The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-11-20
RAILROAD t

The Lehigh Valley building in Phil
lipsburg for a steam plant has been fin
ished. Pipes have been laid underground
to various parts of the yard with outlets
at different. points to connect the same
with cars.
The election of a member of the adj
visory committee of the Relief Depart
ment of the Pennsylvania Railroad, on
the West Jersey and Camden and Allan
tic roads. is creating unusual interest
among the railroaders of this city and vi
cinity. There are several candidates, and
it is said that Conductor G. w. Ostrander
appears to be the favorite. j. A. Nichol,
who has represented the division for sew
eral years, has declined to serve longer.
The election takes place on Monday.
A serious washout was discovered on
the Bridgeton branch of the West Jersey
Railroad, near Bridgeton, on Wednesday
night, just in time to avert disaster.
The New Jersey Central, in connection
with the Philadelphia and Reading, is
about to open a new road to the region
about the Delaware Water Gap, through
the Lehigh and Lackawanna.
The clock in the tower of the Central
Railroad depot at C~ommunipaw has the
largest single dial of any in the country,
being over fourteen feet in diameter.
The Central Railroad on Tuesday began
to run freight and coal trains from Phil
lipsburg to Belvidere over the Pennsyl-
vania Road, and hence over the Lehigh
and Hudson River Road to the Pough-
keepsie Bridge. This gives the Central
Road a direct route from Phillipsburg to
the bridge and the cities lying east. The
Pennsylvania will lay double tracks along
the line from Phillipsburg for the accom-
mediation of the Central Roads trains.
AT the Erie Railroad depot for the past
two DAYS, Detective John Brown mas
f,aon coo nrotI1latn6 until he 10 triad ouap
his appointment rs Fire Commissioner.
All the commuters know him and every
one of them has had to shake with him.
Officials, trainmen and employees about
the depot nave felt it incumbent to do the
anne thing, and assert that Mayor Cleve-
land has made an excellent appointment.
The new Commissioner has torn away
from friends and gone 10 the country to
nurse his arm.
Miss Lizzie Taylor is the well known
cashier in the Erie depot restaurant. She
is popular with officials, employees and
patrons of the road, and when she sailed
a few months ago to visit her native
home in England the depot was lonesome
without her. But she has returned and
is again occupying her old position to the
satisfaction of g host of friends who have
given her a big welcome home.
The Erie is having its local passenger
trains do some lively running between Pat
erson and Jersey City. Engineer Stephen
Ronk is noted for being mi of the fastest
The time scheduled for his
train is thirty-nine minutes from New
York to Paterson with a stop at Passaic.
He left Jersey City two and a half min
utes behind time the other afternoon.
lie had picked up two minutes when the
train reached Passaic, and the half min
ute was recovered when Paterson was
reached, Ronk bringing his train in on
time. 1t was necessary to hold on to the
seats rounding some of the curves. Ronk
will get there on time If his engine holds
out. b management is very strict
at present about making time. Ii a
train is late the engineer has to
rise up and explain why it was thus.
Ii he cannot give a satisfactory reason,
u man is put on the engine that will make
the time. 1t used to be a favorite excuse
with engineers, when late, to claim that
their engine would not make steam,
When this excus is now made an expert
is put on with the engineer for a run to
ascertain if the report is correct. If the
engine is found all right, then it is a case
of walk for the engineer. 1t is noticeable
that young blood is taking the place of
the old at the throttle of the Erie's en-
gines, although here and there are seen
familiar faces in the cab windows.
The directors of the Pennsylvania Rail-
road have declared a semi-annual divi-
dend of two and a half per cent. payable
November 30.
Delegates to the Convention Of the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen,
held at Denver, unanimously voted in
favor of the proposal to federate all
branches Of labor on railroads.
John II. Metz, of the Road Masters
Office at the Erie Railroad depot, is a