The Douglas independent. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 187?-1885, 1884-03-08
JIM tIsKs PALAcE-cAR.
Fitted Up Regardless OF Expense and
New serving as wreckfng-Car.

Fitted Up Regardless Of Expense and
Now serving as . wreckfng-Car.
New York Sun
J On a siding near the repair-shops of
the New York, Lake Erie & Western
railroad Ii an old car. bearing O. its
side the legend, .Tool- Car It is used
to carry the wrecking gang of the Sus-
quehanna division and their tools. I
was looking OF the car, recently, and
one OF the employees said:
81 suppose you would be surprised il
you knew to whom this car used to be-
long"
Whose was it n" / asked.
'"This car he replied, ''has rather q
remarkable history. When Jim Fisk
was president of the old Erie he had q
car built for his own private use, and it
was named after Josie Mansfield The
car was built down in Delaware some
where, / think, and it cost a mint
of money. When Fisk ordered it he
gave only instructions to build him
car in which he could travel and enjoy
himself. When it was finished and de-
livered to Fisk, he was so pleased with
the orkmanship that he Immediately
sent a check for 81 900 to the man who
had designed the car and had charge of
the work. The actual cost of the car was
not far from $4,000, which in those days
was an enormous sum for one car. It was
fitted up throughout in the most luxu-
rious style It was finished inside with
oiled walnut and cherry, and the panels
were adorned with oil paintings, which
alone cost large sum. All the appoint
ments of the car were correspondingly
expensive. At one end were sleeping
apartments and dressing and toilet
rooms. The remainder of the car was
a travelling drawing-room. In those days
the idea of taking meals on board
train was unheard Of, but Fisk used to
have wine and elicacies for lunch, ard
hired butler, whose special duty was
to take care of the car wherever it went.
I'm those days he used to do some
pretty tall travelling. He had an en-
gine at his command, and when he
wanted to go over the Erie he went fly
ing along at rapid rate, regardless of
all other trains, which had to get out of
the way. It was Fisk who ran the fast
train over the Ere carrying beef to the
sufferers by the Chicago fire. When
he made up his mind to send out the re-
lief train he sent for Engineer Sam
Walker, of Port Jervis, to come to his
private Office. SAM he says, I want
you to run that train through
to Port Jervis as quick as
God will let you. If you are
killed I'll look out for the wife and
little ones Walker took the train
through in the unparalleled time of two
hours and ten minutes. Nat Taft, I
think, took it over the Delaware divi-
sion. At any rate it WAS a tremendous
run, and the Erie beat them all into
Chicago.
Fisk was a. great favorite with the
railroad men. He always had good
word for us whenever he was around.
When Fisk died the car was used by
his successor for while and afterward
did some duty on the eastern part of
the road It afterward found its way
here for repairs. When they came to
look it over they decided that it would
be.,useless expense to repair it, and 50,
after lying on the switch for year or
two, it was turned into wrecking-car,
as you now see it.