Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 234, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 September 1912 — RAILROADING IN 70’S [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

RAILROADING IN 70’S

VETERAN GROWS REMINISCENT OF THE EARLV DAYS.* Complicated Office Machinery for Running the Lines Was Not Then Known and Arrangements Were of the Simplest. - Railroading and' experiences with the wire in the 70’s are presented by

V D. Hanchette in the Watertown Times in a letter from Richard Holden, a veteran telegrapher. Holden writes in part as follows: “On February 1, 1870, Newton B. Hine was appointed train dispatch-

er to succeed Edward Warner, who left the employ of the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg to accept the agency of the Utica & Black River railroad, which a short time before had established a connection with the C., W. & S. H. R. R. with a through line from Utica to Watertown. Mr. Hine offered me a position as operator and I accepted the same, commencing work under him on February 14, 1872. A few months afterwards I was promoted to a train dispatcher under Mr. Hine, a position I held four years, resigning in 1876 to engage in business. “The train dispatcher’s office was, until about the year 1878, located at Watertown Junction, at which time it was moved up town to its present location. The different men that hel<J the position as train dispatcher were not operators, they employing an operator to send their orders. “About the year 1873 the summer travel to the Thousand Islands commenced to increase, Cape Vincent being the gateway to the Thousand Islands. The officials of the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg ordered two drawing-room cars to be built at the shops at Rome, being named Ontario and St. Lawrence. One of these cars was hauled into Watertown on the afternoon train from Rome, being cut out of the train at the rock cut near Pine street and run down the main line and attached to the Cape train. I remember how proud the late Frank Cornish was in riding down • the straight on the first drawing-room car with his hands on the brake wheel, Mr. Cornish being a brakeman at that time. ——-

- “While the writer was a train dispatcher in 1873 or 1874, the first circus train was ruh over the road by the late P. T. Barnum, consisting of two trains, and was accompanied by officials of the road. While these circus trains 1 were on the road, it was necessary to keep the dispatcher's office open at night, but at all other times, except at times during snow blockades, the office was closed at night and on Sunday, there being no freight or passenger trains run on that daV except when freight accumulated at the terminals on account of blockades. “The rolling stock of > the road consisted of forty engines, all wood burners. In 1873 William Jackson, master car builder of the shops and road, located at Rome, built the first coal burner engines ever run on the road. They were named J. W. Moak and J. S. Farlow, and used on passenger trains, the engineers being Sam Purdy and- Asa Rowell. The freight business and local freight office were located at the Junction, one engine named the Montreal handling all the freight during the day time only.”