The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-01-02

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CONDUCTOR j. L. DE KAY.
The passenger business of this great
system was then in its infancy there
being but one train each way daily
excepting Sunday, running from
Great Bend to Hampton Junction con-
Meeting with the Central Railroad of
New Jersey for New York. During
the summer months a train was run
from Scranton to Hampton Junction
and return. The express business of
this road was carried then in one end
of the baggage car, now about twenty
cars of express are handled each way
daily. Among the old conductors of
this mail train We're A. b. Fuller, sam
Nash, l.. Dudley and l.. r. Sears. Full
ler died many years ago; Nash has
been in business in this city for years
Dudley is still living in Binghamton
and l.. r. Sears died December Is last
Another old conductor, John Silsbee, of
this train lies quite i'll at present at his
home in Binghamton. Sam Dolterer,
son of Davis Dolterer, at one time
superintendent. was then engineer of
the Colonel Scranton, a wood burner,
and O. H. Adams, engineer of the Will
liam T.. Dodge, a wood burner, on the
opposite run. Dolterer died at Carbon
dale some years ago and Adams still
living is engineer on trains and 6,
the fast trains of the Delaware Lacka-
wanna and Western. 1t took over
seven hours in those days to run from
| Hampton Junction to Great Bend, 1876
| miles; it now takes train No. 3 ten
| hours to run from Hoboken to Buffalo,
| 4OS miles. From the one train to eight
| through trains daily shows the great
| increase in passenger traffic the past
| few years-upon this system In 1870
| this road was then opened to Bingham
ton. Conductor Dudley run the first
| passenger train over this road with
De Kay as one of his brakemen, and
Edward Harris, now dead, was bag
| gageman.
In 1872 DeKay was promoted to a
conductorship on trains and con-
tinued until 1876 when he entered the
Scranton yard as an assistant to Gar
rett Bokart, then promoted to assist
ant superintendent of the main line
and Lackawanna and Bloomsbury di-
vision. In April, 1877, he again com
menced running on the road as con-
ton between Scranton and Bingham
| ton. There We're not many passenger
trains on the road at the time, conse-
quently this train carried many pas
senger. 1t was a terribly slow train
as far as its time was concerned, but
required lively hustling to get the work
done So slow in fact that a story is
told of Conductor DeKay asking an ole
man one day near Binghamton for his
| ticket.
Il gave you my ticket" said the ole
man,
II don't remember getting any ticke
form YOU" said the conductor.
mo wonder you don't remember get
ting any ticket" growled the old man
"When / left Scranton 1 was a younl
man and your old train has been $,
confounded slow l have grown OLE
since ] boarded it,"
on April 3, 1852, through trains wer,
run from Elmira over the Buffalo di
vision to New York and a passenge
train leaving Scranton at $50 a. m
was run through to Elmira and DeKa,
was promoted to the position of con
ductor on this train. from Binghamtol
to Elmira. This train was greeted will
great rejoicing by the people along tn
line as it was a commencement of tn
final opening up of new trunk lin
to Buffalo, and gave many towns ol
the south side of the Susquehann
river railroad facilities they had neve
before enjoyed. On May IA, 1888, h
moved to Binghamton and commence,
running on the main line and Morri
and Essex divisions from Binghamto
to New York where he yet runs. o.
September s, 1898, his wife after
lingering illness died at Pueblo, Colo
with consumption. He has a daughte
attending the university a Syracuse
, On some of the new monster freigh
, engines built for the Baltimore & Obi
by the Pittsburg Locomotive Works tn
} new Bell Spark Arrestor, invented b
Mr. j. Snowden Bell, has been applied
The new arrangement consists of
! double perforated detecting plate, an
the deposition of the netting in a serie
. of inclines, with no horizontal surfaC
| except very narrow one on each sid
5 of the exhaust pipe. 1t is said that thi
f arrangement not only prevents the eS
e cape of so many live sparks but it pre-
! serves the life of the netting, and i
therefore, more economical and effect
i've than any spark arrestor now in us
= on any other road.
I For the first time in ten years all tn
: employees of the b. &, O. r. II. have II
. ceived their monthly pay before Chris
mas. This has only haLoened twice
| twenty years,