The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-26
TRACING OF LOST CARS
THE WORK DONE BY MEN WHO
HUNT FOR MISPLACED PROPERTY.
one Car Traced to a Pit Where 1t Was
Hidden Two Years by Water-An-
other Was Used by Pluto Indians.
Chicago Inter Ocean.

IO lHOSS QudQudlUleQ Will nhlIl-
cacies of car counting it might seem easy
to keep track of the rolling stock; but when
it is considered that, no matter how small
the road owning it, a car may be sent from
the Atlantic to the Pacific and be handled
by fifteen or twenty different train crews
and perhaps as many switching crews at all
hours of the day and night. it will be seen
that there is plenty of room for mistakes.
Passenger, express and baggage cars are
rarely lost track of, but the freight car de-
partment is less fortunate, and every road
of any Importance has it's lost-car agent
who is always on the wing, hunting up
stray cars. His trips often cover thousands
of miles and take him into all sections of
the country, from the busy yards in the
large cities to some out-of-the-way switch
in desolate region. where the railroad sta
ton stands alone.
while / was lost-car agent for the Ala
bama Great Southern said railroad man.
II had some queer experiences. While out
on hunt for box car No. S7S once, tele-
gram reached me at Aberdeen, Miss, that
as soon as my report was turned in regard
ing its whereabouts, / was to go to Terre
Haute, Ind, in search Of a gondola or coal
car of our line, No. Is, 7S1. The latter had
been sent to Indianapolis with load Of
machinery for the Nordyke-M armon Ma
chine company from Tuscaloosa, Ala, and
having arrived and been unloaded, instead
of being sent home, it had been loaded with
car trucks and sent to Terre Haute, they
being short of cars, and it being the I'M
written rule to use anything in sight when
a must be had.
From Terre Haute it was sent to Brazil
for a load of coal. 1t was the plan to load
al = 60
as Indianapolis with block coal, for which
the Brazil mines are famous the world over.
Upon it's arrival at Brazil the mines were
closed, owing to a strike, and the car was
side-tracked on C. & E. /. spur track,
owned jointly by the latter road and the
Vandalia. Here the dropped out of ex-
istence, no further trace of it being obtain
able. A car is pretty big piece of property
to lose, yet it seemed lost at least officially.
The books of the agents and switching
crews showed its arrival, but no trace of its
departure. Upon my arrival at Brazil care
fully inspected every side-track and coal
switch in the town, but nc sign of No. 49,
was visible.
MANY other cars of other roads, built at
the same shops, the Birmingham, Ala, car
works, and of the same description as the
lost car, were there, but no A. G. S., 1871. /
was about to give up the hunt there and try
some other nearby town to see if it might
not have been showed out there for want of
room at Brazil, when l CHANGED to go down
the Chicago & Eastern Illinois tracks tow
ard the station north of the roundhouSe,
and game of ball on the common near by
attracted my attention. Being a lover of the
sport / found, upon consulting my watch,
that had nearly an hour till the first train.
Going over to where the two clubs were
deeply engaged in hammering the little in
offensive ball, I sat down on convenient
knoll and was soon oblivious to all but the
game.
AN INTERESTING BACKSTOP.
1.-THE catcher was the weak point in one
club and many muffs of his allowed the
tally of the other side to run up, nothing
but the backstop preventing the ball from
landing in a pool of water near by. The
usefulness of the backstop, which was both
high and heavy, drew my attention to it.
1t looked strangely familiar, and l drew
closer and soon recognized 1t to be the side
boards of a gondola nailed to upright posts.
This fact interested me more, and, going
around to the rear, my astonished vision
was greeted with the sight of the letters
"A G. s. in white, but nearly effaced, and
on the end of the boards 13, 49, In a very
few minutes l found that the boards had
been purloined by enthusiastic lovers of
baseball from an old smashed-up car near
by. Getting my informant TO accompany
me, went to the spot, and found that from
the spur track another spur had been built
at one time to a nearby coal shaft now
abandoned and full of water.
by questioning the track foreman l
found that the old shaft had caved in one
night; taking with it several rods of the
switch. The hole was filled with water
some twenty feet deep, and was perhaps
hundred feet in diameter. Close inquiry
elected the fact that the track had been
filled with cars, though none had gone down,
SO it was thought, when the end sank in
the cave-in. Thinking differently, 1 got
pump from the nail and spike mill near by,
and, connecting it with their steam plant,
put 1T to work emptying the cave-in, as
such ponds are called. After three days of
steady pumping with a million gallon Cor
don pump the bottom began to show and
soon the drawbar and timbers of a gondola
car were visible When the water had been
sufficiently lowered It was soon seen that
1t was our lost car, No Is, ISL. though bad
ly broken up and in terrible plight from ly-
ing in the mud and water for nearly two
years. derrick was at once rugged up,
the wrecking car of the Chicago & Eastern
Illinois was called into requisition. and after
much labor the car was brought to the
solid ground again, and temporary rails
soon got it back on the track. The back
the car was temporarily repaired and sent
home for overhauling, the mystery was
solved, and my work was done.
IN SPITE OF CHANGES.
"a few months after this was sent to
ST. Louis to locate car, No. 5000, A. G.
o.
Ala, for San Francisco, loaded with oak
UNI for ship calking. From San Francisco,
where it had been unloaded, it was sent
over to Oakland, and from there to San
Diego, or Coronado Beach, more properly,
consigned TO the big hotel there, and load
ed with furniture. From there, after I'M
loading, it had gone empty to Encinitos
where gigantic powder works, a branch
of the Duponts, is located. Here it was
loaded with powder and billed to Itch
field, ILL.,, the consignor being a coal COM
pany. 1t had been dispatched via the San
ia Fe route in connection with the Southern
Pacific and Missouri Pacific, and it was
traced to East st. Louis with but little
trouble. Here it dropped out of existence
While it was being made up in the Big
-Four yards. at least so far as the official
record of ii was concerned. Persistent in
curry failed to locate it, and l went TO
Litchfeld There the books of the agent
showed that the powder had been received
but in &. s. (meaning Canada Southern
car NO. 800. and that the car had been
erptied and dispatched to Port Huron
Mich, as standing orders were TO return TO
that point all empty cars of that line. The
name and number being somewhat similar
/ concluded to go to Pert Huron. Arriving
there l found the car had been sent to
Singleton, Mich, just few days before
where it was to load it with shingles
10 sw,s-