NEW STATION COMPLETED.

Splendid Improvement of the N. & W.
Railway at Shepherdstown
Greatly Admired.

   The splendid new passenger station of the Norfolk & Western Railway at Shepherdstown has been practically completed, and the finishing touches are now being put on by the workmen. The building will be turned over to the railroad company Saturday by the contractors, complete in every detail, except for the outside work to be done by the company and the installation of the furniture.
   The new station is one of which our community and the railroad company may be equally proud. It is accessibly and conveniently located between German and High streets, between the old Lutheran Church and the old line of the road, midway between the two streets named and easily approached from either. It is a first-class station—Norfolk & Western’s No. 1—and there is no better on the entire system except at points where there are union stations. The lot on which it stands extends from street to street and is of ample width. This will be further improved by the removal of the embankment on the northwest corner, and filling in the whole space outside of the paving with cinders, topped with crushed slag. The pavement is 350 feet long, extending from the railroad track to the rear of the station and making a good walk all around the building. The paving is of heavy vitrified brick, laid in a thick bed of sand, and has heavy granite curbing. A very desirable feature of the improvement is a fine shed 250 feet long and reaching from the track to the station building, with which it is connected. This will entirely protect passengers from bad weather, and the pavement is at such a level as to make perfectly comfortable egress and ingress from and to the trains. There could be no improvement in this respect.
   The station is a handsomely designed and excellently constructed building. It is 109 feet 6 inches long and 27 feet in depth. It is built of pressed brick, with granite trimmings, and is in every respect substantial and convenient. The agent’s office is in the center, facing the track, with wrought-iron gratings to protect the windows, and handsome brass wickets for the ticket windows. There are two large waiting rooms, one for white persons and one for colored persons. These rooms are tastefully finished with cypress paneling, with natural finish in a hard oil, and have comfortable benches around the walls. There are both front and rear entrances. Connecting with each waiting room are two toilet rooms, one for men and one for women. A passageway connects the two waiting rooms. At the north end of the building is a large baggage and express room, finished with pine wainscoting.
   The station inside and outside is brilliantly lighted with electric lights—neat chandeliers on the interior and pendant lights under the train sheds. The heating is done by a modern system of hot water, the boiler being located in the cellar. Water for the toilet rooms and other station purposes is brought from the company’s big tank half a mile south. With electric lights, an ample modern heating system and toilet and closet conveniences, the new building is thoroughly up-to-date so far as comfort is concerned. The station has a slate roof, and the painting is a neat combination of gray and brown. There are two complete systems of drainage. The contractor who has done this excellent piece of work is John P. Pettyjohn, of Lynchburg, and the efficient superintendent who has been in charge is O. L. Burnett. The work has been done expeditiously and well under his management.
   The contract price of this job was bout $18,000. To this has been added extra work, including blasting and excavating in some places and filling up in others, that will make the contractor’s bill run up to about $20,000. In addition, the railroad company has done a couple of thousand dollars worth of other work in connection with the improvement. All of the work, we are informed by Mr. Burnett, is first-class, the specifications of the company calling for material and workmanship about which there can be no question. When the approaches shall have been completed, and the grounds about the station improved, we will have a station and surroundings such as few county towns can boast of. And we can assure the railroad company that our town people thoroughly appreciate what it has done for our community.
   As stated above, the station will be turned over to the railroad company, represented by Major Bruner, on Saturday. It will be open for inspection that day and also, it is hoped, Saturday night. It has been suggested that there be some sort of demonstration on that occasion when our people shall express in some way their appreciation of the improvement. We think that the idea is an excellent one, and hope that it may be carried out. Mr. Spedden, the N. & W. agent here, informs us that the new station will be put to use about the first of December.

Shepherdstown Register, Oct. 18, 1909, p. 3, Vol. 44, No. 48.