The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-26
EARLY DAYS OF THE ERIE.
now cor. sEWA RD's LAST MEsSlGE
> WAS BRoUg MT TO TEE SUN.

wv ~
noer Cenduoisr-Ths snash-Up That WAS
SAID TO Ne . Judgment ON = Sunday Train
II see by THE SUM-" said a former official OF
the Erie Railroad. that my old friend. w. ID.
Stewart, the conductor who ran the first train
through on the Erie from the Hudson TO Lake
Erie, is dead. He was the last Of the pioneer
railroad conductors Of this country. His REM
iniscenoes Of the early days OF railroadinR were
most interesting. He not only ran the hrst
through train on the Erie, and the first train
that was ever run on telographic orders, but ne
also brought to Now York the FIRST cargo OF
freight that camo over the Erie, when the rail-
road was only forty.nve miles long, between
piermont and Goshen. In 1s41. He was then
running with Capt. Daniel Tobias a freight boat
on the Hudson River. The first freight train
on the Erie arrived at Piermont from Goshen
on Sept. 81. 1871. Conductor Henry Watson
had 1t in charge. and he vas the FIRST freight con-
duotor on tho road. The freight consisted chiefly
OF butter, cheese, farm produce. dressed pork,
and iron from the Monroe works and tho Rama
pc works. Tho company had engaged the Tobias
boat to take the freight from Piermont to New
York. and in that way Stewart came to run tho
original freight shipment over the Eric to this
city. In the fall OF ls42 Stewart was en-
ployed by the railroad company as q conductor,
being tho fourth conductor In the employ Of tho
CO"phny, WhlCh III" buhuuoI VhipioSooo
by the hundred.
'One Of Hank Stewards eminiscences--
everybody knew him as 'Hank'-was of the
way Joe Meginnis helped get Gov. Stewards
last annual message from Albany to New York
In advance Of an opposition line. which con-
sisted Of stages on the east OF the Hudson. con.
Meeting with the Harlem Railroad somewhere
in Westchester county. That line. during the
close Of navigation on the river. had almost n
monopoly Of the trade between New York and
Albany until q short time after the Erie was
put in operation to Goshen. Then Anderson d
Co., q well.known firm Of stage.line proprietors,
opened a line between Albany and Goshen. In
connection with the railroad. This became a
strong rival of the East Shore line. There was
much controversy as to which was the quicker
route. and at last the two stage companies
agreed to put tho question to q decisive test by
the delivery in New York of Gov. Stewards
message AS soon as the message was read in
the Legislature, a copy of 1t was obtained by q
driver of a coach on each of the competing lines,
their instructions being to hasten its delivery at
line and the Erie Railroad was to be delivered
TO TIE Sun and the other copy to the NeW
"The railroad company was deeply inter.
ested in the result, OF this race. for Il It proved
that the journey between New York and Al.
and the connecting stages, the fact would
go far toward making that route, the popular
the management had made every arrange
ment to facilitate the delivery Of the Gov
flying trip between Goshen and Piermont with
his locomotive, the Little ,Orange..th he fourth
their regular time between Albany and Goshen
best Of horses at ten.miie Relays 10 take the
coach 10 Goshen, the stage would arrive at that
pariier Z than %Af It's e resuisT ti nn n In expectation pc %E51
that the sound of the coach horn might burst
on his ears at any moment, Joe Meginnis had
Governors message was delivered to him.
"The Little Orange stood at the Goshen sta
thence. The time when the stage should have
arrived came and passed, but no stage ,ap-
the es' Coach horn n1V was SHEAR heard l. and Sa1p a Minute anu after.
the station. Inc driver had gone astray in
message was placed In charge of Joe Meginnis,
used to. say that 100 always declared that he
would have arrived al, Piermont fifteen min.
john I Bpandt had not NO &c on M the engine aae" Wilh
him. Brandt was afraid to ride as fast as Joe
down. As # was, he ran the forty. five miles
in less than fifty minutes, :,
"a steamboat was waiting at Piermont, all
stcaming Town the river. According to Hank
smart in those days, too. for it had put an edf.
tor and a force Of compositors on the boat, with
cases Of type. and by the time the boat reached
New York the message was ready to put to
press as soon as 1t could be carried to THE
Sun office. When the other copy of the mes.
the document had been on the street more than
an hour. Thousands OF dollars were won and
Erie. route to Albany was established as the
quickest and best.
train on the Erie, and 1t was run on Sunday be.
cause it was n milk train, and was only run
after long consideration by the ompany and on
sumers that they wanted fresh milk on Mon,
day as well as any other day. This train met
those days the train Crews on the Erie carried
block and tackle. &c. but Il a train was four
hours late the people at the Piermont headquar'
tiers would make up their minds that somethinG
must be wrong with il, and a crew would be
up and give its men q lift
This particular night the locomotive OF
What was then known as Wards sI Pond. a mile
from Sloatsburg. The. result was the throwing
or the engine, two milk cars and the PASSENGER
car of the track and into the pond; The waller
was very deep ana the locomotive was sub
merged all excepting tho smokestack. One
forward end OF the other was deep in the pond
The passenger car was at ne edge or ne pond.
crew Hn eTeric Ssihs tho hs e PSdii,o'a aSd cars 90 'f from rra the
pond, Conductor Stewart walked on to Sloats
burg, where he hired n man to. drive him TO Mon
sey's, a station twe!ve miles further east, There
he got a handcar and the road gang and started
for Piermont to inform headquarters of the &C
cident., There were no frogs AZ switches II
those days, and the change Of rails was made
by a moving bar. The switch east of Blauvelt
vile was open, and as tho handcar went rush
Ing along II was thrown from the track. Con
ductor Stewart was hurled with such 10 CT
against the bar on The handoar that two OF hi
high emUanR Uenl. They got the car back OF
the track and W ,nt on to Piermont, where they
picked up IL crow of men and returned witt
them to the scene OF the most extraordinary
wreck that had ever occurred on the railroad,
and the first serious one. They arrived Their,
between D and . o'clock the morning after tn
accident occurred.
ga man named Thomas had q trip-hammel
mill near b., which got its power from Yards
Pond. Tho mill mad been Idle for a long time
and Superintendent ii. &. seymour who hat
come along with the wreckiug crew. requested
Thomas 10 draw tho water OF the pond 80 thu
men might reach the sunken cars and loco
motive. raise Them. and yet them out Of III,
lOnd back on the track. Thomas immediatel!
itarIed up his mill, and said lie would no
draw the water or unless the railroad conpan.
- kt., NINA Ia, IA,,, IL ffnn N lnnr~ nup