The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-03-07
CENTRAL'S GLACIAL PERIOD.
10 FEET or SOLID ICE OVER SoME
y or IT'S MAN TRACKS.
l.aoo Men Sent From n City to Break
the lee Jsm-The Empire state EA'
press Extracted Mohawk Ice Broke
I'm before the Hudson Was open.

lle lee yum 'hp
press Extracted - Mohawk Ice Broke
Up Before the Hudson Was open
tiTwelve hundred men pave left this city
for Coxsackie In the past two days. TO tackle
tine Toe lam on the tracks OF the New fork
Central Railroad, which has completely
tied up twenty miles Of the roads tracks
,between that place and Rensselaer, sinoe
saturday night last, and has made 1t neces-
sarv for all trains coming south TO go sev-
epty-ive miles out OF their way to get TO
New York, and all going north, to make
most OF the trip on the tracks OF the Harlem
Railroad.
Never in the history Of the railroad.
has there been such a jam on the tracks,
and never before have the officials Of that
road had TO do so much juggling in order
To get their trains in and out Of Albany
and New York. Ice jams have occurred be-
fore. and on numerous occasions ice ana
floods have tied up parts OF the road. But
this jam at Coxsackie came without a bit
of waning. and II trapped the Empire
State Express coming south on Saturday
iiight. 70 that she couldn't go either back
ward or forward, and also caught three
~norhbound trains securely, before those
in cnarge Of them knew that they had run
into any serious trouble. And 70 far 1t
has defied all effort to break 1t up.
About the middle Of February each year
the officials Of tine New York Central Rail
road begin to pray that the ice in the Hud-
son will break up before the ice in the Mo-
hawk River comes down. II the Hudson
is solid when the Mohawk's ice comes pour
ing IN. il means that the tracks OF the road
are going to Jam up with ice. II the Hud-
son breaks before the Mohawk, the jam
is insignificant. as most OF the Ice toats
down the river TO tidewater. The rail-
read people are on the lookout for his
danger ali the time, and around Rensselaer,.
Cossackic and Hudson, the tracks are
strengthened and every precaution against
a am is taken.
In March 1890 the Mohawk broke up
tI,t and Of course there was a jam. IL
ticd up the road more or less for a week.
Once more the Mohawk river ice has broken
up first, and IL has come sweeping down
on the tracks of the New York Central
Railroad Tor the twenty miles bet ween
IOxsackie and Rennselaer, piling itself
up in heaps ranging from five 20 fifteen
feet in height, and freezing there rs solid
as So much rock.
The ice, not only made it impossible for
trains TO get by, but il also removed great
parts Of the track, ties and all. some dis
tAANA NAAAh NhV ~ ''e@ 49, - Ns'@N
after the MOI kmen have got rid OF the ice,
there is atill the rebuilding of the track TO
be attended to.
Some idea Of the suddenness with which
this zee Jam came can be gathered from the
fact that the last train to get through was
No. n, which left the Grand Central depot
at 625 O'Clock on Saturday evening. No.
rs, the Southwestern limited, came through
IN the way 10 New York at about the same
time, which was in the neighborhood of
II -. IL .A-s. AN.N- -H.a.
which followed the Southwestern limited,
RJi hopelessly caught before she had come
five mii-s beyond Rensselaer, on her way
to this city. There wasn't any warning
for the engineer of the Empire State and
80 when NE struck ice he didn't back be-
caug. he knew that another train must
passed through the same place just
\ iiiile Time before. When the increasing
1rSn nj ity of ice brought his train to a stand |
sill and he tried to back out OF the trouble
be- found that the ice had closed in behind
and that his train was a prisoner. The
passengers were finally taken from the
rain in boats, On the ~northbound track
Ihree trains from this city were caught in
exactly the same fashion.
On Sunday morning everyavailable work
m7n on the Central system in the region Of
was put to work digging the En-
pire State out. II was a hard job and on
500 men were sent from this
rity to help. late on Wednesday night |
he Empire State was freed. The north
bound trains had not penetrated so far
Into he ice jam the Empire and they
relea scd sooner.
Yesterday 100 more laboTers and track
were sent from the Grand Cen
tlal depot to work on the ice jam. These
additiCnal men were sent because, just as
the men already working at CoXsackle were
beginning to make some progress, the snow
~ "Wednesday hit them and yesterday
morning they found a fine succession Of
drifts piled up where they had
been wuriing. However, the north
hound i~a< was opened last night and
the uther will be to-day.
IHc 'vuiral was fortunate in having
connections above and below the ice jam
which enabled it to go on with it, service.
~Southb0und trains have come from AL
hany TO Chatham on the Boston and Al
bany tracks and from there TO Hudson on
a branch road. From hat point they have
come down On the regular tracks. Trains
from this city have gone on the Harlem
road a. FAR NJ Chatham and from there to
Albouy uu the Boston and Albany tracks.
Tile Orihuouud tracks ON the New York
Central i9vc scarcely been used at all
sircH the Ice jam, save by mail and limited
%irHinS, which are too heavy for the Har-
lem -; Ck-,