The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-11-08
MAINE CENTRAL,
Changes
Officers.
Important
MIR, MCDONALD WILL BE GENERAL
SUPERINTENDENT.

The Quebsc and Mountain Division To r..
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES To Be Sue
Manage the Main Line-Mr. Bia ok
VIII Run the Mountain Division.
There are to be a number of important
changes in the list of the officers of the
Maine Central railroad and the official
announcement of them will be made in n
few days. The PRESS is authorized to
state what these changes are. Two of the
divisions of the road will be consolidated
thus making necessary some of the
changes. Mr.. George E. Whitney, who
has been the agent of the Union station
in this city for number of years, has
resigned and consequently a new agent
must be appointed and in addition to
these changes there will be new general
superintendent to relieve Mr.. Elton A.
Hall of some of the many duties he has
performed in the past. The changes will
not bring any new men into the service
of the road and Mr.. Whitney is the only
official to retire.
The divisions which will be consoli-
dated are those now known as the Noun
tain and Quebec divisions. The Mountain
division comprises the old Portland and
Ogdensburg road and the Quebec division
includes the portion OF the Maine Cen
trail system which was formerly the Coos
and Hereford roads. 1t extends from Que
bee Junction through New Hampshire
and Vermont to Lime Ridge in Canada,
Mr.. Jonas Hamilton has been the super.
intendent of the Mountain division and
Mr.. Wellington Sprague has had charge
of the Quebec division. Under the new
order OF things there will be one division
to be know as the Mountain division and
Mr.. George T. Black will be the superin-
tendent. Mr.. Black is now the assistant
civil engineer. Mr.. Hamilton will re-
main in the services of the road of which
he has been valued officer for SO many
years. His new position has not been
announced. MIR. Spragus has been offered
the post made vacant.by the resignation
of Mr. Whitney and will probably accept
it. Mr.. Morris Mcdonald who has been
actlng as private secretary to Tenera
Manager Eyans will be the new general
superintendent, Mr.. Hall deyoting all
his time to the duties Of superintende mt
of the Portland division, which includes
the main line from Portland to Bangor
with it's branches. Mr.. Hall has been
acting as general superintendent in addi-
ton to taking charge of this important
part of the system.
All OF the gentlemen affected by the
changes are veteran railroad men. Mr..
Mcdonald the new general superinten-
dent, has had over dozen years of exper-
fence in the railroad business though he
is still young man. He is a western
man by birth and has been assooiat ed
with Mr.. Evens in the past, having served
in various positions on the Georgia Ce n.
trail and the Louisville, Evansville and St.
Louis, rising to the important place of
general superintendent. He assumed his
duties in connection with the Maine Cen
trail about the first Of January and has
made many friends in this city. r
Mr.. George f. Black, the superintend.
emit of the new Mountain division, is q
Maine man. He wag born in Palermo in
1861 and entered the employ of the road
after his graduation from the State co l.
lege in 1856, as an assistant. III the engin-
eering department. From 1888 to 1894 b @
was employed as assistant engineer and
acting roadmaster on the Mountain divis.
ion, returning 80 the engineering depart
ment at the conclusion Of his labors In
that capacity.
Mr.. Wellington sprague, who will prob.
ably come to Portland to take charge of
the Union station, is well known to the
people of this city and the treveling pub
lie. Mr. Sprague is Bath boy who
began his career as a railroad man at the
age of seventeen, entering the employ of
the old Portland and Kennebec as q
brakemanain 1863. He remained with the
company two years after its consolida-
ton with the Maine Central and in 1873
became brakeman on the Pittsbur9
Fort Wayne and Chicago, remaining sew
eral years and rising to the place of
freight conductor. In 1875, he entered the
employ of the Knox and Lincoln as a
baggage master. Returning to the Maine
Central he was made a conductor in 1882
and served in thats capacity until his
appointment as superintendent of the
Quebec division.
Messrs. Hall and Hamilton are among
the best known of the railroad men of the
state. Mr.. Hall is native of Westmore-
land, N. H., and came to the Maine Cen.
trail as train dispatcher In 1875, having
previously served as station agent at
Watertown, Mass, on the Fitchburg and
as assistant train dispatcher on the Cen
trail Vermont. After seventeen years of
service as train dispatcher he was made
assistant superintendent and has of late
years been in reality filing several i'm
portant positions at the same time. Mr.
Hamilton was an engineer on the Allan
tic and st. Lawrence in.lS49, and In 1854
after that road had been leased to the
Grand Trunk, he was made master
mechanic in charge of its shops at PORT
land. In 1870, he was elected superin-
tendent of the Portland and Ogdensburs
and when that line became part of the
Maine Central in 1888, remained as suner-
intendent of the Mountain division.
MIR. George II. Whitney, the retiring
agent of the Union station, was a we'll
known conductor on the Maine Central
before being appointed agent.
You can't beat it. $500 for the round