroad company, unless the railroad com

peny agrees to construct a double overhead or trolley wire rather than a single wire.

The claim of the telephone company, in other words, is that it had constructed its poles and strung its wires lawfully and was using the earth to complete its circuit; that the railroad company then constructed its poles and strung its wires near to those of the telephone company, and also used the earth to complete its circuit; that in the passage through the earth the currents of the greater intensity of the railroad company interfered with those of the telephone company; that this inteference is a trespass and should not be permitted.

While the Board recognizes that there is a hardship suffered here by the telephone companies, it is in grave doubt whether it is of a character that the Board would be justified in redressing, if it necessitated the Board taking the position that the railroad company should not use the earth to complete its circuit. It appears to the Board that the decision of this question should rather be brought before the courts in a suit for damages, or in some other proceeding, and the respective rights of the two companies to the use of the earth as a conductor be there determined. To determine it in the way petitioned by the telephone company would be equivalent to saying that any electrical company using a minimum current should have the exclusive right to the earth as a conductor. This the Board is not prepared to say. The question, so far as the Board is aware, is unprecedented, and it does not feel that it is its duty to decide it. As before stated, it deems that the proper course would be a suit to be brought by the telephone company against the railroad company. Second. As to the opposition from the city of Cohoes.

The principal objection raised by Mr. Fitts, attorney for the city of Cohoes, was that the erection of the necessary wires by the railroad company would interfere with the operation of the fire department in raising ladders in case of fire. Considerable testimony to this effect was given by Reuben S. Calkins, chief of the fire department of the city of Cohoes. A brief was subsequently submitted by Mr. Fitts to the same effect, and suggesting that the storage battery system would be preferable to the overhead wires.

The Board agrees with Mr. Fitts that great weight should be attached to the protest from the common council of the city in reference to this matter. With this idea in view, the entire Board made a careful personal inspection of the streets through which the change of motive power is proposed. It finds that, inasmuch as the overhead system is now in operation through Lansingburgh, and in process of construction through the village and town of Waterford, the very much larger portion of the route of the railroad company, it would be impracticable to use storage batteries through one or two streets of the city of Cohoes.

The Board also finds that there can be little or no objection to the wires upon any of the proposed streets of Cohoes except, perhaps, on that portion of Mohawk street between the junction with Remsen street and Ontario street. Even here, if due precautions are taken by the railroad company, and facilities to cut wires provided in case of fire, the objections do not appear to be serious. It is also to be remembered that electric light wires already exist carrying a current of 1,500 volts, whereas the current of the railroad company would probably not exceed 500. As the city authorities have permitted the electric light wires to be strùng, it would seem but just that they

should permit the railroad wires to be also strung, as the latter are far less dangerous than the former.

CONCLUSIONS.

In view of the fact that the Troy and Lansingburgh Railroad Company are now constructing the single trolley system through the town and village of Waterford, with the approval of the local authorities thereof, and with the consent of a large majority of the abutting property holders: that it has also constructed its line through the village of Lansingburgh with the same system: that a very large majority of the abutting property holders upon its line through the city of Cohoes have consented to the proposed change, and that no opposition has been presented from them: and in view of the further fact that the proposed change would be a great improvement upon horse power, the Board deems that it is justified in approving, and does hereby approve of the change of motive power from horses to the overhead single trolley system by the Troy and Lansingburgh Railroad Company, on its own behalf, and as lessee of the railroads of the Waterford and Cohoes Railroad Company, the Troy and Cohoes Railroad Company and the Lansingburgh and Cohoes Railroad Company, on the following portions of the above lines, to-wit:

On the Waterford and Cohoes railroad, from the bridge across the Mohawk river to its terminus in the city of Cohoes on the Troy and Cohoes railroad, from its northern terminus in the city of Cohoes to the intersection of Mohawk with Ontario street in said city on the Lansingburgh and Cohoes railroad, from its terminus in the city of Cohoes to its terminus in the village of Lansingburgh: with the following conditions, however, which are made part of this approval:

First. The rate of speed shall not exceed that to be definitely fixed by the mayor and common council of the city of Cohoes.

Second. The poles from which the wires are to be suspended shall be of a construction and height appropriate to the streets upon which they are to be erected, so as to impair the use and appearance thereof to the least possible extent, and before erection shall be approved by the Board of Railroad Commissioners.

Third. No car shall be run with less than two men to operate it, if run alone; if two cars are coupled together, there shall not be less than three men for the two cars.

Fourth. The company shall take all reasonable and proper means to prevent the currents from its wires, through leakage, induction or otherwise, from interfering with the currents upon the wires of other companies, whether telegraph, telephone or otherwise. This provision, however, is not intended to require the railroad company to construct a double trolley wire.

Fifth. The railroad company shall provide insulated shears at some convenient point near the intersection of Ontario and Mohawk streets, and at other points on its line designated by the local authorities, with which to cut its wires in case of fire, and shall also supply the fire department of the city of Cohoes with such shears.

Sixth. The company shall remove the snow from its tracks on that portion of the road in Mohawk street between Ontario and Remsen streets, and not throw it on each side as has been the custom heretofore.

Seventh. The company shall keep the paved part of the streets between the tracks in repair, and also the space of two feet outside of each rail.

ISSUE OF BONDS.

In the year 1887, subdivision 10 of section 28 of chapter 140, Laws of 1850, was amended, upon the recommendation of this Board, by chapter 724, so as to read as follows:

10. From time to time to borrow such sums of money as may be necessary for completing and finishing or operating their railroad, and to issue and dispose of their bonds for any amount so borrowed, and to mortgage their corporate property and franchises to secure the payment of any debt contracted by the company for the purpose aforesaid; and the directors of the company may confer on any holder of any bond issued for money borrowed as aforesaid the right to convert the principal due or owing thereon into stock of said company, at any time not less than two nor more than twelve years from the date of the bond, under such regulations as the directors may see fit to adopt; provided, however, that if the already authorized capital stock of such corporation, at the time such bonds may be issued, shall not be sufficient to meet such conversion when made, the stockholders shall, before such issue and in the manner hereinbefore provided, authorize an increase of capital stock to an extent sufficient to meet the deficiency. Any director or officer of a railroad corporation who shall vote for, sign or certify to any bond secured by mortgage or pledge of the corporate property, without the issue thereof having been sanctioned by a majority in amount of its stockholders, who shall vote in person or by proxy thereon, at a meeting called for that purpose, in the manner provided in section 9 of this act, to consider an increase of capital stock, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punishable by a ne not exceeding five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year or by both such fine and imprisonment.

Section 9 provides that a copy of the notice of the meeting of the stockholders, at which is to be considered and voted upon the proposition to increase the capital stock, shall "be published within the county where the main office of such corporation shall be located, once a week for four weeks prior to such meeting, in a newspaper to be designated * ** by the Board of Railroad Commissioners." It therefore follows that a condition precedent to the issuance of bonds is an application to the Board to designate a newspaper in which to publish the notice of the meeting of stockholders. The Board requires that a verified copy of the notice, and a certificate of its publication by law, shall be filed subsequently with the Board.

There have been during the year ending September 30, 1889, twentyone applications for the designation of such papers, viz.:

October 22, 1888-Syracuse and Baldwinsville Railroad Company. December 20, 1888-Carthage and Adirondack Railroad Company. Issue, $1,600,000.

December 26, 1888-Lincoln Park and Charlotte Railroad Company. Issue, $350,000.

January 17, 1889-The Rochester and Glen Haven Railroad Company.

January 19, 1889-South Ferry Railroad Company of New York.

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