The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-08-20
Railroads Taxed to Limit of Their
Capacity.
CARRIED MANY THOUSANDS
BOTH LINES EXPERIENCE CAR
FAMINE.
Special Trains Were All damned
From One End to the Other and
Even the Regulars Were Invaded
By Observation-Disclosures and
Restaurants Do Big Business.

@
The Short Line and Rio Grande West
ern roads had a lively. but uneventful
time yesterday between o'clock ant
noon, and again between 10 p. m. anC
midnight, looking after the welfare Of
the 10000 excursionists that journeyed
from all points of the compass TO wit
ness the rousing welcome to the SOL
diers and help celebrate their return
The special trains were all crowded &c
the platforms, and over into the bag
gage cars; and hundreds who couldn'
get on them laid in wait for the regu-
lar through trains, boarded them by the
hundreds and invaded the sanctity OF
the dining cars and sleepers, giving the
exclusive occupants thereof generous
taste of going with the crowd
Arrangements had been made to han
| die a much larger crowd at the ter
minals in Salt Lake; the entire yards
and switching forces were on duty, and
| there was no delay in shunting coaches
to sidetracks as soon as trains I'M
! loaded. With one or two exceptions all
trains. special and regular, ran credit
ably close to schedule time. The VOL
unteer special did not leave Ogden I'M
til IL O'Clock, and that of course, de-
| layed the specials which Immediately
preceded it.
The Cache valley special on the Short
Line and Park City special on the
Western both rolled in at o'clock;
then there was lull for an hour, but
from until 1890 trainload after train
load of dusty, crowded excursionists
were deposited at the stations. Those
brought in by the Rio Grande invaded
the down town streets and looked about
for vantage points from which to view
the parade. The Short Line devotees
staid in the vicinity of the railway sta
ton and kept the police force of four
regulars and twenty-five specials az
their wits ends.
Vice President Bancroft and Superin-
tendant Calvin of the Short Line kept
the yardmen and engineers on the
shunting locomotives moving the COL
lection of Short Line, Utah & Pacific
and Salt Lake & Los Angeles coaches
over onto the sidings. The police hus-
tied the good-natured crowd outside the
fences. and strove to keep them there,
but the usual contingent of ubiquitous
small boys lodged about and got in
side the lines again; they were finally
driven up the fences and telegraph
poles. where they perched and INDUCED
in pleasantries at the expense of all
within ear shot.
The Salt Lake & Ogden road across
the street brought in four trains of
twelve coaches each before II o'clock,
and added about 1000 more onloOkers
to the crowd that now stretched away
off into dim perspective. The railroads
didn't by any means have the monopoly
on suburban traffic; all the morning
long every conceivable and Construct
bic kind of thing that has wheels at
tached to it came rolling and squeak
ing into town over the long, dusty
country roads.
The station had as much attraction
for them as for the other thousands,
and the ever-shifting scenes, unlimited
assortment of costumes. grotesque car
ryalls, and the hundreds of little COM
edies going on within them did much
to alleviate the tedium of a long morn
ing'S wait At IL O'clock a medley of
shop and locomotive whistles announced
that the volunteer special was on the
last lap of the long race. The police
formed a Gordon around the station
and yard. and everybody was excluded
AT 11:50 the last special from Ogden,
consisting OF two locomotives and fif-
teen cars, packed to the edges of the
platforms, rolled into the yards: this
train preceded the soldiers by ten min
utes. The efficiency of the railroad
management was shown here, for in
less than five minutes the entire train
was unloaded and cars pulled to a sid
ing. At noon wild cheering and a med
ley of ear-spliting noises announced the
arrival of the long expected volunteer
special. Locomotive No 4O5 of the
oregon Short Line. in gay attire of
bunting, flags and the national coat of
arms, followed by two baggage cars. six
tourist sleepers, one Pullman sleeper
and the private car of Governor Wells
and staff, pulled into the station.
10. esf -r.-a, .t.g ~. l.
15,OO9 passengers were brought to town
by all the railroads. About $500. equal
ly divided between the Western and
Short Line. arrived Friday evening. and
yesterday the two big competitors again
divided honors, the Short Line getting
the majority from the north and the
Western from the south. Each road
transported about 5000 passengers.
The Salt Lake G Ogden did a big
suburban business, too. carrying some
1000 passengers from Davis county
Lagoon. Bountiful and other points.
Every train that came into town. no
matter how many coaches were at
tached to it, was overlooking with HUI
mainly. There We're no accidents of
any kind on any of the roads.
Tired out and footsore, with a tinge
of homesEckness added. the excursion
lists made a sortie on the different rail-
way stations late last night, and for a
couple of hours the street cars groaned
at unwonted burdens
a good many eXcursionists are still
in town, bur the majority of them Will
leave via the Short Line this afternoon
at o'clock with the Tintic volunteers.
The Utah county volunteers went home
on the Short Line train last night.
Both roads suffered from a car fam
inc yesterday. The Western was COM
PEELED to quit the sale of tickets in both
Utah county and the Tintic district, be-
cause they couldn't furnish accommo-
dations. The Short Line, too had a bad
attack of car shortage and sought to
it by pressing into service
passenger cars from the Salt Lake &
Los Angeles, Central Pacific, Union
Pacific. Southern Pacific and even
Northern Pacific cars were observed in
some of the o. 5. L. special trains.
The local street railway companies
made no attempt 10 operate on sched-
ule time; they ran whenever and what
ever they could; and, barring some con-
gestion Immediately after the parade
was finished. gave satisfactory service.
OF course, there was considerable grum-
bling at times. but it partook of the
of genial banter by people who
invariably want to go one way when
the cars on the line are going in the
reverse direction.