Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-07
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Pensions One of the Oldest Con-
ductors on Its Line.
WOMEN OUT-TALK A LARGE CROWD
That Gathers and Bets on the One Who Will
First Move to Finish an Inter-
eSting Conversation.
A BELGIAN MAKES A PECULIAR BREAK.
Chats and Interviews Turned in by Reporters After
Their Rambles

That soulless condition so frequently as
cribed to wealthy corporations does not al
ways exist 1t sometimes happens that
long, efficient and faithful allegiance is
Justly rewarded. The Baltimore and Ohio
road has just done a graceful act in the re-
tirement of Thomas Drake with liberal
pension for the balance of his days. Mr..
Drake was one of the Oldest conductors on
the line having run on the Pittsburg divi-
sion for SS years. He is now ~ years OF
age, and has beautiful little home at Bis
sch. For long time he had charge of the
Bissell accommodation.
A recital of Mr.. brakes long service
would be practically history of the Pitts
burg end of the Baltimore and Ohio road.
He was conductor on the trains that ran
from ConnellsYille to Port Perry, where the
passengers were transferred TO the Pennsyl-
vania road and brought into the city. In
those days the two lines were connected by
4 sort Of 4 loop at that place.
Not Pittsburg Road Then.
The road then did not run into Pittsburg,
but finally its projectors extended the tracks
along the river into the city. This was the
old Pittsburg and Connellsville line, and in
later years it became part of the extensive
system of the Baltimore and Ohio road.
General W H. Koontz, of Somerset, loves
to tell how permission was secured from
the State Legislature to extend the Pitts
burg and Conneilsville road over the mount
aims to Cumberland. Even at that early
period the Pennsylvania was in the hands
fa,s sirrl+ al hn halI boi,
the body of law makers at Harrisburg. A
bill was passed for a wagon road over the
mountains which concealed a powerful SER
pent, and the extension of the Pittsburg
and Connellsville line was the outcome
For once the Pennsylvania people and their
allies were Outwitted, and Mr. Koontz never
thinks of the event without considerable
merriment.
Another One on the Retired List.
Another old conductor who was retired
last year was Pop" Kennedy, as the bows
on the Pennsylvania line Familiarity call him.
He is now living at Williamsburg, and is
among the oldest of the conductors of that
great corporation. Mr.. Kennedy had a
genial, kindly way about him that endeared
him to the travelling public. There were few
who rode on his train that were not on
4dlullldT l6IulS VIII lli6 Olu ne WAS
very fond of children, and in collecting
fares from the mammas he never failed to
duck the cherubs under the chin. This
was not a trick of his to make
himself popular, but because he really
loved babies Drake and Kennedy were
two conductors very much alike in dispo-
sition. They were good natured, and for
this reason seldom had any trouble with
passengers, and two frmer men could not,
be found when occasion required an exercise
of this quality. 1t is said of Drake FlAt he
knew every blade of grass along the, Ralti-
more and Ohio road, so familiar was he with
the sights on the line. The lives of these
men show that not all who engage in rail-
road work are killed or manned. Though
frightful wrecks do occur, their frequency is
growing less as new safety appliances are
introduced and the system is pushed toward
perfection.