The Portland daily press., 1895-04-19
RAILROADING BY DORY.
Novel Experience of Passengers on the
Maine Central.

Maine Central.
"ColIect Your Han d Baggage and Prepare
to Take Boats Says the Conductor
How Nature Has Guarded Rumford
Falls.
collect your hand baggage and prepare
to take boats across the wasbout. Pass out
of the forward end of the smoker" 1t was
Conductor Hartshorn of the Maine Central
who made this unusual announcement yes
terday morning. His train had left Port
land at 8.45. and about an hour and a half
later reahed the washout in Hiram. The
passengers had been prepared for this little
diversion in the monotony of railroad travel
for the good natured conductor had cheer
fully assured most of them as he punched
their tickets, that they were to be treated
to a nice little sail.
AS the people stepped down from the, cars
and looked ahead they saw that the water
was only few feet from the COW catcher Of
the locomotive. The track disappeared
down hill into the water, to reappear
several hundred feet away. There on the
other side stood the train which should have
|
was to take the passengers of the north
bound train and return TO the noun tains.
The passengers bound to Portland had been
already ferried over he washout.
The feet of transports consisted of two
dories, brought from Portland, and a small
row boat procured il the vicinity. Landing
platforms had been built by the track and
the work of transferring the passengers be-
a q II
and the wafer over the track was about as
smooth glass. The embarkation reminded
the onlooker of the desertion of a sinking
ship inasmuch as it seemed to be case of
women and children first.
On the whole every body seemed to enjoy
it. Some OF tine women firmly grasped the
gunwales OF the boats and one evidently
had an aversion to dories as she waited
soma time 10 get chance to ride in the
small row boats. The baby who had cried
| Justify while in the train sat in his mothers
lap and stood the voyage like veteran.
The writer was to return to town and con-
sequently connot say whether the passen-
gers by dory received that familiar caution
revised to suit the case ''This fleet stops
here. Do not leave your packages and
umbrellas inEthe.dories." There have been no
bAlpWTtChS dlGuOuSu Ou0 VI tuo uOIicS
grounded yesterdayforenoon and was not
started on its Tip until considerable water
had been splashed over the side. And the
people in the boat seemed to think that was
assjoIe too.--In fact. t.the whole proceeding was
evidently regarded thing to be enjoyed
and laughed over afterwards. Mr.. John x.
Martin of Portland. was among the sailors.
and 50 was Manager Carleton of the Atkia-
h.
safely over. the work of transferring the
baggage was begun, and it took sometime,
as dory will not hold anywhere near as
many trunks as baggage car. In the mean
time the baggage from the down train has
been loaded onto the train which had come
out from Portland. and this train started on
the return trip, while the other was still
waiting for the baggage to be ferried over.
The water has gone down very materially,
and it is expected that trains will cross the
| break all right today. Tne water yesterday
| noon was still several feet deep over the
submerged track, and the highway which
| runs between the railroad and the Saco
river was also at the bottom of the pond.
| The tops of the fence posts were just level
| with the surface of the water. Through the
trees which rose from the water and marked
the place where the bank of the river should
have been. could he seen the strem itself,
it's surface covered with eddies and whirl-
pools SO swift was the current.
When the water goes down. the railroad
men will hitch a locomotive to the section
of track in the washout and pull it out of
the way. Then a temporary trestle work
will be put in and the running of trains can
be resumed. Later gravel will be brought
by construction trains and the embankment
restored.
Superintendent Hamilton and General
Baggage Master Towle were on board yes
terday to see that the work Of transferring
passen gers and baggage went on all right.
A number of men were on the spot to
handle the baggage, and the transfer was
made in much less time than one would
have supposed possible after seeing the
| number of the passengers and the great pile
of trunks and valises.
Speaking of freshets. and more particular
~ the food at Rumford Falls. brings to
mind the kindness of nature at that pIace
in providing natural gateway to regulate
the flow of she water so that freshet which
shall food the town is we'll nigh impossible.
Some distance above the Upper Falls, the
river makes its way between two projec ting
cliffs. which leave only narrow channel.
Mr.. j. Herbert Shedd, the distinguished en-
gineer VIII laid out the works, has called
attention to the protection which this
natural gateway gives to Rumford No
matter what may be the power behind it,
says Mr.. Shedd, the water cannot get be-
| tween those Lodges as fast as 1t can flow
| through the deep valley in the centre of the
village. 1t may flood the lowlands, but 1t
cannot reach the higher levels where most
of the buildings stand. The truth of this
statement was shown in Mondays freshet.
Ordinarily there is no ia at this gateway
In the rocks. but Monday the water behind
it was six feet higher than the water Just
below, and came between tho cliffs like a
cataract. 1t would not flow out as fast as
it collected.
The Rumford Falls Power company has
assisted nature in providing means for
taking care of super-abundance of water
by blasting many feet into the ledge at the
side of this dam, affording just SO much