The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1888-02-25

EARLY SOUTHERN RAILR0ADIEG
Running without Cepssss-s.=sns
Stories Told By she Oldest Isaflros
Treasurer.
The oldest railroad treasurer In til
United States lives in this city, says
letter from Raleigh. N. c., and his e,
periences in the matter of railway con
munication cover period which en-
braces practically the inception an
the completion of that mode of trave
and traffic His name is William W
Vass. He was born in Granville coun
ly. North Carolina. in 1921. lie bear
SO well his burden of &c years tina! b
does not look day over so. He en-
tered business life as a clerk, in hi
native county. in l841, and two year
later. by his assiduity and quickness
was given partnership. In 1888 thu
construction of the Raleigh and Castor
railway began. It was slow work
Years crept by. The $500. 900 given by
stockholders was all consumed. The
state, on mortgage of the road, adj
vanced like sum. This was also ex
pended. 1t was not until 1914 that the
road was completed. In 1916 Maj. Vass
became its treasurer.
Never did any man undertake q
worse bit of work. The debt was i'm
mense for those days. the receipts
small. the road the butt of ridicule and
derision. Matters went along from
bad to worse until 1849. when the road
was forfeited to the state, under the
terms Of Its mortgage. Maj. Vass was
In that year elected president of the
road, but continued to exercise at the
same time all the duties of treasurer.
The road thus passed into the control
Of the state. and Gov. Manly and the
state officers became a board of con-
troll.
That year there was an exciting cam
paign, whose memory fingers yet. 1t
was between the railroad and the anti
railroad factions. or rather as it was
then known, a fight between the inter-
nal Improvement and anti-internal i'm
provement parties. OF the former,
James B. Sheppard was the candidate;
of the latter, William A. Graham,
afterward secretary of the United
States. So great was the hostility to
railways that those who favored them
were objects of contumely, and in fact
of popular hatred. People were actu-
ally superstitious. There were two
railroads in the state-the Wilmington
and Weldon (now an important link in
the Atlantic Coast line) and the Ra-
leigh and CASTOR. Most people desired
return to the stage-coach days. The
farmers said they could no longer sell
their grain and forage. il railways
came into vogue. as they did to the
stage companies. Old women declared
that they could raise neither vegetables
nor poultry along the line of the rail-
ways. and one woman actually spent
much Of her time now in cursing and
now in praying against the Raleigh
and CASTOR line. Despite this power
full pressure and clamor, but by mar
row majority. Che internal Improvement |
party triumphed.
Under these unfavorable auspices
Maj. Vass entered upon his duties as
president. The road was seventy-five
miles in length. 1t ran in an eccentric
far removed from straight
line. as it passed by the houses of GER
tain large stockholders who demanded
that as condition of their subscrip-
lions The road had to be operated
without capital. A few days before
he end OF the month President Vass
would go before the board of control
md make oath as to what sum he
believed he could run" the road on
or the next thirty days. This SUM
vas on average about $6. 600 per month.
10 had to DO extremely careful. The
opposition to the road in particular and
o railways in general was such that
1t failed 10 meet expenses it was in
yitably downed. Maj. Vass kept
within the limit. He told all the en-
'loyes how he had 10 skimp and save.
IL paid engineers $25 per month, his
uperintendent $50. while firemen and
aborers received from $3.50 to $3.50
er month. The receipts of the road
ept ut Just about $4,000 monthly. L
In those days the road wasbuilt of 8
RINGERS OF pine or white oak laid up
q stills. The latter were about six feet s
part. All the timber was cut and
ewed by hand. On the stringers. 7
'hich ran parallel, were nailed bars 9
strap-iron half an inch in thickness,
NO inches wide, and with a little \
snge. These were fastened with rough t
ails Of medium size. The road own t
4 four engines which bore the terrible v
ames of Tornado. Volcano. Spittire. ii
I'd Whirlwind. They were very small, t
it'll 10-inch cylinders. and sputtered d
nd smoked in an awe inspiring man c
Or. There were no cabs to The engines; s
20 engineers took the weather as Q
came. They burned Tie most resin v
is p.ne-wood obtainable and always t.
Irried several bushels of rosfn for r
70 In sudden emergencies. The cars @
ere small affairs. holding twenty
'ople. An entire train was not longer 8
an an engine, tender. and baggage Ii
r. of to-day, The speed was not over c.
n miles an hour, containing stops, o
hich were nearly as much SO. The 8
lmber of passengers was very rarely in
er twenty. b.
Leaving CASTOR as soon as possible la
fter breakfast" the train headed for
leigh. The passengers expressed th
. pious hope that they would have oil
cd luck on their trip to Raleigh. ST
le conductor, when asked rs to the CT
ne at which he expected 10 reach an
leigh, invariably answered.: 'If the w