Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1878-10-31
THRILLING SUtNES BY RAIL.
Thirty Yea = as Bagsase-Nlastcro on tn,
Erie Read.

Thirty Yea as BagSaSe-Mastcr ON the
Erie Read.
"In the fall of 1849 I commenced running
baggage on the New York and Erie Railway
said Mr.. John Camp, one Of the oldest throu Oh
haggagemen in the company's employ,in con.
yersation with the writer at the Erie depot
foot of Chambers street, "and a rough time
we had of it, too. Rairoading was at tina,
period in it's infancy, the steam locomotive
Was new thing, and was everywhere regard
ed 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
rickety cars and cheap rails with these modern
coaches and solid locomotives, comfortable
cars, heavy steal rails and reliable air brakes
l am as much astonshed at the improvements
| as people were at the first invention. 70,
see, we had no reliable arrangement in the
matter of brakes, and these terrible ole
machines used for that purpose We're simpl,
chain worked at each end by sort OF wheel
which, when turned by strong e3ertion
pressed block Of iron made to tit the face O
OF the wheel, tightly against it, similar TO
like construction on heavy wagon. Well
the boys detested these brakes, which wert
dangerous thing to handle by an inexpe
rienced man, with The train going at full speed
More than one poor fellow has received hi:
deatL, from the breaking of the chain while
operating these bungli,g machines. In the
absence OF name for the brakes of that day
the boys used to call them the Armstrong
Brake,' which was we'll apl led, as it required
full amount of muscle and nerve to operate
them
II began running from New York, by wa,
of P,ermont, before the roat was open to Sui
ferns. We used to transfer passengers and
baggage up the Hudson River to Piermon
from-our old depot, which was located at TIT
foot Of Duane street, on two boats owned by
the company, and from that place westward
by rail. The completion of the road dowr
| through New Jersey is of more recent date
After few months the road was opened tt
Elmira, and thence up to Jefferson (nOw Wat
kinsj at the foot of Seneca Lake, and ou
traffic was transferred from that place by boa
to Geneva and on to Buffalo. The year aftel
we ran to Hornellsville, and about 1851, o.
Whereabouts, we reached Dunkirk, then thu
western terminus.
think that the section from Port Jervis tx
Deposit was about the worst and most dan
gerous of any in the country, being either Gu
in The rocks cliffs em"anking the river, where
in case of = slight accident the whole trair
would have been hurled down the precipc,
fully 100 feet, into the foaming waters be
meath, or laid through the low WOODLAND
marshes, clear down to the rivers level.
was in these high cuts that the danger o
| rocks on the track was most feared A Sigh
rain OR the moistening of the ground occas
Toned by the frost leaving it in The spring o
the year, woull start a lar"e rock, which
would fall to- the track, and should trair
collide with it in the night, the chances were
in favor of a wholesale slaughter.
From Lackawaana to Hancock we were
pretty near down to the low water mark, ane
with slight freshet our track was subject t.
being washed out for a long distance, nus re
curing great deal of watching and repairs
and in each case of such a WashOut I have
| Known trains to be blocked for day or two
It's not the most agreeable thing in the worli
to be thus delayed, and not house within
| ten miles OF the spot Perhaps more accidents
have occurred on this division than any othel
| two divisions combined, and it is a wonder t.
me that We have not all been hurled into
eternity. From Deposit to Suquhanna it is
up and down hill, the grade running for eigh
| miles On each side of the summit at a slope O.
gu feet TO the mile. Along the section was
the old Cascade Bridge, familiar to tourists al
| the highest structure of this kind in the State
and which being washed out was subsequent
~ filed IN with gravel, over stone calvert
making ma yawning ravine on either side fully
Chemung Valleys the road Is good, thu
scenery through this section is not eurpasset
for picturesqueness throughout the State, ant
hundreds OF dwellings aud farms dot tn,
hillside and valley, Y til here and there
neat little village. The principal stations OF
this division are Binghamton, Owego ant