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{{Refimprove|date=December 2010}}
{{Refimprove|date=December 2010}}
[[Image:Cast frog.jpg|thumb|The frog, a component of a [[railway switch]], lent its name to a series of battles for railroad dominance in the 19th century.]]
[[Image:Cast frog.jpg|thumb|The frog, a component of a [[railway switch]], lent its name to a series of battles for railroad dominance in the 19th century.]]
In American railroading, a '''frog war''' occurs when a private [[railroad]] company attempts to cross the tracks of another, and this results in hostilities, with the courts usually getting involved, but often long after companies have taken the matter in their own hands and settled, with hordes of workers battling each other. It is named after the [[Switch frog|frog]], the piece of track that allows the two tracks to join or cross and is usually part of a [[level junction]] or [[railroad switch]].
In American railroading, a '''frog war''' occurs when one private [[railroad]] company attempts to cross the tracks of another, and this results in hostilities between the two railroads. It is named after the [[Switch frog|frog]], the piece of track that allows the two tracks to join or cross and is usually part of a [[level junction]] or [[railroad switch]].


A frog war usually begins with legal actions, such as filing lawsuits and appealing to civic transportation authorities. But often the situation escalates into physical actions, with companies pitting their workers against one another with construction projects and train movements intended to frustrate or challenge the opposing railroad.
Sometimes the first railroad was built specifically to delay the completion of the second.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}}


==Division of costs==
==Division of costs==
It is generally the case that the second railway to arrive has to bear the cost of the special trackwork needed to cross the first.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}} This includes the cost of any [[interlocking tower]] or [[signal box]]. The latter is not necessarily to the disadvantage of the second railway, since it can signal its trains through the junction ahead of those belonging to the first railway, depending on who employs the [[Signalman (rail)|signalman]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}}
It is generally the case that the second railway to arrive at an intended crossing has to bear the cost of the special trackwork needed to cross the first.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}} This includes the cost of any [[interlocking tower]] or [[signal box]]. The latter is not necessarily to the disadvantage of the second railway, since it can signal its trains through the junction ahead of those belonging to the first railway, depending on who employs the [[Signalman (rail)|signalman]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}}


=="Frog Wars" with oil pipelines==
=="Frog Wars" with oil pipelines==
In the early days oil mostly travelled by rail, but gradually oil companies built oil pipelines. Not wanting to lose business, railway companies often refused permission to oil companies for pipelines to cross their tracks.
In the early days of the oil industry, most oil traveled by rail. As [[Pipeline_transport#Oil_and_natural_gas|oil pipelines]] became more common, railway companies often saw them as threats to their business and refused to grant permission for pipelines to cross their tracks.


==Bridges and riverboats==
==Bridges and riverboats==
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{{Expand list|date=August 2008}}
{{Expand list|date=August 2008}}


* 1853: [[Greater Grand Crossing, Chicago]] - feud between the [[Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway]] and the [[Illinois Central Railroad]]; both railroads ran through the junction essentially pretending the other didn't exist, finally resulting in a crash that killed 18 people.
* 1853: A feud between the [[Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway]] and the [[Illinois Central Railroad]] led both railroads to run through [[Greater Grand Crossing, Chicago|Greater Grand Crossing]] in [[Chicago]] as if the other railroad didn't exist, finally resulting in a crash that killed 18 people.
* 1867: [[South Carolina Railroad]] vs. [[Columbia and Augusta Railroad]], later [[Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad]]. A grade crossing in Columbia was protested in court, then blocked by a parked train, then torn up physically and finally threatened by a steamed-up locomotive ready to move forward to block at any moment (Derrick: 245-246 and Fetters: 143).
* 1867: The [[South Carolina Railroad]] vs. the [[Columbia and Augusta Railroad]] (later the [[Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad]]). A grade crossing in Columbia was protested in court, then blocked by a parked train, then physically torn up and finally threatened by a steamed-up locomotive ready to move forward to block at any moment (Derrick: 245-246 and Fetters: 143).
* 1870s: [[Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad]] vs. [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad]] vs. [[Union Pacific Railroad]] in [[Colorado]]; three railroads vying for suitable mountain passes.
* 1870s: The [[Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad]] vs. the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad]] vs. the [[Union Pacific Railroad]]. All three railroads contested one another for access through suitable mountain passes in [[Colorado]].
* December 2, 1870–January 9, 1871: The [[Erie Railroad]] vs. [[Morris and Essex Railroad]]'s [[Boonton Branch]] ([[Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad]]) at the west end of the Erie's [[Long Dock Tunnel]] in [[Jersey City, New Jersey]].
* December 2, 1870–January 9, 1871: The [[Erie Railroad]] vs. the [[Morris and Essex Railroad]]'s [[Boonton Branch]] ([[Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad]]) at the west end of the Erie's [[Long Dock Tunnel]] in [[Jersey City, New Jersey]].
* January 6 and January 7, 1876: The [[Mercer and Somerset Railway]] ([[Pennsylvania Railroad]]) vs. the [[Delaware and Bound Brook Railroad]] ([[Reading Railroad]]) in [[Hopewell, New Jersey]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hopewellvalleyhistory.org/Stories-Mercer-Somerset.html |title=Stories |publisher=Hopewellvalleyhistory.org |date= |accessdate=2015-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402095959/http://www.hopewellvalleyhistory.org/Stories-Mercer-Somerset.html |archive-date=2015-04-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* January 6 and January 7, 1876: The [[Mercer and Somerset Railway]] ([[Pennsylvania Railroad]]) vs. the [[Delaware and Bound Brook Railroad]] ([[Reading Railroad]]) in [[Hopewell, New Jersey]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hopewellvalleyhistory.org/Stories-Mercer-Somerset.html |title=Stories |publisher=Hopewellvalleyhistory.org |date= |accessdate=2015-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402095959/http://www.hopewellvalleyhistory.org/Stories-Mercer-Somerset.html |archive-date=2015-04-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* August 7&ndash;September 13, 1883: [[Colton Crossing]] - the [[Southern Pacific Railroad]] vs. the [[California Southern Railroad]] (a subsidiary of the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]]) at [[Colton, California]] (just outside [[San Bernardino, California|San Bernardino]]).
* August 7&ndash;September 13, 1883: The [[Southern Pacific Railroad]] vs. the [[California Southern Railroad]] (a subsidiary of the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]]) at [[Colton Crossing]] in [[Colton, California]] (just outside [[San Bernardino, California|San Bernardino]]).
* March 1886: The [[Erie Railroad]] vs. the [[New Jersey Junction Railroad]] ([[New York Central Railroad]]) at King's Bluff near [[Weehawken, New Jersey]].
* March 1886: The [[Erie Railroad]] vs. the [[New Jersey Junction Railroad]] ([[New York Central Railroad]]) at King's Bluff near [[Weehawken, New Jersey]].
* September 1891: The [[Central Railroad of New Jersey]] vs. the [[Jersey City, Newark and Western Railway]] ([[Lehigh Valley Railroad]]) in southern [[Jersey City, New Jersey]].
* September 1891: The [[Central Railroad of New Jersey]] vs. the [[Jersey City, Newark and Western Railway]] ([[Lehigh Valley Railroad]]) in southern [[Jersey City, New Jersey]].
* March 1894: The [[Cape May and Millville Railroad]] ([[Pennsylvania Railroad]]) vs. the [[Tuckahoe and Cape May Railroad]] ([[Reading Railroad]]) at [[Woodbine Junction, New Jersey]]
* March 1894: The [[Cape May and Millville Railroad]] ([[Pennsylvania Railroad]]) vs. the [[Tuckahoe and Cape May Railroad]] ([[Reading Railroad]]) at [[Woodbine Junction, New Jersey]].
* 1897: The [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] vs. the [[National Docks Secondary|New Jersey Junction Connecting Railway]] ([[Lehigh Valley Railroad]]) in [[Jersey City, New Jersey]].\
* 1897: The [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] vs. the [[National Docks Secondary|New Jersey Junction Connecting Railway]] ([[Lehigh Valley Railroad]]) in [[Jersey City, New Jersey]].
* December 1897: Again, the Pennsylvania Railroad, vs. the Newtown Electric Street Railway in [[Langhorne, Pennsylvania]]. Not a true "frog" war per se, the trolley line attempted to build a line parallel to a turnpike running underneath the PRR tracks on an underpass. For a duration, passengers had to walk through the underpass to meet trolleys on both sides before the war was waged.
* December 1897: The Pennsylvania Railroad vs. the [[Newtown Electric Street Railway]] in [[Langhorne, Pennsylvania]]. This was not technically a frog war (since no grade crossing was involved), but the PRR opposed attempts to build a line through a turnpike underpass running underneath the PRR tracks. Passengers had to disembark on each side of the PRR and walk through the underpass to meet connecting trolleys.


===United Kingdom===
===United Kingdom===
* [[Havant New railway station|Battle of Havant]]. Conflict of [[London and South Western Railway]] with the [[London, Brighton and South Coast Railway]] over the building of the [[Portsmouth]] branch
* [[Havant New railway station|Battle of Havant]]: Conflict between the [[London and South Western Railway]] and the [[London, Brighton and South Coast Railway]] over the building of the [[Portsmouth]] branch.
* [[Nickey Line]]
* [[Nickey Line]]
* Conflict between the [[London, Brighton and South Coast Railway]] and [[South Eastern Railway (UK)|South Eastern Railway]] for access to Hastings and St Leonards beyond [[Bo-Peep junction|Bo Peep Junction]] (also see [[St Leonards West Marina railway station#History|St Leonards West Marina railway station]])
* Conflict between the [[London, Brighton and South Coast Railway]] and the [[South Eastern Railway (UK)|South Eastern Railway]] for access to Hastings and St. Leonard's beyond [[Bo-Peep junction|Bo Peep Junction]]. (Also, see [[St Leonards West Marina railway station#History|St Leonards West Marina railway station]]).


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==

Revision as of 23:26, 13 February 2020

The frog, a component of a railway switch, lent its name to a series of battles for railroad dominance in the 19th century.

In American railroading, a frog war occurs when one private railroad company attempts to cross the tracks of another, and this results in hostilities between the two railroads. It is named after the frog, the piece of track that allows the two tracks to join or cross and is usually part of a level junction or railroad switch.

A frog war usually begins with legal actions, such as filing lawsuits and appealing to civic transportation authorities. But often the situation escalates into physical actions, with companies pitting their workers against one another with construction projects and train movements intended to frustrate or challenge the opposing railroad.

Division of costs

It is generally the case that the second railway to arrive at an intended crossing has to bear the cost of the special trackwork needed to cross the first.[citation needed] This includes the cost of any interlocking tower or signal box. The latter is not necessarily to the disadvantage of the second railway, since it can signal its trains through the junction ahead of those belonging to the first railway, depending on who employs the signalman.[citation needed]

"Frog Wars" with oil pipelines

In the early days of the oil industry, most oil traveled by rail. As oil pipelines became more common, railway companies often saw them as threats to their business and refused to grant permission for pipelines to cross their tracks.

Bridges and riverboats

Abraham Lincoln participated in a celebrated court case that decided that railroads had as much right to bridge rivers as the riverboat had the right to navigate those rivers.[1] Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Canal was rendered useless by a railway bridge built across it in 1870.[citation needed]

List of frog wars

United States

Note: The first railroad line built is the first one named.

United Kingdom

Bibliography

  • Derrick, Samuel M. (1933). Centennial History of South Carolina Railroad. State Publishing Company, Columbia, SC.
  • Fetters, Thomas (2008). The Charleston & Hamburg. The History Press, Charleston, SC. ISBN 978-1-59629-420-2.

References

  1. ^ [1] Archived January 11, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Stories". Hopewellvalleyhistory.org. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-28.
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