22 TRANSACTIONS OF WAGNER 



THE ELIMINATION OF GRADE-CROSSINGS IN CITIES 



In all these cases it is evident that either the street or the railroad must 

 increase its rate of grade, and this single point is generally the most difficult 

 one to deal with in any particular case. The increase in the rate of grade of a 

 railroad is always accompanied by loss of revenue. On a street it is difficult 

 to calculate actual money loss by increasing the grade. 



To obtain h'ght grades on a street means expensive first cost, when the 

 street is lined with expensive properties requiring to be adjusted to the new 

 conditions. The consequential damages which may be recovered by law for 

 such changes are often a very large part of the total cost of the work. It is 

 evident that the only cases in which there are no consequential damages due 

 to changes of grade of the street are in 5 and 6. 



Unfortunately, the elimination of such crossings is not profitable to either 

 the city or the railroad from a financial standpoint. Neither can expect to 

 receive any financial return for the large amounts which must be expended. 

 The railroad will save in not having to protect the crossing with gates and 

 watchmen, and will be relieved from maintaining the crossing, but, on the other 

 hand, it is called upon to maintain expensive bridges, etc., with their painting 

 and waterproofing. For instance, on the Ninth Street Elevated of the Phila- 

 delphia & Reading Railway in Philadelphia, there are eight and one-quarter 

 acres of solid steel floor bridges to be painted and maintained. This is a cost 

 which must be met for all time. Further, when these steel structures have run 

 their lifetime, which is not likely to be more than thirty years, they must be 

 replaced. It is obvious, therefore, that the saving from watchmen's wages 

 and the cost of maintaining gates is trivial as compared with the interest on the 

 enormous sum required to build such elevated steel structures, the greatly 

 increased cost of maintenance as compared with the cost of maintaining a 

 railroad at the ground level, and the cost of replacement. 



It has been claimed that, by the elimination of grade-crossings, the rail- 

 roads will save expense by avoiding the damages for grade-crossing accidents. 

 It can be shown that in the majority of such cases the accidents are due to what 

 is known as "contributory negligence," that is, that the person so injured has 

 not "stopped, looked or listened," as required by law, or has done something 

 contributing to the accident. 



In these days, when the attention of the public is so constantly directed 

 toward grade-crossing accidents, which, in the great majority of cases, are due 

 to the reckless disregard by travelers on the highway, or automobiUsts, of all 



