364 THE PRINCIPLES OF PERSONAL POWERWith this combination of circumstances in mind, it required little
. Imagination to see that three d!ffrrent parties were or could be interested in
the building of the bridge such as would be needed to carry the weight
of a streetcar.
It was obvious that the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company would
be interested in such a bridge, because that would remove the county
road from their switching tracks. It would also save them a possible
accident on the crossing, to say nothing of much loss of time and ex-
pense in cutting trains to allow the wagon teams to pass.
It was also obvious that the County Commissioners would be in-
terested in the bridge, because it would raise the county road to a better
level and make it more serviceable to the public. And of course the street
railway company was interested in the bridge, but it did not wish to pay the
entire cost.
All of this passed through my mind as I stood there watching the
freight train being cut for the traffic to pass through.
A Definite Chief Aim took place in my mind. Also a definite plan
for its attainment. The next day I got together a committee of towns-
people, consisting of the mayor, councilmen, and some of the leading
citizens, and called on the Division Superintendent of the Baltimore
& Ohio Railroad Company at Grafton. We convinced him that it was
worth one-third of the cost of the bridge to get the county road off
his company's tracks. Next we went to the County Commissioners and
found them to be quite enthusiastic over the possibility of gettiilg
a new bridge by paying for only one-third of it. They promised to pay
their one-third, providing we could make arrangements for the other
two-thirds.
We then went to the president of the Traction Company which
owned the trolley line at Fairmont, and laid before him an offer to
donate all the rights of way and pay for two-thirds of the cost of the
bridge, providing he would begin building the line into town promptly.
We found him receptive also.