New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1878-11-06

hopes OF my age, DC We nxe0 on your loo! u
- st. George Tucker. Y
THRILLING SCENES By RAIL.
Thirty Yea : as Bagsage-naster ON the
Erl~ Road. I53 81
t'In the fall OF 1849 commenced running
baggage on the New York and Erie Railway =
said MIR. John Camp, one Of the oldest through
'aggagemen in the company's employ, in con-
versaliOn with the writer at the Erie depot.
foot of Chambers street, "and 8 rough time
we had of it, too. Railroadng was at that
period in it's infancy, the steam locomotive
Was new thing. and was everywhere regard
I'd as one Of the wonders of invention. Doing
away with, as 1t did, the old tedious stage lines,
and making the distance in far less time, with
none of the Inconvenience of the early
methods of conveyance, it was, of course,
generally attractive.
But still, when look back and compare
our old cabooses, small wood burning engines
rckety cars and cheap rails with these modern
coaches and solid locomotives, comfortable,
cars, heavy steal rails and reliable air brakes,
am as much astonshed at the improvements
az people were at the first invention. You
zee. we had no reliable arrangement in the
matter of brakes, and these terrible old
machines used for that purpose were simply
chain worked at each end by a sort Of wheel,
which. when turned by strong exertion,
pressed block Of iron made to tit the face OF
Of the wheel, tightly against it, similar to a
like construction on heavy wagon. Well,
he boys deteeted these brakes, which were
a dangerous thing to handle by an inexpe-
rienced man, with The train going at full speed
More than one poor fellow has received his
DEATH, from the breaking of the chain while
operating these ,bungling machines. In the
absence Of name for the brakes of that day,
the boys used to call them the Armstrong
Brake which was well apt led, rs it required
= full amount of muscle and nerve to operate
them
II began running from New York, by wav
Of Permont, before the roat was open to Suf-
ferns. We used to transfer passengers and
baggage up the Hudson River to Piermont
from our old depot, which was located at the
foot Of Duane street, on two boats owned by
the company, and from that place westward
by rail. The completion of the road down
through New Jersey is of more recent date
After few months the road was opened to
Elmira, and thence up to Jefferson (now Wat
kinsj at the foot of Seneca Lake, and our
traffic was transferred from that place by boat
to Geneva and on to Buffalo. The year after
we ran to Hornellsvile, and about 1851, or
Whereabouts, we reached Dunkirk, then the
western terminus.
think that the section from Port Jervis to
Deposit was about the worst and most dan
gerous OF any in the country, being either cut
in he rocks cliffs em,.anking the river, where
in case of slight accident the whole train
would have been hurled down the precipice
fully lOJ feet, into the foaming waters be
meath, or laid through the low woodland
marshes, clear down to the rivers level. It
was in these high cuts that the danger of
rocks on the track was most feared. slight
rain or the moistening of the ground occas-
soned by the frost leaving it in the spring Of
tb<Au or ,rf Inv. oIr >s1l,
would fall to the track, and should train
collide with it in the night, the chances were
in favor of q wholesale slaughter.
From Lackawaana to Hancock we were
pretty near down to the low water mark, and
with slight freshet our track was subject to-
being washed out for long distance, thus re-
curing great deal of watching and repairs;
and in each case of such washout I have
known trains to be blocked for day or two.
IT'S not the most agreeable thing in the world
to be thus delayed, and not a house within
ten miles of the spot Perhaps more accidents
have occurred on this division than any other
two divisions combined, and it is wonder to
me that we have not all been hurled into
eternity. From Deposit to Suquhanna it is
up and down hill, the grade running for eight
miles on each side of the summit at slope OF
60 feet tot the mile Along the section was
the old Cascade Bridge, familiar to tourists as
the highest structure Of this kind in the State,
and which being washed out was bscquent.
ly filed in with gravel, over stone culvert,
making a yawning ravihe on either side fully
100 feet deep Along the Susquhanna and
ChemuDg Valleys the road is good, the
scenery through this section is not surpassed
for picturesqueness throughout the State, and
hundreds of dwellings aud farms dot the
hillside and valley, " tn here and there a
neat little village. The principal stations on
this division are Binghamton, Owego and
EmirA. In those early days Owego was the
largest and most thriving Of any, and was con-
nected by horse railroad with Ithaca; but
times changes have more favored Elmira and
Binghampton, until in fact they have far ad-
vanced beyond their sister-village, The road
was in fair condition the remainder OF the way
to Dunkirk.
''Our cars were rather poor affair com
pared with the palace drawing-room and ho-
tel coaches, but people were just as cOmfOrta
BILE then seated in an old box car with six
windows on side as those on the improved
plan. The engines were of smaller pattern
than the heavy coal burners at present in use,
and though not as strong, were capable of
pulling quite a load. Sometimes, in case of
delay, our wood supply would run out, and
then the whole force on the train was Obliged
to turn out and cut enough wood to enable us
to make the nearest station.
In the matter of baggage, where now
spacious new Saratoga or an Ornamented can
vaaed covered russell is necessity, an old
painted wooden chest. with iron handles, was
usual while hair-trunk and q carDet-hap