when we took possession was deplorable. The main cause of this was apparently the neglect of the company in prior years to keep it at all times in first class condition.

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The order adopted (No. 179) required that the cars of the New York City Railway Company or of said receivers receive a thorough inspection, covering car bodies, motor and electric equipment, wiring and trucks, and that said cars be thoroughly overhauled and repaired so that when completed they and each of them shall be in first class operating and substantially new condition, having safe, proper and adequate car bodies, headlights, pilot fenders, wiring, brasses, commutators, field coils and armature windings, trucks, brakes, controllers, automatic circuit breakers, resistances, axle gear wheels, armature pinions and car wheels; and also that on and after the 15th day of February, 1908, the said New York City Railway Company or its receivers, turn out not fewer than ten of said cars daily, not including Sundays and legal holidays, so overhauled and repaired as aforesaid; and further that said New York City Railway Company or its said receivers notify the Commission daily in writing, in a form to be prescribed by the Commission, of the number of said cars so turned out as aforesaid, giving the identification numbers thereof, and when and where the same are to be tested; and further that from and after the 15th day of February, 1908, the said New York City Railway Company or its said receivers furnish and forward daily a transcript of the daily entries in the so-called run in" book or books, showing among other things which of said cars are out of order.

C. BRONX SURFACE LINES.

Equipment. An investigation similar to the one made by Mr. McLimont and his assistants in Manhattan was begun in December for the surface lines of the Bronx, but had not been completed at the close of the year. Early in January a hearing will probably be held upon the facts as reported.

Shelters. Lack of a waiting room for passengers coming from the subway station at One Hundred and Eighty-first street to take the surface cars of the New York City Interborough Railway

Company, thereby obliging passengers to stand on the street exposed to storms and weather, and unnecessary delays in the operation of cars from the terminal across Washington bridge have been the cause of much inconvenience to residents of this section of the city. Between the time when the order (No. 101) was passed and the date of the hearing, the complainant admitted that the delays caused by slow running and the stopping of cars on Washington bridge had practically ceased, and that conditions had improved. The need of a shelter, however, was emphasized. The company contended that to keep a car at the terminus of the line in One Hundred and Eighty-first street as a shelter for passengers in the intervals between cars would disarrange its service and inconvenience many of its patrons. The Commission decided that the company ought either to erect a shelter at the point complained of or to hold a car there for the use of waiting passengers until the arrival of the next or succeeding car, and issued an order to this effect (No. 183).

Kingsbridge line. Complaint was made to the Commission that the New York City Interborough Railway Company, which formerly operated a line between Kingsbridge road and the One Hundred and Fify-fifth street terminus of the Sixth and Ninth avenues elevated roads, had discontinued such service, running its lines to the One Hundred and Eighty-first street station of the subway instead, to the great inconvenience of residents of the territory north of Washington bridge and west of Jerome avenue. The railroad company admitted the discontinuance of the service to the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth street elevated terminus, but claimed that the present operation of all cars to the One Hundred and Eighty-first street subway station met the convenience of a larger portion of the traveling public than the service formerly rendered.

The evidence presented at the hearing (Order No. 158) did not bear out the contention of the company, and the Commission ordered the New York City Interborough Railway Company to run a line of cars through from Kingsbridge road, over its Aqueduct avenue line and over its Ogden avenue line in a continuous passage without change to the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth street terminus of the elevated roads connecting with the elevated cars at that

point and from said elevated station back over the same route, and prescribed the headway and intervals between cars in service to take effect not later than January 8, 1908 (see Order No. 176).

Williamsbridge cars. Complaint was made to the Commission that the Williamsbridge cars of the Union Railway Company stopped at Two Hundred and Thirty-third street, instead of running to the city line at Two Hundred and Forty-third street, to the great inconvenience of the public. The testimony taken at the hearing under Order No. 20, showed that the Williamsbridge cars had until within a short time been run to South street, Mount Vernon; that as so operated they were a great convenience to the public in that section; that there was no proper shelter station at the stopping place at Two Hundred and Thirty-third street, and that passengers from Williamsbridge cars were often exposed in inclement weather for a period of from five to twenty minutes and had to wait for a car from One Hundred and Twenty-eighth street to take them to their destination. The company was ordered (No. 45) to operate the Williamsbridge line to and from the city line at or near Two Hundred and Forty-second street, and the Westchester Electric Railroad Company was directed to permit this additional service, so far as the same is to be given on its tracks and under its franchise.

Union Railway Company - North and South Transfers on its Williamsbridge line. The Union Railway Company refused to give passengers on their Tremont and Burnside avenues lines a transfer which would entitle the passenger to go either north or south on Webster and Jerome avenues. The case was settled by an order (see Nos. 159 and 182) requiring said railroad company upon request to give any passenger on its Williamsbridge line. westbound on Tremont avenue, west of Morris Park avenue, prior to his leaving the car at Third avenue and One Hundred and Seventy-seventh street, a transfer for continuance of his trip either north or south.

Transfers to Bedford Park and New Rochelle Express. A similar case came up in connection with the express or special cars run between Bedford park and New Rochelle. The companies refused to issue transfers to these cars, or to accept on these cars.

transfers issued from other lines, and the cars did not make all regular stops. The Commission directed (see Orders Nos. 20 and 46) the Westchester Electric Railroad Company to issue to its passengers on the Bedford park and New Rochelle express cars transfer slips for a continuous trip on the cars of the Union Railway Company at One Hundred and Ninety-eighth street and at the terminus of Williamsbridge car lines on White Plains road; and the Union Railway Company to accept at such places transfer slips for such further transportation, and to issue to its passengers transfer slips for the express cars in a continuous trip; and the Westchester Electric Railroad Company to accept also transfer slips so issued by the Union Railway Company.

Union Railway Company's lines. Many complaints have been received regarding the service of the Union Railway Company, and one of the first orders (No. 18) was for a hearing to inquire whether it would be just and reasonable to direct the company to increase its service on all of its lines twenty-five per cent. over the then present schedule between the hours of 5 a. m. and 1 a. m., and 100 per cent. between the hours of 1 a. m. and 5 a. m.

At the hearing the inspectors of the Commission testified as to the service of the company at Tremont avenue and One Hundred and Seventy-seventh street, at One Hundred and Thirty-eighth street and Third avenue, on the crosstown line, running from Port Morris to Eighth avenue, and as to the lines and intersections of car lines generally. Testimony was also given as to the condition of the West Farms traffic, westbound, in the morning, and the traffic in the evening on the Tremont avenue line, said to be the most congested line in The Bronx; and it was shown that there were plenty of empty cars owned by the company not in service when the most overcrowding was noticed.

The inspectors testified particularly as to the condition of the cars observed by them, and introduced tabulations as to the degree of overcrowding. For example, on one car, with seating capacity of twenty-two, forty-five passengers were counted; on a car with a seating capacity of thirty-six, sixty-five passengers were counted; on one with seating capacity of thirty-six, eighty passengers were counted; on another with seating capacity of sixty-five, one hundred and five passengers were counted. This last was a large

open car, in which all the seats were taken, aisles crowded between seats, passengers on the front and rear bumpers and on the running board.

The order (No. 107) recommended by the presiding commissioner and adopted by the Commission directed that the service of the Union Railway Company be supplemented and changed as follows:

(1) By running south on the Jerome avenue line on its prescribed route between One Hundred and Fifty-fifth street viaduct via McComb's Dam bridge, Jerome avenue, Central avenue and Yonkers between 6:30 and 9:00 o'clock in the morning, sixty (60) cars.

(2) By running north on the said Jerome avenue line on the route aforesaid between 4:00 o'clock and 6:00 o'clock in the afternoon, fifty-two (52) cars.

(3) By running on the Mount Vernon line on the prescribed route between One Hundred Ninety-eighth street, by way of Webster avenue, Olin avenue, White Plains road and Mount Vernon, south bound, between 6:30 o'clock and 9:00 o'clock in the morning, forty-three (43) cars.

(4) By running north bound on the said Mount Vernon line, on the route aforesaid, between 6:30 o'clock and 9:00 o'clock in the morning, forty-three (43) cars.

(5) By running on the West Mount Vernon line, on the route prescribed between One Hundred and Ninety-eighth street, by way of Webster avenue, Bronx River road and West Mount Vernon, south road, between 6:30 o'clock and 9:00 o'clock in the morning, twenty (20) cars.

(6) By running north on the said West Mount Vernon line, on the route aforesaid, between 4:40 o'clock and 7 o'clock in the afternoon, twenty (20) cars.

(7) By running on the One Hundred and Thirty-eighth street line, on the route prescribed, between One Hundred and Thirtyfifth street and Eighth avenue, by way of One Hundred and Thirty-fifth street, One Hundred and Thirty-eighth street and Port Morris, between 6:30 o'clock and 9:00 o'clock in the morning, and between 5:00 o'clock and 6:30 o'clock in the afternoon,