Passaic City record., 1893-07-15
TRIP TO THE WORLDS FAIR
scenes Enroute Along the West shore
and Nickel Plate Lines.

great West Shore station at
Weehawken and we are already
plunging along through the dark
ness of the big tunnel. The green
fields of Jersey are passed and we
emerge from the Haverstraw tun-
mel far above the shining waters
of the beautiful Hudson. The
train fairly flies as we descend to
the level of the river at Haver-
straw, from which place to Kings
ton we enjoy the charming scenery
of the Hudson valley. The run
across country through the Mo-
hawk valley and along the famous
Erie canal is rapid and delightful.
The salt wells of Onondaga Lake
near Syracuse are especially inter
esting to travellers, as are the hop
fields OF the Oneida Community.
We arrive at Buffalo in time for
an early breakfast in the excellent
restaurant in Union Depot.
Before leaving Buffalo we wish to
say a word about the West Shore
railroad. We all know that It de-
rives it's name from the fact that
it runs along the Uest shore of the
Hudson river. 1t is a superbly
built and magnifcently equipped
trunk line between New York,
Albany, Buffalo and Niagara Falls,
and forms, in connection with the
famous Hoosac Tunnel Line and
the popular Nickel Plate Railway,
the shortest route between Boston
Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Cleveland
Chicago and St. Louis.
While traverslng the most
picturesque portions of a State
noted for its scenery, this railway
is complete in all its details of con-
struction and equipment. 1t is a
dou6le-hack steel rail line, with an
unusually wide space between
tracks, running north from New
York along the west shore of the
Hudson to Albany, and thence
through the fertile valley of the
Mohawk and across Central New
York, touching at Utica, Syracuse
and Rochester, to Buffalo and
Niagara Falls. It's grades are
easy, its curves are light, and its
steel rails are among the heaviest
known in railway construction.
Breakfast over, we take our
seats IN superb coach on the n.
Y. Chicago and St. Louis R. R.
(better known as the Nickel Plate
Line) and we are soon enjoying
the refreshing breezes from off
the pure waters of Lake Erie,
while our train rushes along its
southern shore. Every now and
then we pass over a high trestle
which span the numerous deep
gulches through which the many
small streams flow into the lake.
1t was while crossing the gulch at
Ashtabula Ohio, on December 2oth
1876, that a whole train, on the
Lake Shore road, broke through
the trestle and fell IS feet into
the frozen waters of Ashtabula
creek. Nearly one hundred per-
sons perished in the wreck, among
whom was that sweet singer P. P.
Bliss and his wife. We shuddered
as we passed over this awful chasm.
Our train speeds on and ere
long we pass the Garfield home
stead at Mentor, and soon after
ward see ON the left, the massive
tomb of the murdered President,
James A Garfield.
We are now in Cleveland where
we stop for lunch.
AS our train draws out of the
station we are afforded a grand
view of the wonderful viaducts,
thousands of feet long and a hun
dred feet high, which span the
deep valley which divides the city.
These viaducts are gigantic mon
uments of engineering skill. But
we can't linger here. Our train
speeds on and before we are
aware of it we are at Fostorla. and
then at Fort Wayne, both OF
which places are prosperous rail-
way centers. After leaving the
latter place we enter the fertile
plains of northern Indiana and in
a few hours more we see the
smoke which rises above the windy
and dusty city of Chicago.
The Worlds Fair buildings loom
up in the distance, the great Ferris
Wheel rising above them all.
Our train rolls into the depot on
time, and we can heartily recon-
mend the Nickel Plate line as the
model route to the Worlds Fair
city.
On our recommendation several
friends have already gone over
this line and scores will follow
later in the season.
The cars are beautifully clean
and comfortable, and the train
men are polite and attentive.