The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-12-04
BLIZZARD FOR
A FIRST STORM
Street Railway and Steam Rail-
roads Hard Hit by the Storm
and Traffic Tied Up or Delayed
for Hours
CONSOLIDATED ADDS
T0ITS TROUBLES

The Governor on Its Big Engine
Breaks and Puts An End to Car
Service on Many Lines About
the City-Steam Cars Run on
Ragtime Schedule
Worcester got its first real touch of
winter yesterday and it got it good
and plenty. The rain that began to
fall about o'clock yesterday morning
turned into sleet and snow and at mid
night last night, the fine snow that
causes all kinds of trouble to electric
and Street railway service was falling
hard and drifting badly in all the ex-
posed places. The people who were
caught out in the blizzard after dark
last night were up against very hard
game as about their only means or
getting around was on foot. The Wor-
cester Consolidated Street Railway
Company was caught where its hair
was short and the patrons of the com
pany said a whole lot of hard things
! about it, but the company was hard
| ly to blame for the stroke of paralysis
that put it out of business.
The storm was enough of itself to
make things hard for the company but
on top of that the companys big 1900
kilowat generator in the New Worces-
| ter powerhouse broke down shortly af-
| ter o'clock and for a time the entire
system was knocked out. The accident
happened to the governor which went
wrong tearing off all the gears and
putting the machine in the hospital. AS
quickly as it could be done all the aux
Hilary machines in the powerhouse were
rugged for business but the biggest gen
orator the company has is an S50-kilo-
wat so the company was deprived of
nearly half its power.
The accident to the machinery
knocked out the circuit breakers on
the West Side and Chandler Street
lines, the Southbridge Street line, and
the Quinsigamond and Greendale lines.
The Southbridge Street break was re-
paired but it went by the board again
in a short time so the cars on that
line had to remain where they We're.
The Quinsigamond and Greendale line
was got into running order and did
fairly well but the entire West Side of
the city was without car service after
the break.
Added to these troubles the company
is not yet equipped with apparatus to
combat storm of the magnitude of
yesterday and last night Early in the
summer the company ordered eleven
new ploWs Of the latest and most pow
erful make the contract calling for
their delivery on Nov. 1, Nov. Is and
Dec. l. OF the eleven, only three have
reached Worcester and the storm
r. &c. III
snow fighting machines on hand. They
were rugged for duty early in the day
but were not enough to make sue
/ cessful fight.
The storm is the first General Mana
ger Richard r. Latin has had to fight
since he came to Worcester and he did
everything possible with the apparatus
he had on hand He was down town
all last night personally looking after
things and working like a Trojan to
keep the lines open. But he was
against too tough proposition under
| the circumstances.
The weight of the sleet that fell on
| the wires in Millbury caused the feed
wires to break at $50 and the Millbury
| folks who were in Worcester had to
hunt up friends or stay at the hotels
as it was impossible to get a car
through. Men were rushed down to re-
pair the wires but so much of the cop
per is down that the cars cannot be
running before late today.
Superintendent John German of the
Spencer division reports the storm the
fiercest he ever had to tackle but he
managed to keep things moving, though
very slowly He had two big plows out
on the hills, with a car following them
but at that the last car to leave the
city for Spencer got away at 1870 and
the last one into the city got in about
l o'clock this morning.
The Fitchburg line went by the board
comparatively early. The drifting on
this northern division was fierce, and
the snow plows could make little or
no Roadway against the big piles. A
big double truck plow was sent out
from Leominster at 9 o'clock and it
took three hours for it to get to Clin-
ton.
A couple of cars at least are stuck
between this city and Marlboro. One
is stalled on Moen's hill in Shrewsbury,
and the other somewhere beyond it. A
third car left this end at II o'clock and
has not been heard from. A pillow was
sent out from Worcester at 8 o'clock,
and at midnight it had not been heard
from. as it had not even reached the
car stuck on Moen's hin.
The last car to leave this end for
Grafton got away from Harrington
Corner at 8 o'clock. and the company
has a pillow out on the line somewhere. /
At / O'Clock this morning cars were
stalled all over the city. Those that
were on the West Side and the Chand-
Ter Street lines when the circuit
breakers went to smash are rightwhere
they happened to be and on the South
bridge Street line one of the Webster
cars is stuck near Quinsigamond Az
enue and another is up on College hill.
The Providence and Grafton Street
lines were kept open fairly well by
keeping cars running up and down the
hills. At the other end Of these lines
the terminals have been established at
the foot Of the hills.
The Main Street line was kept open
after a fashion and those who had pa
tience got a chance to ride home oc-
casionally.
Every available man in the com
pany"s employ was kept at work
throughout the night and the six-horse
road machines were on the go as well
as the electrically driven machines.
There will be plenty Of opportunity for
laborers to earn some money for
Christmas in the next few days.
While the street car lines were tied
up the hackmen reaped a harvest es-
peciauy when the places of amusement
began to turn their audiences into the
streets. The storm had increased in
fierceness while they were having a
good time and when they got out into
the cold world they found they had to
walk or hire hack.
The policemen who live in the outly-
ing sections Of the city telephOned to
Headquarters IL was impossible for
them to get in and they were excused