Erie And Trolley Co.

Fight Over Lines From Salamanca to Little Valley and Bradford
Erie Contends They are not Extensions but New Lines and will Take Matter Into the Courts –
Hearing at Jamestown Before Chairman Stevens

The Jamestown Post says: Chairman Frank W. Stevens of the public service commission conducted several hearings in his private office in the Fenton building Saturday. Four concerned the Western New York and Pennsylvania Traction Company of Salamanca.

The Erie Railroad Company and the traction company are only fighting the preliminary skirmishes in what promises to be a long drawn out legal battle for both are determined to win. The trolley company has commenced the construction of a line from Salamanca to Little Valley and of another line from Salamanca to Bradford. To reach Little Valley, the line will of necessity have to cross the Erie railroad once in the town of Salamanca and again in the town of Little Valley. On the Salamanca-Bradford line, the same condition exists, for the trolley line must cross the railway twice in the town of Carrolton.

It is necessary that a separate hearing to be held for each crossing. Joseph Page of Olean appeared for the trolley company and Fred A. Robbing of Hornell for the Erie Railroad Company. When questioned as to the result of the hearings by a reporter of the Post. Chairman Stevens said:

“The matter was up in Salamanca on Nov. 4th and it was then understood that the two companies would get together and decide just where the crossings were to be. As soon as this had been done, it would be left with me to decide whether the crossing be an overhead or under the track of the Erie. But no agreement has been reached, and some interesting litigation will probably result, for the Erie Railroad strongly opposes the building of the new lines.”

He said that the trolley company would take the matter into the courts to decide where the crossings were to be made, and that the commission would then decide how the crossing way to be made.

The Erie Railroad will fight to the last ditch to obstruct the construction of the two new trolley lines, for Little Valley, Bradford and Salamanca are all important stations on the Erie and the new trolley extensions will make them such powerful competition that the railway’s revenues between the three points will be greatly reduced. At present the Erie has a
monopoly on the travel to and from Little Valley, the county seat of Cattaraugus county.

According lo statements made by Mr. Stevens the Erie is basing its fight against the trolley company on a decision rendered not long ago by the appellate division of the supreme court at Rochester. In the Rochester case, the court decided that a trolley company, which extended its lines four miles so as to enter Rochester was really building a new line, not simply an extension; and on this ground blocked the building of the extension.

The Erie will claim that the lines from Salamanca to Little Valley and from Salamanca to Bradford are new lines, not extensions, and on this contention will insist that the extensions cannot be built without further rights granted by the state. Under the law trolley companies have the right to make extensions to their lines, but the Erie will claim that the two new lines are practically new trolley roads.

Source: The Allegany County Reporter, Wellsville, NY, 22 November 1907, p. 4, NYS Historic Newspapers.