The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-10-30

| unu me Ut the IoHttuc. Wohe " H- troduce you to one of the conductors
 of the Hartf6rd and Springfield rail-
 road and have you run with him about
 n week. don't want to put you on to a
 train as conductor without some know
 ledge of the business" He introduced
 me to Charlie Waite. one of the most | gentlemanly conductors that ever had
 charge of train. On the morning of
 July 1, 1852. MT. R. N. Dowd. the super
 intendent of the Shore Line railroad.
 said to me. we will start a passenger
 train to-day as far as Connecticut river.
 as the ferry is not in working order
 yet" and 1t so happened that Sam Lord
 was in New Haven and was notified to
 be on hand. and Mir. Dowd said to me,
 T want you to keep the time on the
 train between and at stations;" sup-
 pose for the purpose of making a time table, and Lord acted as conductor un- der the superintendent I should say
 we run to Connecticut River two or
 three weeks before we could cross the
 ferry and run into New London. and
 then only to Browns dock. the first
 over the drawbridge. That was the
 first through train. After a little de-
 lay on Browns dock we run up to Law
 renee dock. where used to sell tickets
 on a dry goods box I carried with me
 for my train. There were many laugh | able incidents connected with some of
 the first trains run between Connecticut
 river and New London, as the only depot we had between Lyme and New
 London was at Mantle for quite Q
 while. and the depot was not yet com pleted in New London. The conductors
 were allowed desk room to make over
 their reports In MT. Thomas Fitch's
 whaling agency, and only few days
 had passed In Mr.Fitch's office before he began to quiz and question me about taking position in his office. Said he
 wanted someone to look after the gen. eral business in the office and go to New York If need be. It was MT. Fitch's
 business to furnish ship stores for Will
 Hams & Haven, Williams & Barnes,
 Frink & Prentis and Perkins & Smiths ships. and the other agent kept yellow metal sheathing. etc., ship chandlery, bunting, sail cloth, etc., and the various
 things needed all around beside the stores, which in all was a large trade.
 It was my business to get the list of stores need for each vessel; enter up and see that these orders were all filled, and render the bills to the agents of each vessel, and then
 we furnished cabin stores for the off, cers for their own use and a venture of officers for trading tobacco, sugar, etc.,
 tho liquor except for medicine chest). I was to make myself generally useful.
 was to have better pay with him and house rent next door to him at a
 nominal rent. Altogether 1t was temp tation, as the conductors were only re- ceiving on that road $50 month. It
 was then an independent road, though very dependant upon its earnings, which
 were quite limited. Of the time when the New York railroad took possession of the Shore Lne I have no definite knowledge. ran ipng eleven months up to June '53. In the meantime MT.
 Grif1ng, the president, died at the As tor house in New York. My father had
 been sent for and was with him when he died. lost my right bower at MT. Grifnng's death railroadwise, and finally accepted MT. Fitch's proposition and went into his office in the block across the track from depot and remained with
 him until he was obliged to give up by having met with several severe losses of vessels and in various business trans actions and the fact that whaling had ceased to be profitable and now only two schooners belonging to the old firms representation, Charles William of Williams & Haven, are kept up at Greenland and one of their old barques,
 the 'Nile,' has been made over into a propeller and goes up every spring and carries up stores, etc., to the schooners and brings down their catch of oil.' The schooners remain until they need repairs which cannot not be done there, after which they return to Green land. They get a superior quality of oil there. Awhile after left the Shore Line railroad there was general stan- pede of the conductors leaving the railroad in bad fix. Fred Blague, an Adams Express messenger was on the evening train into New London Satur- day evening with Superintendent Dowd, bound home, and gave him message to me, and Sunday evening he came up to the house with the message ask ing me if would not run train for a few days until conductors could be fit- ted in to take the trains. I got MT. Fitch's liberty to do as pleased about 1t and took out the first train from New London Monday morning, two trains each way during the week, and was glad to be relieved. Subsequently Superintendent Dowd exhibited his native manliness to, my satisfaction by leaving in the office for me sum of money and six months pass. Subse- quently business was fair, but not up to the standard. Eventually the whal- ing catch was very light, the price of oil was low; the costs of outfits was large and whaling for New England got it's black eye. MT. c. s. Bushnell was then president of the Shore Line end wanted me to go into the depot as agent. told him the pay was altogeth- CT too small and I could not take 1t. l He. said, Hold on. MT. J. I. Day of the Stonington St. Bt. company are just commencing to run from Groton, and the New Haven & Stonington rail- road commences running here very soon. | Agents are wanted for both companies" I said, If you can secure me the agency | of those two corporations with the | Y l-- l.N | A VI