Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1893-03-04
RAILROADS EARLY DAYS.
The Cars Were Lighted with Candles ard
Heated with Wood.


There is a vast difference between
railroading now and what it was in
ante bellum days, said a veteran rail-
roader the other day. 1t is a snap
now TO what it was in those days.
Then every man had about three
times as much work to do as now, and
got about half as much pay for it.
began my career as water carrier on
the Pennsylvania road in Ohio NY
business was to carry water through
the train to the passengers every
twenty minutes. for in those days we
didn't have water coolers and ice wa
ter in the cars
Railroad tracks were built with
stringers and old-time iron rails and
frogs and switches. 1t was considered
unsafe to travel over fifteen or eight
cen miles an hour and the fastest pas
senger train never made over twenty
miles an hour. Rules and regulations
and time-cards differed considerably
from those of the present day. The
oldest conductor in the service always
had the right of way of the track,
and if his train was behind or dis
abled all other trains had to wait on
his. Freight trains would wait
thirty minutes for each other at pass
ing or meeting points, and if neither
showed up at the expiration of that
time, they both lost the right of way
OF all trains of the same class. You
see we had no telegraph stations
then, and trains could not be moved
and run by special orders as now.
We used to do what was known as
turning curves that is, the flagman
would 60 in front of the train
around every curve and look out for
another train, and when two trains
would meet the one nearest to a
switch would back to it and let the
other one pass. Coal and coal oil
were not used at all. The cars were
lighted with candles and wood was
burned on the engines and in the car
stoves. The old-time train generally
consisted of an engine and three
coaches instead Of eight or ten cars
as now; and such thing as a sleep
ing car was not known. We had no
postal, express and baggage cars, but
one coach was used as mail express
and baggage car combined. The
next coach was used as a smoking car
and for colored passengers, and the
seats were all wood instead Of cush-
ions. The third and last coach. known
as the ladies' car, was the incest OF
all, but not anything like the hand
some and luXuriously furnished cars
of the present time. The cushions
on the seats were made of leather in.
stead of the fine velvet and plush fin,
ished ones now in use. The funniest
thing about the old-time trains was
the engines, which were made with
the old time walking beams running
up and down like propeller, instead
OF cylinders, and every part of the en-
CINE was usually covered with brass.
Old Commodore Vanderbilt of the
Erie road, was the first man who did
away with the brass on an ems inc,
and as soon as he started it all other
roads followed suit Brass on the
engines was not of any service except
to make them look pretty. All the
engines u.ed to be named after the
officers Of the road and after the diff
ferent cities and States, but they are
numbered now
Conductors and trainmen never
wore uniforms in those DAYS, and they
had lots else to do besides helping Ia
dies on and off the car and make
mashes; but they had to work and
work hard. A brakeman had to clean
out all the cars, wash the windows,
sweep and dust out, carry in the
wood, make fires, get the train in or
der generally and do all the work pre-
paratOry to each trip.
Look what change there is IN the
tickets of to-day and thirty years ago.
At that time tickets were not
punched, but the conductor would
take them up, return them to the
auditors Office, from which they
would be distributed to the different
stations sold from, and used again.
There was no passes used then, but if
any one was entitled to free ride the
president or superintendent would
come down to the train and tell the
conductor to pass the party to their
place Of destination.