The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1897-11-05
MONEY FORTH RAILROADS
Nashville and the Centennial City
Crowded Beyond their Capacity.
Nearly Fifty Thousand Passengers are
Handled by the Railroads in Two
Days, without an Accident.
Nashville Banner, Oct. 2o.l


The local railroad officials are to
be congratulated upon having yes
terday met the greatest demand
ever made upon their transportation
facilities and handled their thou
sands of passengers without a single
accident. The week of the Con-
.federate reunion was high-water,
mark, not only for the number of
strangers in Nashville, but for the
number of people handled by the
railroads, and yet yesterday in a
single day more people were brought
into the city than were handled dur
ing the entire week. The popula-
ton of'the capital city was increased
by nearly 80 per cent. within thirty
six hours.
The rush of people began Wednes-
day, when the Louisville & Nash
vile brought in Cab people and the
Nashville, Chattanooga & st. Louis
brought in $500, total of 1890 in
round numbers. This was the great
est number ever handled here in
one day, but yesterday this mark
was made insignificant, when, by
actual count, the Louisville & Nash
vile brought in S,7l1 and the Nash
Vile, Chattanooga q st. Louis 26, 695,
total for the day of 35,4O6, and for
the two days of 1896. or these,
1000 came from Atlanta, 800 from
Chattanooga, 2,700 came from Muir
freesboro, 900 from Lewisburg, l,40C
from Lebanon, 300 from Gallatin
while many hundreds came from
Franklin, Columbia and Pulaski,
Tullahoma, Decherd, Cowan, and
every town in Middle Tennessee.
The Louisville & Nashville was able
to handle its passengers without
calling for assistance, but the much
larger demand made on the Nash
Vile, Chattanooga & st. Louis Rail
way made it necessary for that
road to rent $50 coaches, which were
secured in numbers of from five to
twenty from every connecting line
The Louisville & Nashville brought
in sixteen trains yesterday, and the
Nashville, Chattanooga u st. Louis
twenty-eight.
To attempt to accurately describe
the situation in the depot all yester-
day and last night would but invite
criticism upon the part of those who
did not witness it. Fortunately it
was not as bad as it might have
been, because many of the long
trains were run directly to the Ex-
position grounds and their pas
sengers did not pass through the
depot. Those who did alight in the
depot, however, crowded the plat
form and waiting rooms as never
before, and the streets for blocks
around were almost impossible.
The Nashville, Chattanooga & ST.
Louis Road has all along been run.
ming two trains to the exposition at
10 : minutes interval. Yesterday
morning they put on four ten-cal
Tains and these proving insufficient
to meet the demand four more
trains were added with from ten to
fifteen ears on each train, the heav.
Ter trains being double headers
Trains were run at two minutes
intervals and going were crowded
until after dark and from O'Clock
until IL were crowded on the return
trips. Altogether this road carried
35, 1000 people out to the Exposition
and brought larger number back
The.Fush into the city from dis.
tant towns was kept up until after
o'clock yesterday, and about
O'Clock last night the outward
movement began, and continued
until 2 80 o'clock this morning. The
Nashville, Chattanooga & st. Louis
Road sent out eighteen trains with
1900 people including the Atlanta
visitors, who came in a body in
private cars. The Louisville &
Nashville sent out seven trains with
little over 1000 people. These
heavy departures left in the city,
however, over 10000 people who had
come in by train. Thousands oil
people had no place to sleep. Many
men spent the night up town around
the popular resorts, while hundreds
slept in the waiting room on benches
and on the floor of the depot.
AS soon as the crowds had been
brought in from the Centennial
ESupt. Wrenne. had a large
of coaches brought into the yards
and opening them up gave thou.
sands of weary visitors a place t.
spend the night. Every coach was
soon filled and the cushioned seats
afforded comfortable rest to many
who had been lying on the floor OF
walking around.