The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-30
QUEER OIL FIELD ROADS.
LITTLE LEFT OF NARROW GAUGES
THAT MADE MONEY ONCE.

| Railroads Butt In OI Boom hhyb ~ ~
giueers Thnt Enesitatsa at N~sthisE-Grca
Proats ut Hirst-DisAppenranee of Tewnr
ana Railroads Aiike-The PeE Leg hine-
Bolivar, N. ", Jan. 29.-A picturesque fca-
ture OF tho northern oil fields, the narrow gauge
railroads, will soon be a thing Of the past. One
4 nfter another, In the wake of the oil boom, they
have been ripped up and sent to tho junk pile,
after serving q very useful purpose. There are
left to represent tho millions once invested In
those enterprises only long stretches OF right OF
way, almost hidden by underbrush, weather
beaten stations, solitary and alono, with broken
platforms, doors wrenchcd from hinges and
open windows through which the winter winds
blow great piles Of snow; dismantled trestles
rotting and here and there stone pillars of pro-
~tontious bridges, the timbers of which havo
been pulled apart and carried away to serve q
useful purpose. Nearly all tho roads were
built over mountains whore the standard gauge
would be impracticable. There was no filling
in done. Every pulloy was trcstled with hem
lock and the space between tho ties was ball
lasted with tho dirt shovelled out OF the bitches.
Many Of tho farms cut up by tho narrow gauges
show no traces OF the roads now; the land has
been reclaimed by tho origina! owners, many of
whom received n fancy price for right Of way.
Tho engineers who stakod out the narrow
gauges h~esitatcd at nothing; in some places the
grade was o65 feet to tho milo and there was a
| string of high trestles over q succession of gull
legs. To-day there are only two short spurs OF
| narrow gauge railroad loft in the northern oil
fields, the Central New York and Westerns
eighteen.mile branch that runs from Bolivar to
olean and tho Bradford, Bordell and Kinzua,
which climbs over tho hills between Bradford
and Smethport, n distance of.twenty-eight milcs.
The changes that have taken place in this
section Of tho country in fifteen years are mar
vellous. In 1882, in the flush Of the oil boom,
| tho Allogany Central was completed from olcan
to Angelica, and it did an immense business.
Bolivar and R;chburg were as full OF life as
new mining camps, and there were other lively
towns along the line of the road. Richburg had
moro than 5000 population and the reputation
| Of being the hottest oil town on the map. The
Allegany Centrals freight receipts Mt Richburg
| for the first thirty days after the road was
completed footed up $4,000, and that was be-
foro a station was built. A box car answered
for freight and ticket Office as we'll as waiting
room, and the telegraph instrument was screwed
on the top of O dry goods box In ono corner of
tho car. The passenger traffic was enormous.
Ten passenger and four freight trains were run
over the road every day, and when there were
extra attractions at the Richburg theatres
special trains: were run from the towns along
the line. The passenger rates were 5 cents n
mile and the freight rates stiff, but no ono kicked,
for the air was full of greenbacks. That was
when Richburg boosted of a morning and an
evening newspaper, two banks, a hundred
hotels, q dozen doctors, an equal number OF
lawyers, eighty public bars, dance houses and
everything else that went to make up a boom
city in the oil country. One Of the young law
yers who drifted in with the oil boom earned
$4,000 in fees in the first three months he was
there. Bolivar, with 5000 population, was not
far behind Richburg In the amount of business
transacted or In n showdown of wickednes5.
With tho waning of the oil boom came the
fichburg has declined from a city OF 5000 to a
village of 400. as the census taken n few days
s ssS hesT inc ;erptas e lR Ril H,ss,f in the 9 st sftHs All
it's push and glory have departed, though it
boom came. Five years ago the last narrow
gauge rail that connected 1t with the outside
world was pulled up. and now a daily stage i
p 1ss Sess R Rss'pasT %inals sit down a0' .o y i,soo zoe L
h hns IS ss the business iaas 8 cs s1saeS 81 she Gil p9Gs sneISp 1SMa.
After the oil boom subsidized the Bradford. FL
the lumber interests. along, the line, but as
soon as these were exhausted the road bega9to
l leesiV mGn'y About mhea all Il ih Gi r wss turned Mas Snp GSep I'd
him was a wornout roadbed and a lot of rolling
stock fit n for the he Junk pile pile. ,h He ,a kept h wheels si,sas
DO rebuilt or ripped up. The outlook for bust.
ness was not encouraging. and the road was
The junk went to a Florida lumber road. The
road earned $150,O 900 the first year, but after
The little stub line Of the Aiiegany Central
now known as the Central New York and
Western ssenn d the last fo strip = Of l,n nar re Sr s ,ntseoi in
ing bit Of railroad history. Soon after tho
Allegany Central was completed from Clean
and secured control Of the road, and extended
road was making money hand over fist. Then
Chapman built q STANDARD gauge line from
ware, .LacEawannna and western, and secured
control of a couple, Of other short standard
oil his lines with fine rolling stock. his narrow
gauge division having the largest and, finest
n nnsToisa 'E Sis lines engines an " ioI il the hs,,o world 'Snd wb He
he ran short of money, he reorganized the road.
changed the name of It. and had a new issue OF
built the Stony Brook Glen yiaduct, the high.
est structure in the State. II Is built Of steel,
OOO. Over the Erie tracks at SWANS he built
a hemlock horseshoe trestle 1868 feet long at q
Office In Wall street and put on moro style
with his little ninety-one miles Of railroad than
When the oil boom weakened and the earnings
wages overdue, The road was shut down for sew
eral months. In July. 1892, after a hard fight,
Chapman was ousted from the roceivership OF
the road, and the property. was sold to q com.
Byrne is at tho head. The narrow gauge line
from Angelica to Bolivar was ripped up and
one Of the standard gauge spurs was aban-
doned.. The other branches aro In successful
operation still.
The narrow-gauge roads in the Bradford oil
fields, across the State line, have met the Same
fate, The Kendall and Eldred, one of tho best
paying roads ever built while the boom lasted.
has been torn UP. There were half q dozen red
hot towns along its line early in the eighties.
Duke Centre and Rixford were hummers. The
conductors cash faro collections averaged
300 a day for several months. The Bradford
field was then on tho Top wave of prosperity.
Every train that went over the road was packed
| with passengers, ana IN some instances they sat
on the pilot of the engine and tho platforms
and roofs OF the coaches. The freight business
was enormous. The rates were high, but they
were never questioned. The employees made
big money. Many a time an oil producer in u
hurry for a car tipped the conductor u $50 hill
place OF the Kendall and Eldrcd.
Tho Olean, Bradford and Warren, narrow
gauge. which wound over tho mountains from
Clean to Bradford, lay idle for q long time. and
last year was widened to a standard gauge and