The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-01-01

the first real snow storm of the winter.
The butte" began to fall at day
break and continuing tncessantly was
still falling at midnight.
The warmer temperature of the day
made the snow of soft and sticky
character and before noon time, every
thing exposed had n cooling of white
several inches thick.
Traffic on the street car lines was
virtually at a standstill so difficult was
it to make even infrequent trips.
Every available man in the employ
of the Scranton Railway company was
called out to assist in opening and
keeping open the different lines. With
the aid of shovels and brooms and
three big electric sweepers the city
lines were kept in fair running or
der
At supper time the general office re.
ported that cars We're running to the
north as far as Olyphant; on the
Dunmore lines as far as the corners"
TO the south the city line was the linz
it of traffic on both the Pittston and
Taylor roads, and on the West Side
Wasnburr was open to its terminus,
" hile Luzerne was completely blocked.
With the fall of night and the ac-
companying fall of temperature the
snow became hard and mealy and a
strong blizzardy wind springing up,
trouble in earnest began.
HARD TO KEEP LINES OPEN.
Redoubled efforts on the part of the
street car men were necessary to make
the most irregular kind of trips. A car
p,,,Js. e 4. I,A
line and became stalled. Shorels and
brooms would be found insufficient to
cope with the constantly forming
drifts and one of the big quadruple
motor sweepers would be sent out for
it. One Dunmore crew started out
with three hours yet to put in. They
worked down from Dunmore and the
crew that was to relieve them tramped
mp to Dunmore to take charge of the
car. This was the story of the night
up to IL o'clock and it promised to con-
tinue with little or no variation indefi-
nitelN
The storm was general over the en-
tire east, but the steam roads had eX-
perienced no difficulty up to 10 O'Clock
y. m. The train from New York over
the Delaware, Lackawanna and West
ern at S.45 was only four minutes late
and Night Dispatcher Cowles did not
know but what this slight delay was
due as much to the heavy traffic as tc
the snow. Everything was serene on
all the different divisions at 10 o'clock
but there was no telling. Mr.. Cowles
said, how long these conditions would
continue.
The Delaware and Hudson trains
south-bound, We're a little late on ac-
count of waits at Carbondale for the
gravity connections. The gravity was
open early in the night, but there were
fears that it would be blocked before
morning. The tie-up of the electric
roads increased the passenger traffic
on the Delaware and Hudson a very
| apDreciable extent.
FEARS FOR THE NIGHT.
With the telegraph and telephone
companies the same conditions held
| good-no serious bother, but fears fol-
the night The great weight of snow
that accumulated on the wires in the
central city caused some apprehension
| for the heavily burdened poles and tC
| relieve some of this weight men with
| sledge hammers went around jarrine
| the poles and causing the wires tC
shake themselves loose of some of theil
| coating.
The weather overhead was not pro.
| pitious for pleasure sleighing and moi
as much of this diversion was appar.
| ent in the evening as might be eX
| pected. Transfers, who, by expert
ence, are taught to place but little
| faith in the staying qualities of Scran
\ ton snow, We're 10th to change from
| wheels to runners, and consequently
not many sleighs were seen during thc
| day.
Associated press dispatches repor
| heavy snow and drifting and delayed
traffic from various parts Of the state
Trains on the Pennsylvania and Buf
| falo, Roche ster and Pittsburg roads
were running with much difficulty, anC
| from one to three hours behind time
Early morning witnesses an increase
| if anything in the weight of the fal
| and severity of the wind. Trains ar,
experiencing no little difficulty, tn,
street cars can only make feeble at
| tempts at moving.