located, approved, and established, to take land for additional tracks, turnouts, freight and passenger stations, and depots.

HARTFORD.

The first was by the New York & New England Railroad Company to take a strip of land in the city of Hartford, north of their track, and adjoining their right of way, belonging to Caleb M. Talcott, Francis B. Cooley, and George Beach. After hearing the matter and examining the location, we were of opinion that while it was necessary for the business of said railroad that it should have additional lands along the line asked for, yet it was not necessary to take the quantity proposed to be taken, and we accordingly allowed them to take a strip, six and one-half feet less in width than the amount desired.

GROTON.

The next application of the kind was by the New York, Providence & Boston Railroad Company, for leave to take a tract of land, adjoining their road, in the town of Groton, for the purpose of procuring stone and gravel to be used on their road, and for necessary additional tracks and turnouts. There was no opposition, and the request was granted.

GREEN'S FARMS.

We last year reported proceedings upon a petition of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company to take land for a freight depot at Green's Farms, in the town of Westport. The petition was granted, though we recommended a change of location. Accordingly the first site was abandoned, and a new petition brought, and leave granted on the 13th of July, to take the necessary land upon the other side of the passenger station, on a straight line, instead of a curve, as was the former place.

WILLIMANTIC.

The fourth application was by the New York & New England Railroad Company to take additional lands at Willimantic, to the west of their new passenger station, for the purpose of straightening their line, and laying their second track.

The parties owning the land, though not wishing to part with it, made no objection to the proceedings, and the necessary authority was given.

The fifth application of the kind was by the New London Northern Railroad Company, to take a portion of the land of the New York & New England Railroad Company in the Borough of Willimantic, lying forty feet south of the new depot of the latter company. The object of this proceeding was to get a piece of land, which with that already owned by the New London Northern Railroad Company, would give it a satisfactory location for a new depot, practically on the site of the old union depot; the project for a new union depot, of which we spoke so encouragingly last year, having failed. This petition was to have been heard by us on the 20th of December, but has been adjourned from time to time at the request of the parties.

FENCE PETITIONS.

Among the miscellaneous matters disposed of by us have been four petitions for fence orders, three on the main line of the New York & New England Railroad. The first was that of Susan King of Columbia, upon which an order was made the 25th of January.

The other was the petition of J. F. Williams of Manchester; this was first heard on the 24th of April, and after much negotiation and attempts at a satisfactory adjustment, an order was finally issued on the 3d of July.

The third was by W. G. & F. Comstock, in regard to fences on their line adjoining the freight yard of the New York & New England Railroad in East Hartford.

The last was by Wm. M. Stanley in regard to the fences on the west side of the Connecticut Central Railroad where it runs through his land in East Hartford. We immediately wrote the railroad company on the receipt of these complaints, and received the promise of prompt attention. As we have heard nothing from the matter since, we presume the fences were built.

LOCOMOTIVE WHISTLING IN HARTFORD.

Only one petition asking our interference in the matter of locomotive whistling has been heard during the year. On the 24th of September the city of Hartford requested us to forbid the use of the steam whistle in the night season within the city limits. At the hearing on this petition it appeared that the order on that subject made by us on the 20th of October, 1881, had been to some extent overlooked, forgotten, or disregarded. An order was therefore issued calling attention to the former order and extending its requirements to the full limit authorized by law.

DRAW-BRIDGE STOPS AT MYSTIC AND WESTPORT.

Under the law authorizing us to permit the passing of a draw-bridge by railroad trains without being brought to a full stop not less than two hundred nor more than eight hundred feet from the draw, we have permitted all east bound engines and trains on the New York, Providence & Boston Railroad which have come to a full stop at West Mystic station, to cross the Mystic draw-bridge without again stopping.

The New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company having adopted and put in operation at Westport draw-bridge an interlocking apparatus which it would seem renders it impossible for a train to run upon the bridge when the draw is open, we have permitted it to run its trains over this bridge without making a stop, provided the speed of all trains shall be reduced to not exceeding ten miles an hour when within two thousand feet of the draw and not increased till the draw is passed.

ACCIDENTS.

While we are again able to report, that unless young Griswold, who held a trip pass, and who was riding in the baggage car at the time of the Plainville collision on the New York & New England Railroad, and was killed, is to be classed as a passenger, no one of the 16,352,617 passengers carried on our railroads during the year ending September

30, 1882, was killed in any accident to the train in which he was traveling; yet there were several train accidents in which passengers were injured.

COLLISION IN BRIDGEPORT.

The first occurred at Bridgeport, December 22, 1882, in which one person on a New York, New Haven & Hartford train was slightly injured by the collision of a Naugatuck switching engine with the train he was on.

MELROSE.

The second was near Melrose on the Connecticut Central Division of the New York & New England Railroad, April 12th, in which three passengers, and one employee were slightly injured by the train getting off the track.

We did not think it necessary to investigate either of these accidents.

THE HARTFORD TUNNEL COLLISION.

The third was a collision on the 30th of June, at the grade crossing of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad and the New York & New England Railroad above the tunnel at Hartford, between a west-bound express train on the former road, and an east-bound accommodation train on the latter. In this collision one passenger on the New York, New Haven & Hartford train and one employee were reported injured, and three passengers on the New York & New England train. This accident was very fully investigated by us, and our report thereon will be found in the Appendix. Our recommendations made therein have not yet been carried out, but in the meantime trains on the New York & New England Railroad come to a full stop before crossing, so that the danger of collisions is very slight.

COLLISION AT PLAINVILLE.

The accident in which young Griswold was killed occurred at Plainville on the New York & New England Railroad, and was a collision between a regular passenger train and a gravel

train July 9. In this accident one employee was killed and one injured. This was also investigated by us, and our report will be found in the Appendix.

AT UNION CITY.

One,

Two other train accidents were investigated by us. the collision at Union City on the New York & New England Railroad between a special freight and a construction train December 14, 1882, in which seven employees were injured, the report of which will be found in the Appendix.

FREIGHT BRANCH, HARTFOrd.

The other accident investigated was a collision between a freight train on the freight branch of the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad at Hartford and a freight train on the New York & New England railroad. No one was injured in this train accident, and our investigation was made at the request of the two companies. Our report is in the Appendix.

Besides the accidents investigated by us there were reported to us, by the companies, other train accidents attended with injuries to employees, as follows:

On the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad a freight train jumped the track at Southport and one brakeman was killed. On the New York & New England by a collision between two freight trains Dec. 10, 1882, at Chewink, two employees were injured. At Andover, Sept. 12, one employee had his leg broken in a rear collision between two sections of a freight train, and at Willimantic, Sept. 15, a brakeman was somewhat injured in a collision between freight trains. The collision at Pomfret on this road, in which one employee was fatally hurt and five others injured, though included in the the return for the past year, was investigated by us during 1882, and our report thereon was included in our report of last year. A brakeman on the Norwich & Worcester railroad was killed July 28, by a portion of his train being thrown from the track in consequence of a land-slide; and