Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1888-03-23
UP THE NARRow-GAUaB.
The Lime Roads Figh, with the
nj

HOW 1T WAS OPENED W IU IfAffll UNAh
NoRE-rHE RECORD or WEEKS HARD
wORE.
Communication on the narrow gauge
road, which was broken up by the great
storm. was re6stablshed last Tuesday after
a break Of eight days. Tho road was at a
from the fact that one Of the
mogul locomotives was stalled with the
mixed train At the upper end, while the
snow pillow with the other mogul started up
the line in the midst Of the storm on Mon
day afternoon Of last week, and had 10 fight
its way up without sufficient motive power
behind IT, The engine driving the pillow was
the Londonderry with II N. Whittier as
engineer and WIN Fleming, fireman. Mr..
Whittier started up the road al =. NJ. on
Monday the 18th, with five men besides
himself and his fireman. They made the
run 10 Williamsville woods, mile and
a-half above West Dummerston, in 30 min
utes, but here they got stalled, and it took
till dark 80 get through and up to the VIII
Evansville station. They staid at the station
over night sending three men of to a
farmhouse for something TO eat. These
men had a hard tussle in the storm, and did !
not get back till 1890 When at last they |
reached the farmers they had 10 dig away |
the snow from the door before they could |
get i'm. In the morning the engine and |
pillow were buried in the snow which had /
drifted in in the terrible gale They had no |
breakfast, and pushed on up the road, get |
ting to Rands crossing at the top Of sand |
hill, at noon At night they got 10 Bur |
lingames crossing, and staid at Alvin |
Gatess over night where they were hospt-
ably received Wednesday morning Mr.
Whittier worked up as far as Burditts
crossing, this side Of Newfane, and here he
staid all day bucking at the snow, which
was piled in higher than the engine smoke
stack. Running back to get Roadway, he
would drive the pillow into the drift. burying
it completely out Of sight. Then the men
would shovel away the snow from the
wheels the engine and pillow would run
back and make another drive, and 50 on
through the day, water being supplied from
snow shoveled into the tank and melted,
and a supply Of wood having been taken
on flat car from Wiliamsville. Wednes
day night the men staid again ut Mr.. Gates's,
and Thursday morning, getting on past this
blockade at last they pushed on towards
Townshend, anil met Thos Devine, the
road master, and Ned Prentss, fireman on
the mixed train, ON the Salmon hole grade
at o'clock =. NJ Thursday night the pillow
got two miles beyond Townshend and came
back 10 Newfane for the night.
Friday morning they pushed on, and at
1880 reached the mixed train, which had got
stalled the Monday forenoon before. ON its
way up, half "A mile above Jamaica station.
The mixed train was released and pulled
back 10 Jamaica station and side-tracked,
the locomotive " Brattleboro' got behind
the Derry" and "A start made ard
South Londonderry. Only a mile was ac-
complished, however, and the pillow, engines
/ and men came back and staid at Jamaica,
| the force Of shoveers having now been
/ increased 10 30 Saturday morning another
start was made up the line, but almost the
| first thing after the pillow struck the snow it
| left the iron, and went of down the bank
nearly into the river. Superintendent
Brooks was notified by wire 10 send wreck
ing tools to Williamsville by horse power
and Engineer Ross went down after them
with the "Brattleboro.' He got back at
2:30 r. NJ, and the pillow was got on the rails
again at dark The men stad at Jamaica
again that night, enjoying the cordial hos
pitality Of mine host Taylor of the Jamaica
House. All day was spent in fighting the
snow up around the mountain and thence
ON to So Londonderry, which was finally
reached in the evening. In many places a
solid wall Of snow wa left ON either side Of
the track a. high as the top Of the locomo
tive smoke.stack
Monday morning the machines were turn
ed around and headed toward Brattieboro,
no trouble being experienced until they
struck the section this side OF Nilliamsville
which had lain undisturbed since the Mon
day previous. In the Williamsyille woods
the BrattlebOro got of the irons, causing
some delay, and it WAS not until dark that
the machines reached the West river bridge
and struck the Valley road. 1t was long
hard job working from there down 10 the
station, for there was not only the hard
packed accumulation Of the storm to be re
moved, but also the snow thrown over by
the Valley pillow. In some places the mar
row gauge pillow threw the snow on the Val
ley track six feet deep, aud Mr. Brooks had
to send up the New London Northern pillow
10 clear the track 50 that the Valley trains
could pass. A passage was finally made
through sometime after midnight. and at ,
O'Clock in the morning Mr.. Severance start
ed up with the passenger train 50 as to
make the regular trip down in the morning
This the train did getting here about on
time, the suspension of travel having
covered just eight days Considering, how
ever, the motive power that could be used
only one locomotive being available to
work with-the record is a good one, for it
must be remembered that the great Penn
sylvana road with unlimited men and ma
chimes at hand was blocked for three days.
and the New York, New Haven and Hart
ford four days. 1t WAS hard, rough eX-
perience which Engineer Whittier and his
men had during the weeks fight, and they
are not anxious to repeat the experience.
Conductor Worthen's train was literally
buried in the snow rs it lay stalled Just
above Jamaica. Mr. Ross says his engine
was completely covered on Tuesday morn
ing, the heat from the boiler having simply
melted away space If five or six inches in
its jacket Of snow
Mr.. Brooks sent up team with mails
over the line ON Saturday morning. As
stated last week, Mr.. Cooley, the Williams
vile and Dover stage driver, came down
with mails on Friday aud again on Saturday.