New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-01-29
DANGER OF A MILK FAMINE
COUNTRY ROADS NEARLY ALL BLOCKED.
GREAT DELAY on THE MAIN LINES-FEw FREIGHT
TRAINS ENTHUSIASTICALLY OF WATER IN
LONG ISLAND CITY-sOUND STEAM

Frs MAY BE STOPPED.
After a continuous reign of nearly 100 hours
northwest storm signals remain favorites with the
Signal Service. Railroad men often turned mplor-
ing eyes yesterday toward the tall flagstaff
which surnouDts the Equitable Building, hop
ing to find that the red and white flags
had been replaced by more quoting indica-
tions. But they were disappointed. Since early
on Wednesday morning flags by day and lights by
night have held the fort" The sixty-mile hurri-
cane. however, had been replaced at sunset last
evening by a less furious gale. with velocity Of
snly twenty-s miles an hOur. giving hope Of such
a cessation of hostilties would permit the work
of cleaning the snow from the deeply cuts
aud tracks of all the lines to go uninterruptedy
Sergeant Daniels who conducts the New-York
end of the Weather Bureau holds ont the hope that
this evening he may take in his distressful signals
and give the railroads q chance to get back into
working order. He promised that the cold
weather which ranged here between 0 and
IL degrees Fahrenheit yesterday should
be succeeded to-day by supply
from warmer clmes. Albany, Oswego and Buffalo
continued be cold spots In this State yesterday
with the Thermometer between zero and de-
grees below and a swift breeze blowing. Oswego
Syracuse and Rochester were treated to about
foot of fresh snow each.
LITTLE IMPROVEMENT on THE RAILROADS.
None Of the railroads were able to report much
Improvement yesterday in the condition OF their
running facilities. They were using all the exer-
tiOns which they were able to concentrate in pow
erful locomotives big snow-ploughs and large
gangs of laborers to keep their passenger trains
moving. As q general thing freight traffic has
been abandoned. With the exception of goods
transported by the express companies, little freight
IS being moved.
sent out on time, but few. # any, came in accord;
ing to the schedule. The Chicago trains were all
from two to tour hours behind time. The st. Lo9is
express, due at IL a. M. arrived at p. N. The
Saratoga express was ab0ut an hour late.
The p. m. express from the West
e n ur hours b.hnS iu i and
the Michigan Central express was three hours ate.
Greater loss of time by the vestlbule train is ex-
planned by the fact that steam taken from the en-
gIne to heat the tram far depletes Its traction
al the trains" said Assistant General Super,
one to three hours late at Buffalo.
At the place five miles wet of Albany where we
have had so much trouble we have succeeded IN
keeping two OF our four tracks clear of snow But
on our Western DIVISION things are IN bad condi-
tOn from drifting snow. They have had a fresh
fall OF ten inches between Syracuse and Rochester
to-day, which with the driving wind will give us
trouble on that part of the road II this wind
would only subsIds we would soon get
matters into shape again. Our milk trains
We began moving out freight trains at noon to-
day on the Hudson Division. Several hundred
freight trains have been stopped at East Syracuse
and West Albany"
THE BLOCKADE IN CONNECTICUT.
The New-York, New-Haven and Hartford trains
came in yesterday on time. The trouble on the
Housatonic road confines. Just north of Falls Viii
lage there is a cut quarter Of mile IN length.
and over half a mile of the road is covered
at this point with a depth Of twelve
to fifteen feet Of snow. A blockade
began there Thursday night and has not been
raIsed. To add to the complications the laborers
employed in clearing the road struck Yesterday
for higher wages. They were getting$1 30 per day,
but wanted 81 80. Work was suspended to await
negotiations The Shore Line is all right. Pas
sengers from Montreal came in yesterday and have
been delayed twelve to fifteen hours by the
blockade.
mont to report and the general officers were able
to promise none until the WIND changed
General Manager j. ID. Laing said
"The wind Is subsiding somewhat on this side of
Syracuse, but west of that we have been treated 10
an addition of ten inches of snow: This VIII make
things very bad on our Buffalo Division. Our pas
ing from three to eight hours late.'
TRAINS BEHIND ON ERIF.
On the Erie road great DELAYS continue TO be ex-
perenced. The main line Is reported open for the
passenper trains but they are all behind time from
one to eight or ten hours. The Dunkirk cypress
arriv ed at $50 a. M, over seven hours late. No
attempt is made to run freight trains, aud the
branch TO ads are blocked entirely. No trains are
expected on them until the weathdr changes.
At Binghamton the snow is reported to be twelve
to fifteen feet deep where the wind has blown it
into drifts, and at ElmIra, Susquehanna. Hornels-
Vile and other points the situation is almost as
bad. The trains make slow progress through
these drifts, and the paths made by the steam
snow -poughs for one tram filed up by the
wIud before anot her train arrives. ~,
On the Pennsy ylvania road all the western trains
came in Yesterday from one to three or four hours
late The delays were said to result from the heavy
snowfalls in the mountain gorges OF Pennsylvanla
At the office of the Delaware, Lackawanns ana
Western Railroad IL asserted that It's trains
had Inado a great improvement I'D time over ,he
previous days showing The Western express due
at PAS arrived at p. and the morning express
from Buffalo only forty minutes late
DREADING A MILK FAMINE.
The dread of q milk famine result of the
blockade was prevalent yesterday The milk
trains on the New-York Central and New-lork
and New-Haven roads have come through
with little delay. When 1t is remem-
bered. however, that similar trains on the
Erie. the West Shore, the New-York, Susquehanna
and Western and the New-York and Ontario have
been delayed from ten to twenty-four hours or
have been blockaded up entirely the, fear that Is
growing OF a failure Of the milk supply Is not sur
1t Is estimated that at least two.thlrds OF the
sources of New-York's dependency for milk nav nave
ware and the Waikiki Railroads. which connect
with the West shore road at Kingston aud start
many cars of milk for New-York. are wholly
abandoned and have been ABLE to run no trSids cds
since Thursday morning. All the country roads
concentrating in Kingston are also impassaoie
The branch roads of the Erle when also Orlng ia
large quantities of milk. in the same SITUATION
The condition of affairs the New-iork, Susque :
hanna and Western and the New-fork, ontario ana
Western similar Unless the hoped LOT chahge
in Wind and temperature comes soon, II Is proDaDle
that the nnpleasantness and suffering consequent
upon milk famine NAV he close at hand.
This threatens a serious embarrassment to the hos.
pials aud institutions under the DeParm1e9noo0 ne 600 90
Charities and Correction, Every gay inoVU w,
quarts of milk arrive by the early milk trains lof
the asyums Commissioner Porter was assured .1'
last evening that the trains supplying the instltn
tions would be resumed to-day ana the I'D iidh u, III
be regularly delivered to the institutions Dy a. III
All the milk was secured yesterday ana and
on Friday. but where the hs trains nsocured msd
hv tho cnnIractors from other quarters and With