The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1892-12-10
THE PACKERTON YARDS.
A BUSY HIVE or nusrrr i~busrnr.
splendid Description Of thi' alley Yards
AZ rackerton where Man, len are
Employed.

/ The yards of the Lehigh Valley Rail
road company, at Packerton, present
busy scene aud are the largest Of theii
| kind in the world, says the Bethlehem
Star. Il is here that the long Goa
trains that drag their black length.
| through the hills along the Lehigt
come from, their burdens consigned tC
| the various markets of the United
| States. just at this time of the yeal
I the yards are seen at their busiest
sending out the large part of the an
thracite coal supply that the Lehigl
region furnishes. There are about lOt
tracks altogether in the yards upon
which the trains are made up. The
yards are the place where order is got
ten out of the chaos into which the
cars are thrown at the mines; the place
at which the coal is weighed and the
place whence the coal is sent on the
way to the purchaser.
The Packerton yards begin about a
mile or so below Mauch Chunk and
extend for about two miles until their
tracks all end in the two main lines
that form the Lehigh Valley railroad
On one side is high bluff, upon which
the town of Packerton is located and
on the other is the Lehigh river The
arrival of the coal trains at the yards
from the mines and their disposal is
an interesting work, and a Star repor-
ter spent part of an afternoon there a
few days ago, watching il, and picked
up some points regarding it. He was
accompanied by G.. W. Harleman, the
trainmaster of the Lehigh division,
who knows every foot of the division
araI oil akts gfiA AnNt ufslrg frugf Nha a.s
child knows its pri ner He intro.
duced the reporter to those in charge
of the yard and assisted him in getting
his information.
When the coal trains arrive from the
mines they are attacked by small
army of inspectors who 90 over them,
and under them for that matter, and
put in the best of repair any needing
1t. No car is allowed to go out of the
yard that is not in perfect condition.
After the cars are inspected they are
weighed. This is the most interesting
part of all the handlingthey go through,
The scales are located at the foot of
the hill at the upper end of the yard.
They are l23 feet long aud one track
passes over them. All the coal that
leaves the yard passes over these scales.
A shifting engine is attached to a train
of the cars and they are "hyedn down
the track across the scales. There are
brakemen who "cut" the.cars of each
shipment and as they pass over the
scales their weight is recorded by the
weigher who sits in the little building.
When the weigher announces the
weight the clerks put the figures down
in pencil in a book provided for the
purpose. One of the clerks, who at
tends to the tear of the cars, sits at a
large window and gets it off the cars
as they run past. This tare is deducted
from the total weight of coal. The cars
are run over the scales at a speed of
from eight to ten miles an hour, and
just now coal is being weighed there at
the rate of 10000 ton per twelve
hours. Despite the speed at which the
the cars are run over the scales, there
is hardly ever an error made in the
weight, so perfect have become the
clerks in the office. The tonnage is
checked up every day and in every in
stance corresponds with that of the
manifests. The tonnage is telegraphed
to the Office in Philadelphia, where it
is received every morning before 8
o'clock. Eight men are employed in
the scales office.
Coal from fifty collieries in the Wy
oming, Beaver Meadow, Hazleton and
Mahanoy regions is received at and
passes through this yard.
There are thirty-five men employed
in running the cars over the scales
and into the various tracks. These
men sit ON the cars that make up the
shipment and after theyhave passed the
scales, give the signals indicating upon
which track they are to go. These sig
nails are given to switchman below
the office, who in turn give them to the
boys who attend the switches leading
to the various tracks. There are in the
yard in which the loaded cars are run
the following tracks, all running off at
intervals from the main scales track
or "leader as it is called: Reloading
track, upon which are run cars, con
tents of which must be reloaded into
by reason of some defect in
the first car; the hospital track, which
is used for similar purposes to the re-
loading track; Perth Amboy track,
Metuchen track, Belvidere- Delaware
track, furnace coal track, way coal
track, South Plainfield track, Bethle-
hem track, Bethlehem Iron Company
and Lehigh Zinc Company track, Port
Delaware track, North Penn track and
Morris and Essex railroad track. The
coal for these is placed upon the track
named in order to facilitate its move
ment. A record of the cars and the
tracks upon which they go is kept by
a man who copies their numbers and
destinations as they speed past him
after leaving the scales. He is, as must
be imagined, skillful and accurate
penman. On him depends a great deal
"A knowledge of the whereabouts of
the cars. The yards will hold 1900
loaded cars and as many empty cars
The latter are placed on the right hand
side of the main line of the railroad
going to the mines and the former on
the right side as the trains come from
the mines.
The yards are lighted 10y thirty arc
lights and six engines are engaged
making up trains and drilling cars
There is grade of twenty-five feet to
the mile in the yards and this aids in
getting the trains together, in fair
weather About fifty cars per day are
reloaded on account of repairs being
necessary. The engines that are used
in 'fiying" the cars over the tracks and
into the yards have attached to them
a car for the purpose of carrying the
men back to the starting point after
the cars are drilled. These cars are
equipped with side bars which are
used TO push cars TO which sufficient
momentum to get them ON their track
was not given IN the first ''fiy" 1t is in
the lower yard that the trains are made
uD and started for their destinations.
In these yards may be found some of
the oldest employees of the Lehigh Val
ley railroad, men who helped to build
the road in 1855 and 1856. For instance
there is Thomas Harleman, the dis
patcher, who has charge Of the move
ment of all trains. He has been work
ing for the company for fifty-two years,
having been an engineer on the Beaver
Meadow road, which the Valley after
wards leased, for nineteen years He
has been in the Packerton yards since
1866. An old mani Well, no indeed.
He is big, strong and vigorous and ap-
parently is good for another half cen
tury of railrOading. He has "a sou,
Thomas j. Harieman, who assists him,
who has been in the yards since 1868
The father can tell interesting tales of
the evolution of railroading since the
time he entered the life. Packerton
yards had but three tracks in 1864;
now it is over hundred. Mr. Harle-
man is of a family of railroaders, all
his brothers, sons and nephews follow
ing it for a livelihood. Another old
timer is Il. NJ Williams, the forward
ing agent, who is in charge of the
shipments. He has been there since
1867, when he was employed as switch
boy lie was gradually promoted aud
finally became assistant to Col. H. b.
Berryhill, now deceased. lie continued
in the position under +. b. Morris, and
when the latter was transferred TO
Perth Amboy he became his successor.
Sir. Williams rise is the result of push
and merit He has thirty four clerks
under him who work in the various