Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-05-16
NEWS OF THE RAILROADS.

The freight crew on the Sandy River
Railroad will stay in Phillips nights
this summer instead of Pennington.
The men employed in the Phillips &
Rangeley Railroad shop have been
working nights lately, turning the drive
wheels.
Freight business on the Maine Cen
trail is reported to be considerably
heavier now than during the cores
ponding month year ago.
In addition to immense quantities of
pulp wood, the Sandy River Railroad
delivered to the Maine Central 31S car
loads of spruce lumber for the month of
April.
The Maine Central has just accept
ed after an examination eight new
men for positions as brakemen for the
summer season. The new men have
been accepted by the road but have
not yet been assigned to their summer
runs.
1t doesn't look as if this end of the
line of the Maine Central would be
short of coal for a time at least. The
company now has 1900 tons piled up
at Thompsons Point and 1000 tons
more to be added at once.
The New York train will run clear
through to Bar Harbor or Mt. Desert
during the coming summer. Last
year the cars which left New York
were taken off at Portland and the
passengers transferred to train No. l,
leaving here at Z o'clock. This year
the same train is to run right through
with the exception of any cars which
may not be needed east of Portland.
Business is good at the Grand Trunk
shops at East Deering at present. The
stacking up of train service improves
the business in the repair shops since
with the less use of locomotives on the
road comes a chance to run them into
the shop in punches of from two to
five for repairs and painting. The
East Deering shop is easily the best
equipped and most conveniently ar
ranged of any locomotive shop in this
country since it is one of the newest
and has all of the latest and most i'm
proved appliances for working, includ-
ing compressed air. which does about
everything that needs to be done. The
only trouble is that the plant in not
half big enough and already there are
plans on foot for doubling it. The
painting of locomotives has to be done
in the round house because there is no
other place in which to do it except the
| open air and open air painting is not
| conducive to good looks when varnish
| has to be laid on nicely.
July the pay of all employees on the
| IN o 4 ,,,;I bA
The raise viii include all classes of
employees. Trainmen will receive pay
| that will put them on an equal basis
with the New York, New Haven &
Hartford road employees; freight
brakemen and conductors will get
substantial increase, and office en-
ployes will gain. The work of men in
freight offices, particularly clerks, is to
be equalized. AS it is at present, many
| OF the men have been working II and IL
hours a day, and getting overtime pay
for it, while other clerks have not been
doing a full days work. The work
hereafter will be made equal for all.
and a weeks pay will be given each
man who works six days, thus doing
away with the tedious night work that
many of the men have been doing. 1t
is expected that the road will make
arrangements by which the gate ten
ders will be given better hours. AS it
is now. many of the gate tenders on
the Boston & Maine road go to work at
6 o'clock in the morning and do not get
through until $50 at night, with no
time for dinner. That makes 1412
hours work each day, and the pay is
but $3.50. or little more than 10 cents an
| hour. The work is of responsible
character, and the men think the con-
ditions should be better. When the
new schedule goes into effect, July 1, it
is probable the gate tenders will re-
ceive larger wages or better hours.
| Two cbiftS iS what tbeu want