Page:Vincent F. Seyfried - The Long Island Rail Road A Comprehensive History - Vol. 2 (1963).pdf/110

 94 By July the brickworks had advanced so far as to deliver bricks to Stewart's main line in the vicinity of Jerusalem. These were hauled by team from the works, loaded onto freight cars, and carted to Garden City for the buildings going up on the plains there.

In December, the exact point of crossing of the Bethpage Branch with the L. I.R.R. was negotiated with Oliver Charlick, president of the L.1.R.R., and his directors. The Central Railroad's proposed line crossed the L.I.R.R. just west of Merritt Road, Farmingdale, and cut through a bank twenty-three feet high. The directors of the L.I.R.R. opposed the crossing on the ground that it would be dangerous to travel as the point selected was a curve located in a deep cut and with no visibility whatsoever. To settle the matter, the Supreme Court of Queens County appointed three commissioners to make a decision. In the meantime the Central R.R. installed two heavy culverts and two large bridges to expedite the work. In the first week of February 1873 the commissioners ordered the crossing point to be moved twenty feet to the east of Stewart's survey. On March 1 a brief strike interrupted the work on the branch; the contractors wanted the men to work for twelve hours a day at $2, but peace was restored with an offer of ten hours for $1.75. By mid-March, so anxious was the management to get the Bethpage Branch open, a night gang was put on the road in the expectation of finishing up in two weeks. The bricks were piling up in the yards in the millions and to ship these out was the reason for the haste. On March 28 the grading was finished and the contractors began laying the ties and rails. On Sunday morning, April 6, 1873, the installation of the frogs for crossing the Long Island R.R. about half a mile west of Farmingdale was successfully performed, after which one train of cars went over the road. President Oliver Charlick's men rushed to the spot in a great hurry to supervise the performance but were just ten minutes too late. During May the rails were laid to within half a mile of the yards and were to be finished as soon as the bolts for the joints were forwarded. Finally, in June, the Bethpage Branch was at last completed and the bricks began moving out to Garden City the next day.

Within three weeks the Central R.R. management had the satisfaction of opening the main line eastward as far as Bethpage