The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1900-05-03
the conductor shouted, can pas
sengers change!"

sengers changen
After a wait of three hours,
part of which time we spent very
pleasantly up at the Mt. Union
Times Office, we boarded a west
bound train and about an hour
and half's ride brought us to
Altoona.
Altoona is quite Il town as you
know, and there are a number of
Fulton county people residing
there.
The limited time we had to stay
in the city made it impossible to
see many of them.
We met William b. Hershey,
formerly from near Knobsville.
Mr.. Hershey went to Altoona
thirty-one years ago, and owns a
nice home in the city now, and
has Il nice position. We met S.
Elwood Hedding u brother-in law
of Harry Markley of Warfords-
burg. Mr. Hedding is a pros
porous business man and has
been there twenty years. AT
Mr.. Holdings we saw Harry
Truax of Wells Valley. Harry is
taking a commercial course at an
| Altoona business college Down
at the clerical department in the
freight depot, we met G. II. Ken
dali, formerly of the Cove. Mr..
Kendall has been in the employ
of the Pennsylvania Railroad
company for fifteen years and
has recently had a change of work
at increased pay. Through the
courtesy Of Mr.. Kendall we were
/ permitted to learn something of
the business handled there.
The depot itself extends the
length of two entire squares, and
has track space for loading or un-
loading forty-tive cars at the same
time. Three hundred and fifty
tons of package freight are hand
led there every twenty-four
hours.
Freight reaching that place
from different parts of the coun-
try is distributed so as to place
all the matter for a particular
station in one car, and thus great
ly reducing the necessity for de-
lay in transmission.
From sixty to a hundred cars
aday reachAltoona from the west,
laden with hay, grain, feed, &c.
The shipper may not have sold a
single pound of it when it starts
east but by the time it reaches
Altoona, he is able to direct it's
re-consignment, and part of it is
sent to one place, part to another,
and so on.
The agent at this point is Mr..
A. r. Heintzelman, who took
charge of that depot eighteen
years ago when two dozen men
could handle all the business. 1t
now requires 100 men even with
greatly improved facilities. The
chief clerk Mr.. HH. Bartlebugh
has been there fifteen years and
is altogether a very courteous
gentleman.
OF the 100 men now employed
but six have been there for a
longer period than Mr., Kendall.
There was nothing unusual in
the business handled last Satur-
day, but to carry it over the road,
required 20 east bound trains of
40 cars each, and Is west bound,
of 80 cars each-a total of $500
cars east, and 2,475, west AL
lowing an average length of forty
feet to a car, the east bound cars
alone, if run in one continuous
train, would extend over twenty
two miles, on make solid train
longer than from McConnells-
burg to Chambersburg or to Han
cock.
To pull the freight trains from
Altoona up the - miles of grade
to reach the top of the mountain,
requires three powerful locomo-
tiyes to each train, and two, are
required to pull each passenger
train Fourteen passenger
trains pass through Altoona each
way ON the main line each day.
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