The New York herald., 1878-09-30

SIZES,
Properly shaped wedges OF hard wood should have
been used TO countersct the sinking which viii occur
IN such lreslies.
From Far Rockaway to Ocean Point there 10 a
double track Al the former place, where the double
switches into tue single track along tho sands, the
switch is IN charge OF "A telegraph OPERATOR mere
are now twenty-lour trains aay ana In the summer
there were tnirtyeisEt or more. Tins operator. AN
irteihgcnt young man, Is on duty Tor fourteen aaa
half hours daily. Along the double track 10 Ooean
Point The roadbed and rhe latter, how.
ever, lie so loosely under t3e ran mat
stepping on some OF them the opposite
ral tipped up ut the joint. The rails in some parts
are in good condition, but beyond Lawrencc station
they cut jammed aud spayei. fhs CONTINUES
through Ocean Poul pas, wooa.ourg and Hewletts TO
Valley stream, wnere the trains are made up going
cilhcr way. connecting with those running along the
Southern division to and from Hunters Point and
Brooklyn To Paichoguc
The n.y. ing switchngs OF cars OF and OF trains
which meet at tins point are made in what seems
runs ana wesi tor ming az II joins the south
road each sido OF the station There are hore
eleven switches now In charge Of an intelligent, but
deaf engineer who also attends to tho engine OF
pump which supplies water 10 the company's TANKS
THIS is situated At the western cnd Of ono
the switches nearly an eighth OF mile from his
| eugue house, the tar,hsst being situated the
eastern exirenty OF one arm OF the and at tho
! branching point The swiichman aud engineer's
to eight =. NJ during which ne has seventeen
trains TO swilch, III addition 10 taking care OF MS
engine fhe man who did the work before was re-
| moved account OF train beng thrown oil tho
track some weeks account oil ms earelessness.
he had only the switches to attend TO ana some eea-
era work about the station. With singular inc0n
sistency his work has been put the shoulders OF
the pump engineer who is deaf that he co uid not
! hear tram unless close 10 him.
MEADOWS
One Of the worst sections OF the Rockaway road Is
that running the salt meadows from Ocean Point
to Spring. Junction. which, as above stated, IL
used III addition to the roundabout route via valley
Stream. ine writer walked some eight miles from
Jamaica through the latter place 10 the former, and
certainty never aworse road than that part known
cover the meadows" That tho cars run anything
but smoothly portion OF the road that they
sway from sido 10 side IN DANGEROUS manner anu
jump aud rattle ominousy over the trcsties II not
seem strange when the condition oil the road Is de-
scribed. While they should run slowly over tho
meadows they too fast Tor safety or comfort
! WuiKing along the track from Jamaica to Rockaway
Junction the tics wero iound to be poor ana often
rotten on the north track. The south track was III
| goo4 condi,ion ana has steel rails. Az Rockaway
Junction single track line runs off TO JON the central
division OF The al Hnsdaie, aud tue double track
leads.to Springfield Junction, whore tho southern d.
| vision and that secon OF the RocKaway branch eau.
| Ing over the meadows branch on Inc roadoeo OF
sandy gravel is iaIr
At Rockaway Junction the operator, who also al.
tends TO The I'VE swches during part o. tIe su'n. sun
mcr when The traffic was heavy had to be on duy
eighteen hours DAY, IRON i've A. NJ 10 eleven r. M.
He aiterward was given reiiei anu now has tweiVe
hours duty. From TINS junction 10 that OF Spring
neid the tracks are in good condition Oae spoi,
however, should receive attention. IL IS about milo
| out wncrc stream passes unuer the nigh eirUanE-
ment OF gravel ana sand. The ties here are pad
Leaving SpriDgded Juuclion the wfiter walked along
over the meadows, encountering Two trains
III her swaying course over hs bad siretch oi tracK
! The SANDY roadbcd SINKS continually and slopes
directly from the siugie track TO the long ditches
hlled with water whicn run along either sido oi Il.
Toe bong poor condition, large proportion
clualy rotten the rails present very uneven sur
face section men were met ut work along the Track
trying to put it IN shape there. The passing
! OF lew trains, however, soon undoes their work
BY larsc, swampy pond, across one side ot "nich
the sand ment bearing the track passes there
small cut 10 allow OF the passage oi the waters
This cutting Is Iimbered ana spanned py Deains sup
porting the track On sacn side oi me cut the sana
fallen and blown away from under the nearest ties
some twelve feet on each side, ieavng thom no sup
but the rail above which they themselves should
| .nii MN nunhl IN tnA Wpg
| eight feet OF the track, tho sand embankment of
| winch rises as many iest above II. The sand was
nearly as loose and as yielding as that oi the sea-
snore.
| GA reaching the meadows proper tho rails are bad
| in places and tho roadbcd Is sandy throughout
several trestle bridges OF considerable length span
| a wnding creek and all IN bad condition. rms
Insecure wedgng was observed as On tho bridge
| beyond Far Rocka.ay. Al an exceedingly primitive
draw small canal loading through The meadows
the ~ charge SAID that II took him ten minutes
get the OF; tnai 1t was In fearful order, Inc
railroad company not having II properly repaired
The track which runs Is broken IN SIX or seven
places For many escn side the railroad track
SINKS down IRON the BRIDGE The ties on the trestie-
work bridges are shaky ana In some paces not even
csmpea TO tho places they rotten
q Of The pms which should hod lhc rails
| TO them that the pins are OF no USE On Inc thrd
| bridge, tho long iuaina beams under the ties are
rotten at the ends anu the sind havi1g iaHen away
they Tree from the last crosspece 10 Their ends
raii side OF the track IN some places Is one
| inches lower than on the other. GA the
curve, up Ocean Point. tho rails and lies are both
! The next part OF the examined was that from
Jamaca, miles 10 Tue scene OF the lrst Of
the late accidents between Fresh Pond ana Penny
| Bridge not lar beyond the former Junction, toward
! Hunters Point starting IRON Jamaica the track
| was walked over toward Hunters Point, via
Fresh Pond, leaving IN" route Flatousn
avenue, which brancnes of at Jamaica, TO the
having good s'eei rails rne sw,tchman
Mt ,Inis poiut says that he mas sharp work aud AS
much nc eau attend 10, with eleven to .wslvs hours
Of duty. during the busy season he had 10 work
seventeen elgnteen hours ihrec switches are con
sianty use. At the station there isanoiher switch
unb.r nj VIII a Il
tou the dying switch business seems also To De leu
That the time aud the flag signalling Is some
! times faulty shown Dy the iact that during the
summer u train gong TO Valley Stream, which had
thros minutes start oi another bound Tor Rockaway
Beach VIA the Meadows WAS on the track az Jamaica
wien the tram, came up ana was ABOUT 10 run
into H. The hrs train ran up tho iino and an accident
prevented. The pilot OF the second irain touched
tue rear car the one and dlsasicr seemed
imminent to she brakeman there on du1y that he
dashed iuto the car
rnesc narrow escapes and those accidents which
occa but In which lives are lost, are Of frequent
occurrence along the route, though lew OF them be-
come known 10 The public. Occurring ip out oil the
way piac,s railroad officials succeed IN keeping
the m quiet. Wherever tnc writer spoke 10 switch
man or operator he learned oil some accident, COLL
zion running of the track which had occurred, but
OF which little or nothing had been heard Indeed.
station master not long ago SAID that on an average
ono accident occurred every week. Trains on Tue
route from Jamaica to Flalbusn avenue, brooklyn,
have during the past summer been frequently from
twenty minutes TO I'm Que easel Que hour and forty
minu'es behind time TINS. 100, mas bee, oeea
r.ute of Tho Long Island road. Al pres
| ent on the routes traversed by tho writer,
| the time seems tary kept. When there
delays IKE those above nolea "a liable rs OF little
aud the safcy OF passengers depends more ON tho
judgment OF those Ia charge oi tho ans than on The
regulations Tor The general traffic Of the road.
|
The read bca on tue route 10 Fresh Pond s oil loan
and gravel with sandy stretches not pprtcuariy sub
stanta The ties are poor aud the noting OF tue rot
ten ones was a tedious Job The rail rs sometimes
| highcr one sue several inches than on The
other. Near Port Richmond every second or tnird
rotten wnere the rails cross u and often split
all tho way across. Ia macy cases the whoic end OF
the tie has disappeared aud IN others cauc
stuck IN by tne loOse ciampng spikes can
be showed aown several inches without meeting
| any resistance. AT places every tie is
unit Tor usc Tor fifteen leei. Through the
woods Nbctween Rich mond Hill and Glendale the ties
are ve9 bad The smbansment rises IRON the forest