Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1895-02-14
BL0CEEDBY THESTORM
Delaware Railroad Tracks All
Buried Under Great Drifts
Of Snow.
THE WORST SINCE 1888
Service Between Here and
Philadelphia Opened.
THE RIVER TRAFFIC ENTIRELY STOPPED

and South, stalled for Four Hours i'll "a
Deep Blockade mt Ginn's Crossing--B Both
Finally Pull Through With Sis Loco
motives. On the Pennsylvania and is. ~
O. Trains From -Four to Ten Hours Lats--
In and About the City--Trolley Travel
Suspended for Hours--Publio schools
Ciosed--Inoidents of the Great storm.
The storm of Thursday was bowling
blizzard, the worst seen in this section OF
the country since the famous bli2zarI OF
March 18th, 1888. The snow fell all night
and the wind blew a great gale constantly.
In consequence, the snow drifted so badly
that railroad traffic was brought to stand
still. Telegraphic communication was also
seriously affected, and all the other dis
comforts that attend a great storm like
this were felt to their fullest extent.
THE STREET CAR TRACKS.
The city railway had its toughest battle of
the season Thursday night.
PARALYZED THE RAILROADS.
The terrific wild Western blizzard has
almost paralyZed traffic on the railroads
radiating out of Wilmington, and travel
North and South was practically at u
standstill until late Friday morning. Dur
ing the night travel over the Philadelphia,
Wilmington Il Baltimore railroad was en-
tirely blocked. The Baltimore II OHIO
railroad, the Delaware railroad and the
Wilmington & Northern railroad expert
enced equal hardships in the matter of
passenger traffic.
Railroad men say they have not expert
enced such hardships since the memorable
blizzard of March 18th, 1888, which was
terrible in its intensity. While the snow
storm which prevailed all Thursday night
and early Friday was not AS severe as
the storm of 1885, the thermometer hov-
cred about the zero mark and suffering
from the cold was intense. The crews Of
the freight trains experienced the greatest
.I t,,Fh horIuhipc pI THAR siItTnripp q
was unprecedented. Many of the inter
locking switches and the signals were
frozen, andit was with the greatest diiti-
guilty that they could he manned at all.
The first tram south over the Philadel-
phia, Wilmington d Baltimore railroad
arrived in this city on its southern trip
about $50 o'clock. Ii was the first section
OF the New York and Washington express,
due to arrive in Wilmington at II. 40 Friday
morning. 1t was delayed between New
York and Philadelphia, and experienced
great difficulty in getting out OF the latter
city, owing to the blockade in railroad
travel. The sections followed at intervals
of 20 minutes.
ff Then came train No. Al, the New York
and Washington express due to arrive here
VA at ABS o'clock This train also was run IN
two sections, the last section, bearing the
Philadelphia newspapers, arriving about
YEA $50 O'Clock.
Passengers coming down from Philadel
M phia say that no train had arrived i'll tht
IN Quaker City from Pittshurg and the Wes
up to o'clock. The interlocking switches
in Philadelphia were frozen up and rail
road men encountered great trouble II
clearing their trains. Some OF the train
from New York were almost obseVred By
the snow, Railroad officials were only
using one track to Bellevue Friday morning
owing to the snow drifts between vii
mington and that point. 1t is SAID that a
point near Bellevue the snow is piled III
as high as a passenger car, ana seVera
trains We're stalled there Thursday night
The first train that lett Wilmington TO
Philadelphia over the r., w. Il Il. railroa
was an accommodation, and was made II
in the shed. 1t should have gone at
o'clock, but instead left an hour and
half later. Later northbound expires
came through bringing passengers iron
the South.
The Delaware division passenger trai
due to arrive here from Philadelphia a
$40 did not arrive in Wilmington unit
nearly 10 o'clock.
BAD on THE DELAWARE ROAD.
Reports from down the state show thi
the storm which has swept the countr
has not left Delaware out of its sweet
The first train to reach this city from II
Delaware road was the Norfolk eXpres
due at i.15 a. H., but it was nearly,
o'clock when it pulled into the Wi
mington station. The engines were co
cred with ice and snow and presented
weird spectacle. The train was late
leaving Cape Charles City, and found gre
banks of snow all the way up. The trai
managed to get along fairly we'll, howeve
until tiinn's Crossing, two miles belo
Middletown, was reached. At That poL
the drifts were banked np six, eight al
10 feet high, and further PROCESS was o
of the question.
The Norfolk express, which left tn
city at 1901 O'Clock Friday morning w
found stalled there also, and the efforts
four locomotives to eXtrlcate ii from u
drift were fruitless. This was about
o'clock Friday morning and the pFospee
looked very blue.
Finally the force of all six locomotiy
was put to work and at about o'clot
both trains succeeded in getting out. IN
was accomplished by running one c
through at time. Shortly after o'clo'
both trains proceeded on their way, havii
been stalled more than four hours.
SUFFERING ON THE TRAIN.
There was considerable suffering fro
AL cold Oh the south-bonnd train accordli
to the statements of Morris Manery,
shipwrecked sailor who was returni
from Norfolk to his home in Atlantic Git
The engine " as unableto supply steam
the cars and thetemDeratuTe inside becai
very cold. Finally the tralnmen built
fire in stove in one OF the cars, ana
forsaking the other cars the paSSen6t
were enabled to get warm, The trainm
also suffered terribly from the cold.
Conductor Hitch, who was in charge
the north-bound train, reports the &C
intense and the experiences among t
(. men who had to be outside as somethi
terrible.
The early part OF the trip was We
rough, also, and great deal of diilicu
was experienced i'll crossing the bay.
far as could be learned, however, th'
were no marine disasters at that point.
On the Maryland division OF the P.,W
3D. railroad the snow between this city a
Washington is not very deep and
drifts are not reported to be very bad, l
in Washington and below there the wo
condition of affairs yet reported exists.
trains North and South are stalled eitl
| in.or near the city, and through passeng
have to foot it for several miles ii theH
coming North. The Florida special V
}{ the first train to tie up Thursday night.
HOW THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS FARED.
The heating apparatus in several of
---..i,lic schools Of the city gave out trit
: -.1,s,rning Consequently in many OF til
there was no school session.
The pipes burst in the High School, ;
the pupils were all sent home. Scht
NO.. d, a, 10 and "a were reported Fri,
a morning closed. Thursday night Presid
20 AIfNta :