Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1872-11-29

From the Detroit Post, 10Th.
On Sunday, without the slightest
delay of passenger trains, the guage
of the Grand Trunk Railway, from
Sarnia to Buffalo, distance of 1876
miles, was changed from the wide
to the narrow guage-a work never
before accomplished or attempted.
Mr.. Bridges, the managing direc.
tor OF the road, informed our re-
porter yesterday that some months
since it was decided to change the
guage, experience having proven
the narrow guage to be the best in
all respects. Beside, nearly all the
connections of this road, especially
those in New England, are narrow
guage, and this change will obviate
much of the heretofore necessary
delay and trouble Of trans-shipmcnt
or change of car-guage.
Once decided upon this change,
the preparations commenced in ear
nest. At the car shops a large
force Of men were set to work man.
ufacturing narrow-guage cars, and
already 800 freight and 10 passen-
ger cars have been completed
These will be used on the Buffalo
line, and the passenger train which
left this city last evening was COM
posed Of portion of these passen-
ger coaches. A sufficient number
OF narrow-guage locomotives have
also been procured to operate the
road from this city to Buffalo.
While the cars, locomotives, ETC.,
were building, other preparations
were being made elsewhere. Gangs
Of men were set to work all along
the line from Sarnia to Buffalo 1.-THE
section between Detroit and Port
Huron was already narrow guage),
clearing away all obstructing earth
and driving the spikes that were
soon to hold the inside tlange of the
rails. This done, there only re.
manned the drawing of the present
inside spikes, the pushing of the
rails over TO the newly-driven ones,
the driving Of still others at the
outside of the rails, and the guage
Of the road is changed. This great
work was accomplished in single
day and night.
At 6 o'clock Sunday morning the
last train on the road was switched
upon side-track at Stratford, at
which hour 600 men, in small gangs,
commenced labor at nearly 100 diff
ferent points. The levers with
which the spikes are drawn as east
ly and nearly rs rapidly as nails
pulled with a claw-hammer, were
first brought into use, and the
spikes holding the rails on the inner
side were drawn, the rails pushed
over to their places, the spikes re-
driven-and slowly and surely the
work went on, hand-cars following
the gangs with provisions, extra
tools, and everything that there was
probability would be needed
Each gang of men had certain
specified section of road to finish,
and majority of these completed
their work in Is hours; but for 40
miles west of Buffalo about two feet
of snow had fallen on Saturday, and
this had to be removed with shov-
els. At 5 o'clock Monday morning,
however, the whole was finished,
and at that hour 1.-THE regular time)
a train left Stratford for the west,
and all other trains during the day
the same as usual.
Upon the main line 10 change of
guago will be made yet for two
years, it being impossible to sooner
construct the immense number of
cars and locomotives required to
operate the IFS miles of continuous
railway between Stratford and Port
land, to say nothing of its hundreds
Of miles of branch lines. At the
the expiration of that time, however,
it is expected by the officers of the
road that the guage, both of the
Trunk line and its branches, will be
changed. Meantime, shift guage
cars will be used, the change being
effected at Stratford, thus avoiding
trans-shipment. To meet the pres
ent requirements of the road 1000
Of these cars have been provided,
and moro are being constructed.