The record-union., 1897-12-02

1t was not an uncommon thing to see
the engineer and conductor covered
with ice. There were only two ticket
offices on the Erie, at Goshen and Ches-
ter. The conductor was provided with
tickets for each station on the road,
a square tin box to carry them in, and
a bag containing $40 in small coins
and bills. This was carried in the box,
and was the conductors capital for
when passengers offered money larger
than the amount charged. The tin
box and it's contents We're delivered at
one end of the run to the general tick
ct agent at Piermont This was Hen
ry S. Fitch, Eries first general pas
senger agent, still living at Jersey City.
The account was balanced with the
conductor and the box returned to him
with $40 in the bag again for use on
the return trip. All tickets for New
York were collected on the steamboat.
Conductors Ayers and Stewart were
selected to run the first and second
sections of the great through excur-
sion train in 1851 as far as Elmira.
AT that place Conductor c. w. Rob-
lnson was to take the first section and
Conductor A. n. Chaplin the second
section, and run them to Dunkirk. The
train lay all night at Elmira, and
everything was wide OPEN Things
were Whooped up all night long, and
Conductor Robinson, carried away by
the universal good cheer, was not feel
ing in shape to take charge of his train
next morning. General Superintendent
Minot put Conductor Stewart in charge
OF section one Of the train, and so he
ran all the way from Piermon to Dun
klrk and thus became the first con-
uuctor to make the through trip on
the Erie, and on the first through train,
a distinction of which he is very proud
in his old age
This dean of the now wide frater-
nifty of railroad conductors also ran the
HrSt train that was ever run on tele-
graphic order. This was in the fall of
1891. Up to that time the trains on
the road were run on the time interval
system The track was single, and at
convenient sidings along the line a
train going in one direction would wait
ten minutes for a train coming in the
opposite direction. Eastbound trains
had the right of way, but lost it if they
We're ten minutes late, in reaching a
turn out or waiting station, and they
must then take a siding and wait for
the westbound train to pass. Stewart
was running the westbound express.
His engineer was Isaac Lewis. Super
intendent Minot was on the train on
this particular day. AT Turner's sta
ton it was to wait for the eastbound
Qy L,
line had then but recently been put in
operation, and it was a mystery to the
old railroad men. Superintendent Mi
not was a telegraph operator. When
the westbound express arrived at Turn
er's. Minot telegraphed to the operator
at Goshen asking him whether the east
bound train had left that station. The
answer was that the train had not ar
rived at that station yet, showing that
it was much behind its time. Superin-
tendent Minot then wrote and handed
to Conductor Stewart, the first one
ever written. an order to run his train
to Goshen regardless of the train COM
ing east. The conductor took the ord
er, and handing it to his engineer, told
him to go ahead. The engineer read
the order. and passing it back to Stew
art, exclaimed:
" Do you take me for damn fool?
1 won't run by that thing,'
Conductor Stewart reported to the
superintendent, who went forward and
used his authority on Engineer Lewis
but without avail. Minot then climbed
into the cab and took charge of the To-
comotive himself Lewis jumped off and
got in the rear seat of the rear car.
The Superintendent ran the train to
Goshen. The other train not having
reached that point yet, he inquired for
1T at Middletown. 1t was not there.
He ran to Middletown, and so on to
Port Jer-vis, where the east bound train
entered the yard from the west as the
other went in from the east. An hour
had been saved to the weStbound eX-
press. and the telegraphic system of
running trains was adopted at once
on the Erie, and it soon became univer-
sal
THE running of the great excursion
train over the Erie in 1851 was big
with results to one individuals future.
At Paterson there were two locomotive
builders who were intense rivals
Rogers and Swinburn Rogers had the
greater reputation, and had made many
locomotives for the Erie, but Swinburn
had furnished some also. Two of the
famous engineers of the Erie in that
day were Cad Lyman and Josh Mar
tin. Lyman ran between Port Jervis
and Piermont, and Martin between
Port Jervis and Bnghamton, the road
having been opened TO that place in
1S49 In October. 1850. Swinburn de-
livered to the Erie a new locomotive,
famous now as the old H. and En-
gineer Martin was anxious to have 1t
on his run. 1t was given to Cad Ly-